industry. >> i tracked fred smith's tracking number and it says he is still in a memphis distribution center. >> he's here all week! >> i'm off. today is my friday. going to the mountains of colorado for a couple of days. >> thanks for watching "power lunch." "the closing bell" starts right now. hi, everybody. welcome to "the closing bell." i am kelly evans at the new york stock exchange. >> i'm scott wapner in for bill griffith. the dow dragged down by the financials. >> intel ceo meeting with president trump at the white house, one of the many ceos going through today and announcing his company will invest $7 million in a factory in arizona. it comes days after intel joined more than a hundred companies

opposing trump's immigration executive order. the president taking aim at nordstrom today for pulling his daughter's clothing line. the stock is rallying today. coming up, we talk to two top analysts on whether they think trump's top target can be in for a ride. >> eamon javers has the intel from the white house. >> i have never really seen a new plant announcement inside the oval office before. something new here from the trump administration. sean spicer, the white house press secretary, a little while ago briefing reporters, said we can expect this will become a pattern with this administration. here is the moment inside the oval office when intel ceo explained what it is they are announcing today. >> it's an honor to be here today representing intel. and to be able to announce our $7 billion investment in our newest, most advanced factory in chandler, arizona. we'll be completing that factory to make the most advanced,

seven-nanometer semi conductor chips on the planet. >> here is the political battle intel is going. earlier this week they were more of the 100 companies that signed onto an amicus brief in the litigation surrounding the president's executive order on immigration. intel there arguing the president's position on immigration in the executive order might not even be constitutional. then today the ceo appearing side by side with president trump in order to announce the new plant and the rollout of potential new jobs. so like so many companies, intel trying to balance in its dealings with the new administration here in washington, guys. >> eamon, same question we ask on the heels of a lot of these announcements. are these new positions, new factory, that the investors were not previously aware of? >> that's going to be the interesting question. it reminds me of something we saw early on during the obama administration. they talked about jobs they'd created or saved and you got

into a dilemma of how can you say whether a job has been saved or not and who gets the political credit for that. white houses always want the political credit. politicians have loved ribbon cuttings for generations. this white house willing to take political credit here today. >> if you recall, eamon, maybe it's not that big of a surprise that krzanich was doing this and in the oval office. remember, he was going to have a fund-raiser for the president in may on the campaign trail and was forced to cancel because of criticism that arose at the time. they do have a relationship of support going back many months, minimum. >> yeah. this is a president who likes to deal interpersonally, one on one with the people in the room. he likes to see them, shake their hands, talk to them, find out what's going on in their beezow doo-do businesses. we saw that a lot last week. from intel's perspective you wouldn't necessarily do this at all unless you could get your ceo in the room with the

president of the united states. that is extraordinarily valuable real estate. the white house knows it. intel knows it. that's why you saw the event today. >> eamon, good stuff. eamon javers, north lawn of the white house. more on the president's war of words with nordstrom. financial stocks down for a third day in a row. wilfred frost has been running elbows at the summit. >> share prices down three days in a row but it comes post a big jump on friday as president trump started the ball rolling on financial deregulation. why are stocks down? the first reason is the realization that the financial deregulation will be slower and more piecemeal than perhaps the share price move on friday suggested. that's the sentiment we got from black rock ceo larry fink earlier. also speaking to a senior banking ceo who suggested the consensus amongst ceos that the senate will not reach the 60

votes needed to outright repeal dodd/frank. the other reason you alluded to earlier, scott, moves in yields. we went from 2.5% on the ten-year monday morning to 2.35% today. lower yields bad for banks. the other takeaways today at the conference, insights from ceos who attended the business round-table with president trump at the white house on friday. both larry fink of blackrock and mark weinberger were upbeat about how the meeting went. they both also suggested that infrastructure spend might be the first thing that's actually delivered on in terms of the president's priorities. weinberger, in what was a very revealing conversation about the meeting, also with other quirky takeaways. he said that technology and the way that affects the work force was discussed as opposed to simply trade affecting the workforce. he also said that the ceos were given homework to work on over the next month before they all meet again and to report back on the homework to the president. he also revealed that the president's daughter, ivanka,

had been more than just an observer at the meeting and raised the issue of women's rights in the workplace very passionately. meantime, wells fargo ceo tim sloan suggested he hadn't even spoken to the president yet. he is not, of course, been attending those meetings as we well know. in terms of general market sentiment, larry fink of blackrock was very bearish. >> i see a lot of dark shadows that could impact the direction of the marketplace. >> if i can make a strong case why the ten-year treasury is going to be below 2%. >> he said he could see also why it would hit 4% but was more confident it would hit 2% if he was forced to bet. he also suggested the rise in consumer confidence may suggest that all the benefits we are seeing at the moment are already priced into the market. a lot of people speaking today. the next up is the ceo of

barclays. >> interest rates going higher was supposed to be a key reason why the financials would keep outperforming. we saw them run up since the election but bond yields are stalling. what happens if they stay at these levels? >> not specifically because i think that is a daily-moving feast. and yes, we have seen them pull back relatively sharply over a three-day period. but that's not a topic for discussion that they really want to be drawing on. going back to larry fink, who gave the most guidance in terms of the market. ag he suggested the fed and janet yellen have done a pretty good job over the last seven years but can expect their job to get tougher moving forward because of the president's confusing rhetoric on which way he wants to see the dollar go. he suggested he expects one to two rate hikes this year. that was larry fink. >> all right. thanks, will. wilfred frost from the yahoo finance conference.

joining our "the closing bell" exchange. kenny from o'neill securities and keith bliss. and our own rick santelli. rick, why are yields falling? >> part of the issue is what's going on in europe, whether it's politically driven with regard to votes coming up that could cause more splintering in the european union or generically some of the issues of italian banks and greece. i think it's the relative value trade just in slow motion. let's do keep in mind, we are ten basis points down on where we settled 2016 and we're six weeks into the year. yes, it's a downward direction. with regard to how that play play forward, i also want to stress that, if you look at every fed meeting, there always seems to be a buildup going in and a fall-off going out, this being no exception. and as far as who it's good for and who it isn't good for, generically saying dropping interest rates are not good for banks, i beg to differ. too big to fail banks did pretty

well at a time where interest rates were pressured lower. however, we did see that today's softening had a big bias towards a flattening curve, arguably not as as friendly as a more steepening complexion to the yield. >> you are nodding, keith. on the surface things look calm but it feels like there is a tug-of-war between the number of things that look bearish and those that look okay. look at lumber. it's volatile but keeps surging. what's going on? >> there is absolutely a tug-of-war not only in the equity indexes but also in the bond market. what's important for the financials is not necessarily the aggregate level of the yield curve but the steepness of the curve. if you look from december to today, the spread has increased though it is flattening out in the last few days. i think the market will pick it up on the financials and actually, once we get short term oversold it will help the market

in aggregate especially the russell 2000. >> it feels like the market has gone as far as it can go on hope and expectation. now it's time to show me. show me the stuff that investors have been banking on. if you don't get it in the time frame people think you will, you'll march right back to where we came from. >> that's the fear. the dow, s&p, russell. we're in a very tight trading pattern. we ran right up after the election on that expectation. >> deservedly so. >> absolutely. >> everybody going, this is great. now you're seeing pushback from congress, the lines being drawn in the sand. you can see where the fights will be. he may have over promised and is going to under deliver. that's the key. say it's the first 100 days. after we get through that you'll have a better idea. i think then is when you're going to see we're moving higher or we'll start to back off. >> rick, that's an interesting theme. that's another tug-of-war.

did the president overpromise and underdeliver or is he delivering on his campaign pledges and promises that have helped the markets soar since he was elected? >> i certainly think he's trying to deliver. the party of no on the other side wants to stall everything including sales of hand bags. i think he's under promising and will overdeliver. the legislation is written on trade, border adjustment taxes. in my opinion those are chips in a giant bargaining scheme. i certainly don't think as mr. forbes has said that all the granular detail of the worst fears are going to show up. once again, with regard to investors, they look at this market and they are holding pat. it isn't that difficult to understand why. anybody looking at a tesla chart lately and look at their balance sheet? you'll understand. >> keith, it's the pace of the delivery. not over or under promising so much as the pace at which he can do and they can do what they

said that they want to do and what investors are banking on them doing. >> scott, i think we need to take a step back. it's february 8th, 2017. i think investors are getting a little bit frustrated because of where we are in the calendar both in earnings, post-inauguration. we are moving sideways. people want to break out. the vix is stuck below 12. it's outside of the 12 and 20 channel. you're right. so the noise is that -- echoing rick's comments -- the noises coming out of washington are trump wants to move quickly and the democrats will push back with every chance they get. >> even some of the republicans may not be fully on board to the magnitude of some of what he wants to do. >> because they're not up for reelection in two years. that's part of the issue that's going on. in the political calculus which is now playing out before our eyes in washington, it will have a big impact, i think, for the remainder of 2017 and 2018.

looking at the senatorial situation, there is a massive impact there. not to get too political. >> we already have. genie is out of the bottle. >> some of the democrats will have to play ball. the pace of the agenda may quicken as we move along. >> appreciate you joining us. keith, kenny and rick. to this market flash. what's going on? >> up about 6% just shy of three million shares. much heavier than average volume. according to a filing, mercado capital the hedge fund, has disclosed a 6% stake in deckers outdoor. that would make them a top ten shareholder of the company overall. this a name, at least famous for ugg boots and teffa sandals. deckers outdoor, under performer, down 20% over the course of the year-to-date

period and 7% over the past year. an undervalued stock. they say they will engage in discussions about directors and officers in the company. that's why they're surging. >> the reason i love this story is not just because the ugg is involved. it's because of the discussion yesterday about the market being overvalued. if there are thoughtful investors who can find a company like this and declare it's undervalued, that tells you there is still some -- we haven't all decided that there is nothing out there that's a buy anyway. >> they're pushing for changes there as well. you don't know what's going to happen. >> activist is one strategy for sure. thanks, dom. 45 minutes to go. dow down 38 points. s&p up a point. transports are up today. vix unchanged. russell small caps down three. john allison could be in the running to fill a vacancy in the fed overseeing bank regulations. mr. alison speaks with us next.

whole foods. lion's gate and prudential report numbers after the bell. keep it here. you're watching cnbc, first in business worldwide. this car is traveling over 200 miles per hour. to win, every millisecond matters. both on the track and thousands of miles away. with the help of at&t, red bull racing can share critical information about every inch of the car from virtually anywhere. brakes are getting warm. confirmed, daniel you need to cool your brakes. understood, brake bias back 2 clicks. giving them the agility to have speed & precision. because no one knows & like at&t. ♪ to err is human. to anticipate is lexus. experience the lexus rx with advanced safety standard. experience amazing.

. welcome back. banking veteran and former bb&t ceo john allison being mentioned. his cv includes -- resumé, really, being named for the harvard business review as one of the top 100 successful ceos in the world in the last decade. >> we're joined by john allison. in skooexecutive residence at t wake forest school of business. glad to have you today. >> thank you very much. good to be with you. >> is this a position you want and one you think you're likely to get? >> that's an interesting question. i spent three years in washington, d.c., running the libertarian think tank. it was an interesting environment. i am not so sure i want to go

back into that environment with all that's going on. i know a lot of things i'd like to see the fed do. but how practically you could implement them is hard to know. i have mixed emotions. >> but you're not saying that you don't want the job as vice chair, or as a vice chair. you wouldn't turn it down if offered by the president, would you? >> i don't know. i don't know. since it hadn't -- nothing formal has been said, so i don't really know. >> you know, what i am thinking about is the way your nomination would fit a piece with many of them we've seen so far. a guy who wanted to get rid of the energy department now running it and so forth. how would you think your philosophy which is in many ways opposed to what the federal reserve has become as an institution today, what would that look like if you were part of the federal reserve board, for example? >> that's a really interesting question. if i had a magic wand i wouldn't have a federal reserve, i would have a private banking system with a market-based standard for

monetary, which might be gold, it might be other kinds of commodities. i don't -- that's not going to happen in my lifetime. but what i would really like to see is a radical reduction in the destructive regulatory impact the fed has had particularly since dodd/frank but even before dodd/frank through policies that supported fair lending and influenced banks to make too risky loans in the housing market. now they've flipped the other way and made it almost impossible to make loans to small businesses. and that's been very destructive in the economy. this is a little esoteric, but the fed has been its own worst enemy. they created all these qes which increased the base money supply but 90% of money comes from private institutions. banks. banks lend money to tom. tom spends the money with fred. fred puts the money in the bank. they lend the money to sally.

the fed has increased the base but tightened the lending standards so much that they've actually slowed economic activity. >> let me ask you, john, then what your ideal fed board -- the board that decides monetary policy is just one piece of the federal reserve. but if you were on the board or look at it from where you're sitting today, it's the optimal mix of academics, practitioners, outsiders? what's the kind of person who you think needs to be on that board with everything you just discussed? >> i think we need people who don't agree with everything the fed does. it's kind of a group think organization. if you deal with them. they have hundreds of ph.d.s and all come to the same conclusions which almost guarantees you they're wrong in a sense. you need board members willing to stand up to the chairperson. i think that's been a problem not just with the current chairperson but going back down. greenspan.

you get serious discussion at a different perspective. we need some what i call real bankers. in my 40-plus year career in banking, we have never had the top-flight bankers on the federal reserve board. it's always been somebody with political connections. so they really haven't really been a meaningful voice. so there is very little representation of the -- kind of the nuts and bolts that makes the industry work. >> sir, have you had any conversation with the president about succeeding janet yellen if he so decides that he doesn't want chair yellen to run the federal reserve anymore? that's my first question. i have a follow-up. >> no, we have not talked about that. >> you've said in the past -- and i'm quoting -- what i really want to do with the federal reserve is control it. are you suggesting, by saying that, that you couldn't work with chair yellen or that you think that she has not done a good job and needs to be replaced? >> um, yes. i would have a difficult time working with her because i

really disagree with her. in contrast to most. it's interesting to me that many people say the fed has done a good job. i think the fed has done a very bad job. i think they actually were the main cause of the 2008, '9, economic connection from the policies they had before that. i think since, handling the crisis, you can argue they did a good job after they started the crisis. after starting the fire. but the tightening of lending standards has created a very negative growth rate in small business creation, which is huge job creator and a big creator of innovation. and it helps the middle class. i think the tightening of lending standard has been destructive. >> i am surprised to hear you say you'd have a hard time working with chair yellen. you seem to be suggesting you are the type of person they need where you could have a voice like your own to help push back

on some of the policies of the chair. no? >> that's a valid -- yes, you've got a valid point. that doesn't necessarily mean i would personally want to do that. that's kind of an interesting question. it's an interesting question, really, how successful anyone could be in that role. even though we need that role. >> john, we appreciate you joining us. john allison, the former bb&t ceo and future question mark at this point. >> thank you very much. we have breaking news on a key brexit vote. wilfred frost has the details for us. >> yes, indeed. so the final vote in the house of commons on the uk government's european bill, brexit bill, has passed resoundingly. 494 votes to 122 votes. this bill still has to go through the house of lords, but given the overwhelming majority in the elected house of commons, it leaves the unelected house of

lords almost no power to alter or stop it. also over the last week, all the relevant attempted amendments to the bill were rejected. so this is a very clear victory for prime minister theresa may. and it hands her now the power and authority to invoke article 50 as and when she pleases which we know, of course, is by the end of march. so we can expect the brexit process to be triggered fairly soon. the pound has not moved much off the back of this because this vote was fairly well expected. >> right now at 125. we're watching it as you speak. thank you. >> with an eye towards april. >> i am. that's right. that's right. a little travel coming up. 35 minutes to go before we close it up. dow is right now down 39 points, about 50 points below its all-time closing high. there is a look at the market picture. s&p up a point. nasdaq is up about 9. cancer drug maker spiking on takeover hopes. details next. as apple stock covers near

all-time highs the tech giant making a move to up its game in the tv space. we'll debate whether the move is too little, too late coming up. i don't know. $6.95 per trade? uhhh- and i was wondering if your brokerage offers some sort of guarantee? guarantee? where we can get our fees and commissions back if we're not happy. so can you offer me what schwab is offering? what's with all the questions? ask your broker if they're offering $6.95 online equity trades and a satisfaction guarantee. if you don't like their answer, ask again at schwab. ♪

let's show you the markets. we have about a half an hour to go. another new record high for the nasdaq. did it yesterday. again today. 5,684. it's a gain of 10 points. apple helping a bit. apple a few points away from an

all-time high. s&p is flat. >> the movers on the session today. gilliad sciences one of the worst on the s&p. despite the drug maker's better than expected earnings yesterday. they expect the revenue from the hepatitis c treatments to come in between 7.5 and $9 billion, well below street estimates of $6 billion. the shares are down more than 9%. cancer drug maker tesaro is popping the biotech reportedly discussing options investment banks after receiving acquisition interest from several drug makers. the company declined comment and the shares with up nearly 13%. time for a cnbc update with sue herrera. >> here is what's happening at this hour. the ninth district federal court of appeals announcing there will be no decision on president trump's immigration executive order today. the court also said it will provide advanced notice of 60 to

90 minutes when a decision is imminent. former alabama governor don siegelman released early from prison. transported early this morning. he was convicted over a decade ago on public corruption charges. >> recliners recalled due to a shock hazard. the power supply housing for certain recliners equipped with a power lift seat can crack and break. they were sold between november of 2015 and 2016. officials of the big 12 conference tsay they'll withhol earnings from baylor until the school is in compliance with title ix guidance and regulations. it believes it ignored regulations of sexual assault levied against the football team. that's it for this hour. >> we do have 30 minutes to go before the bell rings.

dow jones industrial average giving back 32. s&p flat, up a couple points. a leading trader tells us what he's watching into the close coming up next. >> nordstrom shares higher despite president trump's critical tweet about the retailer. we'll discuss whether investors should buy its stock coming up. what's critical thinking like? a basketball costs $14. what's team spirit worth?

(cheers) what's it worth to talk to your mom? what's the value of a walk in the woods? the value of capital is to create, not just wealth, but things that matter. morgan stanley

welcome back. we have less than half an hour to go in the session. with peter costa. talk about the market. a lot of cross-currents here. are you surprised the drop in oil prices didn't do more damage? >> very surprised. today's market is more about the financials. that's really what drags the market down. ibm as well. there are a lot of different things going on. tech stocks are looking pretty good. you know, is money being moved around? is there starting to be a rotation again? i don't know. today is almost -- i almost have to create something because it's hard to come up with anything really -- >> feels like we are churning butter somehow. >> yeah, a little bit. >> to figure out what the next -- >> you try to figure it out. the earnings are -- have been fairly -- they've been fairly

good. you know, the fed's going to raise rates at some point. february, march, more likely march. i don't think there are a lot of surprises. >> do you think it comes back to the trump white house for there to be some announcement on corresponde corporate tax reform or something to get the market started again? >> they started it all. we've seen a lot of comments coming out of the white house either by twitter or press secretaries or whatever. and that has definitely moved the market. it's gotten people excited, you know, once they hear it. after the excitement wears off, the reality sets in that there will be tax reform, it will take a long time. when does it gravitate back towards corporate earnings. you know. changing legislation and changing dodd/frank. you look at the positives of that. but there are some negatives as well. there are a lot of things going on. i think once we get past march, i think you'll see a lot more clarity in the market. i think you'll see -- >> why march? >> i think because, once the fed

decides that we're going to raise rates again, you're already going to have basically 90 days of the administration already in. maybe 60 days. and you're going to see where, you know, where the government is, you know, headed. are they still headed in the direction they were in january? if they're still headed that way, that could be a very big positive -- >> once we clear the next hurdle by the fed. >> yes. >> see you in march. >> hope not. >> scott. apple stock nearing all-time high, hiring the former head of amazon fire tv to be in charge of apple tv product marketing. when it comes to streaming devices, apple has lagged behind others. so what can apple do to catch up? joining us is ross ger ber and ed ricoh. you are a long-time apple bull but you think this is a mess, ed, why? >> apple tv is off the radar now. it's worse using apple tv than

just cable used to be. i thought the goal was to make it better. really, it's become just a netflix portal. apple absolutely needs to find direction with apple tv. and some sort of purpose. you know? hopefully they get that now. >> what do you think the purpose might be, ed? >> they want to -- that's a great point from before, right. apple tv, as a piece of hardware, is not that different from other things already available. if you have a smart tv at home it has largely the same functionality. apple needs to differentiate the product, getting original content possibly, new shows specific to the apple tv as a way to draw users to that product. >> are they too far behind? i'm sorry. go ahead. >> no. i was going to say, to that point, my friends in hollywood are saying that apple is poking around all over hollywood looking for content. what i think they're seeing is they're poking in amazon pokes and netflix pokes. will they start to spend hundreds of millions, maybe billions of dollars on content

when they're not really that good at it? so i don't know if original content is the solution. i look at acquisitions as the solution. they just seem not to be willing to make one. >> so, content is expensive. it's -- it costs a lot of money. >> netflix, right? >> ask netflix. they're always a cash flow negative on everything. apple has never really gone there. they've tip-toed around it. you can't just own a tiny piece of something. have you to go whole-hog or nothing? >> if apple needs a company like netflix, why not just buy it? >> you could look at the multiple, the enterprise value, ebitda on netflix. they are a takeover target. >> is that their only option, ed, to pursue it from the software and content point of view? >> i think it's their best option. short of buying something like netflix. buy original shows, put a series

together, something that will draw users over time as opposed to a multi-billion dollar thing all at once. >> ross, don't you think we have enough services now between hulu, netflix, amazon. if apple starts doing it it's more crowdedness. we think like buying lions gate makes sense. they won't buy netflix at $145 a share. too late. they missed the boat. >> why, ross, have you started selling some of your apple position recently? >> actually we sold a little bit of our position in the end of december, early january when we were really frustrated with the iphone. you know, essentially we don't see any path for growth for apple in the future right now. so it's a pure value stock for us. we are a growth house. so we have large positions in stocks like facebook where we see a ton of growth. that's what we prefer. we've kept a large position in apple because the valuation is

compelling. we do hope that they use the cash. >> guys, thank you. ross gerber and ed lee. lions gate reports after the bell. breaking news on wells fargo. back to wilfred frost. what's happening? >> just hitting the wires according to dow jones, not directly from this conference. wells fargo board is likely to eliminate 2016 bonuses for top executives. including tim sloan, the ceo. and the cfo. according to sources, it's likely to be finalized, the decision by the board, by late february. it's meant to show accountability for the bank's overall performance, not cu culpability. tim sloan's presentation was as similar as it has been for most of the recent months, very much

toeing the party line and suggesting they remain totally focused on moving the bank forward and serving customers. he wanted to put across the tone that they're not being caught up in the euphoria banks have enjoyed since the election. they remain focused on sorting out their personal issues. this is a reminder of those issues and the fact that top executives are seeing pay cut is a big development. this is expected to come in february. the other outstanding we have from wells fargo is the independent review into the cross-selling scandal. when it comes, it will be published in full, apparently, but people are suggesting it's not due until april or may. this seems to be finalized by the end of february as a separate issue as far as we know and not tied into the full board review, though we are hearing that may come earlier than may or april. we'll wait and see. >> thank you, wells fargo shares down a little more than 1% in the session today. 20 minutes to go. less than 20 now. the dow is down 31 points.

>> the president tweeting again today, defending his daughter, dissing nordstrom. we'll see if there is fallout for the high-end retailer. stay with us. dear predictable, there's no other way to say this. it's over. i've found a permanent escape from monotony. together, we are perfectly balanced, our senses awake, our hearts racing as one. i know this is sudden, but they say: if you love something... set it free. see you around, giulia ♪ or keeping a hotel's guests cuttinconnected.i to 35,000 fans... businesses count on communication,

and communication counts on centurylink.

president trump taking to twitter today to criticize yet

another u.s. company, this time in defense of his daughter. >> my daughter ivanka has been treated so unfairly by nordstrom, tweeted the president. she is a great person. always pushing me to do the right thing. terrible! >> this coming about a week after the company announced it would no longer sell the ivanka trump brand based on performance. shares dropped today after the tweet and have recovered, up nearly 4%. what kind of impact will this have on the retailer's stock or sales from here? joining us tom forte from the maxum and liz from tall madge advisers. chicken and egg thing. is it the sales were weak or is it being boycotted? is there a political issue? did this just happen independently of everything that has to do with the administration? does it tell us something about nordstrom in particular here? what are you reading from this brouhaha. >> as it pertains to nordstrom's decision to pull ivanka trump's

merchandise from its locations, it was a business decision. think about neiman marcus. it suggests that the sales were weak and then, perhaps, affected by the election. backlash from the election. so -- >> why would the timing of this happen in quick succession if it was anything but a political response? are you suggesting that they wouldn't have dropped it earlier because they were afraid of the backlash but then felt they had the cover to do so? otherwise it seems like they all folded. >> i think they made a decision because of weak sales and the line of merchandise to pull it. they didn't make necessarily a political decision. it happens to be politicized given that her father is the president of the united states. i think it was a business decision made on weak sales for her merchandise. >> on that note. macy's. zappo's, off fifth still sell ivanka trump's merchandise, why would nordstrom do this?

knowing that you have got her father in the white house who is absolutely not shy in going after people or tweeting, why in the world as a company would they make this kind of decision? there have to be other ways to go about this, by dropping product back or whatever. somehow better than this. >> i agree with tom it was likely a business decision. whether or not the business decision was spurred by the fact that the customers were boycotting the brand, we can't know. it seems like the reads we are hearing is that the business performance of the ivanka trump line has been disappointing. in terms of timing, this is the timing when retailers are talking with brands about their fall orders. so they said, we're bought through spring. we won't carry it in the fall. so the timing makes perfect sense. it's a little bit coincident with the fact that the company sent out an internal memo noting that they disagreed with the immigration policies and talking about diversity and their support for diversity.

i think it was a business decision. if you look at their store base, it lines up much more with blue states than red states. so perhaps their customer is more sensitive to these issues. >> right. but going back to this issue, tom. if the customer is suddenly boycotting, that's fine, if they want to express their political point of view that way, sure. there are competitors who have not followed suit as of yet. do those competitors now benefit because they still carry the product? or are they forced to jettison it as well? >> the question i am posing does it affect nordstrom same store sales because they're pulling the line, no? the consumer is likely well educated. i don't think president trump's tweets will have an effect on sales at nordstrom. >> you are making my point as you're answering kelly's question. if they won't have a material impact one way or the other on the comp sales, why, as a company, even do it to provoke

what may be a response from the president in the first place? why even do it? >> best practices for nordstrom should be to merchandise their stores with the products that drive the best sales. so, again, that's why i think this was a business decision. the sales were soft in the line. they decided to drop it. to me, the greater issue for nordstrom for retail is, does president trump get some of t s history o history of -- tariffs passed through. >> if people had been boycotting before, what have you, if others feel like either they didn't care or want to take the other side of this, how does it come back to affect them and others? i thought i saw tj max earlier. nordstrom is not alone. how do you expect the retailers to be affected? >> i think the strongest place for the retailers to come from is just make the best business

decision. merchandise your stores with product that your customers want. if a product is not selling, you have to cut it and move on. not engaging in the twitter wars with the president is probably the smartest thing for companies to do. >> all right. got to go, guys. tom forte and liz dunn. the retail stocks including nordstrom's have rebounded. nasdaq higher by 12 points. russell trying to make a comeback. down two points. josé de cuervo not waiting for cinco de mayo. will president trump's initiatives affect the value of that stock.

welcome back. heading into the close, we have about 500 million to buy. that's what art cashin said. the russell small caps trying to turn positive. still down 2.5 points. >> joining us to talk more about today's markets. tony from black rock and janet brown. where should we be investing in the market today? >> smaller mid caps have been doing well. markets certainly change from

the large cap growth. u.s. domestic market that we've been in internationals. smaller mid-cap value. even though it didn't do well today, that's the bigger trend. >> i was going to say here, you have picks in those sectors. but also some individual companies. tell us about those. >> it's the funds that i like, the global stock fund, their value fund. they're value managers that are doing well right now. we've invested in them for years when we've been in value markets. we're going back into one. >> tony, dividends? yields keep going down, not up. that keeps dividend stocks in favor, no? >> i think we are in a pivotal point of the market right now. we are shifting from a point of where we have been an easing monetary policy. quantitative easing. zero interest rates, moving towards reflation and tighter monetary policy. interest rates continue to be low. ten-year treasury at 2.3%. you can buy a portfolio like

ours with a current yield of 2.5%. we focus on dividend growth. i think this is important in the upcoming environment because the dividend growth will provide not only resiliency in vilolatile markets. >> you like health care and banks in particular. thank you for joining us post nine. back with the closing countdown. >> whole foods releases earnings in a few minutes. we'll have the numbers and instant analysis. you're watching cnbc, first in business worldwide.

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we're back on the floor for the closing countdown. the markets. dow will go out with a modest loss. we won't set a new record high there. we did once again for the nasdaq, the second day in a row that the nasdaq goes out at a new record high. take a look at shares of apple as well. speaking of record highs. apple is only a few bucks away. may have missed that. there it is. 132 and change for apple a gain of nearly .5%. touching on the ten-year. it's really interesting what's happening with yields which were expected to rise and actually continue to drop. what that may mean for the market. we'll ask bob what it might mean. why are yields falling? you say, when stock guys start to talk about bond yields --

>> this is short-term. what accounts -- put up some of the bond etfs. we've seen prices moving up. there are the biggest ones out there. not big volume. not people dying to get in, just a little bit going on the upside. i think what's going on is a little bit of short covering. i think the very heavy short positions in all these bond funds for a long time, and i think there is a little bit of covering going on. that explains the fact we don't get a lot of volume and there is not a lot of movement in the stock market. the bond etfs. there was inflow into them. people are thinking, i am getting 80 basis points more now in the funds than i did in october. some people obviously still want some kind of yields. >> you have a three-week low on the ten-year. agree or disagree? the market has gone as far as the market can go under the current circumstances. it ran up on the hopes and dreams of the agenda, now it

needs to see action to go further? >> i think so. remember, when mr. trump calls in auto executives, auto stocks move. when he calls in the airlines, maybe they'll move. when he talks about anything related to a specific stock, it moves too. yes, i think you're right. but i qualify it. >> good stuff. "the closing bell" with kelly continues. thank you, scott. welcome to "the closing bell," everybody. i am kelly evans. here is how we're finishing the day on wall street. dow dropping 57 points to close at 20,053. the russell small caps closed lower by about two points. 1358. in the middle you see the broad market closed slightly positive by 1.5 points. nasdaq, you would think it was good enough for a record high on the nasdaq which closed at a high yesterday. we'll double-check but 5,682 the

closing level in technology. that composite, i should say, has been on a tear. the reporters are standing by getting ready to cover big earnings which are starting to stream out. susan li on whole foods and julia boorstin with lions gate. we'll get to everybody in a moment as the results come in. we're also one year away from the start of the winter olympics. we'll speak with shaun white later on the program. joining us first, cnbc senior markets commentator, michael santolli and mel. and dave from joffrey. mike, first to you as we try to get a little bit of the discussion in before the earnings begin. what do you think about this kind of just mix is the way to describe it? >> it's remarkable the degree to which the market is being held in place. it's much more i think about opposing currents, not just

nothing going on. it's lots going on in two different directions. i will say, once again, the s&p 500, seventh time in the last two weeks or so, topped out during the day between 2295 and 2300. the path of least resistance might be higher but there is still the question of do we need a more deep pull-back the way we had in late summer or can we toddle along for a while until we get some kind of clarity from the fed. david is blaming regulation for the economy's woes over the last couple years. >> i don't know about the last couple years. longer than that. >> even longer. >> the story has been with us certainly since the crisis and maybe even before the crisis. yeah. i think -- i think we have a lot of explaining to do on how big the deregulation story will be under trump. i think the market wants to see and is excited about it but needs details. >> would you say you are -- sort

of more philosophically a secular stagnationist than before? is this a change in mind about what's happening with our economy? talk a little bit about that. >> not really a change in mind. i never really bought the long-term secular stagnation story on demographics, income inequality or the new normal idea. i thought we had some deleveraging to go through. and i was always worried about the deregulation. i was always worried about why corporate profits were so high -- >> one second, everybody. dave. we'll come back. fred smith, the fedex ceo at the white house perhaps making comments with the president. >> it was with vice president pence, correct? >> yes. we saw a number of people in there. >> what about the trade and tax reform issues? any key sticking points or any movement? >> well, you know, i have been very voc focal on behalf of the

496,000 people who make their living at fedex. we need to lean into trade, not become more protectionist. i think the fundamental problem in the last few years has been protectionist elsewhere, and we need to expand our exports. and our tax policy should make it desirable to invest in the united states. we do those two things, our economy will do fine. >> so you weren't too far away from what mr. pence and mr. trump feel anyway. >> there are a lot of things floating around. i can't speak for them. >> they were receptive to your thoughts, then? >> well, i didn't get thrown out. i was in there a little while, as you saw. so hopefully not. >> appreciate your time. >> thank you. bye-bye. >> that's fred smith, the ceo of fedex. saying he didn't get thrown out of the white house for expressing his views which were much more pro-free trade than we've heard from the trump administration. he said he told the president that we need to lean into trade

and not become more protectionist, expand our exports and the protectionism in other places is part of what's harmed the economy. matt, back to the markets for a moment. you guys have a couple different strategies and different ways to play the market. what's the best way to do that for investors right now? >> a lot of different things are at play right now. we focus in the value space at westwood. small caps have advantages going forward. obviously they're more domestic. often we are trying to find businesses with documemestic ba cogs so the border adjustment tax is not an issue. finding interesting names in consumer services areas, domestic manufacturing. >> yesterday a big value investor. seth klarman said the market broadly speaking was overvalued. how would you characterize it? >> in the short term could there be a pause or slight correction, sure. as we step back and look at the big picture, we are at a very

important point where we're transitioning from monetary stimulus to fiscal stimulus. this is a big positive for markets. secondly, you have corporate profits growing again. s&p earnings haven't grown since 2014. we're starting to see the growth. 19% to 20% of total s&p earnings that haven't grown since 2013. those moving up. that's a big deal. >> lions gate numbers out. julia boorstin has those for us. julia. >> that's right. lions gate revenue missing the company reporting $752 million in revenue. estimates have been for $756 million in revenue. the company is reporting adjusted earnings of 20 cents per share, but that's not comparable to estimates because there are a number of restructuring and other costs mostly related to the stars transaction as well as a $28 million loss on extinguishment of debt.

we know about the block bluster "la la land." it's brought in 14 academy award nominations. they point out that the film will have an impact in the next quarter. so there will be no financial impact of the film in the current quarter. it will be in future quarters. segment profits, the motion picture division, increased 55% on lower expenses and the television segment increased 117%. the revenues in the motion picture department declined 13% despite strong box office performance, tough comps a year ago and tv production segment revenues increased 39%. the second highest total ever driven primarily by shows such as "orange is the new black" which lions gate licenses to netflix. >> looks like the shares might grow unchanged or dip lower. >> this is the first report after the stars deal closed in december. i think you have to have investors get their feet under them in terms of how they're

reporting and also the metrics they care about. the long story long term is the stars streaming product being sold but amazon. a lot of things are going on at lions gate. >> we spoke about a ceiling on these stocks yesterday. we had a guest last hour suggest lions gate suggest it might be a good acquisition for apple. >> i think it's perpetually been viewed that way. now that they've bought starz they have a quasi distribution problem. down the road it's the one digestible piece out there of a pure tv and film content producer. >> do we have earnings to get to further here? oh, we have our elon moi. republican law makers taking aim at the consumer financial protection bureau. we spoke with jeff hensarling yesterday. here is what he said.

>> it's a rogue agency that's a lightweight. it is of the fine all rolled into one. we don't need a national consumer finance tyrant, and i am not trying to personalize this, but it's an unconstitutional agency and it must go. >> we have a little more now on the fate and future of the cfpb. down to washington. elon. >> it's clear opponents of the cfpb are targeting its leader. by law he is supposed to be protected from getting fired by the president before his term ends next year. there are three ways the white house could get around the provision. first by using the courts. a panel of judges in d.c. has already ruled the structure is unconstitutional. the agency appealed the decision and an answer is expected any day now. if the cfpb loses the white house's work is basically done.

president trump could try to fire him for cause. they've pointed to cost overruns and what they say is agency overreach. then, of course, there is capitol hill. you played a clip earlier of congressman hensarling, he was clear on where he stands and sentiment on the senate side. a letter written to the vice president calling for coredray to be removed. richard's quote, i am focused on my job, protecting consumers. the rest of it is above my pay grade. >> stay with us. does the cfpb play into the financials? >> i think we're looking wholistically at financials. one thing that's not priced in is the excess capital sitting on the balance sheets.

if they were to return it through share repurchase that's an immediate boost in earnings. that is not priced in the shares. >> i do think the cfpb is much more of an issue for the republicans in congress who don't like the ph of the autonomous body. they think it will overreach in certain areas. i know certain subsets of the financial industry are very concerned about what they can and can't do. for the big banks, i think it's less an issue than some of the other elements of dodd/frank. >> ylon what do you think would happen if coredray was outed or if they increased it to a three-person panel? >> it has pending regulations that could have a major impact on both consumers and the financial services industry. one is on mandatory arbitration. there are pending rules around payday legislation that could also be impacted by this. so i talked to someone who is

close to people inside the bureau. he said there are is a lot of gallows humor right now and they are not clear how hard to drive on some of the rules and enforcement actions while the fate of the agency is so uncertain. >> dave, this plays into what you were talking about as well, right? >> it's pretty much the same thing, kelly, a microcosm of congress going after dodd/frank, changes on the health care side, drug approval processes. energy sector. these are big numbers. i think the market is underestimating how important taking the shackles off businesses is going to be for generating higher real returns on capital in the u.s. economy going forward. it's the biggest story out there, i think. >> i was going to say you are not wearing your dow 25,000 hat yet. can't be that excited just yet. >> i am a little more excited for things like higher interest rates and a stronger dollar, which are a bit of a headwind to

the equity market. this may be more of a main street rally than a wall street rally in the send. if we get the story and competition back into the market. a lot of the regulations actually kept out competition. that was a real problem for us over the last eight years. the biggest companies did very well, but the smallest never formed. it's a very exciting survey for me, the nfib. >> dave and matt and yolon. whole foods earnings due out any moment. when we come back, instant analysis of the results and see if the grocery chain is showing signs of a sales turn around. seattle cutting ties with wells fargo because of the bank's ties to the indicate access pipeline. you're watching cnbc, first in business worldwide. or average. yet a lot of people still build portfolios

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. whole foods earnings just out. to susan li with the numbers. >> we have pretty good volume selling off whole foods shares right now, down over 4%. let's get with the earnings first and then the guidance. earnings in line with estimates. 39 cents apiece in the quarter. that was what analysts were looking for.

revenues missing, $4.92 billion. the street forecasting $4.98 billion. the stock is falling because they have cut their full year sales growth outlook. the eps guidance. growth outlook first of all. they had given a range or we expected a range of 2.5 to 4.5 for sales growth for 2017. now they say it will be greater than 1.5%. eps, earnings, looks like they've lowered that as well. that was disappointing. it seems like -- looks like food price, deflation, more competition from amazon fresh, blue apron and the like cutting and biting into their bottom line. we do have the shares trading at half the record value from 2013. back to you. >> i like these meal delivery services. i don't know about you, susan. thank you. whole foods shares down 4%, mike. so looks like the guidance doesn't help. they have just made a ceo change. you sense it might be more

pressure on that? >> the takeaway is a very long and prolonged turn-around. they haven't gotten the pieces in place in terms of getting margins up and figuring out what to do operationally as everybody tries to take a piece of this part of the market that they pioneered. >> looking for sales growth of 1.5%. >> prepared foods makes the business look somewhat more like a restaurant/grocery hybrid. they're kind of suffering on a few different fronts. >> it's interesting in there lately. a lot of people just grabbing stuff off the shelves to fulfill orders now. it's a different experience. >> it is. >> for whole foods, in the midst of a transition. >> expensive real estate. if it's just a logistics center. >> why do they need to be in the most expensive real estate. president trump wants the pipe for the pipeline to be completed in the u.s. half of it is sitting idle in a plant in arkansas. that's where jackie is.

>> part of president trump's energy first for america plan is to fast-track the pipeline projects. last night dakota access green-lighted by the army corps of engineers. 50% of the pipe in arkansas is ready to go. 300 miles or so. each pipe here, kelly, is just about 20,000 pounds. here is the issue. president trump said that the pipe needs to be made here, which this pipe was. but he also said that the steel used to make the pipe needs to be sourced in the united states. now, in 2012 trans-canada said that it would use american-made pipe but we also know from the manufacturer that it's gotten its pipe from all different kinds of international sources. we're talking about japan, china. korea, some comes from india. in fact, that's what all the manufacturers say when it comes

to this grade pipeline for these large-scale projects. u.s. steel companies say they could manufacture that grade of steel but it could take some time to be able to ramp up and meet demand. everybody that i have spoken to has said that president trump's intention here isn't for this pipe to go to the scrap yard, but at this point the executive order is a little bit unclear. until we know more it's going to be hard to say when these pipes are going to ship up north. back to you. >> jack jie, thank you. appreciate it. another controversial pipeline okayed by president trump is serving up the latest back eye for wells fargo. last night the seattle city council voted to stop doing with the bank due to its relationship with the pipeline. wells' ceo timothy sloan addressed the move at the yahoo

finance all-market summit. >> as relates to the dakota pipeline, we have an obligation. we are one of 17 banks that is providing a credit facility to one of the customers to build the pipeline. the credit facility was properly vetted, independently reviewed within wells fargo and we thought it made sense. >> joining us, debra juarez and chris whalens. deborah. do you plan to go after all 17 of these banks? >> i'm sorry. i can't hear you. >> do you plan to go after all 17 of these banks? >> no. right now we are focusing on, as you know from yesterday's vote, that we are discontinuing our relationship just with wells fargo at this point. >> and -- but i would imagine, if there are 16 other banks involved, that you would want to hold them responsible as well? >> well, let's define about going after. we didn't just look at the

dakota access pipeline. we looked at ten documents, and of those ten documents, eight were court documents. three of them were from the cfb. three were from department of treasury and two were court cases out of maryland and california. so this was building upon unfair and business practices and ill li gality of wells fargo which coincide with our city's principles against what was going on in standing rock. i think it's important that the narrative is this. what we saw with wells fargo, what we saw withstanding rock folks is that we saw unfair business practices. we already had on the books a socially responsible banking and we have investment policies. i think i should be really clear as well, i have been a lawyer for over 30 years, and at one time in my life i was a licensed financial advisor, on wall street with a major investment house, so i know how markets work. we did not take this decision lightly. we wanted our law to withstand

scrutiny, to be the gold standard. we wanted to make sure that the rest of the country could see that washington state and the city of seattle, profits do not drive us. morality and values do. this was not taken lightly. >> chris, you say this is why there is a significant business risk still for wells, yes? >> i don't know if the business risk is significant to investors. financially wells fargo is fine. it's a high, investment-grade credit. they didn't have great earnings for the fourth quarter. there were issues on the mortgage side, strangely enough. but i think wells has seen their profile raised over the last 18 months for a number of reasons. this used to be a bank that nobody knew anything about. if you knew anything, you knew maybe that warren buffett was a shareholder. now it has a much higher public profile. i am not really familiar with how the city of seattle reached their decision, but i have to wonder why wells in particular

was picked out of this group of banks financing this pipeline. and i have to believe that it's because they have been in the news a lot. i could be wrong, but i think their profile from a reputational risk perspective is quite high now. and it's a bank that's attracting a lot of attention. >> chris, i guess i wonder what metrics we ought to be looking at to gauge if there is any actual fundamental damage to the business franchise. since the sales practice scandal -- can we look at deposit market share on the west coast or in other areas where you know that other banks, competitors, are trying to make the most of this and actually go after current or would-be wells clients? >> you know what i would do. i would count how many news stories they've been mentioned in in the last 12 months. that's a qualitative measure. sure, are other banks going to try to take advantage of this? absolutely. this is a very large and financially diversified company. based upon what i see at this

point, i don't think it will have any impact on the bank from a perspective that's meaningful to investors. it's not helpful. this is not the kind of publicity they want. i just think, at the end of the day, it's the noise around the account opening scandal, which was extremely unfortunate, and there are other issues that the council woman alluded to that they looked at as part of their socially responsible mandate. so i think, as i say, wells has got a much higher profile than they have had historically. >> debora, you mentioned you wanted this to be a template for other cities. do you expect them to follow up on the kind of decision that you've made here? >> do i expect wells fargo to follow up? >> other cities. >> other cities. i hope so. and i -- again, i don't want to emphasize that the city of seattle was just picking on wells fargo. i think it's important to note that, whatever bank where we saw a contribution -- but we wanted to point out that seattle is a welcoming city, that what we are

doing is not radical or new, that a lot of cities place their values and where they put their money, have priority over profit. i also wanted to just mention something that the gentleman said earlier. i welcome discussions with wells fargo. and i know that we have had discussions with wells fargo. and i know that the tribal leaders have held discussions with wells fargo. so for a moment, if we can get away from money, wall street, and talk about the morality of what the issue is here. i think we're moving to a place hopefully in society where it isn't just about that money talks. no, it doesn't. the people do. i am proud of my city and i am proud of my state particularly in light of this president and the recent executive orders he has issued many of which are unconstitutional including what is happening now withstanding rock. >> debra juarez from the city city council. and chris whalen. >> thank you. sears shares are down nearly 70%. that's no laughing matter over

the last year. the stock is hovering around an all-time low. coming up we'll discuss whether there is hope left for the struggling retailer. josé cuervo set to go public tomorrow. we'll see how much the trump's rhetoric has taken a toll on the ipo. ke alpha modus to predict markets five times more accurately. i am helping tv networks use social data to predict what people want to watch. and i worked with marchesa to turn fan feeds into a dress that thinks. hello, my name is watson. working together, we can outthink anything. hello, my name is watson. i'm vern, the orange money retirement rabbit, from voya. i'm the money you save for retirement. who's he? he's green money, for spending today. makes it easy to tell you apart. that, and i am better looking. i heard that.

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welcome back. news alert on ups.

>> it's hiking its dividend by a nickel to 83 cents per share, about a 6% increase. annualized dividends yields above 8%. ups is raising its quarterly dividend. shares not really trading after hours. they closed up .5% higher on the day. back over to you. >> dividend boost for the shareholders. josé cuervo going public tomorrow. >> good afternoon. they're seeking to raise more than $700 million in a twice delayed initial public offering. they're hoping third time is the charm as shares expected to be priced today between 30 and 34 pesos per share on the mexican stocks exchange. a trump hangover delayed ipo twice last year.

the ipo comes at a time when sales are on the rise. since 2002 tequila volumes have grown over 100%. last month's sales outperforming the category, up nearly 10% in that. josé cuervo commands a third of the market share. it could be hurt by president trump's u.s./mexican trade deals. the u.s. makes up more than 70% of its revenues and americans would likely rather not see a tariff. it could drive consumers to other brands in what's already a highly competitive industry. back to you. >> i wonder if anyone in this country makes it. we might be about to find out. thank you, landon. >> time for a news update. >> newly confirmed secretary of education betsy devos began her first day on the job addressing employees at the department of

education telling them she is committed to diversity and keeping students safe in their learning environments. >> we believe students deserve learning environments that foster innovation and curiosity and are also free from harm. i am committed to working with you to make this the case. >> the son of robert f. kennedy is running for governor of illinois. announcing his candidacy in the 2018 governor's race. chris kennedy has been a businessman in the state for 30 years. he becomes the second democrat to challenge gop governor bruce browner. wedding bells ringing, believe it or not, at domino's pizza. the company rolling out its very own wedding registry on the internet. the company says the registry aims to bring couples together over their shared love of pizza before, during and after their wedding. you're up to date, kelly. >> oh. getting some ideas. >> cheese. extra cheese. no cheese. p pepperoni, you never know. >> a registry.

whole foods, meanwhile, shares sinking after missing revenue estimates and cutting its guidance. up next. find out if there is hope for a sales turn around. we're officially one year away from the winter olympics in south korea. who better to kick off the countdown that olympic gold medal winner shaun white. he joins us later on "the closing bell."

welcome back. mixed session overall today on wall street. the nasdaq rose 5 points to hit a fresh record. 5682. the s&p rose 1.5 points. dow down 36. small caps down and 20,054 is the level for the blue chips. whole foods under pressure after slashing guidance. the shares down 3% after market. joining us now. ivan fineseth from tig res financial partner and ivan riveman. >> selling kale is a tough business. >> why is that? >> there is a lot of competition. while people want to eat healthy. it costs a lot to eat healthy. it's not convenient to eat healthy. what whole foods has to do is to make it cost effective and

convenient. they have done that with the rollout of their house 365 brand. and now they're going to be rolling out a chain of stores that are of a smaller footprint that will focus on their 365 brand that will compete more with like a trader joe's. >> jason, is that the right move for them? do you think they need to look more at the warehouse distribution model that we were talking about a moment ago? ship the product right to the customer or package it up in meal form as many upstarts are now doing? >> i think that would be dangerous. in theory it may work, but if you really start to throw five things against the wall and see what sticks, shareholders are not like that. i think that would make the stock go down even more. even though that may be a good idea, it's probably not the best thing to do. i think, ultimately, this is is a case with whole foods of your basic abcs and blocking and tackling. the margins are horrendous. five years ago they were amazing

but photogra five years ago the stock was 100% higher. i think they're searching for their identity. i don't think even the 365 rollout will help because that will further dilute the brand. >> ivan, if you look at the commentary in the release about purchasing and operations and making sure all these things are enhanced. it seems to be transitioning painfully out of the hyper-growth phase, trying to contend with some level of maturity and doing a lot of the things a large company does to try to get the margins up. can the founder/ceo be the guy who does that. >> they'll have to evolve into a company that competes better. when they first started out, they had a niche market all to themselves, and that has changed. there are a number of regional retailers focused on healthy and organic food like sprout and fresh market. there are a number of new markets or existing supermarkets are renovating to have a better shopping experience and also offer more healthy food. and there is a quest on the

consumer to eat healthier. but the cost involved is significant. >> yeah. >> and the time and the convenience and unfortunately it's really convenient to eat unhealthy food. >> and even jeff bezos tweeted last night, if you know how to make 20% margins in the grocery business, call me. if you have his number you can let him know. breaking news on shares halted on news pending. >> in the ongoing patent case between regereron on cholesterol drugs. a judge said the drug can stay on the market as it dukes out this patent case with am gen. a previous ruling had ordered rejenron drug off the market as the ways was proceeding because of a claim that it infringed patents on am gen's cholesterol drug. am gen had risen 2.75% before being halted.

now it's down a couple of percent on the news. it will play out over a few months or more than a year as the case keeps going. regeneron reports tomorrow. the drug can stay on the market for now as they duke this out. back to you. >> meg, how big of a deal is this? they were one of the standout performers when biotech was flying. now, of course, everybody is reappraising everybody's prospects. >> that's definitely true. in terms of the cholesterol drugs, they're a new way to treat cholesterol using an injection rather than the typical pills like statins we often hear about. the sales have disappointed in early stages of them being on the market. but we were waiting for more data to see how well they reduced risk of heart attack. we just got some of the data on am gen's drug. we know they produced heart attacks and are waiting for more details. people are expecting that will boost sales and saying the market for this could be several billion dollars. potentially thought to be very

important drugs. fascinating to see that it was possible that regeneron could have been pulled off the market. it will be a fascinating case to keep an eye on. >> the shares up nearly 3% after hours. meg, thank you. is the end near for sears? the one-time retailer icon struggling with a major slowdown over the past few years. we'll discuss if it should be sold or saved next. later, we'll speak with the olympic superstar known to many as the flying tomato. gold medallist shaun white will join us to talk about next year's winter games. stay with us. but why don't you just go to thinkorswim's chat rooms where you can share strategies, ideas, even actual trades with market professionals and thousands of other traders? i know. your brain told my brain before you told my face. mmm, blueberry? tap into the knowledge of other traders on thinkorswim.

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welcome back. sears holdings is slipping. once a shopping staple, a trusted name on main street and in shopping malls, the company is now leveraging some of its real estate and selling its craftman brand to perhaps others. stock down 80% in two years. some predicting until vanish from another two. question, mike. after the trading action yesterday. we know how expensive the insurance is on the debt now. how quickly will sears -- are we talking about them circling the drain? >> the market is treating the company as if it's a question of when and not if. the debt is trading at distressed levels. what seemed obvious for a very long time which is the franchise cannot be rescued. more kmart stores than sears within sears holdings. both brands are on the decline. seems like there is a good possibility that the controller of the company for a long time

may feel like he has run out of ways to raise cash off the assets. he has raised more than $10 billion in the last five years by spinning things off, pulling cash out of real estate. >> he has put his own money into it. >> he is a creditor. >> they have seratage. that holds a burnch of the sear real estate. a lot of the spinoffs are also in decline. people are not sure if there is value in the boxes. there is incentive to keep it going for a while. sears has to keep it running for a while. there are not that many maturities coming up on the debt. >> they have a few more brands to sell. >> kenmore, die hard. >> is it enough to stay viable. >> it's not clear. they have big pension obligations which are not readily quantified. it seems as if people assume -- it would make a hole in the retail landscape. $20 billion in retail sales. that would go to somebody else.

the mall reads look pretty bad. they're worried about mall closures if you get the anchor stores closing. the winter olympics are just a year away from today. up next, olympic superstar shaun white joins us to talk about his brand, his business and what to expect. where is the red hair? at the games next year. on "fast money," the banks doing something that should have been pressing the buy button. rich is here to explain why he is so bullish at 5:00 p.m. eastern.

the winter olympics are just rich is here to explain why he

welcome back. the countdown for the 2018 winter olympics in south korea is officially under way. the games commence one year from today. joining us now to talk more

about preparing for those games along with his latest endeavors off the slopes, two-time olympic gold medallist shaun white. welcome to post 9. >> thanks for having me. >> i feel like i grew up with you but you're younger than me. i don't know how that happened. what's the next year's -- the winter olympics mean to you personally? >> it's exciting. it will be my fourth olympics. i won the first two times. the last time in sochi didn't do as well as i had hoped. but now -- it's the spirit of competing. you get psyched up, refocused, inspired to go back and do it again. we're on the cusp of it. >> what does the next year look for? >> i have to find the snow. mammoth mountain. i partner with them. they have had an amazing snow board season. i'll be there training a lot. it's basically back-to-back competition. training, strenuous everything. >> you also have a billion other endeavors off the slopes. >> i do a lot of different things. >> talk a little bit about

those. i am sure a lot of it is trial and error. >> yeah. >> some things may mean a lot to you, others are good opportunities. what's the portfolio look like these days? >> i mentioned mammoth mountain. they were in the process of purchasing the local resorts that process of purchasing the resort, the big bear snow summit. and mammoth is a place i used to ride a lot and i said i would love to will invest with you guys. this is my home resort. and doing a lot of snow boarding in california and then being a big part of my upbringing, we partnered up and now i'm an owner in ski resorts. i used to just ride for the mountains and now i'm a big part of it the. >> does that mean you're looking at the financials? >> we should make the mark the way, do events. i have a lot of detail on what tried letters want and expect and bring a lot of media because i'll be doing my training. another thing is about three

years ago i purchased an event called air and style. it's a sports and music festival started 23 years ago in austria. really amazing to attend. then i went to beijing and now i'm an owner and i put my spin on it. i added the music so it is like coachella meets x-games type event. so for me it is all my passions wrapped up into one thing. the clothes we wear, the music we listen to, the whole lifestyle behind it. so there's a three-stop series. it starts in beijing and moves to austria. we'll be the the 18th and 19th at the coliseum. so you can get your tickets and come down and check it out. >> does the snow boarding market look like? in other words, the adoption levels. there was a tremendous spike for a while obviously relative to skiing in particular.

how is that shaking out? >> it's interesting. it is obviously, i want to say global warming but the snowfall has been interesting. and sometimes, you know -- >> talk about that. what do you mean? are you having trouble? >> the seasons have been very off nflt california we've had a major drought. now the complete opposite. we're gall now. we've got plenty of rain, plenty of snow. that temperamental weather can affect industry. people aren't buying the boards and the sgrakts the ski resorts feel the hurt without the ticket sales and the lodging and the food and all the things happen there. it is definitely turning around and it is an interesting time with the sport. the olympics is taking on more disciplines. that means that there's more opportunities for riders to come up and be professionals and compete. >> i was going to ask you, look at golf. when tiger woods is doing well, the whole sport is doing well. and do you feel sense of wanting

to perform at that high level? not just personally but because it represents the whole industry? >> i don't feel as responsible. but do i feel more in the driver's seat. now that i'm a resort owner and an event owner. being able to put on better shows and better things for the people attend the events. did i something really amazing where kids 10 and under get in for free. i want them to show up. see what the pros are doing. get inspired. we have a learn to ride area on site. we did a promotion with mammoth. when you buy a ticket, you get a free lift pass. you go to the mountains and complete the cycle. maybe there's new blood and new interest in the sport that there the wouldn't have been before. >> i'm disappointed you have to be under 10. we always ask people when they come through. what is the biggest money mistake that they've made. you've been involved in so many

different the convenieventures. >> money mistake. the lamborghini wasn't good had thing after a while. >> when did you buy that? >> i bought it when i was 20. and it seemed like a really great idea at the time. if you're out there in the lamborghini market -- >> you have to wait. >> just put it in a time capsule. forget about it. >> did you do that? >> no. let's just cut the losses, put it into something else. >> a smart trader. had. >> it was awesome though for the time being. >> best of luck next year. shaun white. twitter is set to report its earnings tomorrow. and tomorrow, don't miss an exclusive interview with via com. squawk on the seat. 10:45 eastern. the greatest population shift in human history is happening before our eyes. sixty to seventy million people

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twitter will report its earnings tomorrow morning. julia? >> the big question is whether twitter can jump start its growth. a test whether the changes to the service are.

the most important number is user growth. last year twitter added 4 million users. this year the could not sense us is that growth will had home run had drop to 2.million users. they are predicting accelerating growth and increasing engagement due in part to president trump's tweets. the revenue is projected to grow. we'll be looking for commentary on the impact. not just of trump's twitter practice but also various changes such as the increased focus on video content including nfl live stream. we'll to have 73 there's any commentary on growing competition from snap inc. >> thank you. and shares were up. they took it down behind us. >> 3%. yeah. the user growth, i think there's been the sense that it is much

bigger as a phenomenon than a business. perhaps franklin roosevelt did for radio, to kind of legitimize the medium as a way the president is communicating. there are every one had to department. >> i was thinking about that with tiffany's. melania is carrying tiffany's box. >> i think the issue is, is it just completely neutral medium? in other words, you watch cable news and you see what was on twitter. so you don't necessarily need to be on twitter to figure out what everyone figures is a cumbersome sign-up process. >> and they create the services where they sends you the tweets. they get a little revenue from doing that and the advantages. >> interesting on the snap idea. it is not clear to me that

snap's numbers are necessarily going to shame the other guys. you already see facebook getting an upside because snap's might move. >> that does it for "closing bell." "fast money" begins right now. "fast money" starts right now. live overlooking new york city's times square. traders on the desk. tonight on "fast," the top technician said the banks just did something very, very bullish. he'll be here to tell us what that is and how to profit. plus, oil hovering near the key $50 level. more on the way. and "mad money's" jim cramer just spoke to ge. we'll hear his surprising comments in a moment. first we start off with a tweet heard around the world. president trump attacking nordstrom. not for a particu