more like twitter. could be tough questions from potential investors. all we've been talking about today a year ago was the fed and janet yellen. the boston head says three rate hikes this year, folks. my check please is that "the closing bell" is coming up next. tax reform is one of the best opportunities to really impact our economy. so we're doing a massive tax plan. it's coming along really well. it will be submitted in the not too distant future. it will be not only good and simpler. it will be -- you're talking about big numbers of savings. we're talking also middle income and very much for business. we're going to simplify greatly the tax code. it's too complicated. we're going to bring down the number of alternatives, and i

think it's going to be a -- just a much, much simpler tax code. in fact, h & r block probably won't be too happy. that's one business that may not be happy with what we're doing. other than that, i think people will love it. >> the market seems to love president trump's mention of tax reform. his comments sending stocks to record highs. dow over 20,600. all this despite concerns over the administration's contact with russia. welcome to "the closing bell." i'm kelly evans. >> i'm wilfred frost in for bill griffith. frump has president trump has a number of seats to fill. judy shellton joins us live coming up. retail ceos at the white house to discuss a piece of the tax reform called the border adjustment tax. the man leading the charge on

the tax reform. congressman kevin brady. he'll join us after the market closes with more. we'll have full team coverage throughout the day on these events coming from washington. first breaking news on president trump's nominee for labor secretary. kayla. >> we are awaiting a statement from andy puzder, the ceo of cke restaurants who up until apparently this afternoon was the designee for labor secretary of the united states. we have yet to hear what led to puzder withdrawing his nomination but nbc news reporting that that is expected as soon as this afternoon. senator mitch mcconnell as recently as two weeks ago called puzder an outstanding choice. there had been opposition from senate republicans notably on the committee to be holding a hearing for puzder tomorrow. and it was just -- it was interesting to see that that opposition kept mounting despite the fact that he had gone

through his financial disclosures. that had delayed the hearing date several different times. he held more than 200 stocks, more than a dozen real estate ventures and cke was prepared, i am told, to buy out his stake in the restaurant company in order for his nomination to move forward. but that opposition was too strong. and, of course, a lot of controversy surrounding his positions about employees and about labor and "on the record" comments that he had already made concerning this base. his opposition to minimum wage. comments he'd made about robots being preferential to human workers because they never get sick nor take vacation. he admitted a couple of weeks ago he hired an undocumented household employee. in previous administrations that admission alone would have been enough to sink a candidate for a cabinet position like that. there were controversy about comments he made last august is

saying when immigration officials came to his restaurants as many as 40% of employees would not show up for work that day. then, allegations of domestic abuse against his ex-wife 30-plus years ago. all of it swirling together led to the controversy around andy puzder and the expected withdrawal of his name for labor secretary. guys. >> all right. kayla, thank you. we'll await to see who might be his replacement. let's get over to the white house where eamon javers is standing by with more details. >> reporter: a few moments ago we saw benjamin netanyahu, the prime minister of israel, departing the white house on the driveway behind me. president trump escorted him to the limousine. mr. netanyahu flashed a thumb's up to the israeli press gathered here. mr. trump did not respond to shouted questions from the american reporters. all in all, you would have to say this was a friendly get-together. the president had one interesting unscripted moment that i want to play for you here

in terms of his efforts to say that both sides, the israelis and palestinians, need to compromise here. take a listen. >> as with any successful negotiation, both sides will have to make compromises. you know that, right? >> both sides. >> there you heard benjamin netanyahu not missing a beat, responding to the president saying "both sides." implying that if the israelis are going to make concessions the palestinians will have to as well. the retail ceos here at the white house today. half dozen or so of the top brands here at the white house today. we heard from at least one of the ceos talking to reporters after the meeting. here is what he said. >> to my knowledge the retail industry has never been to the white house to have an opportunity to meet with the administration and key members of his team. we had that opportunity today, and we're grateful for that opportunity. >> reporter: kelly, i talked to

brian cornell, the ceo of target, on the way out of the white house gates today and asked him what was on the agenda today and what did they say behind closed doors once the media was taken out of that meeting. he said that the border tax was one of the subjects that came up. but all of the ceos that i talked to after the meeting were very tight-lipped and did not want to discuss it at all. back to you. >> going back to the press conference there with the israeli prime minister, once again, a large amount of the questions coming from the press corps, not focusing on the actual meeting he just had with the world leader, and today focusing on the latest revelations in and around possible ties with russia. is that embarrassing for the president in front of these world leaders when the questions don't focus on the meetings he is having with them? >> reporter: well, no. i mean, the questions typically don't focus on the meetings that the president has had. the press corps typically doesn't necessarily go with the script that the white house wants it to go with. the white house here, interestingly, watched the media's sort of tactics by the

white house calling on two conservative organizations in the two questions from the american side. they called on a christian broadcasting network and they also called on a conservative blog as well. so an effort by the white house to make sure that they get the friendliest possible questions here, not going to the major media, the "new york times," "washington post," networks and all of that. but the president did address this issue that's been dominating the headlines here in washington today about contacts between his campaign during the campaign, the year-long effort, and also russian intelligence. the president saying there is a lot of fake news going on and e decrying the leaks going on presumably about the russians and the trump team. the president frustrated with what he sees as unfair media treatment in all of this. >> thank you. eamon javers on the front lawn of the white house. the retail executives met with kevin brady on capitol hill. what did they -- i think we know what they discussed.

they want him to get rid of the border adjustment tax, right? >> that's right. they've wrapped up a long day of meetings here on capitol hill. i believe they were still, last time we checked, still in the meeting with representative kevin brady. he is one of the biggest boosters of the border adjustment tax. they've been trying to argue that the tax could hurt the economy and their business and it could ultimately hurt jobs. i talked to some of the ceos as they headed into the meeting with representative brady. they told me they were encouraged by the discussions so far and that the debates have been lightly. auto zone ceo bill rhodes spoke to reporters earlier today. here is a little bit of what he said. >> we just had the opportunity to meet with chairman hatch. we really appreciate his openness to meet with us. we had a great conversation just like we had earlier today at the white house. i think our key message today is we really appreciate the openness of every one from the white house to the house to the senate. we represent over 42 million

american jobs, and we are here to make sure that we're all looking for a pro-growth agenda to move this economy forward. >> border adjustment has been a controversial issue here on capitol hill. we saw today that the head of the house freedom caucus, mark meadows, is still very skeptical of the idea of border adjustment. in the senate there are several influential lawmakers who have yet to make up their minds including senator orrin hatch whom the retailers met with today. republicans are still not sure how to take the issue forward. there is still debate within the gop over how they should address tax reform, and retailers are hoping to use that moment to move the ball in their favor. back to you guys. >> all right, thank you. kevin brady will join us in a first on cnbc interview in the next hour of the show. i'll ask him about that meeting and more. you won't want to miss it. stocks hitting record highs again today after the president's tax reform comments. could concerns over the ties to

russia derail the agenda and the rally? joining our "the closing bell" exchange. brad mcmillan, jonathan and rick santelli at the cme in chicago. jonathan, i want to begin with you. you know, are we ready to say that the rally is owed to the from president's remarks today? >> there was no other market-moving headlines out there. we have continually looked at washington. before it was what miss yellen is saying and now it's what president trump is saying. a little bit more transparency and a little bit more information. still the same theme we have heard before, that the tax reform will have major effects for individuals. when we see those headlines, it will clearly move the markets. at this point i would like to see more volume in this move as the market moves higher, i would like to see more conviction and enthusiasm into this rally. it seems now we've become complacent with the market continually going up every single day. today if we close higher in the s&p it will be the seventh

straight session we've closed positive, we've not seen that in four years. there is no fanfare about it. as we move higher, at some point investors will say we have to start taking profits off the table. maybe it happens at the end of next week. we have a holiday weekend coming up, three-day weekend. sometimes when you see that investors take short-term profits off the table. >> rick, there was a lot of fundamental data out this morning. sum it up for us, what was the key takeaway in terms of what it means for fed rate hike expectations. >> i'm not sure if i could equate it to what the fed implied down the road. i don't think the fed has made the right decisions with regard to the level of rates. looking at the economy as a whole, we have an unproductive in terms of productivity, job creating but not a wage creating economy. yet i see the inflation data heating up. i see retail sales with some glimmers of hope. it wasn't a bad number overall. and i do see interest rates now

higher in yield and lower in price on the year. listen, i am not sure if the economy is finally grabbing all trump issues aside, but it certainly seems to be stable in its current 2% mode, and i don't see that changing. but i do think we're going to continue to see hotter inflation. and i think that the curve steepened a little bit today and is aware of that. remember, the steepening is brought about when the long maturities are more responsive to inflation but the short end is more responsive to the fed. and the fed is definitely dragging their feet. the question is, is this game of chicken with the level of pricing pressures in the economy, who is going to win. but i have to say, the market still seems to be giving a lot of runway to donald trump, especially considering that the brightest part of the biggest drops in the tax rates seem to be commingled with trying to sponsor that through the b.a.t.

tax. >> border adjustment. brad, i was going to ask you where you think interest rates are headed and what parts of the market you like here. >> i certainly see interest rates headed up a bit. the thing we have to remember here is it's not about the u.s. alone. we see u.s. inflation rising. that's fine. that's all about energy prices at the moment. core inflation is still fairly solid. around the world there is a lot of risk that could come back. the rest of the world is going to keep rates lower probably for longer than we think. i think the themes are deregulation and i would argue consumer spending will be big going forward, the unappreciated one. consumer discretionary continues to make sense as well as financials and energy. those will be the potentially the surprises going forward. >> brad, if you want to avoid political risk, which sectors do you avoid? >> i think you want to bet on the consumer. i kind of disagree.

it's not about the election. it's about the fundamentals. the question is, are we going to see the gap close to the upside with confidence or do the downside with some of the data has been soft. we're seeing it close to the upside. i want to bet on the american consumers, regardless of what happens in washington. that's the place to be. >> jonathan, what could be some of the spoilers here? everything from, you know, watching the direction of oil to, as we mentioned, some of the issues with russia distracting the administration, and perhaps delaying the tax stuff that everybody is so excited about. >> absolutely. once again i think the spoiler that could be here is something that comes out of washington. is it another uncertainty of the administration, is it a confirmation that goes wrong. i am surprised that the headlines over flynn did not have more of an effect on the market, the overall sentiment and thoughts of what's going on in washington. i think we are continually focused on washington and the dark horse may come out of there to shake the markets. >> gentlemen we'll leave it

there. thank you very much. thank you. 45 minutes to go. dow up 106 points today. s&p up -- i think he was saying six or seven straight now. haven't seen that in a while. over 20,600. we have already left 20,000 in the dust. transports up 115 points after being down yesterday. dollar weaker oil weaker and small cap russells up .5%. verizon close to announcing a takeover deal with yahoo. david has the details next. kevin brady tells us what happened at his meeting with top retail execs concerned about the proposed border tax. former adviser to president trump judy shelton joins us. you're watching cnbc, first in business worldwide.

welcome back. another strong session on wall street today. all the averages up more than .5%.

dow up 20,600. led by p&g, pfizer, cisco. bond proxies more broadly suffering today. utilities the worst performers. let's talk about verizon. close to announcing a revised takeover with yahoo. david joins us with the latest developments on that. good afternoon. >> reporter: verizon has yet to actually announce it, as we reported earlier and other news organizations it will announce in the next few days that it is going to move ahead with the deal to acquire yahoo. not quite at the original purchase price of $4.83 billion but not far off. as little as a $300 million reduction overall in the purchase price. there will be shared risk of the liability that may accrue from those breaches at yahoo. that's why we are even talking about this, of course. the deal was reached last summer, you'll remember, and

then you had them divulge two large breaches that took place. the question soon became is yahoo going to perhaps even try to get out of the deal or reduce by a significant amount based on its contention, perhaps that there was a material adverse change in yahoo's business. there really wasn't one. we've reported on this for some time. the actual users had not really changed the way that they were going about interacting with yahoo, and so the user data was relatively benign and, therefore, you have a fairly small price cut. again, should be announced call it in the next few days. the deal itself should close by, let's say, a couple months from now. by the end of april if not sooner. then things get interesting, of course. verizon will own yahoo along with aol and a number of other properties. for yahoo shareholders, they'll be left with an investment company with three main

holdings. the largest, the 15% stake in ali baba. yahoo japan and a good amount of cash. not quite sure how much because we're not quite sure how the proceeds from the yahoo core business sale to verizon will be taxed. but a lot of cash. and then the question becomes, well, how does it trade, at what kind of a discount? that could figure into tax reform, based on what the capital gains may be or repatriation. i believe the ali baba stake is held overseas. is there a way to forge a tax advantage structure to allow ali baba or yahoo japan to take in the stakes from what the remains. that's the next playbook. the stock is up today on this news. typically it moves the most based on how ali baba is moving. that's by far the single largest

part of the overall value right now at yahoo. as for verizon, this seems to be one of their bigger content moves, though they may be very busy this year and may choose to embark on another acquisition of size. it is not, at least according to the people i have spoken to, expected to be in the content arena but more likely to be in infrastructure, meaning wireless and/or cable, or what we call cable at this point but, of course, all of that is converging. back to you. >> david, a quick question. judging by the verizon share price decline, had some investors hoped -- that they'd use it as a reason to call off the deal in full? >> this deal is going to happen, at least based on the people i have spoken with today who are familiar with the situation, wilfred. and the decline in verizon stock price which has been dramatic this year, is due to competition in the wireless arena.

verizon reported earnings that were not well met by the street. they lowered their guidance a bit. earlier this week we got the big announcement that they were returning to offering unlimited data plans, after six years of not offering those plans, again a sign of the heated competition in that arena. that is why verizon stock price is down. this, frankly, for a company of that size, is more or less a rounding error at this point. the $300 million, i mean, they can't even -- they can find that in their couch over at verizon. >> david, thank you very much for that. david faber in new york. with about 27 minutes left. 37 minutes left, excuse me, to go before the bell. we are looking at record all-time highs for all the three major indices. the dow higher by about 0.5%. the s&p leading the charge, 0.6%. banks outperforming. up next, billionaire

investor's right hand man on airlines and apple. kevin brady tells us what happened in his meeting with top retail executives worried about the proposed border adjustment tax. plus, former economic adviser to the president tells us why she thinks china and japan are currency manipulators. back here on "the closing bell" in just a couple of minutes. s n retir tir s n neve yoenreprep tre?plplouirg tiretitiwi eade.ts ands st invet d inveve.. sitrm ar

welcome back. warren buffett's right hand man, charley munger and the chair of

the daily journal spoke at a meetings in los angeles today. one of the topics he addressed, berkshire hathaway's recent stakes in companies like apple and airlines. both sectors berkshire had been hard on in the past. here is what he said to steer clear of. >> think of the hooting we've done over the years about high-tech. we don't understand it. wort worst business in the world is airlines. what do we appear in the press with? apple and a bunch of airlines. [ laughter ] >> i don't think we've got -- i'm crazy, i think the answer is we are adapting reasonably to a business that's gotten much more difficult. i don't think we have a cinch in either of those positions. i think we have the odds a little bit in our favor. >> so a couple interesting things in there. what he is talking about in the business being more difficult is the investment business. he went on to say they can't expect the kinds of gains they

have have had in the past, the landscape is more challenging. even if you're changing like they have, he still is not expecting that the odds are so great. he said they're just a little bit in our favor. >> i like the joke he made there. clearly it's a big change in sentiment for them to go into these sectors particularly the likes of apple and the airlines. a clear change in sentiment for them more broadly. picking up on one of the other things. he also talked about wells fargo, an important investor in wells fargo. he said they made a mistake. he was clear about that. the overall tone of what he is saying is that they're unhappy with the investment. he said one of the things about doing something dumb, is you're unlikely to do it again. he said they're content with the position as it stands. they are a keen investor in wells fargo. >> he said, look, you don't know

if an incentive is too aggressive until you try it. he took issue with the way management responded to the bad news, not necessarily that they had done so in the first place. he said they had been through a lot. he also said capitalism is brutal and a mistake like that can prove fatal. clearly unhappy with how things played out there. they still own 10% of the shares. >> wells fargo up today 1.2% more because of interest rate moves. all the banks up nicely today. be sure to catch more of his entire q & e on cnbc.com. a special edition of "squawk box," post the questions to twitter or facebook. time for an update with sue herrera. >> the senate voting to role back on obama administration rule requiring the social security administration to report people who receive

disability benefits and have a mental health condition to the fbi's background check system. that's used to determine the ability to buy guns. >> two bombings in northern pakistan killing six people. this follows an almost three-month-long lull in the volatile region. the blast targeting local judges and police officers. north korean leader kim jong un attending a mass indoor rally in pyongyang to mark his late father's 75th birth anniversary. kim jong-il's birthday is a national holiday. the newest member of the hissing cockroach family is a teeny tiny tom brady. the zoo and a rhode island zoo bet on the super bowl with the loser naming a baby animal after the winning team's quarterback. the rest of the family is named after tv's brady bunch.

that's the cnbc news update at this hour. back to you. half an hour to go to the close. up 0.5%. i am joined by steve grasso from stuart frankel. both this week, today and since the election have financials' performance flattered what's gone on across the board in the market. >> if you look how much regulation will come off and how avoided they were for the last eight years they were under president obama and with the financial crisis, there is such an underweight on a lot of these funds, on the books and in the portfolios. they couldn't have made it up in a matter of months. they're still acquiring financials. you see it on a day-to-day basis. >> what's driving the rally today? comments about a possible tax change from donald trump and data this morning. what's the key driving factor? >> i do believe it's just about corporate tax reform, putting

more money into the pockets of corporations, cutting personal taxes, putting more money in the pockets of consumers, a better relationship abroad. i do think that people, at first, overestimated, started to become realistic. now they are overestimating again how easily this is going to be for this phenomenal tax plan to actually take effect. but i do believe that people are focused on pro-growth policies, whether you love them, hate them or indifferent, it's going to be positive for the markets. >> steve, pleasure. kelly, 30 minutes until the close. thank you, guys. watching markets with the dow up 109 points today, 20,614 is the level. s&p up 12. nasdaq up 37. russell up 7. rm toer economic adviser to president trump, judy shelton calling out china and japan for currency manipulation. she'll join us with more right after this. thers no o y y says.

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liberty mutual insurance. . welcome back. fed chief janet yellen appearing before the house financial services committee today, and some members made the case that the fed should await president trump's appointments before proceeding with any further regulations. >> we think there is some benefit, ma'am, in waiting until we are able to nominate and confirm a vice chair for supervision to weigh in before

pressing on with further regulatory initiatives? >> do you believe that the new administration should have the ability to nominate a vice chair for supervision and, if confirmed, they would be the ones officially tasked with these duties? >> we look forward to a nomination to the position of vice chair for supervision. >> i -- don't we all, madam chair. don't we all. >> there is one name that keeps coming up as someone who could fill one of those positions. judy shelton. >> one person is really involved in this is my great friend judy shelton. i think she would make a great hard money, king dollar, federal reserve appointment. >> you want someone from outside the world of academic economy. i think -- miss shelton. jude judy shelton a fabulous -- >> her name gets tossed around.

>> joining us right now is judy shelton. welcome! >> well, that was very nice of you! i respect the people you showed enormously, and i am much -- highly complimented and grateful that they would say something like that. >> judy, my question, are you going to take us back to the gold standard if you're on the fed? >> well, i don't think it would be a bad move. i don't think it's something you do overnight. i actually think, if we had gold as some kind of a universal reference point, it would be the beginning of a more stable monetary platform, certainly for trade. i think you need to have sound money in order to have genuinely free trade. but you also have to go to the issue of what we call domestic monetary policy. it really should be the same thing. we're talking about monetary integrity, and if we really do have some kind of a global

economy, it doesn't make sense that people are using different units of account to measure value. >> judy, you were critical of japan, the fact that their quantitative easing program is clearly aimed at weakening their currency and making their exports more competitive. i don't disagree with that point of view. isn't it rather rich to be making that point when, of course, the u.s.'s own quantitative easing program had done the same thing and had the effect of a weaker u.s. dollar. simply because the u.s. is coming out of the q.e. program, isn't it unfair to criticize what's ultimately a similar policy? >> certainly you make a very good point, and i think one could argue that all central banks, in a sense, and while maintaining plausible deniability, are currency manipulators. they're just more subtle about

it, and a nuanced statement from an official can definitely move exchange rates. i applaud president trump for focusing on the problem of shifting exchange rates and how much that undermines free markets and what we think of as the principles of free trade. yes, you could say that the united states, as well as the bank of japan and certainly other central banks, european central bank, every time they talk up or talk down their own currency or even lay out expansionary monetary policy, that's essentially a way of sending a signal to foreign exchange traders that the direction is going to move. >> judy, i want to move on to china. clearly they have been very much the target of other trump criticisms around currency manipulation. as we all know, they've pegged their currency. in that sense they certainly manipulate it. here is a quote from president trump from january in the "wall street journal." instead of saying we're devaluing our currency, speaking of the chinese, they say, oh,

our currency is dropping. president trump says -- then says it's not dropping. they're doing it on purpose. our companies can't compete with them now because our currency is strong, and it's killing us. he is framing china's currency manipulation as if they're making it artificially weak, but the truth is quite the opposite, isn't it? is president trump wrong there? >> well, we know that that certainly was a deliberate policy of china. you can argue that, in pursuit of their own strategy interests, they are now rather desperately trying to hold up the yuan against the dollar. i don't think it would be intellectually consistent to say it's wrong for them to manipulate it downward to gain a trade advantage on exports, but we're going to refrain from criticizing them if they're also moving it artificially to keep it higher. it's the mechanics of telling the market that it's not what you decide our currency should

be worth, it's what we dictate. and china does have a daily fixing where they say this is the acceptable exchange rate between our currency and the dollar and we will not permit it to go 2% -- more than 2% in either direction. i think that -- that violates the whole idea of supply and demand establishing the exchange rate of major currencies. >> but that aside, does president trump really want to see a free floating yuan? if he did, it would make chinese exports even more attractive. >> well, if you are assuming that if they held up their hands and said we won't intervene, their currency would drop, it could exacerbate it. you could also say that inferences that the u.s. interest rate is going to go up likewise exacerbates it. that's why i think we need to examine this whole issue and figure out how we can have more stable exchange rate arrangements in the world so

that we can address this backlash against free trade and, to me, the large extent to which currency manipulation and central bank policy decisions are causing the benefits of free trade to be so distorted as to very much demoralize people who would otherwise gladly participate and freely compete. >> judy, i wanted to ask you, there is now a vacancy in terms of who is going to be the labor secretary. andy puzder has taken his name out of the hat. so when it comes to just some of the data this morning which is kind of strong on the retail sales and c.p.i., the real wages was still flat. it was awful. what would you do? what do you do to get wages growing in this country? >> well, i think it points out a flaw in the fed's model. it hasn't worked as intended. because the goal was that the cheap money would encourage plants to expand capabilities,

hire more people. the increased demand for labor should have caused wages to go up. and then we would have seen more inflation. now we're starting to see a little bit of inflation but wages have not gone up to the extent that might have been hoped. so i think a fundamental issue for the federal reserve is to question the validity of its model and its assumption that somehow it helps labor to keep interest rates overly accommodative. i would argue that it has made inequality of wealth and income much worse. >> finally, judy, would you serve on the fed board in some capacity if asked? >> well, it would certainly be an honor to be considered. i'll let you know if i get the call. >> please do. thank you for joining us at this hour. >> thank you for having me. >> judy shelton. 17 minutes left until the close. staring at .5% of gains across

the major indices. nasdaq leading the charge. banks topping the list, taking all four of the indices to record all-time highs once again. some american airlines pilots angry with the ceo over that the going to see the president at the white house. we'll tell you why next. at's aatdea, dot you thwim'whe n sharrategiea witharess ousas o oerra. yoraolra told. luebytatoedim'whe n sharrategiea r aders .t metre.

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welcome back to "the closing bell." let's send it over to meg tirrell for a quick market flash. >> big movers in biotech and a hot area of technology that is gene editing. ed edit task medicine on a patent ruling that appears to be favorable for it. it appears to be benefiting editas. other shares falling about 12% and 10% on the news. i just got off the phone with management and they're reassuring investors this is not the be all end all decision. big moves in the biotech space today. back to you. >> they've resolved it for the time being. thank you. president trump met with the heads of u.s. airlines last

week. one was noticeably absent. it has rankled some of the rank and file. phil lebeau joins us with the details. >> wilfred, did you see the note sent out early this morning from the pilots' union and american airlines. i was at the meeting along with other reporters. you had airline ceos meeting with president trump. who wasn't there? the ceo of american airlines, doug parker, and this morning the pilots of american blasted him saying he should have met with president trump. and they went further saying in their statement we have watched mr. parker and his team being out-managed by our competitors' executives and have lost trust in their ability to lead and protect the interests of american airlines' employees and shareholders. doug parker said, almost as soon as the invitation went out, that he was already committed to a management meeting at the amr headquarters in dallas and that he would be unable to attend. keep in mind, guys, that the

airline pilots association, which represents the american pilots, as you look at shares of american versus the s&p since the ipo in 2013, easily outperforming the s&p. the pilots want a new contract. they are not happy with the contract they negotiated in 2015. this is not the first time we have heard them criticize doug parker. which is interesting considering the contract goes through 2015. at the time it was approved by 66% of the pilots. something to keep in mind when you hear this criticism. >> all right, phil, thank you. we have a news alert on time warner. julia boarston has the story for us. >> time warner shareholders voted to approve the acquisition by at&t. the votes are in and 78.8% of shares outstanding voted in favor of the proposal. shareholders approved the compensation proposal for time warner executives. the shares flat on the news. back to you. >> julia, thank you for that. the market highs have been

fueled by president trump's talk of a corporate tax cut. but schwab chief investment strategist says it may be time to curb the enthusiasm for that cut. she'll explain coming up.

welcome back. joining us now, oliver. you like verizon. talk us through that and the latest news. >> simple. verizon has been beaten up just like the whole telecom sector. great yield. dividend will probably continue to go up. an under valued asset. >> you like walmart, duke. >> due to tax cuts, infrastructure play. those are the types of assets you want to own. if you can buy them undervalued that's great. they all have decent yields. >> general dynamics and c.e.s. >> they both benefit from the new administration. a larger spend on defense. john mccain talking about 4% per annum going forward.

cvs, dem oographics. one of the highest tax rates of any in the united states. >> the market, risk on sentiment out there. what factors can change that quickly? >> here is the thing that i can't quite square at this point. we have changed from a bias to being negative and central bank oriented to all of a sudden being fiscal stimulus and positive. it's happened so quickly that there must be risks embedded there. >> clearly. i would say right now the momentum is behind it. it will turn and turn quickly. you do want to utilize some caution here. >> thanks very much. jeremy and oliver. still to come, "the closing bell" countdown. we're up 0.6%. >> after the bell, a ton of earnings. cbs, kraft, heinz. cisco. marriott, trip advisor out in minutes. we'll get you the numbers and

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rtget nd aatsinvetr red reretime ngirannevegered i you entt wherinorcae d invest ist . welcome back to "the closing bell." some breaking news, andy puzder, the labor secretary designate, has officially resigned. we'll have much more on that at the top of the hour. as for markets, a few minutes ago, dow currently

103 points higher. banks leading the charge. stronger data this morning again pushing the ten-year yield above 2.5%. banks up this week more than 4%. the other story today, consumer staple stocks performing well. pepsi and p&g having good earnings. broadly, bob per sani joining me. >> worries about the slowdown in the trump agenda, yet the president comes on today, meeting with retail people and says, yeah, it's coming. and the market just moved on that. it's amazing. a pavlov's dog. s&p 500. 10:30, 10:40. market moved slowly higher. banks. monster's moves in the banks. four or five banks accounting for a 17-point move and the s&p 500. so strong these days that they're literally pulling the entire market along with them.

>> bob, you mentioned it's down to the hopes of tax plans coming through. is it, however, more down to bond yield moves, data-driven factors? the worst-performing sector again, utilities. it's very much the bond proxies -- >> the ten-year yields are moving up. putting pressure on interest rates. i don't want to put it all on the trump rally. clearly better economic moves are moving the markets also. it's not just trump. clearly. we have seen the overall global economy -- we've talked about that in the last few weeks -- moving up. numbers are better. new highs even over in europe and emerging markets. latin america hitting new highs recently. not just what we're doing here. one point about a big stock moving today. aig announced a much bigger loss than expected. losses on workmen's compensation, medical malpractice. so big it strapped the overall numbers for the s&p earnings. it's unusual.

they're signing a reinsurance contract with berkshire to help with future losses. 9% drop in a big stock today. >> there goes the bell. thank you very much, bob. ringing the bell is auxilio. the headline, though, kelly, four record closes for the major indices again. that's it for the first hour of "the closing bell." kelly evans has the second hour. thank you, welcome to well well, everybody. i am kelly evans. more records are falling on wall street today. the dow up 106 points on the close. good enough for 20,600. 0.5% gain across all major averages. s&p 500 adding 11.5 points. 2349 the level for the broad

market. the nasdaq, up .75%. 5819 for that. the russell 2000 closing above 14,000 today. the seventh record close for the dow and s&p since inauguration. they are on a hot streak right now. it will be a busy hour for earnings. we have julia boorstin covering cbs. applied materials. seema mody brings us numbers from kraftheinz. we'll see you shortly. joining me on the panel, michael santolli. charles schwab senior vp liz saunders. and daniel hughes joins us to kick things off. welcome, everybody. mike, it's unbelievable. what's interesting about this rally, it's so quiet. up 100 points every day, everybody walking around. >> it ratchets higher, the strength has built throughout

the day. seven straight up days for the s&p and nasdaq. the highs for the s&p today basically got to a 10% gain since election day. that's the first time you have hit that 10% gain. it's started to run pretty hot. i don't think anybody would deny that in terms of how stretched it's gotten in the short term. one way to think about that is the market is having to grind higher to find sellers. there are not any below because there are all these different reasons people are leaning on right now. once again, not a broad rally today, not great breadth but enough for the index. health care leading the market. that doesn't conform to anyone's narrative except that there are stocks that have not participated in prior spaces. >> we can kind of rewind the clock a bit and look at the morning. comments from the president about tax reform. we should check on how h & r block finished. how much further can stocks keep rising every time he talks about this concept? isn't it all priced in now? >> it's interesting that janet

yellen was talking about a rate hike and the market was actually up. i don't think i remember seeing that in a long, long time. >> right, because the fed rate hike is canceled by the tax rate drop apparently. >> apparently. i think anything out of anybody's mouth or tweeting is good. the banks have been painting the tape. over three months, bank of america up 22%. wells fargo 11.7%. jpmorgan up 14%. this has been a big driver. it's really been because people think that regulatory reform is going to happen and interest rates will rise and that banks will be the beneficiary of this. and i just hope that regulatory reform actually happens. >> right. >> in time to actually help this rally out. really, we've seen nothing actually happen yet. let's remember yet. >> liz, that's what makes this fascinating. we're trying to game out what we're talking about for corporate and individual tax reform. when you are talking to people out there about, hey, when the rubber hits the road, what will

the earnings be. >> consensus up 12% for calendar year 2017. that's exclusive of anything in fiscal stimulus. i think we have to curb our enthusiasm of tax reform of any variety in the first half of the year. i think corporate comes first. the personal reform side may be pushed down the road lessening the likelihood that it becomes retroactive. you can add somewhere between 7% and 15% to earnings growth based on that, whether we have to push that a little bit into 2018. let's remember that the market prices itself on forward earnings not trailing earnings. the enthusiasm is not yet baked into the actual numbers but baked into the hope for what they might turn into. >> that was the president's latest comments about tax reform today. this morning we also got a bunch of economic data. c.p.i. consumer price index, up 2.5% on the year. and the core, which strips out food and energy. a lot of it oil, mike. up 2.3% on the year.

>> a u.s. economy at 5% plus nominal growth, perhaps, operating recently. if you told anyone a year ago we'd be at that they would say the market will be somewhat high. whether this is the new trend or just giving clearance for the fed to do what it's going to do. the fact that we can quibble about what factors are driving the market higher shows you that there is plenty of reasons. and a wall of worry. we'll see how much. >> retail sales this morning. industrial production a little bit weaker. utilities things going on in there. the interesting thing is the atlanta fed's tracker, 2.2% for q1. >> real gdp. >> the number still could grow. still talking about 3% or 4%. >> corporate earnings are showing up 12.9%. that's pretty huge. industrials has not really

helped there. neither has telecom. it's been energy. and that thank goodness has come back after six quarters of terrible earnings. health care and tech. so that's really where we are seeing the driving force. to michael's point, we are really seeing some great news and some earnings where we haven't seen them before. we haven't seen year over year this earnings bump in aening l time. that's the huge respite on the fly of everything we're hoping for in the future of tax reform. >> is it sustainable, liz anne? >> for now. i think when you look at low levels of volatility like this, some suggest that it embeds some complacency in there. i think that is something to be mindful of. the good news is that you don't see, even within the broad swath of attitudinal measures of sentiment, the kind of successive optimism you may expect given where averages are. looking at the behavioral side

of sentiment, what investors are doing with their money, you're not seeing the same level of enthusiasm. so i think you need to be cognizant of complacency building but i don't think it's at the extreme that would suggest that as a reason alone could mean the market is ready for a pause. >> a few other interesting things happening. jack dorsey buying twitter shares. fortress bought by soft bank. to cbs results now. julia boorstin. >> cbs beating expectations. up $1.12 versus expectations of $1.10. for cbs's revenue, they're excluding their radio division because of the decision to spin that off. revenue at $3.52 billion. it looks like that's a little bit light versus expectations for revenue excluding radio of

$3.6 billion. commentary in the earnings release is optimistic. saying for the full year all-time highs in terms of revenue and operating income, saying the fourth quarter benefited from significant traditional licensing agreement for showtime as well as an increase of 13% for affiliate and subscription fee revenues, and advertising revenues decreased 3% in the quarter in part because of three fewer thursday night football games. kelly, back over to you. >> julia. i love when three fewer thursday night football games, you know -- this company, as they're saying it's the first time they've done over $4 a share in earnings. 2016 was an incredible year for them and now you wonder what is the 2017 and beyond mix look like. >> there are questions surrounding exactly how many more kind of levers cbs can pull. they have benefited a lot from the retransmission revenue. that was kind of a big push for a while. i do think now you'll start to

focus more on the showtime and cbs digital subscriptions in terms of long-term potential. but the story seems to be intact. it's not a fast grow. never meant to be a fast grower. >> the shares were acting like it for some time. >> in spurts. absolutely. they're back up towards the old highs which may go back three or four years. >> they're at three-year highs and bumping up against that even after the market here too. i like their subscription model. i think they have a lot to offer and i think they'll probably lead the way for a lot of the old -- old-line networks to do the same. >> i am looking here. they're talking about what happened to the radio business. they were going to ipo it. it turned into a sale. apollo to ipo chuck e cheese. cisco reporting 57 cents versus expectations of 56 cents. revenue $11.58 billion. the street was at

$11.56 billion. non-gaap gross margins clocking at 64.1%. looking through the product segments, kelly. switching down 5% to some $3.3 billion. routing down 10%. q3 revenue guide, cisco is saying expect flat to down 2%. q3 eps guide 57 to 59 cents. analysts had modeled 58 cents. on the call, they want more color about the switching business. the acquisition of app dynamics. what does the ceo have to say about trumponomics. we'll be on the call at 4:30 eastern. back to you. >> tomorrow don't miss jim cramer's exclusive interview with cisco's ceo chuck robbins. at 6:00 p.m. tomorrow on "mad money." >> liz, some of the big-cap tech names. we've talked about how they're the biggest names in the market and the nasdaq led the way higher on this recent move. i don't think cisco is the most

emblematic of that. what would you do with the big-cap tech names here? >> so we actually have an overweight to u.s. equities broadly. tech is one of the overweight recommendations at the sector level. it's both large and small caps. i think the market will shift bias, a lot of it has to do with policy in washington because some of the beneficiaries from a potential corporate tax cut differ, of course, than the beneficiaries or those hurt in some of the more protectionist policies. i think tech -- what's interesting about the sector right now is, when you look at the breadth, the broader market, which has been mixed, the breadth for the technology sector, especially on the large-cap end, has been particularly strong. i think for momentum players that's probably one of the things that's kept that sector and that component of the sector so strong is that any of the momentum buyers are looking at that very, very strong breadth.

>> yeah. i would agree with that. i mean, cisco is kind of a yawn, though. it's been a big yawn for a long time. i have owned it for a long time. they started to pay a dividend in 2011 and have continued to grow it. that's phenomenal. it's a must-have. you have to have it in your portfolio. it's one of the ibm, cisco, apple, quite a few others that have quietly become the blue-chip names. >> consumer staples, it's a commercial staple. slow growth. they do good things with their cash flow. it had a 10% spurt since the beginning of december. we now you're going to have a little back sliding. >> i think we just created the next s&p 500 index. >> i have to trademark for commercial purposes.

>> cisco down 1% right now. tripadvisor, a bigger mover. susan li has that. >> ep s missing. looks for 31 cents. revenue missing as well. $316 million in the quarter analysts looked for $327 million. when it comes to click-based advertising, also a disappointment. display based light of estimates. the new advertising mechanism on tripadvisor.com where you can instantly book your hotels, actually put in pretty much in line with analyst estimates. this is four report cards in a row where tripadvisor has missed. shares knocked down 45% last year. >> down about 8% when this first crossed, now down less than 4%. tough going for trip here. kraftheinz earnings are out. speaking of consumer staples.

to seema modi with that. >> it's a beat on its bottom line. 91 cents adjusted versus the wall street expectation of 88 cents. revenue topping expectations as well at $6.86 billion consensus for $6.74 billion. i'll point out the q4 net sales decreasing 3.7%. another metric analysts keep a close eye on for kraftheinz is organic net sales. increasing 1.6%. another thing to keep in mind in terms of regional activity, united states net sales were $4.8 billion, down 3.1% versus the year ago period. two main things to watch for on the conference call. one will be the cost-cutting measures, which has been a big part of the performance in terms of earnings and m&a after the acquisition of heinz in 2015. >> the shares unchanged. what do you guys make of it?

>> it's been an outperformer relative to the group. mostly because of the margin story, paying down of some debt. many people think they'll get active again in m&a in one way or another. i think it's more about the execution side as opposed to loving the categories that they are in. >> we think it will probably take another year or so to digest the heinz acquisition. i think that it will be probably some time before we see that thing -- >> that was a huge one. a lot of work to do. earnings alert on applied materials. deirdre has those numbers. >> reporting a very good quarter, beating on top and bottom lines. eps two vents above expectations. 67 cents is what they're reporting. sales of $2.8 billion. 3.27 expected. the big beat. record orders. this is important for the semi conductors equipment manufacturer. they're at a record high,

$4.24 billion. $3.5 billion was expected by analysts. moreover, they're expecting record revenue and earnings per share in the second quarter of fiscal year 2017. you may notice on your screen that the stock has been fluctuating between gains and losses, but it is mostly flat. that may be because the stock is priced for perfection. it's been riding the semiconductor surge. it's more than doubled over the past year. past 12 months. it's up more than 10% this year so far. analysts probably expecting these good results. it's been on a bit of a tear recently. back to you. >> thank you. still holding onto the gains here. >> it is. even having doubled as she said, in the last year or so. it sort of looks like you can make the case it has a reasonable valuation. the estimates ramping because of the cycles in the applied materials favored. the stock is at 35. it was at 37 in april of 2000. it was a vertical mover back then. kind of shows you how the

industry has changed. >> they're on track. >> yep. >> looks like the guidance is up significantly. so that could be a nice tailwind. >> liz anne, before we let you all go, what do you think about the earnings coming in at this point fitting into the larger narrative about growth supporting the market gains when we have another day of record highs? >> so if you look at the overall beat rate, percentage of companies beating expectations for the s&p 500, it's around median levels. there is a wider spread from the weaker sector to the stronger sectors. the three strongest sectors in terms of the beat rate have been the technology stocks, financials and health care. bringing up the rear are the more defensive areas that we have underweight recommendations on, utilities and telecom. consistent with what became less than value-oriented stocks, because i think of the rush of money that went into those areas during the era where people were

looking for income when rates were pinned at zero, we're in a different environment right now and you are looking for companies that can outperform in terms of earnings estimates. the beat rate is significantly higher for those three sectors, particularly technology. >> we'll stick with the winners. thank you guys. dani and liz anne for joining us at this hour with all the earnings coming in. another flurry of activity at the white house. president trump meeting with israel's prime minister and a group of retail ceos worried about his proposed border tax. chair of the house ways and means committee kevin brady is here to tell us whether he plans to include that in a broader reform bill. you're watching cnbc, first in business worldwide.

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and add phone and tv for only $34.90 more a month. call today. comcast business. built for business. welcome back. how do you like this one. canada goose just announced plans to go public. leslie has the details. >> the filing just now dropping for canada goose holdings. it looks like it's listing here in new york on the new york stock exchange and toronto. under the symbol goose, g-o-o-s. a placeholder for 100 million

shares. that number will change by the time they go public. cibc capital markets followed by credit suisse, goldman sachs and rbc capital markets. certain strategies they want to highlight. it's common for companies getting ready to do on ipo to show growth category. for them it's expanding brand recognition in the u.s. as well as finding suitable coats and so forth for spring and fall as opposed to the really intense winter coats that they're known for. i have been reaching out to lead underwriters on this deal to find out more information in terms of timing, and we are continuing to dig through this filing. we'll get back to you with what we learned. >> leslie, do you know the typical price for one of these canada goose jackets? >> i do, unfortunately. it's about $1,000! i have done research on this and they're known for being some of the warmest winter coats out there. i don't know if that's true, if

that's the case, but i think that's why people are willing to put up the big bucks. >> leslie, thank you. mike, that brings us to our next question of how scaleable the canada goose -- >> just what the market is for it. is there a little bit of a fad element to it. you'll hear that, i think, as they try to market this deal. i am looking at the numbers in the filing. the breakdown by sales, regions. canada $95 million in sales. u.s. $103 million. rest of the world, $92 million. they are diversified. the u.s., you could penetrate much more. population nine times that of canada. how much of the u.s. is in an area cold enough to need a $1,000 super warm coat. president trump's pick for labor secretary withdrawing his nomination. let's get down to washington. kayla has more. >> we got a tweet from andy puzder, ceo of cke restaurants.

he said i am withdrawing my nomination for secretary of labor. i am honored to have been considered and am grateful to all who have supported me. in a full statement puzder said he is confident he fully supports the president and his qualified team going forward. a confirmation hearing set to take place tomorrow with the senate committee on health, education, labor and pensions. support appeared to be waning leading up to the hearing. after news was made public of the withdrawal of puzder's name we got senators like marco rubio saying andy puzder made the right and honorable choice. early criticism centered on comments that he made specifically about employees, opposing minimum wage and preferring robot workers to humans. more of his background, admission of undocumented household employees and inferences in past speeches about undocumented workers at

cke, the parent company of hardee's and carls j's jr. there were concerns about the type of ads carl's jr. runs with bikini clad women eating hamburgers and allegations of domestic abuse from a messy divorce three decades ago. that since recanted. the hearing delayed four times as the committee awaited the appropriate ethics and financial disclosures from puzder. he is a billionaire, complicated stock and real estate holdings and a large stake in cke, a privately held company, he planned to divest the stake if he were confirmed. guys, in the space of one day the trump administration has had to deal with vacancies for its national security adviser and now its labor secretary nominee. then, of course, we have tomorrow where there is going to be a vote for mick mulvaney, the south carolina congressman currently nominated to run the office of management and budget. there are new questions about how secure his confirmation will

be. so certainly a lot of uncertainty for the cabinet level guys. the o.m.b. position crucial if you're going to get health reform, and infrastructure. >> also president trump holding a joint news conference today with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. earlier at the white house. one of the subjects discussed was the possibility of a peace deal between israel and the palestinians. >> the israelis will have to show some flexibility, which is hard. it's hard to do. they're going to have to show the fact that they really want to make a deal. i think our new concept that we have been discussing, actually, for a while is something that allows them to show more flexibility than they have in the past because you have a lot bigger canvas to play with. and i think they'll do that. i think they very much would like to make a deal. >> for more on president trump's meeting with netanyahu today, let's bring in james cunningham,

a former u.s. ambassador to israel. welcome. >> thank you. >> so there is a lot moving here. obviously the israel/palestine issue only one of them. also at stake is what's going to happen with iran. what was the most significant thing to come out of the meeting between the two leaders today for you? >> there are a couple of significant things. obviously the treatment or non-treatment of the two-state solution is one of them that's gotten the headlines. it's important to note that neither leader ruled out a two-state solution as a long-term objective. and there remains to be seen whether progress will be possible under this new concept that they're developing. the notion that regional states would have a stake and a role in a peace settlement between israel and the palestinians is not new. there are prospects there that can be opened if the president is determined to do so, and he seems to be committed to doing so. so that's a strong signal to send, and i think it's a positive perspective.

whether it will be possible to move forward remains to be seen. >> what do you think the position of the russians is here? obviously they're in neighboring syria, inclear how that will all be resolved. is israel watching the u.s./russia issues closely in that regard? >> i am sure they are. i can't speak for the israelis, but the russian role in the region now is a cause of some concern for us and for many countries in the region, and i am sure for israel as well. that said, the russians have a stake, i would think, in stability in the region. and it seems to me that, whatever steps the united states and israel take, they should be in the context of a strategy for strengthening and developing stability in a region that's in the interest of both the united states and of israel. >> ambassador, you said that both of these leaders did not rule out a two-state solution in response to a question the president saying, i'll opt for

one or two-state, whichever one the involved parties agree on. clearly the palestinian side wants a two-state solution. not really a question of one state. does that move the debate or process along or is it a way of essentially saying status quo? >> as prime minister netanyahu said, i think, we'll see. let's see what happens. the prospects for a negotiated two-state solution in the immediate future, near future, are certainly pretty minimal at best for a variety of reasons. there is -- there should be a possibility for opening a discussion on a regional basis and whether that will lead to anything that's positive or not will depend upon the parties. it's important that president trump did say in his statement that any agreement has to be something that both the palestinians and the israelis would find acceptable, and that is a fact of life. so the palestinians will

obviously have a voice in how this unfolds in the future. but the president's commitment to trying to make progress i think is important. >> all right. james cunningham. thank you for joining us today. >> thank you. we have a news alert on health care spending. bertha coombs has more. >> at the centers for medicare and medicaid out with new projections for national health care spending. they expect the growth rate will jump to 5.4% up from 4.8% growth last year, putting national health care spending above $3.5 trillion. the drivers this year, more spending on medicare, medical costs and big increases in premiums that we saw on the exchanges. next year they say it will be up 5.9% over the next two years. that will be driven, again, by medicare costs and by the fact that we won't have a lot of big-name patent drugs going off

pat patent and going generic. looking over the next decade, they continue to see the elevated rate of spending. this is not taking into account any health reform changes that may happen under the trump administration and the republican agrees. >> all right. bertha. thank you. top retail ceos flocking to capitol hill today. we'll speak to the head of the tax writing ways and means committee about how the meeting went and whether a border adjustment tax to be a reality. find out how trump's proposal are impacting the transportation industry. we hear from the executive chairman of burlington northern. stay with us. ves to theilrkets and ld mts m plugd eities-

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tseu , gi♪ait f lo som welcome back. the earnings from marriott out now. susan li has the details. >> we finally got them. the first quarter, after cleating the $13 billion acwhich sis of starwood. adjusted 85 cents on the quarter. analysts projected 84 cents, a beat by one penny. revenues coming ahead as well, $5.46 billion. easily and handily beating the estimates on the street of $4.9 billion. they've bumped up their quarterly cash dividend ahead of the earnings this month to 30 cents apiece. this is the most important metric with hotels, the average room rates and the revenue you get from the room in the quarter. it was in line with what they got for the quarter, up to 1%.

back to you. >> all right. thank you. marriott shares as you mentioned a little bit higher on that report. cbs earnings call under way. we are monitoring that. we'll bring it to you with any news ceo les moonves makes. he runs a powerful tax writing committee. congresswoman kevin brady tells us whether he thinks it's likely major tax reform gets done this year and whether it includes a border adjustment tax. an exclusive interview tomorrow at 11:00 with anthony noto.

welcome back. a strong session on wall street. a record-setting one. dow up 107 points, to close at 20,611. s&p up 11. and russell and nasdaq up 0.5%. 5819 and 1404 the levels there. transportation executives on capitol hill talking infrastructure, regulations, tax reform and safety. one of the executives in the room. matt rose. he joins us now with megan brennan. >> thank you for joining us today. >> you bet, morgan.

>> a lot of talk about a rail recovery particularly in the investment community. we've seen it in rail stock performance in recent months. is business improving? >> yeah. so we expect that 2017 will be a better year than 2016. we look at about 22 businesses on the railroad. in 2016 about 16 of them were actually negative. the rest were positive. we expect that trend to turn around modestly. the biggest issue we have had has been the change in the energy markets with thermal coal being down so much due to both the price of natural gas as well as the regulatory environment. so we are expecting a better year this year. >> you talked about coal. i know you mentioned in the hearing today that coal volumes are -- i think the business is half what it was during the peak for bnsf. energy, crude by rail. huge for bnsf. has the best in term for

business and growth already happened given that president trump is approving pipelines now? >> it depends. there will be a niche play for the railroads. the most it got to for the industry is 2%. the volumes are down about 50%. it never has been nor was it ever intended to be the -- one of our larger commodities. we will have intermodal, for instance, be almost 45% of all of our units that we handle. crude by rail will be a niche to certain markets that don't have pipeline capability. >> in terms of the new administration, i realize we are still light on some details, but how are prospective policies factoring into the equation for bnsf this year? >> when we hear them talk about the need for further build-out and infrastructure, we agree with that. we want to hear the details of how that will be paid for. when we hear about looking at regulations that quite frankly need to be rescinded due to

change in technology or changes in business practice, we're very interested in that. when we hear the words "tax reform" very interested in that, looking at pro-growth trade policies, all those various things. i think generally what we're hearing coming out of all public policy makers is a more bullish sign for american business for sure. >> does the trade rhetoric bother you? >> it doesn't bother me unless -- we'll have to see what transforms itself into actual tariffs or actual legislation. we'll be very interested in that. there's certainly -- we have a large footprint in traditional trade. our biggest import markets are the asian pacific markets. trade is a big deal to u.s. economy and a big deal to our railway. >> matt rose, bnsf executive chairman. thank you for joining us. kelly, back to you. >> good stuff.

thank you both. top retail executives on capitol hill to meet with the president and congress to lobby against the border adjustment tax. house ways and means chairman kevin brady weighs in on whether it will become a reality when we come back.

big retail ceos headed to washington today to meet with our next guest and voice concerns over the proposed border adjustment tax. for more on that, right to house

ways and means chair republican congressman kevin brady joining us live from washington. welcome, congressman. >> thanks, kelly. >> was it a tough meeting today? >> no, it was a good meeting. look, these are iconic american brands, and some of the sharpest ceos i know. as the president told them when he met earlier this morning, we want our jobs brought back to the country. we want them brought back as soon as possible. we couldn't agree more, which is why our republican blueprint, not just lowers rates but, for the first time we tax all products equally in america. no more tax breaks for foreign products over american-made products. frankly, by ending the tax on made in america exports we stop driving jobs and innovation overseas. >> congressman, the ceos who were still coming to make their case for doing away with the border adjustment tax. they had groups talking about the harm it would do to their companies and the harm to the economy. i'm sure they made that clear in

your meetings, right? >> so, they've obviously taken the tax reform seriously. they see a lot to like. every one of our competitors do it to beat us here and abroad as well. this is a new issue for them in america. so they're looking at what is the impact on consumers, what's the impact on our prices. the good news is we agree. we want to make sure we have the lowest prices possible through true competition. we believe that -- i invited them today, as i have for some time now -- to come to the table, to help us make sure we have the design right, and we have that transition right so that we can grow the u.s. economy, you know, in a very strong way. so, from that standpoint, just listening and exploring some options, i think was very helpful. >> is this border adjustment tax, congressman, definitely going to happen as part of tax reform? >> it is. look, if you don't have that in

there, tax rates on our local businesses, small and large, will go up. our tax code will continue to favor foreign products over american-made products and we'll continue to have major incentives to drive jobs and headquarters overseas. that can't continue, which is why this is a critical component of our tax reform blueprint. >> there are many skeptics that it will be part of your plan just one larry mcdonald says he is actually buying retail buying under armour. he says, quote, the border adjustment tax is dead in the senate. is he wrong about that? >> yeah, i think he is. he should be buying those stocks because, frankly, the difference between what is effectively the obama economy at 1.9% growth and a republican blueprint under president trump that's 3%, 4% or more is dramatically stronger for businesses of all types. and so, frankly, we are looking at jump-starting an economy that's been sluggish for far too

long. more importantly, leap-frogging america back into the lead of the pack for the next new job and business investment. >> do you have the votes in the house and the senate for the border adjustment tax as part of the tax overhaul? >> so we are not taking votes today. we are actually laying out the key provisions of tax reform in the house and the senate. we are listening to businesses, large and small, about the key elements of this, and we continue to improve it every day. so our track is 2017. we continue to stay on that track. >> is there a plan b if the border adjustment tax is not part of this bill? >> i'll tell you. there is no real tax reform that keeps in place tax breaks for foreign products over american products. no one yet has convinced me that equal taxation is a bad way to go. no one has yet convinced anyone that we should defend the

current code that forces jobs overseas. border adjustment along with lower rates, full and limited expensing and no longer taxing worldwide accomplishes it. this is a critical part of tax reform. i predict it will be part of the overall tax reform. >> do you have the support of the president for border adjustability? >> we're working closely with the white house on tax reform. we start our proposals about 80% similar. we continue to find common ground. the president has announced he is coming forward with his tax reform planning over the next several weeks, so he is committed to it. i am optimistic at the end of the day we get this done this year. i think it will be the most -- the boldest tax reform we have seen in 30 years or more. >> do you have the support of gary cohn, his top economic adviser on this? >> i never pretend to speak for the president's economic team. i know he is diving deep into

tax reform in a positive way and we continue to have great discussions with him. knows that president trump's fighting for the american worker, and the american worker, frankly, has had special breaks for foreign products landing on top of he's seen these communities devastated. he knows we can't defend, no one can, the current tax code. that's why these reforms are so important. >> and if it is a possibility does that mean there won't be tax reform? >> i continue to make this prediction and confident of it. equal taxation of all products in the u.s., regardless of where they come from, or who produces them, that level playing field at the end of the day is going to be in tax reform.

>> the president that i have had to talk about tax reform. they are expecting to it come this year. >> oh, no. >> no question. that's the timetable we're working on. this year. that's the case. whether it includes border adjustability or not? >> let me tell you. i will tell you straight again. at the end of the day, we won't have a tax code that favors foreign products over made in america products and we won't have a tax code that keeps pushing our jobs overseas. that is a critical issue for this president. certainly for republicans in congress. so again i'm confident it will be part of the tax reform. >> just this afternoon, we know andy with drew his name from consideration to be labor secretary. my question is between that and michael flynn, various personnel

challenges, not to mention his rapid pace in meeting with other international leaders. are you convinced he can put his support behind it and freeway impetus to move along with it quickly? >> i do. this president trump, our new president. he is all in on the economy, on jobs, lifting red tape off the local businesses, really getting the economy. tax reform is critical to that. i am very excited we have a president so focused on jobs and the economy. i am very confident tax reform will happen in 2017. it will be bold and propel american forward in a positive way. >> every time even a hint of this is happening takes place, the stock market just jumps at the prospect. so it is an interesting question what would happen if it does not move forward.

on that final point, it seems the one thing that might solidify this is a tweet or a comment from the president saying, not only do i want it to happen but i wanted the border adjustability. if he uses the frame border tax, does that mean the same thing? >> i'll let the president speak for himself. aside from the ways and means perspective. we know how critical it is. not just the lower rates. that we equal level that playing field in america. there is nothing more important to the american worker than being taxed equally. these businesses being taxed equally. at the end of the day, it will bring jobs and manufacturing and research back to the country. that is what mr. trump ran on. >> congressman kevin brady being explicit about this legislation. thank you so much for joining us today. >> thank you. now american express stock was sinking earlier.

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they turned positive on the close. >> nobody really knows. i don't think so but they're in a better position to know. & that was his point. don't tell me you have a these ois this because you know where it is all going. much more on charlie munger. that does it for us on "closing bell." "fast money" starts right now. >> live from the nasdaq markets overlooking new york city's times square. there's a strange market anomaly that suggests more gains to come. plus, twitter shares jumping after dorsey jumped in and bought stock. we'll give you all the details. and later, we're covering all the major earnings report after the bell