al roker, after 39 years, it happened, i overslept and miss add show. he's referring to the weather show "wake up with al." it starts at 6:00 a.m., but the weatherman did make it in time for the "today" show which starts at 7:00. it happens to the very best of us. >> a hell of a guy anyway. >> absolutely. "closing bell" is next. welcome to "closing bell." by the way, al roker said they'll change the name of the show hon weather channel from "wake up with al" now to "wake up al." but i digress. welcome to the "closing bell," i'm bill griffeth. maria will join us in a few minutes. we have a very big show on tap for the next few hour, but we're watching the markets first and foremost. it's been a down day today. ibm had a downgrade. lots of fed speak. the most recent of which is atlanta fed president dennis lockhart, who said he's echoed what we've had before that the

tapering of the quantitative easing by the fed is likely to start in september. that was the headline. then you read the whole story, and he says, or maybe it won't. so it's the same story you've been hearing, but the market chose to listen to that part of the story. in just a bit, maria's special interview with actor and technology investor ashton kutcher. he, of course, is portraying apple co-founder steve jobs in the major motion picture that opens next week. we'll get his take on jobs. it's truly fascinating. plus, we're going to talk about his very successful run as a technology investor. get this. it now totals about $100 million in start-ups. so you want to stay tuned for that interview with ashton kutcher coming up. also, one hour from now, the president is in phoenix, set to deliver a major address on the housing market. he's proposing huge changes for the entire structure of the mortgage business in this country, including getting rid of freddie and fannie. some like the idea, some say it would make it a lot harder to

own a home in this country. we'll separate fact from fiction on that and bring you full coverage coming up in the next couple of hours here on "closing bell." first, a look at the markets. a down day, as we said. it's been a tug of war. the blue chips with the downgrade of ibm -- ibm has taken about 38 points, almost 40 points out of the dow, while disney has been trading higher, adding 8 points, as we get ready for disney's earnings after the bell tonight. right now, down 90 points off the lows of the session. the nasdaq is positive -- no, now it's negative, down 28 points. we're at 3,664. and the s&p 500 index at this hour is trading down 9 points, backing away from the 1,700 level now at 1,697. so stocks in danger of posting a two-day losing streak. bob pisani, what's behind today's pullback here? >> it's not the poor economic news. the trade deficit was terrific. maybe evans and lockhart had a little bit to do with it, pushing the idea that tapering is coming -- somewhere likely in

2013. i think it's just the fact that we've had such a big run-up. the market's looking tired. let me give you market-trading points that people have been talking about today. you look at the leadership groups, the airlines, the biotech, the midcap stock, they've been weak since we got into august. they were big marketders in july. the breadth has been poor. there's been a lot of fewer highs in the last couple of weeks. very high levels of complacency, the volatility index, at a six-year low. the u.s. is outperforming everybody. europe has been looking better recently. i noted that. overall, emerging markets, china, still dramatically underperforming in the united states. a look at the market leaders, this is what i'm talking about. transport, biotech, airlines, all strong in the month of july. the important thing is, month of august, tough. transports down several days in a row. the builders, homebuilders, they're a little weaker, specific sector. the important thing, getting the fannie mae, freddie mac people, they'll be talking -- or the

president will be talking about them later. and there's talk perhaps they'll phase them out. i think there's some concern that that might cause interest rates to rise. this is all way down the road. but i think that's what's affecting the homebuilders. finally, i want to point out the economic news for july -- the data we've had for the second half of the year -- has been pretty good in the last few days. the trade deficit was much narrower than anticipated. ism services, a beat, ism manufacturing, and the outlier is nonfarm payroll, and everybody is trying to reconcile that. >> and that's the thing the fed focuses on the most. >> yeah. >> thank you, bob. in the "closing bell exchange," david joining us, and michael from destination wealth management. joining me here at the big board is kimberly frand rick santelli joins us. kimberly, you call yourself cautiously optimistic. >> i am. i think the markets have a way to go. i'm cautious about that.

as long as we have the fed's pumping money into the system and the feds seem to avert any kind of crisis, we've got room to grow. >> but we don't have -- we can't any have any pullbacks. we haven't had a 10% correction in forever in this market. >> right. >> is that healthy? >> no, we need to have that pullback in order to grow long term. short term, this is a good thing. long term, it may not be so good. >> david, you're watching the fed closely for obvious reasons now. >> yes. >> the message -- everybody seems on message now. it's maybe going to happen in september, or maybe it won't happen. >> more likely to, that the fed begins to at least ease off an accelerator, where i'm sitting right out detroit, they're running monetary growth rate at 80 miles an hour, plus, bill. they'll decelerate. they have to. i'll stand by what you and i have talked about, the most aggressive fed easing, i will know in my lifetime as an

investor, and that's been one of the key catalysts to why small-cap stocks are up over 200% from their march 2009 lows, and more recently, small-cap stocks are up 40% from the november 15th post-election l s lows, and that, i think, is really centered on aggressive fed policy. >> and, michael, the last time you were on, we talked about this so-called revenue recession we seem to be in here, where we're in another earnings period where the bottom line expectations have been met with revenue numbers not there now. >> the same old thing. revenue is still short. i will say, though, there's something very positive in the economic reports. i think bob pisani mentioned it earlier, and he had a note out this morning about this. that the trade deficit was surprisingly small, or surprisingly narrow. and that very well could mean that we could have an increase in gdp from the 1.7 that everyone was so disappointed about, which frankly i'm a bit surprised that the gdp could go

up as much as maybe half a percent, maybe even more than half a percent. that could spook the markets, as well, in terms of -- even though the fed's watching unemployment rates, they're going to watch gdp, and that could spook the markets if the fed are paying attention to that. and they may start pulling back on quantitative easing. not just in september. but maybe in a more accelerated fashion that some have anticipated. >> rick santelli, my friend, what are you watching right now? i'm looking over the markets, trying to figure out a feature you might be able to comment on. this is not a -- sort of a featureless market today, isn't it? >> well, there's actually a couple of interesting things. for all the notions of how unchanged many markets are in fixed income today, we're still hovering at what could be the third-highest yield close on this move for two years in 10s. the dollar index on this quiet session is sitting on the precipice of a close below a key technical area at 81.50. the euro is holding 133 handle most of the day. you know, i really, really liked

that trade deficit shrinkage this morning. but for a variety of different reasons. here we are discussing the taper and fed programs, and you said it. you know, maybe jobs, jobs, jobs is all that really matters, so that had that not fall in line is a biggie. but what's even bigger is the driver for the most part, for the shrinkage in the trade deficit, was the energy complex, and that has no friends in government, no friends in the white house, nobody's trying to push it, no policy's trying to aid it, and yet that is a huge plus for the economy. i think once again, u.s. economy can do it on its own. we need a lot of these programs to clear the zone. >> kimberly, do you agree -- >> the energy infrastructure story is second inning, bill. i absolutely agree. that energy infrastructure story is a key catalyst to u.s. growth. >> meaning the energy independence that we anticipate down the road given what they're finding in parts of the country, in terms of natural gas and

shale, right? >> not just finding, but the improvements in technology that allow for more efficient drilling and -- >> it's the technology. yeah, it's the technology. >> it's a well-known story, but it's a great story. >> do you play the commodity or the companies that are taking advantage of that right now, michael? >> i think you play the companies. i think that the commodities themselves have been somewhat of a disaster. people have been saying natural gas is going to go up for their entire life, and it still hasn't gone up. and oil prices -- you know, oil prices right now are so artificial. you know, we're actually exporting massive amounts of oil, i wonder what gas prices would be. you play the companies that actually help other companies mine these commodities. >> kimberly, do you play energy right now? do you like that? >> you know, we're diversified. so we do like that. it's in our large-cap value portfolio, the stocks in that. chevron is one of those. obviously, that's going to be a part for long term. >> bill, can i jump in quick? >> yeah, sure.

>> okay. two stocks i gave to "closing bell" out of the five in early january are absolute energy infrastructure plays. trinity, which is -- makes the rail cars and the haulers for natural gas, among other items, and dresser ran, which makes the equipment or the turbines, to help for exploration. those are two plays i'd stick with today that are more in the midcap space, that i think are direct beneficiaries of the energy infrastructure story here. >> i was going to bring those up, because not only because they have performed so well, david, but the question then becomes do you hang onto those, or do you start taking profits here? >> i think, as i said, the story -- baseball terms -- i don't think i'm being aggressive when i say it's second, maybe third inning at best. so the story is still unfolding. yes, i would continue to be a buyer of these stocks. >> okay. so now, here we sit, folks, all of you have to strategize about the markets and invest in this market, but we know the fed is thinking about pulling back, and we wonder what the market's

response will be to that. for that reason alone, kimberly, do you start thinking about taking profits here? >> well, i think you should always take profits when you have them, rebalancing the portfolios, that's what we do. we saw what happened in may and june when the fed started even talking about tapering. so i think what needs to be happening for confidence in the market is a clear, decisive plan from the fed and how they'll be transparent about doing that. when that is implemented, people will feel confident. they'll invest. but, hey, can we get a clear plan? >> right. that's a big when and if, for sure. michael, you inclined to take profits here as we wait for the fed? >> ye, take some profits. don't give up on stocks that pay dividends. i know everybody is out there slamming the stocks at quantitative easing is going away. but 40% of your return on the long term comes from dividends. make sure you start winding down your duration. be very cautious about gold. like you, bill, i at this point have no idea what moves the price of gold. you need to be fairly cautious here. i don't think it's time to bail

completely and get out of the market. i have a blog on cnbc right now that basically says you got to be conservative, but you got to be in the game, because zero percent interest with 3% inflation isn't going to get you anywhere. >> yeah. it's the either/or situation. david, finally, you won't sell those that you like so much for the energy play. but what about overall, would you be taking some profits here? >> maybe on the margin. i said small-cap stocks, 40% off last november's lows, but the big question is, where are you going to go? to me, the yields, the 10-year, 2.6%, is uninspiring. hedge funds, i think, are getting some of the comeuppance for the markets. this is still the asset choice for two, three years. >> all right. thank you, folks. good to see you. see you later, rick. >> thanks. heading toward the close, about 50 minutes left. we're off the lows of the day. the dow was down 138 points.

but now down 90 right now. and after this, we've got maria's interview with ashton kutcher. wait until you hear the extreme lengths that he went to prepare for his new role playing steve jobs in that bio pic. plus they'll talk business as well. did you know he has $100 million in start-up technology companies, plus he chimes in on the dan loeb/george clooney feud, as well, over sony. then, white castle says it's considering making all future hires only part-time workers due to provisions of the healthcare law coming. we'll talk to the vp of white castle exclusively. and keep an eye on the stocks, because they report after the bell. we'll have instant analysis and the numbers coming up. disney, 21st century fox, and zillow. right here on the "closing bell." stay tuned. ♪

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welcome back. a lot of red arrows on wall street today. the dow well off the lows of the session, though. josh lipton is here to break down some of the big movers today. josh? >> reporter: bill, a quick recap of some names making moves today. let's start in the red with ibm, weighing on the dow. the analysts at credit suisse,

they downgrade big blue to underperform. they cut the price target to 175 saying organic growth would be challenging for the tech giant. some retailers also hurting. aeo saying second quarter profit will be a lot less than the street had anticipated. it talked about weak sales and taking anf and urban outfitters with it. for other retailers, a different story, michael kors climbing higher, posting earnings that nearly doubled thanks to gains in europe and a rollout of shops within department stores. fossil also moving sharply higher, the fashion accessory maker reports better than expected earningsnd a lifts its full-year outlook. one big story our own julia boorstin has been all over, the brawl between time warner cable and cbs. les moonves rejecting the latest proposal from time warner to put an end to the blackout, saying moonves had not heard from anybody at tdc to discuss

anything at all. and we'll end on the washington post rising in today's trade, as bezos agrees to buy the publishing assets for $250 million. bill, back to you. >> that's amazing. thank you, josh. bob, i remember the days, when we would say, what would barry do next, barry diller? now we'll have to be asking, what's jeff going to do next, right? >> yeah, i think the big thing here is it's just amazing how the media landscape has been changing. the "washington post" story, for example, just came completely out of nowhere. nobody even knew he'd be interested in buying something like that. and i think the price was a little bit shocking. particularly coming on what the boston story -- what the -- what was going on with boston and the price they paid there. i'm blanking on the cost of what happened up in boston. two big newspapers sold at rather shockingly low prices in the last week or so. >> yeah, they sold it to john henry for $70 million. >> reporter: thank you. >> "the new york times" paid

$1.1 billion for that not too long ago, and they're selling it for $70 million. so bargain-basement there, and pretty much, you could say the same thing about the "washington post," as well. >> reporter: yeah. >> $250 million is pocket change for jeff bezos. >> reporter: and he's not going to be running it at all, at least that's what he says, he won't be running it. but let's -- >> we'll see. >> reporter: "the new york times" has had some success in digital there. it's not like nobody else knows what they're doing out there. cnbc, "the new york times" numbers, actually doing well in the digital, if you look carefully. >> yeah. thank you, bob. see you later. maria? >> all right, bill, hi. thank you so much. >> hello there. speaking of technologists, ashton kutcher probably best known for "that '70s show" and "two and a half men." but next friday he hits the big screenplaying steve jobs in a film about the apple co-founder. it was a role he embraced as he is a technology entrepreneur himself. currently, kutcher has about

$100 million invested in technology start-ups. i set down with him earlier today and i asked him how he chose these companies to invest in. >> the companies that we look for are mostly consumer-facing software technologies. and the first thing we look for is the density of the problem that they're solving. so we're not looking for companies off the bat that we go, oh, that company's going to make an x amount of money and has x market cap. the second thing we look for are extraordinary entrepreneurs. you know, a lot of these companies that we invest in, they are two guys in a garage with a powerpoint and a dog. you know. and so, you have to sort of see through everything else and go, is this guy or girl going to build something that is going to be enduring? do they have passion for the problem they're trying to solve? do they have the kind of will power that's going to take them through the challenges? because, you know, like steve

jobs, they're going to face great challenges along the way, and they'll face adversity, and face people who tell them they can't do it. and when they start, they're going to call -- like steve jobs did -- and people won't know your name. they're going to go, jobs? yes, j-o-b-s. and you have to have a level of perseverance and will to actually drive through that. and then you have to have the know-how. and the moxie to actually put together the pieces and build the solution in a really effective way. >> and you found that in companies like spotify. did they come to you or did you spot -- okay, here's an idea that these guys are working on, or are you -- how do you research -- what screens do you look at in terms of finding the companies that have had huge growth? >> we look for problems, and then kind of wait and see if we can find companies that are in some way solving them. and then, every once in a while, you they're idea, and you go, oh, that's obvious. there are a couple of specific

sectors we look at. the two-sided marketplaces as a big opportunity. that was never before available. airbnb being one of them. >> how much of your life is investing and, you know, getting interested, you know, doing your work on technology companies, and how much is it, you know, your acting career? it feels like you are very, very knee-deep in investing and actually finding these new ideas. is that taking a shift in the way you spend your days? >> i'm very passionate about both. and i spend -- depending on what the project load is on either side, i spend quite a bit of time on both. but in essence, they're very similar processes. and i don't really think that there's a bifurcation and technology and art. steve jobs is a great example of that. he was an artist, but also

technologist. he looked for creative people to work in his company. he looked for people who weren't only great engineers but also poets or they were also painters. and they had a sense of artistic design. and i think that what he did is he -- by making technology artistic and beautiful, he also made it personal and human. and a lot of what i do with these technology companies is really similar. >> it's true. i understand the relationship. in terms of acting, understanding what the consumer want, in terms of technology, understanding what the product is. and then, of course, there's the money guy who comes in, funding it or in some way trying to call for change. you probably saw last week george clooney was making comments about the activist investor dan loeb saying, listen, stay out of the entertainment business, don't tell sony, you know, to spin off the entertainment division, because you know nothing about running the business. how do you feel about that? does that jive with what -- a moment ago, you said, look, steve jobs was not putting the shareholder as the number-one

priority. it just followed suit. >> i think it's a little bit of naivete on both sides. one, to think you can walk into an artistic business and understand -- understand how that works or understand how the process works is naivete on that side. but being in the business for some time, the companies are extremely bloated and they do spend money on relationships. and some of the processes around -- the creative process aren't understood. you know, if you look at steve jobs as an example of that, right, there are times when your r&d and your drive and your spin toward innovation come up with nothing. and then there are times when that is the very vitality of your company. i wouldn't necessarily say that george clooney, or whoever is speaking on behalf of the studios, is necessarily 100% right. and i wouldn't at the same time

wouldn't say that dan loeb's position is exacting. now, that being said, dan loeb is responsible to a company and is responsible to the efficiencies of the company. >> it was interesting, because i found him to be so fair minded about that subject. shareholders versus the creative in terms of sony. >> a very smart guy. beyond his success as an actor, behind the scene, he's had a great career as an investor. but as a producer, as well. a very smart guy. like many people, when i heard that he was going to star in this bio pic of steve jobs, we said, ashton kutcher? >> they look so much alike. >> wait until you see what he looks like in the movie. amazing. >> in part two, he talks to me about how he prepared for the role. we're going to find out how he mentally and physically became steve jobs for this movie, and that's why he looks so much like him, bill. it's amazing when you look at both shots together. he also talked to me about why he took on that challenge. how did you decide to take on

this role? >> the decision to take it was a tough one, but an easy one. first of all, i'm an admirer of steve jobs. i have been for a long time. when he passed away, i kind of had an emotional response to his passing, because i had this realization that all these relationships that i have in my life, all of the important relationships, whether it be work or personal, are kind of held together by glue that's a foundation that really he laid down with a lot of his products. >> so join us in the next hour for the rest of my interview with ashton kutcher. >> really look forward to that very much. >> interesting stuff. >> really, looking forward to the movie, too, next week when it opens. should be great. we're heading toward the bell. about 35 minutes left. art cashin keeps coming by, a slight buy side bias, so small, he thinks it's a rounding error. well off the lows of the session. >> one of the big reasons for the sell-off today is ibm. the dow component was downgraded to a sell, announced furloughs for some workers, and the stock

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welcome back. ibm has been the dow's worst performer today after credit suisse downgraded the stock to underperform, citing future growth prospects. but is ibm perhaps a buy on the dip, or should technology investors stay away? let's ask ashton kutcher -- no, i'm kidding. on the technical side -- [ laughter ] -- rich ross is global technical strategist, and on the fundamental side is john stevenson with first asset management investment. welcome to you both. rich, you know, the market's been higher this year, obviously, but ibm has been a laggard among the dow components. what do you think of this stock? >> yeah, you know, bill, it's a real testament to the strength of this bull market that the highly weighted stock, ibm, 9.5% of the dow, the biggest component in the index, flat on a year-to-date basis, yet the index up 18.5%. they used to say you can't lose your job by buying ibm. i think the technicals bear that out. let's pull up that weekly chart, i'll show you exactly what i mean.

when we look at this weekly chart, you see that after a nice run for 2010 to 2012, the stock has really done nothing over the last 18 months. it's an uninspiring chart, if you will. but look at the key support around 190, 185. i think that downgrade is pushing the string here. you want to be a tactical buyer, absent or break below 185. we could retest the high end of the range around 215, then you won't be so psyched about selling it here on the downgrade. i like the stock. >> okay. john, i see you shaking your head all over the place. i guess you disagree? >> well, i think i'd lose my job if i bought ibm. i think this is a terrible company to own. and i'll tell you why. it's quite simply it really has little earnings growth. what earnings growth it has is manufacturing, namely through share buybacks, and then when you look at what its prospects are, it's even more dismal. and i think earnings in multiple compression are the likely course going forward. if you look at where its growth is coming from, it's emerging markets which the last time i looked weren't doing so well. in fact, they're only up 1% in constant dollar terms so far.

they're responsible for 61% of earnings growth, 80% of revenue growth. you look at software, its shares are in decline there. and hardware, what's the best idea they can come up with, laying people off or at least reducing their salaries for a couple of weeks while they try to cut costs. i think overall you've got a company that's in decline. >> rich? >> bill, keep in mind they did raise guidance for the full year by 20 cents in last quarterly release, in addition cloud revenues up 70% in the last quarter. e.m. is improving. don't sleep on e.m. now. look for a weaker dollar to provide a bullish tailwind. there are still reasons. you want to be a buyer on weakness with key long-term support. >> very quickly, john. >> i think it's going to get weaker. the dollar strengthening is not getting weaker, and emerging markets are going nowhere but down. this is a story you should avoid. >> all right. i love it when two smart people disagree on a subject like this. it's an important company, too. thank you both. appreciate it. >> thank you, bill. all right.

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welcome back. disney and 21st century fox

highlighting another busy day for earnings after the bell. this will be fox's first report since the company split from the publishing side of news corp. >> had to get used to hearing 21st century first. >> me, too. >> julia boorstin has the preview. julia? >> cable fees, like the ones that time warner cable and cbs are fighting over right now, along with advertising, will be in the spotlight for both fox and disney when they report in just a couple of minutes. at disney, investors will be watching results from espn as well as the theme parks, with the introduction of the new wristband called my magic plus, which enables its visitors to make cash-free payments. we'll also be looking for some commentary in the earnings call on the cost of the company taking from a potential write-down for the disappointing performance of "the lone ranger." disney is expected to grow revenue 5% to 11.64 billion on flat dollars of $1.01. the first earnings report since spinning off from news corp. at the end of june is expected to

show advertising gains and higher fees from cable and satellite tv companies to outweigh fox's ratings declines. the company is expected to report revenue of $7.1 billion on earnings per share of 34 cents. we'll get some comparisons of how those numbers compare with the year-ago performance of the same divisions when we see those upcoming quarterly results. i'll be back at the top of the hour to break down the numbers as soon as they're out. bill and maria, back over to you. >> julia, thanks. so the popular fast-food chain white castle is making some waves, commenting about the new healthcare law. the company's vice president recently said that mandates for covering full-time workers may force white castle to consider making all future hires part time only. >> this could not have been the result of the government wanted when they came out with obamacare. with us now in an exclusive is jamie richardson, vice president of white castle. welcome. good to have you on the program. thank you for joining us. >> maria and bill, great to be

with you. white castle, the taste america craves. >> yeah. is that your -- >> okay. >> is that your saying? >> off to a good start. >> a good start here. let's talk about the healthcare legislation. what prompted you to say that current full-time workers would stay full time, but the new hires will only be part time, or may only be part time? >> for us, it's about great business, great food, and responsible citizenship. and it means we need to share our views. when we look at the law in the current form, definition of full time, arbitrarily picked to be 30 hours a week, doesn't fit with the business model restaurants have used around the country for decades. it forces us to be in a position where our healthcare costs will increase 35% if we don't make changes. >> you know, i will say i read over your plan. you're very generous in terms of the healthcare coverage and the pension plan that you offer. i mean, you're very much an anomaly in the fast-food industry. >> you know, bill, we've offered

a health insurance plan since 1924, and our founder believed in providing freedom from anxiety. and that's what's most important to us. 10,000 incredibly loyal team members. one in four have been with us 10 years or more. so we're, you know, incredibly proud of that. and we're humbled by their loyalty. but it's important to us to be able to find ways to provide them the support they need. >> did you seek an exemption from the government because really you're sort of an example of what the government would like to see companies do to help employees in that industry, in particular? >> we haven't sought an exemption, but we're encouraged by the temporary relief granted in the one-year delay. we think this is a great chance for common sense to prevail and there's bipartisan movement toward redefining full time as 40 hours and addressing that. we're encouraged by the bipartisan flavor to address that core issue. >> let me ask you. you said a moment ago this will increase your healthcare expenses by $35 million. you also said in your testimony

to congress that it's the mounting uncertainty that is really the issue there. walk us through the expense side of the business, because, of course, we know white castle has been offering health insurance since 1924. if you're going to change that materially by now not offering, because these are part-time workers, this is a big deal. i'm wondering if this is going to take effect elsewhere. so what's the biggest obstacle for you? is it the cost, and really how much? >> yeah, the cost really comes down -- it's 35% increase in our current costs. so that 35% increase actually translates to closer to $9 million in added costs. keep in mind, for restaurants, profit per employee is really low, about $750 per employee in the restaurant industry, compared to about $10,000 per employee in other industries. so for us, the biggest factor now that we hope common sense will prevail on is this whole issue of 40 versus 30 hours. for decades as restaurants we've used 40 hours as the standard. what the law proposes is a 30-hour standard. what that would do is there would be an incredibly large group of people who currently aren't full time at white castle

who would be considered full time. the only alternative we have to that is by looking to the future and hiring part-time team members. so for us, if you're full time at white castle, you're going to stay full time, and you'll keep your benefit, but for the future, we'd change the business model to adjust to real world. you know, we're good citizens. we're going to comply with the law. our hope is that this one year will be used to have common sense changes to get it ready to roll out. >> you hope it will change. does that mean you have lobbied in washington, or are you just kind of sitting back and watching the process? >> we have 10,000 people who we feel responsible for, so we're raising our voice. but keep in mind, we're a small chain, but we're thrilled to be part of a restaurant industry that employs over 13 million people. and we think that common sense is the greatest -- the greatest support for change. and so, as this gets closer and closer, the delay is helpful, but it's like being told, hey, the train is coming around the bend, you're tied to the track, it will be here in 30 seconds. now we have 90 seconds. we're hopeful. only congress can untie us from the tracks and give us that

freedom to provide our team members the flexibility they crave. >> real quick. have you told anyone in the administration this? have you voiced this upset and disappointment over the expense? >> we've had great talks as an industry with all kinds of different departments in the administration. the treasury department has been especially helpful in terms of looking for ways to work within the constraints of the law. the 40 hours versus 30 hours is something only congress can address. that's why we're so encouraged in the senate and the house we have bipartisan support. it seems to be growing to address the issue. >> all right. we'll leave it there. sir, good to have you on the program. we'll be watching. >> whiters unite. >> crave on. >> crave on. breaking news now to get to. this is on bank of america. kate kelly with the breaking news now. over to you, kate. >> reporter: maria, thank you so much. the justice department has sued bank of america in a civil lawsuit filed in charlotte, north carolina, just recently, within the last hour or so, from what we see. bank of america has been sued for, among other things, misleading investors in about

$850 million worth of residential mortgage-backed securities issued in 2008. there are a variety of civil charges including essentially misleading investors, not providing due diligence that was proper on the mortgages, many of which failed as a result of the housing collapse that happened afterwards, and taking note of that bank of america's fighting back, saying, essentially, we are not responsible for the housing collapse that caused a deterioration in the value of some of the mortgage loans, among other things. they also say there were sophisticated investors they were dealing with in this case, maria. that's the news. it's somewhat reminiscence in my view of the case brought by the s.e.c. against goldman sachs for the 2010 ab ka security that was find liable in. >> all right. the stock down about 1% here, 14.65. not that big of a surprise that we continue to see these kinds of doj charges coming down in the financial services industry.

kate, we'll get back to you. thank you. in the final stretch. 15 minutes before the closing bell sounds for the day. a market is under pressure. ibm a problem. bank of america a problem. financials in general a problem. >> we could be just minutes away from a two-day losing streak on wall street if things do not turn around here in a hurry. we'll try to find out what's behind the red arrows when we come back after this. opportunitt and experience the connectivity of the available lexus enform, including the es and rx. ♪ this is the pursuit of perfection. ♪ it's been that way since the day you met. but your erectile dysfunction - it could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain,

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welcome back. a tough day for the bulls today at the office. bob pisani, where is the market headed as we near the close? >> reporter: sideways for the moment. there's a couple of problems. let me show you. the main one, the market leadership is looking tired -- the transport stocks, the biotech stocks, airline stocks. they were the market leaders. they haven't been doing much so far this month. and also a high level of complacency, the vix, the volatility index, sitting near six-year lows. oftentimes that's a bit of a problem when it gets down this low. the economic news is pretty good so far. that's why the u.s. has been outperforming the entire world. look, year-to-date, s&p up 19%. europe starting to get a little bit better, but emerging markets and china, that's the whole story, maria, this is the best place to be in the world right now. back to you. >> all right, bob, thank you so much. we're in the final stretch. best place to be in the world,

but still declines here, the low was 150 -- >> 138. >> 138. >> got to keep track of all of that. craig hodges of the hodge fund says buy this dip today. when we come back, why he still sees plenty of upside for this market to rally. later on, don't miss more of my exclusive interview with actor ashton kutcher, who's also a good technology investor. find out why he decided to take on the role of steve jobs, and after learning more than anyone else could learn about steve jobs, does he even like him? coming up. ♪ [ male announcer ] you wait all year for summer. ♪ this summer was definitely worth the wait. ♪

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okay. about 10 minutes left here. we're starting to go lower. the bias is to the downside by $30 million. >> low number. >> very, very light. should investors be using this weakness as a buying opportunity right now? >> yeah. we want to bring in right now chad morganlander and craig hodges from the hodges fund. good to see you guys. >> welcome back. >> chad, what do you see, the market is down 102.

what do you think? >> trading at 15 times forward looking earnings. we have been trading more on liquidity than actual earnings. earnings for q2 this year have been up roughly 1.9%. that's courtesy of fact set numbers as well as revenue growth has been lackluster, so you don't have the get-up-and-go. the economy has been good in the united states, although below trend. >> craig, you're the value player. you'd buy this market here, wouldn't you, still? >> yeah, we would. we'd use the volatility to look for -- look for good companies on sale. >> even at all-time highs here? >> yeah. you know, we've had five years of money coming out of the market. we've had about six months of it coming back in. so i think this last -- we'll have a hiccup along the way. and here at the hodges fund, we'll use the volatility to go in there and buy good business. >> i guess the question is, chad, what are the alternatives? you're saying, look, this is fairly valued at this point. what do i do, take money out and put it where?

>> well, that's perhaps a poor way of thinking about it. where are the alternatives. when you have multiples lifted courtesy of the fed and you don't have the earnings flow coming up, and you could have -- you could set yourself up for dislocation. you can look towards mega caps, so a company we just purchased, budweiser, looking for a total return of 15%. on the fixed income side, we'd bring the duration down to around three years. so be careful on the fixed income side. >> what would you buy? what's your best idea? >> best idea is probably trinity industries, railcars, barges, two booming areas. their competitors are really struggling and trinity sees good visibility for the next two, three years. stock trade is about 10 times, 9 times earnings. looks very undervalued. even etf business is booming. wisdom tree has assets gone from $6 billion to over $30 billion. just in a very relative short period of time. it's a growing business, unfortunately, for a stock picker. >> as you point out, the ceo is

my husband of -- >> i was going to say -- we're aware it's growing these days. >> gentlemen, thank you very much. we appreciate it. we'll keep watching that. >> we'll take a break and come back with the closing countdown. >> disney is one of the dow's he best performers this year. find out if disney has that magic when it reports earnings in a few minutes. we'll have the numbers for you. also, president obama set to deliver a speech on reforming fannie mae and freddie mac. we'll have live coverage out of phoenix, plus find out what exactly this means to people who want to buy a home. it could have a huge impact. coming up. >> back in a moment. oh, he's a fighter alright.

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okay. two minutes left here. we've got the dow heading a little bit lower, down 100 points. this is what it looked like. you had ibm with pressure to the downside on that downgrade by credit suisse. on the upside, you had disney, as we get ready for the earnings. we're going out with a decline of about 100 points. two days in a row here. a rare occurrence this summer for the markets to be lower, two days in a row. let me show you the two stocks that report after the close. disney, expecting earnings of $1.01 on revenue of 11.64 billion. that stock is up 1.5% ahead of that. we'll see if they can match those expectations. 21st century fox, this is the spinoff from news corp., is down right now, they're looking for earnings of 34 cents on $7.12 billion. terry dolan, we're in the summer

dole drum, obviously, but is the bias to the upside, or what do you think will happen? >> it's still to the upside -- ♪ happy birthday to you >> wait a minute. who told thank you? what are you -- >> they're going to get mad i'm lighting fire on the floor of the new york stock exchange. it's bill's birthday. >> oh, thank you very much. >> you won't be here tomorrow. >> i won't be here tomorrow. >> i know your birthday is tomorrow. >> that's very sweet. look what you did here. >> sorry to interrupt. >> did you get those at target? >> she made those. what are you talking about? >> i did not. happy birthday. >> thank you very much. >> the next hour of the show, lots of earnings. >> here you go. terry, take a cupcake. bill, take a cupcake. >> all right. i'll have one -- >> your best year yet. >> okay. >> i appreciate that. look forward to the day when i turn 50, as a matter of fact. where were we now? buy or sell? >> bill, we're buying the dips, basically the strategy at this point. the drifting lower markets, the volumes, can create

opportunities. you don't want to be too quick to the market. >> there you go. what is going on here? thank you very much, terry. >> my great pleasure, bill. >> all right. yes. very much. somebody -- heads will roll for this. i want names. we have the second hour of the "closing bell" coming up. i will see you on thursday. [ bell sounding ] and it is 4:00 on wall street. do you know where your money is? hi, everybody. welcome back to the "closing bell." i'm maria bartiromo. we're moments away from earnings, from fox and disney. we'll have those numbers momentarily. first, let's see how we're settling out on this day on wall street. the dow finishing off the worst lows of the session, but still down. nasdaq gave up about 27.