points, and the nasdaq is up almost 0.7, so the biggest percentage mover is the nasdaq. see you back here, sue. that will do it for a tuesday edition of "power lunch." >> have a great afternoon. ty and i are back tomorrow. "street signs" begins right now. you heard it on this very show nearly two years ago. america is the place to investment, the best in the world right now, but don't take our horn-tooting word for it. we have got stats to back it up. your mind will be blown. also packed with names on, you know, stocks from apple to citigroup to small caps, all on the move. this will indeed be an hower of stock power. plus why microsoft may be the next best winning in phones.

watered down luxury, why high end isn't so highened anymore. happy tuesday, the dow hitting another intraday high. mandy returns from the other side of the world next week, so today we are changing the name of the show just for one day to "stock signs." there are headlines everywhere on big-time stocks you know. let's jump right in. bob, to you first. goldman sachs out with two big calls, one on apple, one on hp. let's go alphabetically. is goldman less bullish on the iphone maker? >> yes, they are. they gave what i call a very tepid endorsement. this is phrased like a political endorsement. let's just take a look. first of all, apple, ibm, or fire, but apple removed from the america's conviction shun list. they said the most recent

product up cycle hasn't driven the market shag and new users growth we thought possible, and apple ma -- sew have temperature id. outright bearish on hewlett, though. overall here they downgraded hewlett-packard, bearish on pc trends. declines of 3.8% in pc unit shipments in 2013, a much lower number than previously, pricing will remain under pressure. and they're downgrading hewlett-packard to a sell. remember, apple is sitting essentially right near a 52-week low. better today, and there's apple for a year. remember, we were over $600 just over a year ago. the bottom line is the rally at the end of february, look at that, that was the better results. i think that was february 21st, stocks doing better, but down on the downgrade. >> bob, thank you very much. let's bring in tech analyst avi,

as bob noted, hewlett-packard had a big of a decent run. but your note basically says the stock may be doing better for the wrong reasons. >> yeah, we've been negative on hp for quite some time. clearly the task in front of them is pretty hard. delivers growth next user in almost all of the segments. if you look at pcs, printers, the services segment, they have a lot of head winds. and then when you look at dell's proxy statement, michael dell's plan and when he takes it, it will slash prices, and that's going to become extremely hard for it ko compete. we agree with the call this morning. we've been negative for quite some time. we have an underperform rating. >> wow, and you put it out there in your most recent note in big

bold letters. i'm going to start with the second line first. revenues declined across the board in almost all products and regions for hpq. revenues down everybody where on everything. that's sounds like a company in long-term structural decline. >> it sure is. they are the and hp does not have a presence there. printers are on in a secular decline. services they have their own issues. and they're going to be hard to replace. when and how does it get there? >> yeah, we think there is two ways to get there. actual plus we think they need

to do something on the balance sheet front the we expect them to raise dividends materially. we expect them to do a lot more buybacks. second thing is that on the new product side, which is more important, people want to buy the stock, everything that new iphone is coming this summer, and that should help somewhat on the iphone cycle. there probably will be an ipad refresh into the holiday season. so in the second half of the year, we think it's a good combination. dow jones reporting today that apple will begins products this quarter, likely something a refresh, perhaps an iphone 5s. does that matter?

it depends on how they execute on the cheaper -- and there's a potential for them to see the market share gains on that front as well. thank you very much. we'll see you again. nuance is the battleground stock on herb greenberg's radar for quite a while. speaking of apple, nuance, the couple that makes apple's siri voice recognition technology. julia, who is this mystery investor? >> well, brian, carl icahn disclosed a passive stake in the company nuance communications, the shares are higher today on the news made in an s.e.c. filing. icahn perhaps seeing an opportunity, they're down about 21% over the past 12 months. now, in addition to powering

apple's siri, nuance also makes dragging speech-to-text software, which does transcription to health care providers to controlling television sets. just yet nuance announced voice-activated ads that talk back, partnering to tackle the market. does i kahn plans he has not responded to cnbc's request for comment, so brian, we'll have to see. >> get scott wapner on the phone. he'll call icahn out. they have a history. >> reporter: that's true. we have called him. usually he does get back to tell us if he wants to give under the circumstances a no comment, but we haven't gotten that back yet. >> it's the beard he's got. he's changing. we don't even know him anymore. let's bring in dan ives.

is that news a deserved pop? >> i think it's a deserved pop. it's obviously -- i think it's been ripe for activism. i believe this is the first step of what will be a long chapter. >> carl icahn was basically a guy you did not want to invest, because he would go in to shake things up. he's being viewed as a save i don't for some. what do you think he wants with nuance? >> well action the core patents action the core secular trends in speech are strong, so there's a core valuable asset. the issue is management. again, this is one where he did a good job of running it from point a to point b, but is this the right ceo to run it from point b to point c i think

that's the issue, and i think it's one where a lot of investors have been frustrated as think kind of misexecuted. >> do you think the ceo should go? >> i believe it's you've got to give him credit with everything he's done, but the last year, given the strong secular trends, you know, at this point, i any new blood at the company would be seen as a positive, and could be the right sort of ingredient for nuance, forred stock to go high are and reach growth. >> so payable a better boyfriend or girlfriend than a husband or wife? >> i continue to view it as they have good strength in nuance. they've done a phenomenal job on the speech market. you talk about apple's siri. what they have done with samsung as well.

you know, you can have all the patents and secular trends, but that and $2 gives you a cup of coffee if you don't execute. later in the show we're going to talk about microsoft and smartphone growth, yeah, we used those words in the same sentence. is nuance at all in microsoft? in nokia? >> no, that's actually one where they're not in nokia at this point. samsung as quell as apple, microsoft does their own speech endeavorses, so few juans is focused on the other carriers. >> dan ives, thanks. >> thanks. a big win for health insurers after the white house cuts back on plans. this was a big jump. >> it is, potentially, a big win for the stocks, maybe a big win

for the providers over time and beneficiaries, at least in the near term. by more than 2%. they've been full tilling the key cost-cutting goal of the affordable care act. after what the administration calls careful consideration of public comments, a 2% cut has become a 3.3% increase in overall reimbursements. this is not a total cave. deductibles are going down, premium increases for medicare advantage are limited, and there are the news cost controls and coding changes as well, plus health care costs in general are going up. instead the president of humana said the changes all told create what he calls meaningful challenges. the stock is up today, but there are some issues coming up down the road. and scott we're going to talk about them right now. let's bring in the managing

director at capital street. all right, humana, wellpoint, cigna, etaetna. is this a deserved and real meaningful within for these companies? >> i think it was the best possible outcome for the administration to reversus its course and go to a positive 3.3 update, a huge win, but as scott pointed out, there are some issues going forward. for instance, just take next year, 2014, you have the premium tax that's going to be a tax on the insurance industry, and you also have sequestration. both of those are about 2% reductions each. so that's a total of a negative 4% of impact in 2014. so it's not all roses. >> can i ask you, though, why there was a 5.5% swing in reimbursement? i can understand 1%.

5.5, how did that happen? >> the lobbying was intense. politics were definitely in play here. we've never really seen anything like this, to be honest, but you had the plans by the two national trade groups, and then you had members of congress, rank and file, leadership, democrat, republican, they all weighed in on the side of the plans, because seniors like m.a., they mike medicare advantage. so you have really that at play. >> it was lobbying money by these companies very well spent. they'll make those dollars up hand over fist. >> agreed. i think there's definitely growth in the program, but don't forget that the affordable care act took about 200 billion out of m.a., so there will be benchmark reductions, taxes, other rate review and other medical slow ratio, which are

profitability caps essentially. >> bottom like, should we buy these stocks, all of them, on today's news? >> i'm pretty positive on them, just remembering there's challenges out from here. the step that proves america is the best place to invest right now. plus is trading up watering down the biggest luxury brands? and our resident fed nerd, steve liesman is here for the big nerd alert. but it's a cool one, because he's a cool guy. we're back after this. [ laughter ] ♪ [ female announcer ] each one of us is our own boss. ♪ and no matter where you are in life, ask your financial professional how lincoln financial can help you take charge of your future.

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. for the past few weeks, economists everywhere have been ratcheting up their expectations for economic growth in the first quarter. in fact, economic growth consensus, somewhere now above 3% for the first quarter. >> you didn't believe it. >> i did not believe it. steve liesman, you told me that. >> i'll tell you why. >> i said you're full of something. >> you were in church on friday, right? >> i was at the church of sun valley, skiing. >> that's when the spending number came out. it was strong again for the metropolitan. >> i actually stopped skiing to look at my phone to get your headlines on the cnbc mobile app. and sirius/xm. before we piece this gdp puzzle together, we are wearing pieces of a puzzle.

>> that was a bringial segue. >> autism speak, an effort by robert wright and susan wright to bring awareness to autism. today's the day we're all helping out the cause by wearing this puzzle. >> i guarantee you all of us hear know a family where somebody does have autism. 1 in 100 children now, so it's a good cause. why are we ratcheting up the estimates? >> it's not only that. it's almost old news for those of us who weren't in sun valley. what people were worrying about is is there another spring swoon? i went and looked at the data. it's one of those great things, where you find something you think is there, and it was not there. first take a look at the job chart here. this is our nerd alert for the day. this is jobs by quarter over the last three years. do you see a spring swoon there? >> no. >> what do you see there? a paul swoon?

>> i see a second quarter pop, which is a fall down. >> a -- now go to the gdp chart. there we go. do you see a spring swoon there? >> i do not. both from a jobs and gdp perspective, there is no spring swoon. there's one in vehicle production. one reason why some might think there's been a spring swoon. we went back and looked at the revisions, and here's the revisions. look what happens to the reported first quarter growth number over time, as we come up with new iterations. they have taken on average about a point off each first quarter, so we have this perception that growth is strong action that perception gets revised away, and in fact second, third and fourth quarter -- >> let's go to the videotape. >> my fundamental question is what happens to make economists so wrong? are they drunk the entire first

three months? >> there is a great question, and there is an answer. it has to do with the depth of the '08 decline, followed by the strength of the '09 rebound, that has perhaps polluted the seasonal adjustments. if that's true, we should see this effect dissipate over time. we don't know it to be true. we think it could be true in some areas of the economy, so it may be we're consistently fooled by this one amazing anomaly that happened with the financial crisis and the great recession of 2008-2009. >> that was a darn good answer. >> it's the only one i've got. >> how about this? you come off the holidays, feeling good, you think the consumers will spend more than they will, and you spend the first quarter ratcheting down the estimates when you realize they spend -- >> i spend six year in russia. i can tell you the winter it is are so brutal, every time spring would roll around, economists

the entire population would get more optimistic. it would end up not being true, but i think -- >> its think it's an oxymoron. >> i'm getting yell at. >> so am i. black did not rock says equity etfs took in more than 65 billion last quarter, the fastest level in more than three years. head of us is andy brenner, who called our attention to the story, as he always does, with your great morning notes. i know you're a big "street signs" viewers, we've been -- it looks like international stock investors agree with us. >> no question about it, you're seeing more and more money come into the u.s., whether it's the equity numbers we pointed out this morning, or real estate numbers, the u.s. is the best place to invest right now. everyone throughout europe and throughout asia is recognizing it. you know, there's been a

tremendous flight to quality, in 2011, maybe beginning in 2012, but now there's a flight from chaos, and that chaos is in europe. and that money is coming into the u.s. where even though we may not like the way some of the things have gone, we've got as you just said, 3.25% increase, gdp, we're growing and the stocks are showing it. >> is the european money renting america or buying long term? >> i think the european money is here for a while. i don't think you ever marry any money to a particular country one way or the other. it's here now and i think it will stay until we hear another great speech from draghi and an all-clear from europe. i don't see that happening in italy and spain any time soon. >> so america will continue to be strong? >> i think we'll have a correction. i think it's inevitable, but i think we'll close higher, and i think things are very good. you see more and more money going from bonds, which i think

are in a bubble, into stocks, i mean morningstar reported 309 bond funds now own stocks. that's the highest in over a decade. i mean, i think i think it's going in that direction. the fed is trying to keep its pedal to the metal. they're starting to move into floating rates. so, i mean, i think we'll be good. i think equities is the best place to be right now. a semipatriotic -- tell your friends you heard it first on "street signs," andy. >> will do. can pike roe soft be the next great smartphone player is it maybe. we'll tell you why, coming up. time no for today's return on retirement. the best places to retire abroad. kiplinger just reviewed eight outside of the u.s. locations based on climate, cost of living, health care and other factors. four good spots -- coronado, pan aha, croatia, ecuador, and

georgetown malaysia. coming up in just a sec, the rest of the list. ♪ (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go,

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back now with today's "return on retirement" more great places to retire abroad, according to kiplinger's spain, mexico, galway, ire lind and medell medellin. off on vacation to australia and still finds a way to get on this show. mandy drury, everybody. >> she's with us in spirit. >> and voice. yes. with that taped voice. return on retirement. kate kelly with news on head fudge, 2% of assets, 20% of profits is what you pay a hedge fund. these kind of returns don't justify that. >> not so much, right? >> they stink. >> let's get down to it. the average hedge fund was up a

notch, according to early reports. a time when the s&p rallied 10% and the dow 11. so how did it happen? for one thing, the mare rorkts suggests that the hedge fund managers got nervous and started paring back. some put them into commodities and the dollar indeed, both of which underperform the stock market, do they did okay. i good et it depends on when you go the in exactly. others that went long after january essentially missed the business move. a notable exception is dan loeb, who once again showed his acumen on stock picking. the main funds are all up on the year with a levered offshore fund, showing third-point ultra-. in march particularly loeb indicated from the nikkei's tear, but also with bets on yahoo, and the liquefied natural

gas company. it will be interesting to hear how he picked those stocks. he's very good. >> i know dan a bit, nice guy, i like him a lot, big surfer. the other ones are underperforming the s&p 500, which i could buy for a quarter of a basis point. >> right. right. just by a hair. be fair, most of them are up 9 and change again an s&p that's 10. i think we have to give the guys a couple points a margin, because they are trying to pick unique opportunities. they're not just going with the benchmark, but s.a.c. is an interesting counterexample, up only about 4%. that's uncharacteristic for steve cohen. he's outperformed even with this legal overhang. he charges 3 and 50. >> 3 and 50? >> um-hmm. >> that's why his how has two golf holes or a basketball cart, or can buy la rev, all the while selling another home i believe

is worth more than $100 million. >> kate kelly, thank you very much. up next, one stock, two opposite calls, plus one airline tackling a very weighty issue. you've got to pay to fly, based on what you weigh. it's a real story. stick around. the american dream is of a better future, a confident retirement. those dreams have taken a beating lately.

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street talk time, as promised, we have some big names to hit. bank of america, merrill lynch cutting goldman. what they call a fair valuation, relative, and they do note, however that goldman investment

citigroup, with hotels is being questioned by manhattan federal judge. other news on city. with the banks, and they raised citigroup's eps estimate to a buck and a nickel. next up, exxon mobil, opco cutting the rating to perform. they also removed, just yanked the $100 price target on xom. saying barring any unlikely major acquisition, they don't see a catalyst in the next 12 months that could list the performance. they do note that exxon is so efficient that further cost savings are unlikely. that stock has not participated. exxon is actually lower than it was last october. stock number four, qualcomm, raymond james upgrading to a strong buy from an outperform. they believe qualcomm will

maintain their advantage in high-end smartphone chips in things like lte. looking huge patent company, with more than 70,000 patents. that generates two thirds of the pretax profits. and near a historically low relative to the s&p 500. and finally for street talk, stock number five, where texas style, we've got ourself a good old-fashioned analyst battle. stifel nicolaus citing a near-term slowdown as evidenced by weakening ism. it's dropped over 5% month over month. also today, s&p capital iq upgrading to a buy from a hold, shares up nearly ten bucks since last summer. two analysts one day. microsoft windows topping blackberry.

that's according to a new report both these companies are they disted to fight for scraps? or can microsoft and its partner really gain significant market share? let's ask the software analyst at james montgomery. what do you say? >> there's two things that need to happen for microsoft to gain any kind of traction in this smartphone market. number one is leverage of strength in the enterprise business, the corporate business. obviously very strong in that. the second thing is they need to leverage the strength in the xbox bit. on the corporate side, microsoft is a standard on the desk stop and laptop environment that we all know. they need to simply leverage that and extend it to the mobile platform, including smartphones and the tab lett market. if they do that, then they can successfully have a much better, on the xbox side, they simply

need to do a better job of marketing the other consumer devices available to the xbox community. the xbox is a very successful consilt. 40 million plus live users, and they simply have to, for instance, you know, issue a phone that's branded xbox, and will sell like a hot cakes, if they including the games features and functions into the phone. >> i've said publicly i thought the phone was fantastic. i liked using it. unfortunately it hasn't sold that well. nokia is obviously a finnish company. is microsoft quietly winning around the world? >> sure. from that perspective, you know, that's not the way that microsoft and nokia wants to go. nokia has a much better distribution in the -- outside the u.s., especially in the developing countries, but those

are low-end forms, so it's not the smartphones, but semismartknown as, not the way that microsoft and knock wra wants to gain traction. so in order to gain traction in the market, they need to gain traction in the u.s. market and in the european market, where it is much more developed. >> bottom line, do we buy it or not? >> we need to see signs of traction, if that they can survive in the post-pc era. and then also in the tab lett marketplace, which they're not doing that well now. they need to leverage strength in the corporate side and also on the xbox. >> we'll take that as a no, since you have a neutral rating on the stock. >> thank you. airlines gone wild. two big airline stories that got us talking today. plus the news face of luxury. why 30 may be the new 50 when it comes to high-end brands. first, let's go to a man who on

which swaddles himself in velvet. bill griffeth. >> you want something. i have no idea what that means. we'll talk to a ceo of a company that has a solution to the shortage of high-tech worker bees. we're talking innovative solutions. what do you need to make a film these days? lights, cameras and china? we'll explain. and why free market forces may finally be driving down the cost of college just as my kids have graduated. all that and more at the top of the hour for "closing bell." brian and "street signs" back right after this. she knows you like no one else.

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this morning at the white house, president obama unveiled his brain initiative, investing $100 million in a project that speeds up r&d for mapping the human brain. brain is an acrho anyone for brain research through advanced innovative neurotechnologies. this unlocking of the brain can help development treatments for things like epilepsy, brain injury, stroke and alzheimer's disease. some private companies are joining the effort. josh lipton has more. >> the b.r.a.i.n. initiative will help researchers produce

dinamic pictures of the brain, show how cells and neurocircuit interacts and hopefully function and behavior. there also could be investment implications here. for help we called barbara ryan, the managing director of fti consulting. ryan says the impact of this any of tiff could be greatest on always hypers. remember, it is the most significant disease burden in high-income countries and expected to grow in developing countries. ryan says there's 1200 ongoing clinical trials, and some of the top companies in terms of dollars being invested in new therapies to fight alzheimer's, merck, pfizer eli lilly and roche. >> by the way, you might wonder why we bumped in with apple shares? because they have turned negative. >> quite a slide, pretty much

wiping out almost all the run it had right at the open. >> here on "street signs" only people that you actually want to link with. one at a time. it's called link me. matt is here. you are wearing set device. >> i'm wearing said device. >> am i wrong in not calling that watch? >> you are wrong. >> what is that? >> this is a wristband action a brace lett you can get your text messages on, facebook and twitter feeds. >> can you take it off? >> sure. >> it's kind of cool. it basically actually looks like a scrolling news ticker. >> very light, three ounces. >> there you go, so if you and i were linked, you can sigh, dude,

let's watch the knicks game, and it would come like that? >> it would come like that, the battery life is over two weeks, packs quite a heavy punch. doesn't look all that much at first, but when you get into the science and technology. >> sell it to me. why do i need that? >> you're living a busy lifestyle, you can't access your phone, you're a nurse, riding a bicycle, whatever you're doing, you're able to get the message. >> that's a getting message, not a sending -- >> that's correct, you can also receive alerts. if you want to program -- >> my wife texts me, "call me" i would get it on my wrist. >> like your both or girlfriend contacts you, you get an alert from her. >> so there it goes, a gf or bff, whatever it might be. >> yeah, exactly. >> this is not available yet. >> it's not available yet. what we are doing is -- >> very light, by the way.

>> very light. what we're doing a a prelaunch, preorder, wee using kickstarter as an innovative platform, it gives us great action to people's opinion as we launch. >> how much will that cost? >> it costs right now, for $99. we anticipate the retail to be about 150, somewhere in that neighborhood. right now you can lock in the discount. >> i keep hearing about an apple iwatch rumor? scared of that? or is it complementary? >> it's different technologies. ultimately there's apple, samsung, google. the thing is, you don't know what devices they're doing or price point, don't know when they're. with this you know what you're getting. >> could mandy block -- my co-host block if they went like this with two of them? >> yes. all right. up next, as we promised, outrageous airline stories of the day, and i will also look at thgh camera. as we head to break, i've got a challenge for you. until we come back, picture in

your mind the typical luxury car buyer, the average buyer of an audi or bent. when we return, we'll tell you who is really behind the wheel of those luxury rides. this is $100,000. we asked total strangers to watch it for us. thank you so much. i appreciate it. i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. your money needs an ally. the battle of bataan, 1942. [ all ] fort benning, georgia, in 1999. [ male announcer ] usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation

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the airline index is not having a good day, in fact one of the worst two they have day drop since june of 2012. its lo march 7th. the airlines have been on a tear, but lately that has simply not worked. speaking of, two airline headlines are making us go, hmm, today. first, it finally happened. an airline charging based on how much you weigh. passengers on samoa air will pay a fixed price per kilogram. that will vary from $1 to $4 per kilogram depending on the route length. and here's the easy math. at 230 pounds, i would pay about 250 samoan atalla, which is about $108 to fly from palo palo. guessing her weight, mandy would pay about $30.

and delta airlines, their new onboard bathrooms will be smaller than the 3 x 3 mini toilets the that are already currently in use. the downsized bathrooms will let the airlines squeeze four more seats on the plane's economy class cabins. the smaller u.s. airlines based fleet of 737s airlines this year. why not just install toilets in every seat? i don't think so. some good news on the roads, though. automakers posting their best sales numbers since 2007. and as we do here on "street signs," we dug into these numbers and noticed something interesting happening to the luxury brands. they are reaching a new kind of audience or at least, phil lebeau, a new and maybe less affluent audience. >> well, certainly, they're going for the entry level market, brian. there's no doubt about that. and compare what you saw today from the industry as a whole versus the luxury automakers. industry auto sales in march, solid, probably up in the range of 5 to 7% for the month. look at the luxury automakers.

cadillac this ises up 49.5%. really everybody, even mercedes, which had a nice, but not a huge month, up 6.5%. here's what's driving it. these entry-level models are becoming more and more popular. it's a good way for the brands to branch out. cadillac finally getting into that market with the new ets, which is going on sale. that's their entry-level model that starts just over $33,000. mercedes is also getting into this market. the new cla class, which doesn't go on sale until later this year, but already they're pricing it at just under $30,000, which brings up the question, is it possible, these luxury brands are cheapening themselves by going to a lower price point? the head of mercedes-benz usa says he doesn't think so. >> we think we can produce a cla at $29,000 and produce an s-class at $100,000 and still satisfy all those customers. we're not worried about diluting or cheapening the brand in any way. >> bottom line is, when you have the entry-level luxury models that are going out there, brian,

they're targeting younger customers who can afford a monthly payment that might be a little above what they're used to, but still reasonable. maybe something in the range of $450 to $650 a month. and i know a lot of people will sit there and say, that's a lot, but if you can get into a mercedes at that price or a bmw or a cadillac, whatever it might be, somebody who might be in their 20s or early 30s says, you know what, i want that, and that's what we're seeing for the luxury automakers. >> we'll debate later whether or not it hurts the brand. we call it the jackie o'sullivan rule here on "street signs." inside joke. thank you. it is not just the luxury car makers trading down. it's clothing and accessory companies as well. this is what we're calling watered down luxury. does it work, though, for names like coach, michael coors, and tiffany's. a book about new american luxury, we'll show the book up there. we appreciate you coming on, michael. thank you very much. i understand why these companies do it, right? cheaper means more buyers, but

doesn't it also crush the cache? >> i don't think so. and if you look across a wide variety of categories, what you see is consumers, in droves, flocking to get a taste of luxury. not trading up in 20 categories, but trading up in one, two, or three categories where they become an expert. whether it be wine or vodka or purses or cars. they pick a category and it makes them feel special and it allows them to ladder up emotionally. >> but if me and lorenzo are rolling in our benzo and i have a $63,000 amg and i see a $30,000 car, i'm not going to think that the amg is so special. >> well, i think if you went into the car rooms and you actually saw whose going into the shops and what cars they're looking at, they segregate. the $200,000 cars, everyone wants them, but no one can afford them. the $30,000 bmw 1 series, the

audi a-2, these are cars that are selling in very large quantities to 30-somethings and 40-somethings and then they lock them into the brand. and if you have a 55 or 60% repurchase rate, it's a fantastic way to introduce your product to customers. >> does it go the other way? and we were talking about hyund hyundai, known for lower price but reliable cars, has a car now, the equus, that starts at $60,000 and goes up from there. can a brand that maybe doesn't have as much cache makes the opposite move as successfully? >> here's the truth. the truth is the companies that are successful have technical, functional, and emotional benefits working together. you have to be honest and you have to be true. the thing about the consumers that are looking to spend their hard-earned dollars against these luxury goods is they're very demanding. and if, in fact, you claim luxury and don't deliver it, then you're dead. >> you know, you want the younger buyer. is it true, though, michael, from your research and your book

reporting, that buyers do stay -- if i'm 30 and buy that $30,000 mercedes, as long as i don't have a lemon, do they got me for life? >> one of the things that's true is they are by car, make, and model. and there are certain car brands that have 65% repurchase rates. meaning that 65% of current buyers come back into them. if you look at many of the american brands, the repurchase rate is 35 and 40%. >> michael silverstein, thank you very much for joining us. interesting discussion on luxury. appreciate that. good luck with the book. still ahead, dinosaurs down under. your daily deuce -- deuce? i was trying to do an australian accent and i blew it, so i'm not going to. we'll have a really crazy story from australia next.

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there's apple. you can see apple getting back to the flat line. had a nice pop at the open, held it for a couple of hours, but in the last hour, given all that back. dow jones reporting today that the iphone 5s, if you want to call it that, a refreshed version, should begin production this quarter. yay. now in honor of mandy's aussie vacation, your daily dose of news from the land down under. an aussie billionaire has announced plans to recreate jurassic park at his resort. clive palmer plans to place 165