everyone waiting to see what happens in ukraine and crimea. the market winners, game stop, up almost 5%. goodyear tire up almost 3%. delta airlines up 2.5% on the trading session. you're up to date. >> see you when you get back. have a good weekend, everybody. spring starts next week. that's all for "power lunch." >> have a great weekend. "street signs" begins right now. see you monday. russia, china and even germany, oh, my. the list of global worries is long but is that the perfect reason to buy? hello, everybody. we're working but it's not quite the weekend. we have good reasons not to be spooked by everything going o whether gm investors should be spooked by a scathing new report on the company. forget wall street. why san francisco is the new new york. >> okay. it's really easy to throw out all the negative stats, like the nasdaq is on pace for its

largest weekly loss in 11 months. we get it. however, since it is friday, i'm going to go glass half full. take a look at this board. despite the losses we have seen this week, the s&p 500 is still less than 2% away from its all time high of 1883. the dow is less than 3% away from its all time high and the nasdaq is only 2.5% away from its 14 year high of 4371 hit on march 6th. bob pisani, you were down at the nyse. sheila dharmarajan is at the nasdaq. bob, we really do have to remember, don't we, despite everything going on, the u.s. market is doing so much better than many other developed and emerging markets so far this year. in nikkei down 12%. i won't even start on russia or brazil. >> in fact, you and i think exactly the same way. i will show you what's going on. you're right, the s&p 500 is basically flat on the year but germany is down 5%, a three-month low. those are obviously some concerns recently about what's

going on in the ukraine. china is down 5% but china has been declining since 2008, to be blunt about it. not so, japan. this is the worst performing over in asia, and brazil, down 12%. it could be worse. you could be russia. did you see the russian stock market this year? put it up. 26% decline year to date so far for russia. i will show you what's going on in the middle of the day here. the important thing for everything is that we had a little rally here and that's because mr. lavrov, the russian foreign minister, came out and said they had no plans to intervene, that's the word they used, in the eastern ukraine. people took that positively. you can see we are just off the highs we had. back to you. >> because you brought up russia, we will talk more about russia in just a moment's time with tim seymour and whether or not now might be the time to get in considering how badly it's done. i want to get to the nasdaq and sheila dharmarajan, what's going on there? can you find the glass half full story for us? >> i'm not able to do the glass

half full today. basically, the good news today is that the overall nasdaq is basically flat to slightly negative. the composite basically flat, nasdaq 100 down as much as two tenths of 1%. this would be the first time in about five weeks the nasdaq has seen that. i want to talk about biotech. this is what everyone here at the nasdaq is talking about. the overall biotech index has been pretty weak lately. in fact, if you take a look at the record the biotech index had in february, we are down about 7% since then. gilead, a big name, is down today. there are concerns its hep-c drug may be losing steam despite a very strong start. the survey from isi shows that investors think in a few years out, the sales will be slower so we will be seeing that negative effect today. also, celgene under a lot of pressure today, following news it will begin to have to defend patents for its cancer drug. we are starting to see a little bit of weakness in these stocks and here's my glass half empty

part of it. unfortunately, a lot of people think that biotech has run too far, too fast. here's the glass half full. despite this weakness, we are still up 18% on the year when it comes to these biotech stocks. brian? >> thank you very much. there are a lot of reasons to worry, russia amassing on the ukraine border, china's banking system looking shaky, oil prices creeping higher and who knows about the weather? you could sit in a corner sucking your thumb paralyzed with fear as we tend to do on the weekends but there are a lot of reasons not to worry. make us feel good, steve liesman. >> i think for this segment, if you get the guys to color the screen rose-colored so we don't talk about the guys in shading, they do such a nice job, but there are plenty of reasons not to worry. those things on the wall, those are serious issues here but when we look at the reasons not to worry, there's the wall there, crimea going to be an issue over the weekend, china. let's look at the reasons not to worry. among them, we think putin is perhaps belligerent but not necessarily all that stupid.

we think that could limit what's happening in ukraine to just the crimea and not involve eastern ukraine. bob pisani talked about that. china, unless it's a financial meltdown, is not a huge consumer. in terms of the knock-on effect to the united states, maybe .2 to .5% of gdp, but the decline that comes with china would also come with perhaps lower prices in key commodities. corporate cash is surging. you have seen over time some of the big stories you guys have reported on, a growing willingness to use what we had. the ceo of caesar's talked about it. the fiscal side is abating. europe is not huge on the list right now. the dollar is competitive. the fed remains easy. there's an energy boom. as far as i can tell, spring is going to happen. spring is going to happen. that could mean the spring selling season. things i would watch would be the anecdotal reports from home builders and the real estate guys that tell me are they really going to have a decent spring, is it really going to be

a weather snapback in the months ahead. >> it is amazing when that sun comes out how everything just feels that much better. thank you so much, steve liesman. go take off the rose-colored glasses now. >> i'm leaving them on the whole weekend. >> okay. let's bring in our guests. carol, if you were an investor and climbed the wall of worry every single time we had a wall like that listed, you probably missed out on a lot of good opportunities. is now one of those times? >> i think precisely. the market always climbs a wall of worry. you can take a 100 year chart on the s&p or the dow and every year, stack up all the worries and concerns that are out there, and i think the interesting thing is that markets don't like uncertainty is the old adage. i think it's more that traders don't like uncertainty because they trying to find very predictable things to be able to do. long term investors school themselves to enjoy -- not enjoy, but to accept the fact that markets are volatile and when you have short term

opportunities, focus instead on a lot of the fundamentals that are stacking up. i don't know whether rose-colored glasses or not, but there are a lot of positive things going on out there. >> you had a piece out i think it was yesterday that said don't worry about ukraine in part because of the fed. explain. >> well, it's a broader point which is that clearly, the ukraine represents a risk, there are a lot of risks out there. one thing which has helped the market not only the stock market but high yield and a lot of other financial markets, is we are still in an environment characterized by a lot of liquidity. short term rates are still at 0%. the bank of japan is buying seven trillion yen a month. the way it's helping is that despite the issues in the ukraine, it's keeping volatility at least in developed markets lower than it would otherwise be. the one statistic i draw everyone's attention to, even during yesterday's sell-off, the vix index, often called the fear index, never even got back to its long term average. still in the high to mid teens. this tells me that volatility is

getting pushed down by all the liquidity out there. >> i'm wondering whether or not we are underestimating the impact eventually that we will see in the markets of the fed pulling back. >> i don't necessarily think we do. there is tons and tons of liquidity out there in the system. you've also -- >> you're not worried, either? >> no. the fed has been doing it gradually and i think a year ago, we were talking about that and deficits and a much more serious situation than what came to pass. if you had stacked up all the concerns a year ago, you never would have thought the market would have been up 30%. >> your best advice right now? >> i think the best advice is we still think that stocks can outperform bonds over the next two years. equities are no longer as cheap as they were. there is definitely some complacency in the market in the short term. we are likely to see a pickup in volatility. if you look at the relative valuation, if you think about an environment characterized by low inflation and accommodative fed and gradual improvement in the

economy, that's still an environment that's likely to favor stocks over the next couple years. >> thank you both very much. safe travels back to minneapolis. >> thanks. we've got a big week coming up next week. bill gross of pimco will be joining us on wednesday. that is ahead of janet yellen's first news conference as fed chair. we will of course carry it live right here on "street signs." the worst performing stock market in the world this year, russia. it is down nearly double the next worst market, off nearly 26% year to date. aren't we supposed to buy low? joining us, tim seymour, cnbc contributor, chief strategist. everyone knows who you are. i'm trying to rush through it. any reason to buy russian stocks right now? >> don't bet the farm here but definitely, we are in oversold conditions even by russian standards. i have been trading this market for 18 years or so. what separates this time is different, i think there was always some kind of geopolitical hope for russia. i think on both sides of the table right now, i have to say

that i think the sentiment is about as poor as we have seen it. from a market perspective, russia was kind of a slow depth into this. we have had a couple extreme down days but you have a place with the russian market is at an extreme level. we don't expect the whole market to trade there. i think you can nibble and trade some of the news. i don't think there is blood in the streets yet. fortunately, not literally, but i think going into the weekend, a couple things i have been doing. i have been definitely nibbling on rsx calls, i think upside call volatility is certainly cheaper than the down side, but playing a market that has hit some extremes where i actually think this weekend could give you a bit of a surprise, either way, short dated, risk managed, great company sold off i think on margin calls yesterday. another place to nibble, great company, and not necessarily tied to russia's external kind of geopolitical stance.

>> you are absolutely right. we will get news either way, good or bad this weekend. if it is bad, do you expect a big time washout, a capitulation moment next week for the russian market? would that make it even more oversold to the point where it's compelling? >> that's what we're waiting for. the move in russia is not surprising by what we have seen historically, 15% down days, we have lived through these things. next week, i think is the place you could actually see the people start to capitulate that much more. again, a difference this time is that the currency is so battered that if you look at where we are relative to even past times, even the georgia invasion, the currency weakness and part of this is due because the russian government, the central bank, has been trying to let their currency freely float. that has been going on along with this, it's adding to the currency weakness. that's what's giving you the opportunity. again, an entire market that's trading at .53 times price to book is cheap. >> you say you have seen this movie before. let's hope it has a happy ending. tim, i will see you later on on "fast money." we will talk more about this.

i will fill in for melissa lee. we will hear from tim tonight at 5:00 eastern. on deck, a new report says more than 300 deaths may be linked to gm's delayed recall. a large investor will react. plus, here's today's mystery chart. ♪ no two people have the same financial goals. pnc investments works with you to understand yours and helps plan for your retirement. talk to a pnc investments financial advisor today. ♪ and his new boss told him two things -- cook what you love, and save your money. joe doesn't know it yet, but he'll work his way up from busser to waiter to chef before opening a restaurant specializing in fish and game from the great northwest.

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airbags failed to deploy. due to a faulty ignition switch. phil lebeau is here. the thing that confuses me about this story, apparently the researchers did not assess whether or not the faulty switches played a part in the failure of the airbags. in other words, we're not sure about the connection just yet. >> right. well, the connection would be if you buy into what the center for automotive safety is saying, is that the ignition switch doesn't work, therefore, the electronics are off in the vehicle and the airbags are not deployed. by the way, you have to be careful about saying these people died because the airbags did not go off. the cause of death remains unclear. there are a lot of questions about the accidents that are involved here that the center for automotive safety says the airbags were not deployed and therefore there should have been an investigation. but the center for automotive safety is saying 303 deaths are linked to faulty airbags. they track them out basically from 2005 all the way through 2013. take a look at the number of deaths related to the cobalt and ion.

the run we aeason we are showin two, those are two vehicles recalled by gm that are part of the study here. clarence ditlow talks about why he believes the federal government really dropped the ball here. >> nhtsa closed their eyes to this defect. this crash data base, if it had been linked up with the reports that gm was filing with the government on deaths in cobalts and ions, they would have found the airbags weren't deploying. >> we talked with the national highway traffic safety administration. it says that on three separate occasions, nhtsa sent investigators to look at the cobalt crashes where airbags did not deploy but our results were inconclusive. that's what nhtsa says about these allegations from the center for automotive safety. shares of general motors getting a bit of a bounce back today, not much, but a little bit. keep in mind that general motors says you can take raw data, which is what this is, and twist those numbers any way you want.

the real comparison should be in terms of each individual crash and the circumstances involving them and compare it with other comparable models at the time. >> phil, thank you. let's hear from a gm shareholder from revenue shares, vince lowry. his firm owns nearly 260,000 shares. are you selling gm on this news? >> no. we would not sell general motors on this news. our revenue weighted large cap 500 has about 1.25% of our holdings in general motors, it's got annual revenues of about $156 billion. that's only about $10 billion less than prior to going into bankruptcy. this would not be the first time that our auto industry was involved in tragic situations where people have died and 300 people, that's a big number, but it's a very complex case and i'm not a lawyer, but again, during most of the period where these

deaths occurred in the autos that were created were in the former gm, and i'm sure people would argue that that company's bankrupt and this is a new general motors. though there is always something to be worked out, we have seen it in the past, ford had a major problem with gasoline tanks back in the late '70s when maybe 200 people were killed. it eventually resolves and there's compensation and it doesn't have long term effects on the ability of the business to continue on. >> then if not this, what would make you sell? >> general motors? >> yeah. >> well, with revenue shares, we fully replicate the s&p 500. we would never sell general motors unless s&p removed it. with that said, general motors has extreme value here. the stock market itself is trading at about $1.60 for every $1.60 in capitalization for

every dollar in annual revenue. you can buy general motors for 40 cents in capitalization for every dollar in annual revenue. it outperformed the market last year significantly. it was up 41% versus 31 so it's backed off 16% now and by the way, they have reduced their ability where they were at about $15 billion prior to the bankrupt -- 15 million car sales, u.s. car sales for the entire industry was their break-even point. it's now down to 10.5 million total sales in the u.s. industry and they have made significant cuts. they are a very strong company right now. the products they're creating at this point are very, very good products. so i don't think even if i were making a separate decision, would i sell general motors. >> thank you very much for joining us. let's bring phil lebeau back in. let's switch from cars to

planes. the conspiracy theories are growing. over that malaysian jet that went missing a week ago. here's the thing. what if anything do we actually know and are confident in? >> well, that it was sending out at least a ping, if you want to call it that, from the system on the plane that was picked up up to five hours after the last communication with air traffic control. >> malaysia says that didn't happen. they say no, it's not true. >> no, no, no, what malaysia said didn't happen was that the engines were feeding back data realtime. rolls royce came out and situated that didn't happen. in reality, what happened, and this has been confirmed by multiple sources, that the airplane's sat-com unit was sending out a ping. that doesn't have a definitive location, it doesn't say a lot other than the airplane is here, still intact, so to speak, and that it was flying for several hours after the last contact. that's it. that's why you see that circle

there. that's the area that they believe the range of where the airplane could have flown. actually, it's a little wider than that, extends all the way over into india or past india there, almost to the middle east. you're looking at a pretty wide range there. that's it. otherwise, you've got to go on what the white house said yesterday which is there's information that leads them to believe that it's somewhere in the indian ocean. >> here's the thing -- >> the indian ocean is huge. >> it is absolutely huge. it's like finding a needle in a haystack. because we still know so little, it feels like the theories that are being thrown out there are starting to sound like conspiracy theories, yet at this stage, anything is possible, no? >> absolutely. especially because some of these things, they run counter to what conventional wisdom is. conventional wisdom is there was some catastrophic event, mechanical failure, and the plane plunged into the ocean. well, look at the facts that they do know, which is that the transponder was turned off, the satellite communication system, the other communications, they were turned off before it turned

and started doing a v. if there was a catastrophic event, why would they be turned off and then the airplane would do a v. that doesn't make sense. why send out a ping five hours later. this is all fueling all of these ideas that are out there. you guys want to have some fun? go on the internet. look at some of the theories out there. >> all i hope is they're still alive. thank you very much, phil lebeau. our hearts go out to them. still ahead, will rising food costs take a really big bite out of one of the sweetest treats out there? the ceo of cinnabun will join us. you know on this show we have been asking for awhile, is san francisco the new new york. our next guest says it might be and not in a good way. like this: dozens of tax free zones across new york state. move here. expand here. or start a new business here... and pay no taxes for 10 years. with new jobs, new opportunities and a new tax free plan. there's only one way for your business to go. up. find out if your business can qualify at start-upny.com

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shares of general motors -- general mills, rather -- i caught it. thanks. taking a hit today after the company warned among other things, rising commodity costs could impact its bottom line, also perhaps the first company to reference venezuela in its earnings release. general mills shares down about 2% on the session. how are rising commodity costs impacting one of america's sweetest treats? cat cole is president of cinnabun. great to have you with us. we have been following rising prices in sugar, corn, wheat. how is that impacting your bottom line? >> so far we have been fairly stable. we have been able to be covered

through the second quarter of this year and expect a couple of those categories, particularly sugar and coffee, to start dropping closer toward the end of the year. we think we will be able to hold our current prices and aren't too afraid of what's going on to affect these yummy little rolls just yet. >> no offense, there's nothing little about those. are you guys feeling the change -- some good new studies on obesity among kids. are you feeling the change? >> we tried to get in front of that and say there is no question, we are an indulgence, we are proud of it. we totally stand in that position. >> you are not breakfast. >> we are not breakfast or lunch or dinner. we are a special treat. what we have done is made them significantly smaller so we have got still our famous classic roll but the mini buns that are only 320 calories, the bites that are only 90 calories and a new doughnut product that's smaller, less indulgent, still a little bit sweet but more easy to share and then you can indulge in the way that's right for you. >> how concerned are you about political efforts to expand

eligibility for overtime pay, not to mention the various efforts also to raise the minimum wage? is this something you support or will it actually hurt your business? >> it could hurt our business. right now, no one knows what the laws will be. obama has simply directed them to work on change in policy, to change and expand the overtime rules. the issue for us is we are a franchise business. we have got small business owners that are seeing growing uncertainty as to what their profit margins might be in the next year so obama care, change in the minimum wage, now an evolution of overtime rules could dramatically affect my franchise partners that only own one or two businesses. >> democrats would say you're whining. >> no, just looking to have a seat at the table so as things do evolve, everyone clearly understands what the unintended consequences of these decisions might be. >> thank you very much for your candid response. >> my pleasure. still ahead, smuckers, solar and steel. and we get closer to revealing today's mystery chart.

your first hint was snakes. here's your next hint. paul husson. announcer: where can an investor be a name and not a number? scottrade. ron: i'm never alone with scottrade. i can always call or stop by my local office. they're nearby and ready to help. so when i have questions, i can talk to someone who knows exactly how i trade. because i don't trade like everybody.

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happy friday, everybody. just wanted to put that out there one more time. let's get to street talk, stock news and views you can use. >> somewhere in this pile of papers. >> what are you looking for? a pen? first up, j.m. smuckers. wing it like you do everything else. >> let's do it. down to 96.24. credit suisse coming out, making concerning comments about profits and the declining competitiveness among higher coffee costs. we talked about how coffee has soared this year. credit suisse's rating is neutral, a target of 97, stock at 96.24. know what they're saying? no reason to own the stock. >> can't be clearer than that. intercept pharmaceuticals, huge price target increase by citi. nice gain. >> i saw this this morning and did a double-take. i thought no way this is right. it is. citigroup increasing their target to $700 for intercept. the stock is at $462. that's 51.7% right now above the current price. they are confident in recent

drug trial data changes. wow. >> let's take a look at alcoa. >> rare positive. you don't get a lot of positive stuff. >> you didn't give me any props whatsoever for saying initiated. i'm trying to be american. >> fantastic. all right. alcoa target $15. that's about 25% upside. the stock higher by about 11% year to date. the analyst, guy name josh sullivan, clearly a genius. >> yeah. yeah. third cousin twice removed. under the radar name, great ticker, diamond back energy. why a great ticker? it's f-a-n-g. fang. sink your teeth into that one. >> that joke had no bite. valuation range increased to 90 to $94 from $73 to $77. so a big price target jump on fang. wells fargo believes royalties for the company's mineral interests in midland county, texas, it's an oil and gas

driller, conservatively worth $15 a share. hiking the price target on fang. >> before we get to talking numbers, we have some breaking news with mary thompson. what are you looking at? >> reporter: well, we know regulators have been investigating what they call the libor price fixing scandal, basically accusing a number of banks of fixing the benchmark interest rate. today we have the fdic suing 16 banks saying that in essence, their manipulation of libor caused substantial losses to 38 banks that the u.s. regulate joshor, the fdic, have taken into receivership since 2008. some of the banks affected, they say washington mutual as well as mac bank. among the defendants, bank of america, citigroup, deutsche bank, jpmorgan and royal bank of scotland. back to you. >> mary thompson, thanks very much. those stocks down a half to 2% but they haven't dropped more on the news. we have to wait and see. the news just breaking.

let's go to talking numbers as the snazzy graphics show. green mountain, the subject today. the shares up 7.5% today after revising its licensing deal with starbucks. green mountain, up about 50% this year. is it a buy or a sell if you made profit? let's talk numbers. pleased to welcome john cosar, and steve cortez. john, i will start with you on the charts because when a stock has gone up 50% this quickly, i thi think is there anything there that supports it further? >> i think so. on a very near term kind of base circumstances sis, we are monthly oversold and we are really negotiating that 116 area which was the highs from 2011. we will probably have to do a little work up there. once we get there, i think we can eventually end up at 130, 135-ish later on this year. which is about 18% from where we

are right now. >> 130, 135-ish later this year. steve, fundamentally speaking, does it support it? >> you came to the right guy. i'm a colombian so i should know my coffee. i do not believe in this company or similar companies. you mentioned coffee prices. all agricultural commodities are absolutely soaring from soybeans to cattle to coffee. bad news for the processors and sellers of those commodities. while these companies, starbucks, green mountain, have done terrifically well if you look at the coffee commodity, jo is the etf that tracks that -- >> or cafe. really smart guy bet herb greenberg that coffee would outperform gold over the calendar past 12 months. >> indeed. jo, i assume cafe as well, has doubled this year, going from $20 to $40 already this year. it is absolutely soaring. that is great news for juan valdez, not great news for green mountain and similar companies.

>> got to leave it there. you have to be a plucky guy to bet against herb greenberg. he's a very smart guy. thank you so much for joining us. >> be sure to check out the online edition of talking numbers, part of our partnership with yahoo! finance. next, big money, wild parties, conspicuous consumption. sounds good. the case for why san francisco is the new new york. we will be revealing today's mystery chart. why it has u.s. investors green with envy. that's your clue. first, let's check in with bill and kelly. >> we got eyes on the market heading into the close here. could be either an up day or down day. the dow trying to avoid this five day losing streak. also, new developments out of the general motors recall story. reports that a simple plastic part would have cost the company $1 per vehicle and could have fixed ignition issues. gm elected not to do it. plus david gregory joins us with his take on the latest in ukraine as they get ready for

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firms in the country. ♪ for a team of financial professionals who provide customized solutions. for all of your wealth management and retirement goals, discover how pnc wealth management can help you achieve. visit pnc.com/wealthsolutions to find out more. all right. time for the mystery chart. we gave you a couple minutes. the first one, snakes.

the second one, paul husson, who is also -- >> bono! >> which means? >> it must be luck of the irish. >> why snakes? >> because the snakes were purged and pushed out of the country. that's why no snakes in ireland to this day. >> that's why we are playing the offensive stereotypical irish music. >> since we are mentioning ireland, tportugal, italy, ireland, greece and spain, have actually been crushing it so far this year. spain up over the past 12 months. what's the moral of the story? >> hang out with irish people. >> no. invest when there's blood in the streets. >> there you go. viewers, for about a year, i have argued that san francisco and silicon valley are turning into the new new york. consider this. million dollar tear-downs, wild parties, conspicuous consumption, private transportation for the elite. who cares if somebody's wearing a hickey freeman suit or has on jeans and a beard? joining us is "new york" magazine's kevin ruse.

very funny guy who wrote about this in this week's "new york" magazine. when i read the excellent piece, i said we got to get you on. thanks very much for joining us by phone. you've been out there for awhile. do you really think this is turning into the new new york? >> in some ways, yes. if you just look at the economic data alone, it's startling. you have a lower unemployment rate in san francisco, about 5% than almost any large city in the country, including new york. you have rents that are $800 a month higher on average in san francisco than in new york. more job growth, you have sort of lower budget deficits and it's amazing when you're just out here, the level of economic enthusiasm. it's like the crash never happened. >> you know what? i was reading your article thinking this actually sounds a little like great gatsby, the heyd heyday with the 1920s.

a lot of people feel like what's happening in silicon valley right now, with fears of a tech bubble, what if it all crashes? what happens then? is there enough diversity for it to keep on growing? >> that's the question du jour. in 1999, you will remember, everyone also rushed out to silicon valley and then came back when the bubble popped. i think there's a sense here that this is not sustainable, but i also feel like there are people who think this is definitely sustainable, that this is sort of a part of a fundamental realignment of the economy around tech and that actually if you look at the multiples and valuations of these companies, it's actually not like what happened in 1999 at all. in fact, while there may be some overexuberance now, we also may be in for decades of growth. >> we might. who cares. here's my problem. if you are a teacher or a cop in palo alto, you probably live 100 miles away because we just did a story about a $1.6 million

tear-down. the money that is centered in that area is turning into gre w greenwich, connecticut. it will quickly separate reality, especially when you start talking about people taking private buses, all of a sudden you don't know your kid's teacher because they live a time zone away. >> absolutely. it's a huge problem. i live in the east bay which is where a lot of people who are getting priced out of san francisco are moving and even in my neighborhood, it's ridiculous. you have open houses that have all cash offers within the first five minutes. you have people desperate to find a place to live. >> where are the people getting priced out of east bay going? fresno? >> they have to keep moving east and east and out into more suburban areas. it creates a lot of hostility, too. i talked to one guy who had been priced out of san francisco twice, one in 1999 and once just a few years ago, and he's in a

band and they have a song called "blow up the google bus." >> fantastic article. if you haven't read it out there, do so. the gratuitous use of butts is eye-catching as well. >> we should have played the song "journey from the end of east bay" about a guy that moves from new orleans. punk rock. up next, do it yourself investing. the analyst showing home improvement stocks some love. two similar restaurant companies, but two very different stocks. one is up 50% over the last year. the other one, flatsville. which is the most appetizing to own? we will dig in on that, next. and drive forward with broader possibilities. cme group: how the world advances.

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darden and brinker. one runs olive garden and red lobster, the other, chile's and maggiano's italian. similar companies, very different stocks. dom chu is here to show us which stock is winning in this pair trade. >> the stocks, in terms of restaurant companies, two of the biggest in the countries, definitely moving in opposite directions. if you look at drinker international, this particular stock is one that's pretty decent in terms of performance. the stock is up, you can see here, a decent amount, probably 14% so far this year. then you've got darden, parent company of olive garden, red

lobster. this stock is down about 10% on the year. again, opposite directions, both of these companies are trading just around where the average analyst estimates are. so we asked piper jaffrey analyst what's happening with these two stocks. for brinker it's a wait and see attitude. the cfo just left the company and their market share is static. they are not losing but they're not gaining. they are a regular share repurchaser and that helps earnings growth. darden, on the other hand, is losing market share in its core brands and has inconsistent earnings. but they do have the ability to retain good brand and store level managers. that's a big thing, the people power factor. still, if you are short darden stock and bought brinker at the beginning of the year, you would have a big winning pair trade. the gap, 24% in terms of the upper end of the gains and the lower end of the losses for those darden shares. >> very quick question. which do you prefer to eat at? obviously each has a stable of different brands.

which do you prefer? >> it's lent right now so i will lean towards red lobster and it's friday, so maybe cheddar baked biscuits and lobster tail. >> also the start of their lobsterfest. i saw that last night. >> i want to seafood differently. i will go with red lobster. let's bring in barclay's jeffrey bernstein. great to have you with us today. we were just talking about red lobster since it is dom's favorite place to eat. i'm just wondering, we were talking about crustacean inflation. how can they still afford to do their all you can eat for one price and is this hurting them? >> yeah, no, food inflation is a challenge and it is being led by seafood and especially shrimp. it's a delicate situation for them. they do have a certain amount of contracted product already but i'm sure they are contemplating what price point to be charging for that ever popular all you can eat shrimp as we speak. >> does darden need fundamental

changes? >> darden is probably in the need of some fundamental changes. they had a heroic run for many, many years led by olive garden and now the competition's gotten a little stronger, maybe darden's gotten a little bit lax in terms of marketing and remodel of stores so they need a refresh. >> shouldn't be refresh. >> should it be broken up? >> it is a portfolio of seven brands. darden believes that, you know, red lobster needs to be separated and there are some shareholders who say we need a broader operation of maybe red lobster and olive garden. at this point it seems only red lobster will be the one spun off. red lobster is clearly a lot more volatile and we'd expect most everyone would agree that red lobster should be spun. the big debate is whether or not olive garden goes with it. >> talk to us about brinker's cf o and the surprising departure. does that spell any changes either short term or long term in terms of their strategy and does anything worry you there? >> we were very sorry to see the cfo go from brinker. a very well-liked individual on the street. not sure where he's going to

turn up, but we have no concern about a near term change in strategy. that cfo put the strategy in place four-plus years ago. it's worked beautifully over the last four years. management has made it clear that no matter who takes over in that cfo roll, the company is well entrenched in their strategy. brink ser is one of our preferr casual diners. >> jeffrey bernstein, thank you very much. >> that was a food battle. let's go to a battle of the home improvement retailers. on one hand, home depot and in the blue trunks lowe's. your next guest likes them both. brian nagel, your naught caught our eye this morning. you like them both. how is that possible? >> i think -- thanks for having me on. i think both companies are extraordinarily well positioned at this point to continue to capitalize upon be a improving housing environment in the united states and more importantly in the near term is

weather. i'm optimistic that this harsh winter will eventually end or soon end and we're going to enter into springlike conditions. >> we were talking about earlier on. once the sun comes out, people start doing their repairs and fixing around the home and all the things they've been putting off. i'm interested in something you have in your note. you say that home depot and lowe's are unlikely home runs from here. so what are you saying? just a short-term trade? >> more or less. look, it's probably a longer conversation than we have time for. i really think the retail group in general has run its course. i think home improvement retail within that context is one remaining bright spot. even here you're looking at companies or stock that is have had huge runs over the past few years. they're no longer really cheap. operating margins are back towards peak or in the case of home depot probably peak level. and within the context of a big run, they're closer to the end than the beginning. >> managers or ceos if they

heard me say this would probably fall out of their chair but i'm going to say it anyway. what's the difference between these companies? is there really -- if you buy them at the same time, should you also sell them? how different are they? i kind of view them as interchangeable. i'm sorry. >> more or less they are. if you compare home depot and lowe's to other retailers, home depot and lowe's are very similar. over the last few years home depot has been the better company. lowe's has been playing catch-up. >> home depot's ceo is on line one by the way. >> i wasn't saying how they are run. i was saying as a customer. >> i totally get it and i'd probably say the same thing except i very rarely go into places like that. >> because you live in manhattan. >> very quickly, what's the biggest risk? >> the biggest risk is housing. for whatever reason the u.s. housing market stopped recoveri recovering, no question hoeme

dough p depot and lowe's would be hurt. >> forget that box of wine -- box? >> there are good boxes of wine now. >> did you really just say that? >> i did. there are good boxed wine because it's an environment thing. >> got it. okay. anyway, there's also big money push to kegs of wine. we're going from the bocks to the keg. the keg. xes to the keg. and a new tax free plan. there's only one way for your business to go. up. find out if your business can qualify at start-upny.com

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news flash. the wine world has gone screwy. first it was cork and then the screw top, and now jane wells is here to show us the new way that wine is being poured. and i believe it's a huge money saver as well. >> yes. mandy, wine sales growth is slowing because minute lelians like their craft beer and cocktails. here are three trends to watch. first, at pebble beach they are serving wines from a keg, at pebble beach. they have installed the largest draw in the country to serve wines on tap. they say it reduces spoilage and saves on trash. >> it's an approach to demystify this thing that is wine. make it more approachable and fun. >> with the reduction of glass we're doing, with bottles taken out of the environment, it's over ten tons. >> second trend, winemakers went to screw caps to avoid tainted

cork are coming back. winemaker clay shannon has made the switch back. >> the retail customer started pushing back on some of our wines, i believe, because they weren't cork finished. >> the final trend, and you're going to have to go to cnbc.com to see it, merlot is back from the dead. most people say. guys, back to you. >> jane, thanks very much. couldn't have our wine fight, maybe we'll save it for next week because we have breaking news on tesla. phil lebeau, welcome back. >> thank you, brian. this is a letter from elon musk that he has just put out on the tesla website. it's called a letter to the people of new jersey. i'm not going to go into all of it. it's rather lengthy. basically explains their opinion of how the process went down last week where the state of motor vehicles commission decided to ban the sale of automobiles in the state of new jersey direct in automakers to consumers. what's noteworthy is at the end we are evaluated judicial

remedies to correct the situation. also they mentioned that they will be converted their two stores in new jersey into galleries. the way it works in other states, you can go in. you can look at the car but they can't talk pricing or delivery of vehicles. you will have to go into manhattan or into pennsylvania, somewhere else to do that, and you will still be able to order in new jersey, but there's going to have to be a third party that delivers it to you in the state. >> phil, i'm going to put you on the spot. in your mind, is it that the dealers are afraid of tesla or are they afraid tesla's model may work? if i own a gm dealership and i see tesla working, i may think why do i have to buy 100 cars and put them on the lot and buy -- >> i think at the end of the day they're worried more this is the precedent that opens the door for ford and gm and chrysler and whoever else to say, well, look, tesla is successful and they can go then to a court and say we want to get rid of the franchise system. that's the concern. are they worried about sales at a tesla store hurting your business? they will tell you they are.

i have seen no evidence that is the case. >> thank you for the breaking news, phil lebeau. let's take a quick look at what's going on in the markets because the nasdaq is on pace for its largest weekly loss in 11 months. on a good note -- >> how much is the s&p down? >> it is down just a tiny little bit. >> just down -- >> but we're better than the rest of the world so far this year. thanks for watching, everybody. and welcome to "the closing bell" on this friday. i'm kelly evans at the new york stock exchange where the dow is trying to avoid losing ground for a fifth consecutive day. >> it's been up and down today, but so far down day for the dow would mean a loss every day this week. that hasn't happened in a five-day week in nearly two years. the ukraine mess hanging over the heads of investors right now with an international showdown looming over the weekend, but there is someone not worried about all that. we'll talk about that coming