it managed to close higher. >> the only one that is negative right now and just by a point or so is the nasdaq by a half a point. it is another hot day for the stock market. the stocks that are based here, some of the hottest performing in the market. not only the all time highs like general mills, 3m. you also have stocks at multiyear highs. names like polaris. a lot of hot stocks and hot companies based here. the weather may not be hot but

we have got a big show for you. day three of our opportunity usa road trip wraps up from a cold and snowy minneapolis, minnesota. >> you are absolutely right. you may have ice. we have fire. the markets are on fire. let me run you through just a few of the incredible stats that we are seeing here today. for example, more than 1/3 of dow component stocks trading at all time highs. the s&p is 140 or nearly 30% of s&p's stocks that are also hitting new 52 week highs. a number of downgrades for microsoft. we found a microsoft bull. he found him and he's coming on. he's a brave man. back over to you. >> you sort of know those

stories. a lot of people in new york thinking the midwest is flyover country. minneapolis has a little secret. it is one of the best economies in the united states. the unemployment rate is below the national average and there are a ton of fortune 500 companies. this is a city that defies expectation. >> it does. minneapolis is known for its snowy reputation. the economy here is red hot. >> straddling both banks, minneapolis has a population of 387,000 and the 48th largest in the u.s.

t jobs here pay significantly more. >> in 2012, it was ranked one of the best cities for young adults. five of those are within the city of minneapolis. and of course, target. target is one of the most visible employers. >> the $545 million downtown stadium. and then the downtown target center. and while minneapolis is known as the home of major consumer brands including 3m, general mills and best buy, many others have also made a name for themselves in the twin cities. >> minneapolis is known for its

brutally cold winters. productivity is not affected. you can eat, live, work and shop without ever going outside. >> and while most probably don't do it, i couldn't resist throwing my hat in the air on the corner where the opening sequence of the mary tyler moore show was filmed. mary came here to find her dream job and she did. >> and two full points below the national average. probably more fort chun 500 capital companies based here than any other city in the united states. and nice people, too. >> the mayor who is not seeking reelection. they said he is actually a pretty good guy, which we don't

hear from a lot of politicians. make the sale pitch right now. >> it relocated their biotech company here. >> one of the great things about minneapolis is there is something in the water. >> it's a little bit of a financial capital. you have piper jaffray, you mentioned u.s. bank. how do you get the word out about minneapolis maybe a little more. if you're maybe tired of wall street, come here. you live pretty well here. >> you live really well here.

we have been doing this for 150 years. it turned into general mills and pillsbury. we grow companies here. we're growing them. the old grain exchange is now the grain exchange and we're growing a whole new wave of folks here. you have a smart population but we're doing something unique right now. we have welcomed immigrants and we speak 100 languages. we have the step-up program that has trained 16,000 kids. that's a global work force. why do you think america as a whole has been so dumb on highly skilled and highly educated immigration?

>> a tough period of time people are worried about people taking their jobs. >> they create jobs. >> there is no question about it. we have the largest somolian population and a large southeast asian population. so look at that issue of china and africa. they are day after day after day beating america and africa, come to minneapolis. go to africa. we speak those languages. we know those cultures and kids who have no historic background there have sat next to a kid like that. we welcome people together. >> you have great bars, friendly people. everybody has called me hon, which i like. >> come on back and spend money.

>> have a cocktail. a city that i know you probably haven't been here yet but you should because this is the town. no, there is a lot going on here. they have got more theater seats than anywhere but new york city. >> we have local financial advisors that will give you their investing ideas. opportunity and road trip usa from the local, a bar in the area. come on down here as well. we're back right 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. ♪

>> since the friday interday low put the index up by 3.5%. the nasdaq is up 4%. the dow jones transportation index up by 5.3% since that friday intraday low. let's get straight to the trading day floors.

rick is in chicago. we have been talking a lot about pc sales declining today. you reckon the call of the day today was from bar clays where they downgraded the entire sector. >> there is a crisis going on right now. let me show you what has been said. pc sales as well as other things are declining. flat to low single digits. think about it. not just pc sales declining. cd players, cordless phones. sales are all dropping for these devices. take a look at what's going on.

they are growing elsewhere. and hopes like watches. that will be a big help overall. elsewhere you talk about a broad market. this is what i mean. or consumer staples? it doesn't matter what you're buying. everything is not going up. >> you know, pop, i was on futures now and i was speaking with killer, aka jeff killburg who said this market rally is silliness. are we getting into a parabollish stage here? >> the answer is yes. this is potentially dangerous part of the rally.

>> if it makes me money, i'll take a ride. let's find out what's happening with bonds. any silliness rick? >> i don't know silliness. i think there is a general feeling out there and it's been really since november that treasuries just aren't en vogue. today we had the last of three auctions. none of them were spectacular. but we still sit slightly under 3%. >> thank you so much.

okay. let's leave englewood cliffs and go all the way back out to minneapolis. you might not be able to get back here by tomorrow. i think it's due to the fact that you're in a great city and you're in a bar in the middle of the day. you're not coming back, are you? >> i may not come back. you're right. >> thank you very much.

>> now i want to do something. what are you advising your clients to do? >> i think a lot of people did act like it's a rip van winkle market. >> to tiptoe in. emerging market companies have not moved in near as much. and you have got a lot of

exciting long term trends. i think people have woken up and realized that the economy is stronger than they thought. politics are going to remain a dysfunction for as long as they're going to remain in dysfunction. just let them fight inside the bull ring known as the belt way and get on with their life and investing. you will waste your time if you do. you have got a unique model as well. or the new money that's coming to you. >> some of the areas are health care. you know, some of the sectors

would be health care and utilities and things of that nature. and take the opportunity when it comes. don't panic, don't rush in. and make sure you have a disciplined approach rebalancing. to me, that's the key. >> from what? have you clients been -- maybe the new money that has come in to you. have they been in bonds? has the money been in a sock? when i take a look at a prospect that comes in and we look at their portfolio, they're looking for a return that we're probably projecting to them but the risk is just not worth it. it is so positioned in one place. we take a look at our portfolios every ten days. we don't wait until brian's coming in. we better look and present.

we watch them every ten days. >> do you expect one this year? >> we expect the probability of one happening. we do expect that 5 to 10%. >> it is in relative terms. especially as you get the bigger impacts filtering through the economy. you probably won't see those in numbers. >> but any dip is used as a drying opportunity. >> even in the worst down day s s.

>> there is somebody on the other side of that trade who is putting new money in. >> when we do see a dip it very quickly goes back up. we see it often in that last half hour of trade. question for you. do you keep your money in a sock? >> i do not keep my money in a sock. we're not allowed to invest in individual equities. in my 401(k). we have international options and i have started to sniff around about europe a little bit. people ask, i will give you the answer. by the way, a fantastic corporation.

absolutely the best. >> now have have to send it over to the other side of the december rk. >> check out bmc software which is enjoying an interday spike wear. it is expected to receive final takeover bids on april 22. is this a final nail in the coffin for pcs? we're going to debate that ahead. plus -- >> it's day one of table gaming here at the maryland live casino. that's something new for the state of maryland. they have already had two big

winners here today. when we come back i'll tell you how much those winners are making and how much more this casino is making. ♪ ♪ here we are, me and you ♪ on the road ♪ and we know that it goes on and on ♪ [ female announcer ] you're the boss of your life. in charge of making memories and keeping promises. ask your financial professional how lincoln financial can help you take charge of your future. ♪ ♪ oh, oh, all the way ♪ oh, oh ♪ oh, oh, all the way all stations come over to mithis is for real this time. step seven point two one two. verify and lock. command is locked. five seconds. three, two, one.

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>> welcome back to street signs. breaking news. we now have full details on the insider trading charge against former kpmg partner. take a look at this. you are looking at exhibit a in the u.s. attorney's complaint. in this picture, london is allegedly receiving one of several $5,000 payments from his friend brian shaw in exchange for the inside information. he typically paid about 10%. paid in cash, jewelry and more. london and shaw are both charged with insider trading in separate

complaints. we already heard that it involved herbalife and sketchers. they complained as much about the alleged discussions. london is said to have discussed rumors and he also allegedly told shaw at first to stay away from the company once bill akman made a short bet but later lamented that he should have bought earlier. mandy, back to you. >> thank you very much. what we know so far, maryland is doubling down on jobs by expanding one of the east coast largest casinos.

let's get back to our live source outside of baltimore. >> we are outside of baltimore and inside the maryland live casino. this is the gambling floor and it's day one here for table gaming. they had slots here for a long time. as of midnight they began the table gaming, blackjack and the like. paying a million $s a day of that to the state of maryland in taxes. they will be able to take in about 20% more now that they have the table games. that's part of a national trend. more and more states are playing into the gambling them. and that's almost to the prerecession peak, which was

$37.5 billion in 2007. but the man who owns this casino told me he thinks we might be reaching a saturation point. take a listen. >> casinos are not 7-elevens and not mcdonald's. they will reach a point in certain areas in the east we have reached it already of oversaturation. >> they already had two big winners here. another person won $64,000 starting with a. >> tax revenues and job creation. >> a delicious edition is coming your way next. it is then back out to snowy

minneapolis. so i can react in real-time. plus, my local scottrade office is there to help. because they know i don't trade like everybody. i trade like me. i'm with scottrade. (announcer) scottrade. voted "best investment services company."

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and so much less expensive. i am your market data. and if i do say so myself, i have never looked better. superderivatives introduces dgx. data done differently. >> it is time to walk the talk,

talk the talk. street talk time. moving up by a nice tick. >> nice wide and solid volume. it puts a surprise 2% rise in march same-store sales. it's going to look for same store earnings to be a bit above. >> done very nicely this year. >> ugly day makes network security products. ast least three brokerage visits. >> what's going on with burger king? >> the chain enjoying a nice pop here. first quarter comparable sales likely found more than analysts estimated. >> and you would think that would be a negative? >> by the way, second biggest shareholder here is bill's per shing square. he definitely likes the stock.

>> who doesn't like the burgers. >> i love this story. netflix and hasboro comes out. it becomes the exclusive over the top streaming destination for some of their most popular titles. my little pony, transformers. 2012, netflix subscribers streamed more than 2 billion hours of kids content. >> that's depressing. the electronic baby sitter extraordinary. >> a lot of my little pony. >> mommy's busy. watch my little pony.

>> and 2014. we have got verizon at 6.9 time s. >> it cease just too cheap and a lot of catalysts now coming up with the iphone launch tomorrow at -- and this is going to be essential essentially to improv churn. we think that could take the stock up to $15 by the end of the year. >> i believe, he appreciates the substantially improved offer. is this going to get through?

>> that's a good faith move by deutsche telecom to engage shareholders as future partners. we think they went above and beyond by extending their lock up, which they didn't have to do. >> as sprint and pcs roll out their lt networks over the course of this year, launches the iphone tomorrow. i think that's going to create a more competitive landscape. we have had two large

competitors dominate on smart phones. we think the challengers, sprint and pcs are going to start to take share away from the larger companies, stabilize their businesses, improve margins and we think there are better investments now going forward. and this is a major change in our thinking, certainly over the last several years. >> thank you very much for bringing your thoughts to us on street signs. let me quickly bring you up to date on what's happening with the markets. the nasdaq is at a 12 year high. the dough hit record highs. tomorrow is going to be a big day. we are going to kick off the financial earnings. >> the big bucks in breakfast.

brian will be sitting down with the ceo of general mills. plus a story that has me fired up about women and grilling or as we say down underer, barbie queueing. am is different; how we get there is not. we're americans. we work. we plan. ameriprise advisors can help you like they've helped millions of others. to help you retire your way, with confidence. ♪ that's what ameriprise financial does. that's what they can do with you. let's get to work. ameriprise financial. more within reach. governor of getting it done. you know how to dance... with a deadline. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go. you can even take a full-size or above,

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on the closing bell, former apple ceo thinks he has got the perfect job for ousted j.c. penney ceo, ron johnson and you will never believe what it is. find out why he's fighting the loan star stagt. all that and more ahead when i join maria on the closing bell. >> there was an article that was floating around saying there were a lot of women who were scared of grilling.

over 84% are nervous about grilling or scared of grilling and i was thinking i don't get it. i love grilling. and i was looking around the newsroom and i found some tongs, plastic tongs, definitely not good for grilling. i couldn't find a shrimp but i could find a rubber octopus tentacle. what do you think about that? >> that's the dumbest story i have ever heard? women are afraid of grilling? >> i'm going to hand it back over to you. >> that's ridiculous. that's right. thank you very much. we're going to stay on the food theme, folks. we talk about the growth of the global economy, right? you heard one of our guests earlier? guess what? as the world gets wealthier, people want to eat more.

and they want to eat better. and guess who produces a lot of that foot. general mills. the stock by the way, hitting an all time high. >> thank you. we're at a good run. >> this brand here, i can't read this. it's a big brand i know in china. >> number one frozen food in china. >> which is owned and marketed here. so is it fair to say that the growth of middle class in a place like china or india is creating high paying jobs in minneapolis, minnesota? >> absolutely. people who are working on marketing for the brand and r&d and logistics and thinking of ways to get this brand out of china and other markets around the world.

>> at the head of the mississippi river right? who would have thought that this town has more fortune 500 companies per capita than any other city. how important is global growth to a little old minnesota based company? >> it's important to all of us. you and i were talking earlier. it's china, india, brazil. we want want to participate in that growth. people get rising incomes and move into the middle class. to get incremental growth. >> you should be able to grow

your share of business around the world. >> it's a tremendous opportunity for us. >> you don't see a global economic collapse do you? >> there are going to be bumps in the road. it's going be fast and slow. there will be bumps. but the development that we see around the world it's just astonishing. and you know, food is such an every day behavior. we're in there early and with these products consumers we know that the demand is going to be there. the brazilian economy we know is going to be there think, i think, is going be very important. >> millions of people still looking for jobs. minneapolis, 5.5%. two full percentage points below the national average.

a lot of competition to the best workers. how do you get them to work for general mills? prr we have a great employee proposition. we are oriented towards bringing people in for a career, not for a job. we train and develop and give folks different options over the course of their career. being able to offer that kind of opportunity is very appealing. >> can you find the people you need? it's a debate out there now. some people say the i can't find skilled workers thing is a complete myth. i have heard from ceos, no it's not. >> surely there are skilled areas where there are shortages right now. we're recruiting for nutritionists and we're not

recruiting just in minneapolis. we get a lot of great students out of the university of minnesota but we're recruiting all over the country for talent and all over the world. we're very successful at bringing those people in and getting them to come to minneapolis or to the head office. we're finding the talent that we need. >> we have had all of these happen. do you think the u.s. economy would be better or worse than it is one year from today? >> i think it will be a little bit better. a little bit better. there are bumps along the way. home sales are improving in the u.s. looks like that is coming out. car sales are a little bit up.

>> if people don't cook at home as much it's not necessarily a bad thing. >> it's an indication that consumers are feeling a little bit better. we see that happening and we think that's an encouraging sign. we see it unfolding slowly. >> thank you so much. really appreciate it. selling food, adding jobs right here if you want to buy a home here now. >> the economy being fuelled by honey nut cheerios, my kids'

favorite cereal. >> still ahead, the battle over bet buy. that stock is up this year. guess where they're headquartered. you know it. we're heading back out to minneapolis after this quick break. ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] you're the boss of your life. in charge of long weekends and longer retirements. ♪ ask your financial professional how lincoln financial can help you take charge of your future. ♪

microsoft getting a number of downgrades today, but we have the bull case for microsoft. joining us, brent sill. you've got goldman downgrading to a sell, a couple of other downgrades there. what are you seeing with a buy that the others are not. >> i respect my competitors, but we think microsoft still is a great cash flow story, trading at seven times the forward. this story is not just about windows. 24% of the research is windows-based. the other 68% is highly recurring. they've got a great server business, a great office business. a lot of companies are not getting rid of microsoft. microsoft has some issues on the consumer side. my kids are buying all apple

devices, but from the enterprise side, i don't see microsoft going anywhere anytime soon. >> is the pc dead, or when you look around this newsroom, for example, every single desk has got a pc on them. but the problem is, we don't upgrade them. >> that's the fallacy of microsoft, that a lot of the services are providing a run on old machines. i haven't upgraded my machine in eight years. we're still paying microsoft for those machines. you don't have to necessarily upgrade your machine. and they have an expanding portfolio with different solutions that are helping enterprises run. it's a tale of two cities. their consumer business, weak. their enterprise business, i think, is still very strong. and that is the real story. and i think microsoft really needs to go back to their core of their enterprises is their sweet spot. >> one wonders whether they might have to have a restructure or breakup. we have to leave it there right now. brent thill, thank you very much for that. in the meantime, we'll move on now to battle best buy.

that stock is up more than 100% year-to-date. joining us now is wentworth securities michael patka. he's got an underperform on best buy, and anthony has a buy rating on best buy. a couple of different stories on going here. michael, you give your case first. >> you know, there's been a very steady migration of purchase habits to the internet. and i don't mean that people just abandon retail shopping. i mean that people buy convenience items like batteries and sox on the internet. they just tend to visit retail less often. i think the move in best buy stock is more of a vote of confidence in its management team than it is in improving fundamentals in the business. the business remains terrible. it's going to be terrible this quarter. if you remember, if you have a memory back about ten years ago, we saw a rally in circuit city with the change of management. about five years ago, we saw a rally in radio shock, and about a year ago, a rally in jcpenney.

all three companies are terrible or gone. and i think best buy is the next one. you're getting a false rally on good management. they are great, but i don't think they're going to turn this ship around. the ship is headed toward the iceberg, it's about to hit it, it's going to sink, and i don't think management can bail it out with its little pails quick enough. >> brian, come in here. >> i think the question is -- anthony, are you there? >> i am, yes. >> fantastic. let's talk about it. here i am in minneapolis, where best buy is based, but i want to ask, is best buy's problems more based on itself, right, or is it based on the fact that there hasn't been a hot gadget out there. there hasn't been a new innovation. that they're actually more of a victim of circumstance than they are of their own misdoings. >> i would say it's a little bit of both. but i think that michael makes a great point in that the new management team is a significant upgrade over prior management. but it's more than just management here. you're seeing the playing field with amazon being leveled.

best buy is now price matching amazon. best buy is also going to benefit from the fact that amazon will have to collect online state sales tax in an increasing number of sales. you're seeing apple's influence abate. and i think there's a ton of cost savings opportunities here. i don't think it's just about management. and to liken best buy to a circuit city is nonsensical. i mean, i covered circuit city. you know, best buy is no circuit city. circuit city made self-inflicted wound after self-inflicted wound after self-inflicted wound. this is not a circuit city situation. >> michael, who would you like to see them do right now? >> i would like to see sales go up and margins maintained and i don't think that's possible. i think if they price match, margins are going to decline. if they price match and manage to keep comps flat, that's a huge victory. i think comps will continue to decline, even with price matching. so you're going to see a double whammy. you're going to see prices going down, margins going down, and

comps going down. there's no way these guys are turning it around. if i'm wrong, you're going to see positive comps and you're going to see positive gross profit dollar growth. i don't think that's possible. if i see it, i'll upgrade. >> michael and anthony, thank you very much for joining us. and coming up next, some minneapolis food for thought. oh, he's a fighter alright. since aflac is helping with his expenses while he can't work, he can focus on his recovery. he doesn't have to worry so much about his mortgage, groceries, or even gas bills. kick! kick... feel it! feel it! feel it! nice work! ♪ you got it! you got it! yes! aflac's gonna help take care of his expenses. and us...we're gonna get him back in fighting shape. ♪ [ male announceree w happens

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♪ closing time >> i want you to look at that. this is called the juice y lucy

by the way. it's a minneapolis institution. it's cheese inside of a hamburger. janel klein, apparently they fight over who actually invented this, but who cares who invented, it's fantastic. >> and you cannot come to this city without eating one of those. so i'm really glad you have taken the time. and i can't wait to hear what you think. what are your thoughts? >> anytime you can combine cheese inside of a meat product, it's a win. the bun is fantastic. the local -- this is actually a local beer called the finnegan's. it's not bad. cheers. hey, mandy, how's the cnbc cafeteria treating you? >> i don't know, i've got my rubber octopus tentacle here to chew on. yoent know whether that's in good. but if you're talking about grilled cheese or melted cheese of any kind, tomorrow is national grilled cheese day. is there a better day out there than national grilled cheese day? >> yes, there should be a national juicy lucy day. and guess what, it's today, as of right now. janelle,s