i want to do this old school style. president will issue a statement at 3 :30. we'll take it live. subject matter is tbd. don't know. just got word. president speaking in half an hour's time. >> thank you for watching "street signs." have a great weekend. >> "closing bell" starts right now. >> hi, everybody. we enter the final stretch of the week. welcome to "closing bell." i'm maria bartiromo at new york stock exchange. capping off a down week with this market with an 85-point selloff. >> i'm scott wapner in for bill griffeth today. we'll get what's behind today's market action in a few seconds. on today's big show, two companies in big trouble. the problems are not going away. jcpenney shares falling again in a big way. it's ceo mike issuing new stock. i'll have new reporting on this in just a little while. also blackberry raising

eyebrows. the company on the brink of failing, giving its ceo thorsten hines, a golden parachute. a lot of outrage on that. waiting on the statement. >> a statement from the president at 3:30 p.m. eastern. got to assume it's the debt deal, debt showdown or chairman of the fed announcement. one of those. >> what's interesting, they haven't said. they normally tell you he'll make a statement on the budget, a statement on this. this is up in the air. the big question mark. we'll find out in 29 minutes. assuming he's on time. >> we'll take you there live. also ahead in the program i'm going to sit down with the prime minister of canada, stephen harper exclusively. we'll talk about blackberry, a source of pride in his country, at least it was. he has direct things to say about the long delayed keystone pipeline project. not happy about that. talking about growth out of canada and the prospect of that keystone project. >> we look forward to that. a tale of two fast food chains.

mcdonald's is selling healthier happy meals but jack in the box is going the other way. pushing a grilled cheese/cheeseburger as a late night snack. which chain is reading the fast food customer right? get a napkin. this could get a little messy. >> that was a good one. best joke ever. >> wish i wrote it. >> dow down 85 points, to 15,243. pretty stable day as that intraday chart shows. nasdaq with declines there. about a quarter of a percent lower. off of the lows, which were hit in the morning. nonetheless, declines. 3787. standard & poor's index looks like this. similar, looking at a decline of 8.5 as well. joining us is katie stockwell, stephanie from the street and rich pearson, andres garcia and

rick santelli. thanks for joining us. katie, you look at this market, trading at 16 times earnings. what's your take in terms of charts, in terms of valuations today. is this market extended or no? >> not extended. this pullback has helped relieve an overextended condition. i think we need to view that pullback in the context of the long-term trend, which is higher for the likes muof the s&p 500. the momentum from long-term perspective is very much positive. i think that's the big takeaway. >> what is this selloff about? that's almost been every day since the fed no taper except for that single day? is this d.c.? is it fed uncertainty? what is it? >> i think it's a combination of both. monetary and fiscal policy, they're supposed to be helping our economy and they're not at this moment. i think that is creating uncertainty. we'll have to wait and see.

if they realize over time, they have to let go of things and let the economy go. >> rich, you know where i'm going next. earnings. what are you expecting for the reporting season? >> current numbers off the s&p 500 are 3.5% -- >> earnings. >> earnings for the third quarter. however the october surprise could be revenue. we're expecting 4.8 % increase in revenue compared to a decline of 0.1% in the second quarter. if that 4.8% is realized it will be the best since '12. you get the numbers out of beth, bath & beyond, numbers for consumer, wage growth, personal income, a lot of incremental growth. that's a good sign. >> i don't think the market is expecting that kind of revenue growth. >> a catalyst. >> the other surprise, the baltic dry index. >> i love that index. my favorite. >> highest number since okctobe

2011. >> shippers have been doing very well, correct? >> there's quite a number that doubled more than than this year. not just shippers per se but the service companies for that sector. >> rick santelli, we've been talking about uncertainty we seem to have in the equity market. it really feels like the bond market knows where the fed's at. it's the equity guys that seem to be confused as to what's going to take place. >> i disagree. i think you're right on the treasuries. of course, the fact we're preventing normalcy had to take a toll on the treasuries. it did. if you look at the way the market traded since the 18th, it is definitely seeing lower rates. if you look at correlation, stocks and treasury rates have been pretty correlated. but maybe the equity boys finally started to realize that the fed and the notion of not tapering seemed like an immediate positive the day it occurred. but really what it says is, is

that we have a really mediocre economy. in the end, maybe even the stock market is starting to figure out that just isn't a good thing. >> stephanie, how do you see it? what do you want to be doing as we begin the fourth quarter next week? how would you allocate capital here? or do you want to pull back? >> well, september is typically the worst month of the year, believe it or not. >> hasn't been. >> yeah. on average it's down about 0.5%. most people think it's october. that's on average since 1971. october's up 0.7%. so i think the volatility in this month is warranted. washington uncertainties, we don't know what the fed is going to do. we're very data-focused at this point, very big week this week and following week in terms of data economic points and if the fed decides to change qe policy. that said, all of this confusion and we're only down 2.4% from the highs. i think we've all been waiting for a pull back. we've had extra cash on hand to buy the dips. you mentioned baltic freight.

up 114% since august 12 9. it's not just the shipping, the industrials, the mining, they have been leaders. once you get through washington and all of this confusing times here, that those are the sectors you want to be buying. i think the guidance from these sectors are going to be better because the global economies are getting better. >> katie, you know, maria raises an interesting question right off the bat. it goes back really to what carl icahn told you about valuation of the market being fully valued and that sort of thing. it's become much more difficult to find cheaper stocks. and i think that may be playing into some of the role -- investors don't know where to go, into what kind of sectors, what kind of stocks to buy. right now momentum names have pushed so far. where do you go here? >> i do think you stick with outperforming sectors. consumer discretionary as we've been discussing, industrials, technology. i think those are the areas of outperformance for the fourth quarter, so still looking for that cyclical outperformance. i'm okay with buying breakouts

in this market, confirmed breakouts meaning we see good strong above resistance level. i'm also okay with buying oversold debts or buying weakness. so, that's what we have right now. >> so, you would buy the momentum. >> i would be, yes. >> which is interesting, right? the facebooks, teslas, netflix, pritlines -- >> doing well. >> there are a lot of parabolic uptrends. sometimes the right thing to do to follow that trend. >> let's not forget about m&a. the fact is, you know, they said go west young man. i think american companies are going east because we just had a big deal this week. we had applied materials by tokyo electronic for over $9 billion. that was the biggester u.s. acquisition in japan. u.s. acquisition from asia-pacific region on track to

be the highest. >> it's better fiscal situation, right? doesn't seem like it but we used to have trillion dollar deficit, now $600 million. no taper now, december, whenever you want to call it, at some point we have to raise interest rates. i think the dollar is smelling that already. that has to deal with currencies. with the dollar strength it's better to buy other companies in other countries. >> i heard you say something about the dollar? >> yeah, we're at lowest levels since february. one other thing, nobody talks about and i read more and more articles about it, but one of the most bullish aspects of the stock market is lack of supply of stocks, isn't it almost that simple? >> yeah. buying back stock left and right. that's a good point. thanks, everybody. >> thanks. because you have lower interest rates, companies issued buy back. they elevated stock prices. >> we'll leave it there. appreciate your time. we are awaiting a statement from

president obama. we'll bring you that as soon as it begins. we know the statement is happening in 20 minutes right here. with that, 40 minutes before the close, the market is down 90 points on the dow. >> jpmorgan ceo jamie dimon trying to reach multimillion dollar settlement with prosecutors. we'll hear from somebody who says if dimon wants to help his company, he would leave it. really? you'll hear why. >> jack in the box giving nutritionists digestion with latest offerings. >> let's go to my house for late might muvennight munchies. >> all that for six bucks. are these calorie packed meals what consumers want right now or does mcdonald's have it right by making meals healthier? the fast food fight coming up. ♪ ♪ unh

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welcome back. there's a look at the white house and washington, d.c. president obama is set to speak any minute now. we're going to take you there live for the speech when it begins. maria, we're not sure what the topic is.

it's expected to be about 3:30 this afternoon. we know everything going on in d.c. and elsewhere. >> speculation it is about the showdown in terms of debt. we'll bring you that in about 15 minute. busy week for jpmorgan? >> that stock's down over 1% this week. jamie dimon looking to end government probes into its selling of potentially shoddy mortgage securities. he was at the justice department yesterday working out the particulars on a possible $11 billion settlement on federal and state levels. why is the firm getting so much heat from regulators? >> salon journalist alex is with us. he says jd yd amie dimon jd is doing more harm than good. duff mcdonald could not disagree more. alex to you first. legal problems aside, jpmorgan remains one of the best if not the best performing major bank in the world today. you believe the leader of that bank should step down? >> any time you're looking at

the greatest fine in the history of wall street regulation it's worth asking, should this guy stay in his job? i can't think of any other industry -- if you managed a restaurant and it got the biggest health department fine in history and people would say, it's making a lot of money. only a little poison in the food. >> who has the qualifications to run jpmorgan other than jamie dimon in your view? >> i think the bank is too big, too complicated and too corrupt at this point to run but we could give anyone a shot. >> too corrupt is a bit hyperbolic, perhaps. dufsh duff, you agree or disagree? >> obviously not. he got attention with this article. he got your attention. it's preposterous. it's a cash-generating machine. sure, they've had their regulatory issuing but he's looking to settle them expeditiously at this point, which is everything you want out of a ceo. it's an absurd suggestion. >> duff, maybe we should pose the question, does jamie dimon

want to go? i mean, given everything that's been going on aroun company, it seems like he's taking arrows from all sides, almost every week at this point. maybe he doesn't want it anymore. and within a year he's not even going to be there. who knows. >> i doubt he's interested in leaving. for one, you probably wouldn't want to leave on a low note like this. but he's expressed the desire to stick around for quite some time. the only thing that's going to have him leave is the board or shareholders basically showing him the door. and, you know, despite suggestions that he should leave because they're paying a fine, you know, no major shareholders are going to ask for his departure. >> should we talk about the financial strength of jpmorgan at this point? even with all of these losses the company continues to churn out tens of billions of dollars in earnings and hundreds of billions in revenue. how do you criticize that? >> well, i think a lot of their earnings and revenue we've seen

have come from shady deals, that they -- >> oh, come on. >> they have. >> name three shady dealings. >> pribry in china, hiring -- >> you shouldn't be saying things you can't prove. >> well, the nepotism, hiring children of prominent chinese officials -- >> have they been charged? >> it's been in the news. >> what's the fact? >> the fact they hired children of prominent chinese children and connected to deals they were doing in china. >> i don't like spewing things that are not actual fact on this program -- >> anyone can google china and jpmorgan and see this. >> it was in "the new york times." >> oh, "the new york times." >> it's never been a crime to hire children of connected people -- >> no, it's just shady. >> part of the point maria makes when she cites the performance of the bank, shareholders have no reason to want this guy to leave. the stock is up 18% year to date. he's considered to be one of the

most respected ceos on the street. sometimes in some storms, even mentioned as a possible treasury secretary somewhere down the line, if he so chooses and so asked. why would shareholders want this guy to go? >> i think because he's a pr nightmare for the bank. if you look outside of the financial media, outside of cnbc, like every time jpmorgan has been in the headlines in the last year it's been for terrible news. it's been bad pr for the bank. i think there's a bubble can you be in which you never hear anything negative about the guy, he's the smartest guy in the wall street, but rest of the world it's bad pr for dimon and jpmorgan. >> duff, what about that? it feels like, you know, this -- it feels a little like a witch hunt, frankly, because they're constantly talking about charges and there's, you know, numbers that are mind-boggling in terms of settlements. that's sort of what sets the tone for these negative -- >> absolutely. alex is right about the fact it's been a pr nightmare. the london whale is a complete and total embarrassment.

so are the -- you know, the regulatory issues are a big deal, but they're trying to address them. but that's hardly a reason to want to fire your ceo, especially if, you know, they're doing the 99% of their job they're supposed to do, which is running the institution as effectively as he has. >> by the way, this is just the second quarter, but for the second quarter net income was 6 $. -- $6.5 billion, compared to $5 billion for the second quarter of 2012. i'm trying to figure out from a shareholders' perspective, who would be doing -- do you have ideas? in-f you're saying you want this guy out, who are you saying is equipped -- >> i already said. i don't think anyone is equipped to run a bank that big and complex. but i think this guy's track record at this point means they should go with anyone else who's available. >> i mean, you've got -- we could -- >> anybody else that's available? hey, are you available? >> sure, i would do it.

i could do just as as well, ignoring the london whale. >> i mean, if you're talking -- it's almost ridiculous to have this conversation. you're talking track record, the guy has a great track record. >> at making money for jpmorgan. not at managing the bank in a way that's been good for the economy in a whole or a way to avoid the massive finds or numerous charges. >> what do you think would have happened if jpmorgan were not among the banks that actually alleviated things during the 2008 financial crisis. >> they alleviated things by unloading toxic assets on investors. that's how they got through. that was the brilliant risk avoidant strategy. >> that's not how they got through the crisis. that's ridiculous. >> that's not true. it's just not true. we really need to stick to the facts here. thank you for joining us. appreciate it. >> you're welcome. >> well, president obama set to speak any minute now. we are going to go live to the white house when he begins.

there's the white house, d.c., ten minutes or so is what we expect the president to appear at the white house to make some comments. still to be determined what they will be. we do have a government shutdown looming so presumably he may mention something along those lines. we have 40 minutes to go before we close up the street here and the week on wall street. the dow is approaching a triple digit loss. >> one of the best performers in this market, believe it or not, sears has been one of the best performers on wall street this quarter. have you shopped there once in the last three months, scott? >> we'll hear from 134b -- >> you didn't answer me. have you ever been to a sears? >> i have. >> cool. >> tough skins were huge in the '70s. don't act like you didn't have anymore. we'll hear from somebody who says this retail stock has plenty to come. i was reading an e-mail when you -- >> i know. >> martha stewart tweeting she broke the ipad steve jobs

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want to show you aa live shot at the white house where president obama is set to speak any minute. we'll take you back to washington live as soon as his speech begins. we're expecting him 3:30 p.m. eastern, about five minutes from now. >> stocks are down for the day and the week but it's been a

pretty good quarter for the bulls. >> scott, technically the third quarter doesn't come to a close until monday, but in the meantime, we wanted to take a look at some standout sectors and stock stories as we draw to a close here. all three major indices are poised to finish flattish to slightly higher. dow industrials will be the worst performer of the group, up a couple percent. s&p 500 trying to finish up around 5% but nasdaq composite up around 11% so far this quarter. one of the biggest gainers in the s&p 500 is also one of the most heavily short stocks in the index. we're talking about online movie rental, up 47% just this quarter. another notable upside mover was yahoo! up 30% during that time period. the worst preparer in the s&p, retailer jcpenney. not only are some biggest shareholders, bill ackman getting out of the stock, just yesterday we heard jcpenney will

sell an added 47 million shares of stock to raise capital diluting current shareholders. when it comes to the dow, nicky was the biggest gainer. nike just joined the dow this week. verizon was the worst performer. when it comes to the nasdaq, nasdaq 100, facebook has doubled in value just this quarter alone. retailer sears holdings is up 40%. not all retailers are faring all that poorly. >> so somebody must be shopping at sears. should you be shopping for the stock? we're doing "talking numbers" on sears. technical is j.c. on fundamentals, gina sanchez. good to see you. j.c., let's kick it off with you. tell me how the chart of sears looks. >> the whole sentiment surrounding sears is fascinating. you have guys who believe in this turn-around and are uber

bullish and others who don't believe the story whatsoever. if you look at the chart, you can see that directly how it's been trading over the last 2 1/2 years. the slight advantage has been to the bears. i've been a little more aggressive. you see a very slow downward sloping trend channel taking place over the last 2 1/2, 3 years. that's a series of lower highs and lower lows. currently we're trading around the upper portion of that channel. which tells me historically this is where you should be getting out of your position. this is where the stock pulls back. what if we break higher? if we break higher, still plenty of upside resistance levels that this chart will be swimming upstream again. resistance at 30, followed by 35, then 70, 75, so on. even if i'm wrong, i think this stock is tough to own it so id be cautious. >> gina, what do you think? >> i'm bearish on the fundamentals. it's hard not to be. they have negative free cash

flow. they've had falling revenues, falling sales, falling net margins. they have an underfunded pension fund to the tune of $1.5 billion and not a lot of signs of a turn-around. so, i would say there really isn't a lot to be cheerful about for sears. baker street capital has put out a 100-plus page deck that suggests the fair value is $131. that's a double where it is now. now, most of that derives from real estate portfolio but i think right now that that tends to also overestimate what it can do with these brands, which actually need the stores. so, you can't sell the stores a expect the brands to gain value. i don't see a lot of hope for sears. going out for $1 billion loan and burning cash. it's a downward spiral. >> good to see the fundamental and technical story saying the same thing.

thanks. we'll keep following that. >> did you wear tough skins when you were a younger girl? >> no. >> sure. whatever. >> sorry. >> president obama -- >> sorry, scott. >> whatever. president obama just minutes away from speaking at the white house, we'll take you there live next. the dow right now is down 80 points. the s&p 500 is down as well. down about 8.33 points. >> a tale of two fast food companies. mcdonald's trying to make it more healthy, jack in the box going the other way. doubling down on indull gant calorie offerings. the grilled cheese/cheeseburger. >> yum. >> up next, we'll take a look at what strategy is better for shareholders. >> forget lavrish wine cellars or tennis court. find out what the ultrarich really want in their home. jackie: there are plenty of things i prefer to do on my own.

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welcome back. president obama expected to speak any moment. we'll take you live to the white house once that speech begins. we're told it will start at

3:30. just waiting on the president. >> two fast food chains taking different approaches to type of fast food consumers are going for. jane wells explains. >> we go from one end of the spectrum to the other. first healthy mcdonald's. mcdonald's will stop promoting soda with its healthy meals and can switch out salad or fruit in the value meals. good luck with that because fries are the best part of the meals. it's part of mcdonald's trike to shake off criticism it super sized america. will it help sales? they say healthier options like chicken mcwraps haven't taken off quite like the company expected. >> i think mcdonald's is trying to hold onto core customers and in the meantime change its image. it will be a long process. not done over a year or two. maybe a couple of years. >> which leads us to the other end of the spectrum. the new munchy meal. jak jack in the box is rolling out after 9 p.m.

let's see, recreational pot legalized in two states and now jack has a munchy meal with 1700 calories, 97 grams of fat, 3500 grams of sodium. the how it is? it was reviewed on youtube. >> there you go. mm. really good. oh, both sides are toasty, see that? >> as we look at how shares have performed, i think we can see which one has been super sized. jack's munchy meal includes two tacos, curly fries and a 20-ounce drink. lipitor is extra, guys. >> oh, man. >> man, oh, man. >> that should be the prize in the happy meal. >> right. the fast food consumer have a bigger appetite for salads or a late night grilled cheese cheeseburger.

>> with us is justin wilson and mimi, national action against obesity. justin, to you first. what's your take on this? i mean, from a sales standpoint, the jack in the box thing at first blush may seem ridiculous until you realize that wendy's pretzel bacon cheeseburger with who knows how many calories was a tremendous seller and good for the company. >> if it's 3:30 in the morning and you're at jack in the box, you're not looking for a salad. everybody knows that. it doesn't take a ph.d. to know this isn't health food. but yet they're trying to give consumers options. it's a menu and called a menu for a reason so they can let consumers choose for themselves. i think we're being sick of treated like children like the way mimi and other regulators are trying to do and take these options off the table. so i think they'll do well. >> i see what you're saying. mimi, what about that?

it's a free country, right? >> it is a free country. >> they should decide for themselves what they want to eat? >> oh, jack in the box, killing your consumer is not a sustainable business model. >> they're not killing anyone. >> i think it's sort of a pr stunt. but look at what mcdonald's is doing. that they're doing is -- they don't expect people to get the salads, so it's people will feel better about themselves because they could order the salad, they'll still get the fries. that's the reality. this is about imprabrand glow f mcdonald's. >> they do something good and you criticize. >> for jack in the box it's a publicity grab, a stunt. justin is right, if he's stoned at 3 a.m. and wants a munchy moment, that's the perfect place to go. >> mimi, the fact of the matter is -- i guess your words were, pr stunt. wendy's did incredibly well with the sandwich i mentioned. it was good for the company.

it was good for the stock. which means consumers bought it. which means they wanted it. >> none of these businesses are stupid. they're giving the consumers what they want. i agree with you completely. but mcdonald's is creating a brand glow without the reality of expecting people to pick the salads. but there's a slow shift in the past, probably zero people would walk in and get the salad. now maybe one or two. i think it responding to consumer demand. stoners at 3 a.m. and people who want to feel better about ordering carnival food. >> it's interesting the stock -- >> i love carnival food. >> it's funny the stock has done so well with the menu. as you said, odd yns is responding. >> low cost. that's what they do. sell more at a lower cost. jack in the box is good at doing that. >> what we're looking at here with the mcdonald's move is a

situation where we're going to have billions of meals served and those people are going to have salads. you've got nothing nice to say about them, mimi. >> that's silly. >> a lot of people listening who are saying, you know what, mimi, mind your own business. >> i don't even know what you're talking about. i think it -- >> a lot of people know what i'm talking about. a lot of people say, what i eat is my business. sometimes i want a salad and sometimes i want a cheeseburger with a egg on top and cheese built into the bun. >> that's fine. corporations need to be completely transparent. what's in the food? >> go to their website. >> justin, hush for a second. consumers need to be held accountable for their decisions. if you eat a grilled grilled cheese at 3 a.m., you are accountable for diabetes and other health problems you have. you cannot expect others to subsidize the costs. >> guys, we have to make that the last word. we're waiting on the president to make some comments and some

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welcome back. we want to show you a live picture of the white house. president obama is expected to speak any moment. here comes the president right now. president obama. >> how is everybody doing? before i discuss the situation? congress, let me say two things about two opportunities in our foreign policy. just now i spoke on the phone with president rowhani of the islamic republic of iran. the two of us discussed our ongoing efforts to reach an agreement over iran's nuclear program. i reiterated to the president what i said in new york. while there will surely be important obstacles to moving forward and success is by no means guaranteed, i believe we can reach a comprehensive solution. i've directed secretary kerry to continue pursuing this

diplomatic effort with the iranian government. we had constructive discussions yesterday in new york with our partners, the european union, united kingdom, franch, germany, russia, china together with the iranian foreign minister. going forward, president rowhani and i have will work together in pursue of an agreement. we'll stay in close touch with our friends in the region, including israel. we'll mindful of all the challenges ahead. the very fact this was the first communication between an american and iranian president since 1979 underscores the deep miss tru mistrust between our countries and also movering past that history. i do believe there's a basis for resolution. iran's supreme leader issued a

fatah. president rowhani says they will never develop nuclear weapons. i made it clear we accept the right of iranian people. the test will be meaningful, transparent and verifiable actions which can also bring relief from comprehensive sanctions that are currently in place. resolving this issue, obviously, could serve as a major step forward in a new relationship between the united states and the islamic republic of iran. one based on mutual interest and mutual respect. it will also help facilitate a better relationship between iran and the international community as well as others in the region. one that would help the iranian people fulfill their extraordinary potential but also help us address other concerns that could bring greater peace and stability in the middle east. a path to a meaningful agreement

will be difficult and at this time both sides have significant concerns that must be overcome. i believe we have a responsibility to pursue diplomacy and we have a unique opportunity to mike progress with a new leadership in iran. i indicate to president rowhani my deep respect for the iranian people. as i said before, this comes on the same day that we can accomplish a major diplomatic breakthrough on syria. as the united nations security council will vote on a resolution that would require the assad regime to put its chemical weapons under international control so they can ultimately be destroyed. this binding resolution will ensure that the assad regime must keep its commitments or face consequences. we'll have to be vigilant for following through but we'll have to demonstrate how diplomacy can allow us to secure our country and pursue a better world. now, america's security and leadership don't just depend on

our military strength or our alliances or diplomacy. first and foremost, america's strength depends on a strong economy. where our middle class is growing and everyone who works hard has a chance to get ahead. let me say a few words about the situation that's developed over the past few weeks on capitol hill. here at home the united states congress has two pressing responsibilities. pass a budget on time and pay our bills on time. if congress chooses not to pass a budget by monday, the end of the fiscal year, they will shut down the government along with many vital services that the american people depend on. the good news is within the past few hours, republicans and democrats acted responsibly by voting to keep our government open and delivering the services the american people expect. now it's up to the republicans

in the house of representatives to do the same. i say that because obviously democrats have a great interest in making sure these vital services continue to help the american people. so far republicans in house of representatives have refused to move forward. here's the thing, unlike the last time they threatened this course of action, this debate isn't really about deficits. in fact, our deficits are falling at the fastest pace that they have in 60 years. by the end of this year, we will have cut our deficits by more than half since i took office. that's not what this is about. if you've been following the discussion, the republicans in the house don't even make a pretense that's what this is about. instead of house of republicans are so concerned with appeasing the tea party they threatened a government shutdown or worse unless i gut or repeal the

affordable care act. i said this yesterday. let me repeat it. that's not going to happen. more than 100 million americans currently already have new benefits and protections under the law. on tuesday 40 more million americans will be able to buy affordable, quality health care like anybody else. those will be open on tuesday, no matter if there's a government shutdown. that's a done deal. as i said, if republicans have specific ideas on how to genuinely improve the law, rather than gut it, rather than delay it, rather than repeal it, i'm happy to work with them on that through the normal democratic processes, but that will not happen under the threat of a shutdown. so, over the next three days,

house of republicans will have to decide whether to join the senate and keep the government open or shut is down because they can't get their way. on an issue that has nothing to do with the deficit. i realize that a lot of what's taking place right now is political grandstanding, but this grandstanding has real effects on real people. if the government shuts down on tuesday, military personnel, including those risking their lives overseas for us right now, will not get paid on time. federal loans for rural communities, small business owners, families buying a home will be frozen. i'm already starting to get letters from people worried this will have an impact on them directly. critical research into life-saving discoveries will be immediately halted. the federal government has a large role across the country and touches the lives of

millions of people. and those people will be harmed. and even the threat of a shutdown already is probably having a dampening effect on our economy. we saw that the last time these kind of shenanigans were happening up on capitol hill. so any republican in congress who's currently watching, i'd encourage to you think about who you're hurting. there are probably young people in your office right now who came to work for you, without much pay, because they believed that public service was noble. you're preparing to send them home without a paycheck. you have families can kids back in your districts who serve their country in the federal government. and now they might have to plan how they're going to get by if you shut the government down. past shutdowns have disrupted the economy. this shutdown would as well. it would throw a wrench into the gears of our economy at a time when those gears have gained some traction.

and that's why many republican senators and many republican governors have urged republicans to knock it off, pass a budget and move on. let's get this done. this brings me to congress's second responsibility. once they vote to keep the government open, they also have to vote within the next couple of weeks to allow the treasury to pay the bills or the money that congress has already spent. i want to repeat. raising the debt ceiling is simply authorizing the treasury to pay for what congress has already authorized. failure to meet this responsibility would be far more dangerous than a government shutdown. it would effectively be an economic shutdown with impacts not just here but around the world. we don't fully understand what might happen, the dangers

involved, because no congress has ever actually threatened default. but we know it would have a profound destabilizing effect on the economy, the world economy, because the u.s. economy is the bedrock of world investment. the dollar is the reserve currency. the debt that is issued by the treasury is the foundation for our capital markets. that's why you don't fool with it. some republicans have suggested that unless i agree to an even longer list of demands, not just gutting the health care law but cutting taxes for millionaires or rolling back rules on big banks and polluters or other pet

projects that they'd like to see, and they've been trying to get passed over the last couple of years, that they would push the button, throw america into default for the first time in history, and risk throwing us back into a recession. i am willing to work with anyone who wants to discuss our fiscal future. i have said in the past, and i will continue to say, that i'm willing to make a whole bunch of tough decisions, ones that may not be entirely welcome by my own party. but we're not going to do this under the threat of blowing up the entire economy. i will not negotiate over congress's responsibility to pay the bills that have already been racked up. voting for the treasury to pay

america's bills is not a concession to me. that's not doing me a favor. that's simply carrying out the solemn responsibilities that come withholding office up there. i don't know how i can be more clear about this. nobody gets to threaten the full faith and credit of the united states just to extract political concessions. no one gets to hurt our economy and millions of innocent people just because there are a couple of laws you do not like. it has not been done in the past. we're not going to start doing it now. i'm not going to start setting a precedent, not just for me, but for future presidents. where one chamber in congress can basically say each time

there needs to be a vote to make sure treasury pays its bills, we're not going to sign it unless our particular hobby horse gets advanced. imagine if you had a republican president and a democratic speaker and the democratic speaker said, well, we're not going to pass the debt ceiling unless we raise corporate taxes by 40%. or unless we pass background checks on guns. or whatever other list of agenda items democrats were interested in. does anybody actually think that we would be hearing from republicans that that was acceptable behavior? that's not how our constitutional system is designed. we're not going to do it. the american people have worked too hard to recover from a bunch of crisises, several of them now over the last couple of years inflicted by some of the same

folks in congress that we're talking about now, to see extremists in congress cause another crisis. keep in mind, by the way, this whole thing has to do with keeping the government open for a few months. the continuing resolution, the bill that's designed to avert a government shutdown, just funds the government for another couple months so we could be doing this all over again. i'm sure the american people are thrilled about that. that's why we've got to break this cycle. my message to to congress is this, do not shut down the government. do not shut down the economy. pass a budget on time. pay our bills on time. refocus on the everyday concerns of the american people. there will be differences between democrats and republicans. we can have all kinds of conversations about how to

resolve those differences. there will be areas where we can work together. there will be areas where we disagree. but do not threaten to burn the house down simply because you haven't gotten 100% of your way. that's not how our democracy is supposed to work. every day that this goes on is another day that we're not focused on doing what we need to be focused on, which is rebuilding this great country of ours so that our middle class is growing and everybody has opportunity if they're willing to work hard. that's what i'm focused on. that's what congress should be focused on as well. thank you, everybody. >> the president making a spe h speech. saying he spoke to the president of iran. first conversation between presidents of america and iran

in 30 years. then he went into domestic issues, scott. was very clear to congress, message to congress, urging lawmakers to raise that debt ceiling. don't shut the government down. >> don't shut the government down. nobody gets to threaten the full faith of the american. the bigger issue looming is the debt ceiling. the president making those comments and reiterating the point he's made throughout saying he will not negotiate with republicans over that. >> he said the u.s. default -- even the threat of a default will impact the global economy as well as domestic economy. he said the threat of a shutdown is already probably having a negative impact, dampening impact on the u.s. economy. >> there's a lot of work to do this weekend as they try to figure out a way to keep the government open. today the democrats of the senate passed a measure to keep the government funded through

the middle of november. now it really goes to the house. that's where the tough work is ahead. the president saying, it is up to the house to vote and there will be, i'm sure, negotiations going on throughout the weekend to keep the government from shutting down on october 1st, which is monday. >> monday. he made clear some of the bills that go out that will be impacted. everything from, you know, drugs and development, military pay, social security checks. this will have a pretty deep impact. >> it's an impact we've seen on wall street over the last several days. ever since last week, maria, after the fed came out said they weren't tapering. the stock market rallied. it's been down almost every day since as this issue has loomed, this pending government shutdown. the market certainly has been uneasy about it. market participate nts that you spoken to, have cited it as an everyday pep soed of concern. >> it's another uncertainty.

i'm surprised the market closes off the lows today, scott. >> maria picks up the conversation. much more on the president's conversation. have a great weekend. maria is coming up in five seconds. >> and it is 4:00 on wall street. do you know where your money is? welcome back to the "closing bell." i'm maria bartiromo on the floor of the new york stock exchange. dow and s&p 500 closing lower for six out of the last seven trading sessions. take a look how we're finishing the day on friday. things did worsen out of the president's speech, finishing around the lows of the day. 72 points. 15,256. nasdaq flat today, down about 6 points. s&p 500 gave up 7 points. well, tgif, the dow and the