you look at the industrials there. nike a helper among the dow as well. >> tyler, before we go, i have to ask you something, earlier when we were talking with retail you said you haven't started christmas shopping yet does this mean you haven't gotten my gift yet >> yours i have gotten it was very, very expensive, i will give it to you on wednesday. >> i hope so >> that's it for "power lunch. "closing bell" starts right now? thank you. welcome, everyone, to "closing bell." i'm sara eisen along with kayla tausche who is in for wilfred frost today. talk about a turnaround, stocks kicked off the shortened holiday trading week in the red but the dow is up 74 points right now in positive territory, sitting just below session highs heading into the final hour of trade. let's look at what's driving the action a new coronavirus strain in england raising red flags around the globe and weighing on sentiment leading several countries to ban flights from

the uk congress appears to be near the finish line on a new round of stimulus finally. two stories we brought you on friday helping the dow's outperformance today nike's numbers and the financials, the best sector -- only sector in the green right now following last week's stress test and their ability to buy back stocks 59 minutes left to go in the session. coming up on today's show, mario gabelli joins us with a broader take on where to invest heading into 2021. plus, shares of claumia climbing sharp will he off the lows but still down doesn't digit in 2020 we will talk to the ceo about demand for outer wear as winter gets underway and we are still trying to live life outdoors. let's focus on the big stories we are watching this hour mike santoli tracking the market action meg tirrell covering the concerns over the new coronavirus strain in europe

and ylan moi with the latest on the long awaited stimulus bill mike, start us off with the margaret and the recovery we have seen. >> looked like coming into the day it was going to be a stiff test of the bulls' convick right after the open the s&p hit a low this morning of 3636 this brought it down late and mid november levels. there was a little bit of a test of dip buying condition vix. we did pass it at least so far still down. we have been hanging around the 2,700 area for two or three weeks now. it seems like the margaret has slowed down to a certain degree. bullish sentiment, flows into stock funds. very, very strong. shows me we have maybe priced in a fair bit of good news this market has absorbed a lot of potential selling pressure, including rebalancing out of stocks into bonds which is

something pension and asset allocators have been doing and likely this week will be doing this is outperformance of equities, up 12.6% this quarter relative to -- this is just the broad bond market index and treasuries that's a big gap you would leave things out of balance if you held this there should be some rotation out of equities into bonds that hasn't taken much out of the market at least not so far year to date look at this tale of interest rates. utilities sectors against financials more or less running together on a quarter to date basis until here here financials started to perform much better. utilities have been a weak group for a while. they are often very sensitive to perceived changes in bond yields the equity market is saying no real change in the overall expectation that bond yields work they way higher today they had a move down in the morning and just like stocks pop back towards their recent

trend. >> mike, we will come back to you in just a little bit turning now to the coronavirus where there are signs of hope as moderna's vaccine begins shipping across the country. also new concerns about a mutation in europe that was the major reason for the dow's deficit and the futures that it has climbed back from meg tirrell has information on the mutation and everything coronavirus. >> we are hearing about the new strain of the coronavirus reported primarily in the uk being attributed there by government officials for some of the increased traps mission we are seeing if you look at the numbers of new daily cases in the uk over the past month in particular, it is dramatic. check out the cratering after they had a lockdown for most of november then the spike back up this the cases once they lifted it. they are saying some of it could be attributed to human beaver.

as dr. fauci says, once you lift lockdowns some people let it rip. human behavior could be contributing but also that the new variant detected is more transmissible. the question, do the existing trugs for the coronavirus and our vaccines work against this strain eli lilly, who makes the antibody drugs say they should still cover it they say their drug should maintain full activity against the new strain, regeneron believes the cocktail will be effective against the specific area yant and labwork is under way to determine that. as for the vaccines, same thing although we are waiting for more information from them. >> that's going to be an important question as relates to the outlook. meg, gene editing stocks what is driving the big surge? >> it is remarkable. if you look at names like he

hadity as, beam and chrisser and intelia. positivity about really being bullish about these names and their prospects. there is also some bad news sadly in another name, eun cure ticker qure. down 60% unfortunately on a hemophilia gene therapy program put on hold. this technology has had a setback. gene editing maybe getting a boone from that. biotech at work. >> meg, thank you, as always. now to washington and the latest on a long road to a new round of stimulus. ylan moi has a look at what we now know this hour on the fifth covid relief bill, which is the second largest stimulus effort in history ylan, good to see you. >> kayla, the house rules

committee is now debating the combined coronavirus relief package and government funding bill this legislation is over 5,000 pages long so we are just now getting a chance to go through it and see how lawmakers resolved one of the unexpected controversies in this debate. that is the fight over the federal reserve's emergency lending powers gop senator pat toomey wanted to prevent the fed are restarting the c.a.r.e.s. act programs that are supposed to wind down at the end of the year but democrats said his language was too broad that it could have tied the fed's hands in the future. the final text this legislation says that the central bank cannot create the same programs that existed under c.a.r.e.s. with the exception of tell it also expressly states that the fed's 13-3 comprehending powers remain intact we do expect the house to vote on this today.

fair warning, that could happen very late. back to you. that's what i was going to ask about, ylan. leader mcconnell said on the floor earlier today they would not leave tonight until they passed this. government funding runs out at midnight how close do you think they will get to the wire and actually being able to pass this? >> yeah, so the house has tried to put in a back stop here just in case this does sort of drift into the wee hours of tomorrow morning. then of course we have to have the president sign it and it has to make its way to his desk as well the house is planning to vote on a seven-day stop-gap funding measure at some point today that will give theme breathing room to allow the process in washington to do the senate is expected to pass that as well we are hearing from rand paul, that notable fiscal hawk he does not expect to hold up this both vote at all. we do think the midnight

deadline will be met but that doesn't mean the final bill will be passed by then. >> ylan moi, thank you we will keep you close. after the break, shares of defense company aerojet rocket dyne being taken over by lockheed martin. we will talk about that name and others on -- radar now you are watching "closing bell" here on cnbc

♪ for skin as alive as you are... don't settle for silver 7 moisturizers 3 vitamins 24 hours hydration gold bond champion your skin

people are saving hundreds gold bond in a land not so far away, on the most reliable network with xfinity mobile. they can choose from the latest phones or bring their own. and because they get nationwide 5g at no extra cost, they live happily ever after. again! again! your wireless. your rules.

your way to stay closer together this holiday season. switch and save up to $400 a year on your wireless bill. and get $150 off when you buy a samsung a series phone. learn more at xfinitymobile.com. 47 minutes left of the doppler radar day. dow is up 12 points. shares of aerojet rocket dyne surging on news that lockheed martin is buying them for $4.4 billion. earlier this year, mario gabelli gamed aerojet one of his top picks for 2020 and joins now if an exclusive interview mario, great to have you here.

as a shareholder why did you tweed you were sad about this deal usually a company being bought for a 20% preyum would be good for shareholders >> i have been doing this a long time back in the mid '70s when i started the firm i wassage analyst on the sell side when a company was taken over we called ate sad day because we had accumulated and compounded knowledge. i think i started following this company in the lathe '70s, early '80s when it was run by o'neill and located in manhattan and it was general tire and spun off a variety of business. eileen drake came along and done a terrific job we like the stock. when you think about the line in the 1930s, you think about our firm with regard to the missiles that we have called minnesota. the hyper sonic has made all of that stale she has done a terrific job of

positioning aerojet. converts were going to be converted, as of today they are worth a couple hundred bucks bottom line cash and land. the land is worth $10 a share in sacramento they didn't spin it off. it's engineered in a way my clients get $5 the point is that love making in the corporate world is ongoing and active and lockheed martin buying this is strategic but sara you had other deals today. ten others and you will see a lot more of that. >> that's where i wanted to go we are in a bit of an m&a boom, if you add that to the spac activity and the ipo, the capital markets are on fire. how much staying power do you think it has into 2021 >> you go back to the notion about the economy. the economy is going through a down leg now you have the stimulus bill coming in. that will get it up.

also because of what i think janet yellen is going to do at the treasury and powell continuing to do and it is the individuals that run the federal reserve boards in europe and japan. but when you look at the economy, the world, according to imf in 2021 is going to be $91 trillion the united states is 24.1. china is 18.5 of that. and europe is only about 18% so the economy in china is doing extremely well vaccines will have a lot of air pockets, a lot of speed bumps. what you were worried about this morning is going to happen in a variety of ways but we will solve the problems just like we did small pox, hiv, ebola. the engineering minds of the world coming together could solve global problems. so i think the economy next year is going to be quite good. in addition to that, sara, when you look at the election in 2022, the midterm election, if i

was running the house and the presidency, i would want a strong economy in the spring of that year. so i want to push my infrastructure year somewhere in the second and third quarters to get that going for that time period so also a lot of pluses. >> yeah. that's certainly something that the biden administration is vocal about, that based on what the economy does, 2022 will be the report card and what happens in those mid terms i am wondering for the first half of 2021 mario, you talk about the year as a whole but the trump administration said the vaccine wouldn't reach every american until let's say the end of june. i am wondering if you think that $600 stimulus checks, $300 unemployment top up, and the vaccines that are going to be trick eld out over the next few months, is that enough of a bridge to keep the economy afloat between now and then? >> you have got two economies. if i was in a hotel in new york city and working for the hotel

trade, i would have a challenge with regards to travel coming back, people going to the opera, people working so the worker in certain industries has got to have some help and every one of us should go out and buy gift cards to use in the future from our favorite restaurant independent of that, you need more money what you do in six months and three and four months will be an important element of support on the other side, the auto industry has a long run way. cars at the dealer level are low. housing is going to have a long runway if we don't change -- it depends when we do with corporate taxes and we will know prol probably on january 6th off 7th, independent of that if you allow corporate taxes to go up and keep the bonus depreciation and the capital tax.

our clients are concerned about certain aspects of that and taking gains this year versus next year. then the salt tax. we expect the rate to go up. but will they eliminate the salt tax which has an impact on california, new york, illinois and other deficient states that are running in a deficit i am optimistic about 2021 and the economy on a global basis led by china, the united states, and the recovery in europe. >> the question is what are you doing about sit in the market has been that way for a while, so strong, up 60% from the march lows i know you have liked some of these reopening plays like msg and cnbc viacom when we go back to theaters and sporting events. is that still the place to be or have all those gains listen front loaded in the market >> we call it the bottle stocks.

the problem is -- the banks -- an friday after the market closed the banks went up today it is a continuation of what happened in the after-hours. i have the jamie dimon and james gorman play i like morgan stanley is doing and so is that and bark of america. those kind of place. oil popped a little. we don't know what is going on with iran. we worry about a geopolitical dynamic. airlines were recovering but now it is a challenge in europe, and in the united states we are going to have to live through that those sectors are not as important in my point of view in the stock market as the overall market you have strong earnings with regards to revenues, gross margins are narrow because of certain cost but the tax rate is a question even with a higher tack it is okay then the multiple is the big

question and valuations when you have a stock like carvana at $40 billion and auto nation at 6 million -- you have the question of which companies do i own and which ones are bargains >> mario, we will come back to you. we just are getting some breaking news. we have a live shot there of president-elect biden getting his covid-19 vaccine he and incoming first lady, dr. jill biden both doing this publicly, receiving their doses, their first doses of the covid-19 vaccine in delaware following in the footsteps of vice president mike pence and the second lady, who we also saw, as the death toll de la, on this disease nears 300,000 people in the united states. this is going to be a big part of his administration's task, which is distributing hundreds

of millions of vaccine shots in the early part of his administration and we are just watching here the live shot. obviously they are doing in a sign of confidence and in a show that this is safe and to listen to the experts and the scientists, as some people are skeptical. >> to that end, sara, that the president-elect said he would get the vaccine wherever dr. fauci who he has appointed as his chief medical adviser recommended that he do so. shortly after he suggested that dr. fauci said it was in president-elect biden's interest and the interest of the country from a continuity of government perspective for him to get it as soon as possible and as soon as it was available to him. you have also seen leadership on capitol hill in both parties receiving the vaccine and being very public about having gotten the vaccine trying to show that

this is not something as polls indicate that one party would support and another party would not. trying to say this is something that every american should get as soon as it is available >> yeah. the problem is, it is not that widely available yet and there are also a lot of people who still cannot get it mario gabelli sorry to cut you off on the stock picks we are watching and taking this live shot. into that's important. every living president should have a shot at the same time on that television set. continue that visibility >> and it is happening -- >> couldn't hear you >> the former presidents have all said they would also be getting this vaccine as well and remember, this is a president-elect who has tried to keep some people around him during the transition. despite that, there have been some small clusters of cases there was a member of the

expanded press pool who tested positive last week and also cedric richmond, a member of congress, who will be his incoming senior adviser, testing positive for covid last week after appearing at the same campaign event down in georgia for the senate runoff with the president-elect. but the transition said they were distanced they were masked they are not considered close contacts even that being said, there have been so many of these close calls for biden, who is in his late 70s in just recent weeks since the election so, certainly -- let's lip in as he is talking right now if we can get higher audio from the president-elect right now. >> take the vaccine. there is nothing to worry about. i am looking forward to the second shot. so is jill she had her shot earlier today she loves shots. i know but i have had so many at any rate, is that for me? my next visit.

but the important thing is that it's worth stating that, you know, this is just the beginning. it's one thing to get the vaccine out. and now moderna is -- is going to be on the road as well. but it's going to take time. it's going to take time. in the meantime, i know i don't want to sound like a sour note here but i hope people listen to all the experts, and dr. fauci talking about the need to wear masks during this christmas and new year's holidays, wear masks, socially distance. if you don't have to travel, don't travel don't travel it's really important, because we are still in the thick of this it is one thing to have the vaccine show up at a hospital. it's another thing to get the vaccine from that vial into a needle, into an arm. and there's millions of people

out there that are going to need this, frontline workers first. i just want to thank everyone for all that they have done. some real heroes real heroes. and you are among them thank you. >> and that's the end of that video. president-elect and his wife, jill biden receiving their first shot, their vaccination, against covid-19, publicly, and speaking to the public saying that it is safe and that he is hopeful now in moderna's vaccine being approved we will get more of them also took the opportunity of course to thank the health care workers, our heroes during this pandemic mario gabelli still with us.

thank you for bearing with us throughout this whole thing. do you have a view on the execution of vagsine does that inform the outlook for 2021, how quickly it gets out to people how many people get it, and how bad this pandemic gets in the near term until that point >> my own reaction is fairly uncomplicated. we saw small pox, we saw polio it will take a while and the logistics -- in new york they are already giving it to front line health care workers they should be first then others that are important to the system should be next they will work it through. the logistics are just time consuming. think about this -- one year, 12 months ago, we were not aware of this, and the world's scientists came together to create this product. it will morph, it will change and they will hopefully continue to work together to solve it i will very optimistic about that occurring independent of that, sure there are going to be some like i said

air pockets and speed bumps over the next six months. then i look at the next part what else is new what are the changes taking place with the administration? the -- is leading the head of the communications federation. what does that do? what does that mean for the sectors of the market. two years ago, december -- no, may of 2018 the supreme court ruled that the professional and amateur sports act can be eliminated betting on sports is taking a huge push forward. that helps advertising it helps the companies that sell advertising. it helps the companies involved in it. somewhere in the next three weeks you are going to have the supreme court review what's going on in the broadcast business, which has an impact on comcast, has an impact on the other broadcasters and so we like companies like next stars, perry has done a fabulous job he has a market cap on the equity of $4.5 billion and he is

still encumbered by rules that took place 20 or 30 years ago. when you have netflix coming around with a $200 billion market cap, comcast, disney -- you have to look for companies that are undervalues and could have a huge surge when these changes dak place. that's the catalyst we look for with a microscope and we look at it from a historical and future telescope. >> before we let you go, share with us your favorite pick for 2021. >> i don't have one but i am a big fan this company for the last 40 years. the american farmer is one of the most productive in the world. the notion of commodities, what is happening to soy beans, what happened to wheat, to corn -- the fact is, they eliminate some of the transfer payments that supported them that's okay. bottom line, agriculture and commodities, copper is up at 357. and you have a stock that somebody is trying to take it over called fcx is the symbol.

freeport mcmarran. >> yeah. >> that's going to do well there is no one stock. but on the other side of the coin i think we can bet on betting as an area that's going to be interesting, particularly in sports that continue to accelerate into 2021 and 2022. so toes are areas. every day i come to work we had this year and a half star taking over their market cap today is $475 billion. nikola, even with its decline in price to 18, is $6 billion valuations are strange and they have to be settled down, and they will. you know, this is a great way over the next ten years to earn a good return on equity-earning businesses for christmas presents should be buying a share of manages manages sports getting the knicks a share of manu, and my

favorite, liberty braves. >> printed out, it fits in a stocking mario we had so much more 20 talk about with you. we only scratched the surface, but we appreciate it and hope to talk to you soon. >> happy holidays. best to all the viewers. just keep your seat belts fastened in the markets. >> we certainly will mario gabelli. a news alert on the ipo front. bett bertha comes has the story. >> oscar health, the eight-year-old health insurance start-up has filed confidentially to go public. this company is one of those leading tech enabled health insurers it is valued somewhere north of $175 billion its most recent investment having come from google in order to help expand into the very lucrative medicare advantage

market they are in several markets across the country, nearly a dozen or so. and now they are filing confidentially to go public under the parent company name of mall berry health. shaping up to be a busy year for some of these big unicorns in health care in 2021. >> i will take it, bertha. and that's the brother of jared kushner, right, involved in this one? >> correct correct. mario slosher is the ceo josh kushner was one of the cofounders >> yes and husband to karlie kloss. thank you bertha comes time now for a cnbc news update with sue herera. >> good to see you here's what's happening at this hour reforms in the way the faa certifies new planes are expected to be included in the massive legislative package congress will vote on as soon as today. the move comes in the wake of

the two boeing 737 max crashes that grounded that plane for more than a year and a half. in washington, william barr using his last public appearance as attorney general to undercut president trump, including trump's call for a special counsel to investigate president-elect biden's son, hunter >> if i thought a special counsel at this stage was the right tool and it was appropriate, i -- i would name one. but i haven't, and i'm not going to. and even santa can't escape 2020 unscathed this parachuting st. nick got caught up in power lines near sacramento electricity was cut off to about 200 customers so the rescuers who get old st. nick down safely you are up to date that's the news update this hour i will send it back to you kayla. >> thanks, sue. still ahead on "closing

bell," tesla hitting a speed bump on its first day in the s&p 500. but we will speak with an analyst who says the real opportunity for the company overseas plus, just how concerned should you be about the new virus strain in the uk and will it hamper the global recovery we will ask former fda commissioner dr. margaret hamburg. that's coming up as we head to break, here's a check on bonds ten-year yielding just shy of 1% we'll be right back.

elon musk asking on twitter about moving large transactions to bitcoin the crypto community is buzzing. up next, we have got a top strategist to explain why he says the bitcoin boom could lead to the dollar's demise we will debate that. "closing bell" back after a quick break. you got to move the phone in front of you like... like it's a mirror, dad. you know? alright, okay. how's that? is that how you hold a mirror?

[ding] power e*trade gives you an award-winning mobile app with powerful, easy-to-use tools and interactive charts to give you an edge, 24/7 support when you need it the most plus $0 commissions for online u.s. listed stocks. don't get mad. get e*trade and start trading today. don't get mad. get e*trade these days, we want sophisticated but simple. cutting edge made user friendly. in other words, we want a hybrid. and so do retailers. which is why they're going hybrid, with ibm. a hybrid cloud approach with watson ai helps manage supply chains while predicting demands with ease. from retail to healthcare, businesses are going with a smarter hybrid cloud, using the tools, platform and expertise of ibm. this holiday, get the phones everyone wants on the 5g america's been waiting for. verizon 5g is next level. now get one of our best 5g phones on us when you buy one. and get $500 when you switch. plus select unlimited plans

include disney+, hulu, and espn+. 100% obsessed with "the mandalorian." i watch a lot of sports. it has all my favorite shows. and right now, the gaming the whole family will love is also on us. it's like a gift on top of another gift. gifts keep coming at you. everywhere. this is 5g from america's most reliable network.

welcome back bitcoin moving lower by more than 5% today after briefly hitting a new intraday all-time high over the weekend. our next guest thinks the recent highs could mark a turning point for the cryptocurrency and pose a big threat to the dominance of the u.s. dollar. for more, let's bring in the

chief global strategist of morgan stanley investment management, also the author the ten rules of successful nations. you write that on average, nations that have enjoyed the term reserve currency have done so for about 94 years. the dollar is going on 100 years as of 2020 why do you think that bitcoin could pose a challenge to the dollar where the euro or the yuan could not >> exactly because all the central banks are following essentially the same policies. they are printing a lot. and so, therefore, for the last few years, i have been optimistic on the u.s. dollar as people have tried to pump up the euro or the chinese currency knowing they tonight real pose a threat to the dollar's reserve status what happened over the last years has been exceptional, the amount of dollars that have been

printed to keep the economy afloat is unprecedented. way more than the 2009 financial crisis i think that this margin is leading to an erosion of trust in paper currency. i don't think that bitcoin is the end game but thing we are moving in the direction where people are looking for alternatives the bitcoin surge this year is one sign of that that we may think of alternatives because we think in linear ways, the euro, the yuan. just like in the past, reserve currencies were also replaced by -- before the u.s. dollar it was the british pound before that the french currency and the dutch currentsy, and the portuguese and then spaish so on and so forth i think the bitcoin surge is a sign of that. >> in these countries where money is being printed there is

someone doing the printing there is a central bank in control of the price levels and the amount of supply in the system i mean, bitcoin, for all of its -- all it has overcome in the last several years i mean it has no global cop on the bead. it is mined from a computer. it could bankrupt someone's account from a technological hack how do you think this is a long term sustainable alternative for someone who loses trust in say a government-backed currency to put everything in bitcoin as an alternative. >> i think that the bigger story here is blockchain echnology that is what led to the rise of bitcoin. and it's amazing you talk about these trust levels what i find so fascinating is the demographic -- they speak to the millennials, the younger populati population, and they have a lot of trust in bitcoin and the way it is controlled the supply is controlled

but a lot of the older folks are very skeptical of that my point is different here, which is bitcoin is just a sign that something is afoot and that blockchain technology to lead to an alternative the end game could be different, we may move to some sort of a modern barter system where you don't even need currency to trade just because blockchain technology allows for thing to be fractionalized and exchange to take place. bitcoin is a product of that but i think this is all a sign that if you print so much, there will be an alternative, and that's, i think, what is coming through, with this bitcoin surge. and, remember, this is still very early days. the cryptocurrency is still only half a trillion dollars. gold, always seen the traditional hedge is $12 trillion or so these are still very early days.

but i think this is a shot across the bow that there are consequences of printing yourself in such a large way >> well, the consequence is that the dollar is weakened i don't think it is collapsed. i still think the world wands dollars and the dollars is very much in demand it is sort of trendy every time the dollar weakens past a certain level to talk about the demise of the dollar as the shiny currency. particularly with bitcoin emerging but that's not what is happening. you don't have a store value it is vulnerable to hacks and criminal activity. there is a long way to go. >> absolutely. as i said, these are very early days this is just a shot across the but until last year the send census was the dollar hegemony

is here to stay. i was part that. i wrote a story of how the dollar is so dominant. 90% of transactions involve the u.s. dollar. nearly two thirds of reserves are held in the u.s. dollar. 3/4 of u.s. debt is denominated in the u.s. dollar what is happening here with bitcoin's surge, it is a shot across the bow that something is afoot. don't take things for granted. the dollar has had an incredible bull run and a very long stint as the world's reserve currencu. i suspect it is going to be threatened in the years ahead. it is too early to talk about a dollar collapse. but there is one important statistic. the amount the u.s. owes the rest of the world today is nearly 67% of gdp. historically, whenever any country in the world has been so indebted of owing so much to the

rest of the world, it has almost always led to a big decline in its currency, even going back to recent years when you had the big decline in the european currency, the crisis in spain and for the gportugal you had a similar level of indebtedness to the rest of the world. we should be concerned that the u.s. has reached that critical point, which it did not in the ps. >> it is a provocative idea. we could talk about ate lot more and debate it, but we have got to go. thank you for joining us it is certainly out there, all the bitcoin enthusiasts are excited by your thesis straight ahead, financials are the best performing sector airline stocks reacting to the new stimulus news. energy is under pressure we will dive into all of those moves when we go inside the "market zone" next experience the wonders of the mexican caribbean

at nizuc resort & spa, where paradise is personal. nizuc is a world to discover unto itself, day or night, indoors or out. something wonderful awaits. experience the wonders of at nizuc resort & spa, where paradise is personal.

nizuc is a world to discover unto itself, day or night, indoors or out. something wonderful awaits. [sniffing] is the salmon wild-caught? she only eats wild caught. [cash register beeps] uh, i need a price check on honey.

don't get mad. get e*trade and get more than just trading. investing. banking. guidance. >> announcer: the "market zone" is sponsored by e trade. trade commission free today with no account minimums. [ music playing 11 minutes to go in the trading day. we are now in the "closing bell" "market zone," commercial-free coverage of all the action going into the close cnbc's senior markets comment e commentator mike santoli here to break down the crucial moments in the trading day dodd we have jonathan golub back as well. welcome, jonathan. we will kick it off with the broader markets. the dow, a 400 point swing off session lows biggest comeback we have seen since june after a new strain of varies in uk weighed on sentiment.

you have other factors out there, valuation, sentiment, focusing, being stretched. not new but standing out on a down day what do you expect. >> we have the fiscal deal that's a big positive. i think there is a bunch of stories here they differ by the length of time in your outlook near term i think the economy is going to take it on the chin with the strength this covid vaccine. and i think we start to see retail sales come in for the christmas season i think it is going to be disconcerting. we are already seeing the employment numbers getting a little bit worse but this is not going to last forever. as we start to take this vaccine and we get it towards the middle part of the year, even if it is the beginning of the summer, i think the opening process, reopening process is going to be very, very strong and it is going to be entirely different

than the backdrop we are experiencing right now. >> we are seeing the financial and tech sectors the best performers today we have breaking news in the tech space this. specifically pertains to soft bank leslie picker is on the phone with those details what do you know >> this is soft bank's first spac or special purpose acquisition a company filed just a few moments ago. svs investment corp. is the name they are listed under. they intend to list on the naz nasdaq under the symbol svsau they have other components as well trading under separate symbols. they raised millions of dollars through this spac. they say they would be interested in companies that do mobile communications technologies, artificial intelligence, robotics, cloud

technology, software, computational technology and other technologies although they note the actual target is not limited to those specific sectors now, the ceo of this spac is going to be rege -- who also works for soft bank. and he first mentioned these plans when he was a ander at kill,en. this is soft bank's first spac but they had a portfolio company, open door, that went public via a spac just today it was listed and began trading as a d spacing process this spac investment corp. will be managed by citi group, deutsche bank, and cantor. >> leslie, soft bank's vision fund had a few high-profile spectacular failures you mention it has had some

portfolio companies go public via spac what is the value proposition for investors to give soft bank a blank check at this point? >> that's the key questions. that's what they have to try to convince investors at this stage of the game. one valuation similar to soft bank has appealed to investors by saying we have a tremendous vision into the pipeline we have amazing connections all over, whether it is wall street, or the start-up ecosystem. so from there, we have a good sense of the types of deals that are out there, what we should be paying for those deals that's been a big selling point for investors in these types of deals. the challenge especially at this point in the cycle is when you are raising a spac that's $525 million you are looking for a massive company. typically spacs will take just a

minority portion of that company. $525 million for a spac you are looking for a market valuation for a target in the billions of dollars. the types of companies they are going to be competing with -- i'm sorry, they are going to be competing against other spac managers for the same types of companies because of the size of these spacs. that could be concerning especially as we look at this market and the types of -- supply of companies available to be acquired this way. >> leslie, i know you will be kicking through the perspectives, let us know when you find anything interesting. leslie picker joining us on phone with soft bank news. the financial sector is another bright spot today. goldman sachs and jp morgan leading the dow. other big bank stocks up more than 2% across the board this coming after news last week that the federal reserve will allow banks to resume buybacks mike we talked about this on friday afternoon some of these announcement were

just completely blockbuster. but one of the reasons why investors are so bullish on this is because of how much banks come pries in the overall buyback picture. what is it going to do for the return to capital generally for shareholders. >> they have capital sitting in reserve in banks that seem to have excess capital. keep in mind when goldman sachs and jp morgan repurchases its shares the money goes into the hands of investors who want to buy other stocks and might buy them i don't think they are the reason to be bullish but it one other factor in the bullish thesis out there for next year at a time when individuals and most institutional investors are

pretty well add allocated. it is a necessary part of the bull case for banks. it also helps the overall positive case for the market to stay supportive. two airlines are now requiring negative coronavirus tests from passengers flying from the uk to new york. phil lebeau with the details. >> we heard from delta airlines just a few minutes ago saying if you were in the uk and you are flying to new york city on a scheduled flight you will now be required to take a pcr test at least 72 hours in advance and prove that you are negative in order to be on that flight in to new york city. delta making that statement after the new york governor said the airlines that fly in there need to change this and make sure that tests are required look at iag, the parent of british airways. it will be requiring tests for passengers flying from heathrow

into new york city this comes on a day when the airline industry looks like they are on the cusp of securing $15 billion in payroll support as part of the new stimulus package being discussed and likely passed in washington they would be required to hire more than $32,000 workers who were furloughed starting in september and guarantee those jobs through march look at american, southwest, and united again, all of the lanes would be retired to rehire those who they furloughed and guarantee those jobs until march and fly to small cities >> shirs under pressure over some travel concerns. just over two minutes to go in the trading day. mike. >> they skewed to the downside even though we can focus on the resilience of the market coming back from the morning lows internally there is twice as many declining shares as

advancing. there is profit taking also one of the areas that was not able to make up its lee early losses, reopening and travel the etf that traction that down 1% we will see if this is a budding uptrend or a little bit of a one-day blip sara. >> less than a minute to go before the close looks like we are going to get a lower close across the board we are well off session lows look at the dow. it is almost positive right now. thank for that goldman sachs, nike and jp morgan those are the mvps of today's market action, together add being 150 points to the dow, offer earnings and buybacks. the s&p 500 down a little less than half a percent. keep in mind we were much lower,

at the lows, down almost 2% of the s&p. still kicking to have week here in the red after another strong week we saw for stocks last week where the nasdaq and the russel gained about 3% a piece. the nkds down .1% another strong comeback from earlier lows when there were more concerns about the new strain of the covid-19 virus in the uk weighing on travel and on the economic picture. look at the russell 2000 index of small caps. looks like it is going to close flat coming back from earlier lows and continuing its outperformance against the sbds, which down .4% into the close. two sectors closed up, financials and technology. kayla? >> welcome to "closing bell," i'm kayla tausche in for wilfred frost, along with sara eisen mike santoli cnbc kmarkts commentator is here as well. the dow flirted with the break even mark moments ago but ended

up closing up just about.1 pz. the s&p and nasdaq both closing in the red the s&p and the nasdaq were down on friday as well amount of second down day for those two averages the russell 2000 managing to eke out a positive close, only fractionally it is up 100% since the march lows and green again if only by a third of a point at this hour. tesla officially closing out its first day of trade in the s&p 500 with a big top we will break down that move later on in the show and a new potentially surprising kmet for for tesla the stock down nearly 7%. plus ahead, a interview with the ceo of columbia sports wear. his thoughts on retail and store closures amid the pandemic >> josh allen is with us michael yoesh kcammi joins the

conversation mike, first to you based on all the things we thought we were going to see today when the futures were giving us a early glimpse it was a stellar day. >> there were concerns in the morning that maybe the new strain while it was scary in headline form doesn't change the overall news which everybody is in agreement on, that there will be a quick upturn in the economy with the vaccine i think this was viewed as an opportunity to buy the market down 2% the s&p was down 2% for a blink this morning i don't think it changes the structure. parts of the market are incredibly overheated people thinking there is no price too high to pay for some of the recent ipos and emerging spacs, something that moves fast and

makes you feel smart right away. s&p 500, the has been trudging around this level of 3700 for a couple of weeks. you can interpret that as the market is digesting or getting overconfident in pockets both can be true. >> jonathan, banks from the drivers of the gains today they were the winners. up 1.24% in the s&p. best performers in the dow what do you do with that group does the buyback green light change the thesis? >> you know, we took a lot of flak for this call but financials and banks are our number one sector for a lot of the reasons that you are seeing. the regulators have made it difficult for them to return capital to shareholders. they are backing away. they are overreserved. the yield curve is expected to steepen. loan losses are coming in weak and these stocks are really cheap. so we think that the group is poised to do really well

as far as positioning, institutional investors hate the group but i think it's really set up for a lot of success. >> michael, when you think about some of the other sectors that didn't fair as well as financials and tech today -- i am thinking specifically energy where brent and wti saw their worst day since october. he had a bright spot in terms of deal announcement but deja vu in terms of lockdowns limiting travel and demand and people consuming this energy. what is the outlook for that sector >> it is a tough situation because you have a slowing economy. even if we have a bounceback it is going to be a slowing economy. we have alternative energy headline news pounding energy names. i understand companies in the fossil fuel industry are looking to get on the renewable energy

band wagon another issue that's driving financials is the dividend rates. compare them to a ten-year treasury it is tough to stomach if you invest in a ten-year pressy and you are going to get .75% every year for ten years even with financials are dead money you are still looking at dividend rates three to five times higher than what treasury yields are. >> there is a different picture in the near term and the long term for months it was all about the stay-at-home winners, the netflixs, tech names, et ceteray, those were the winners. then it shifted into airlines and travel

where are we now giving the head winds and the tail winds. >> i don't think there is a smooth easy store on this. i think in the next three or four months the reopening process is going to be sloppy. i think you are going to see that getting the vaccine in the right hands is going to be slower in certain case i think that part of the story today with the news out of the uk is there is some level of uncertainty even though folks in the medical industry are saying otherwise, will the vaccines work against this new strain of the virus has people concerned once we get towards mid-year, i think that our estimate for the economy and for consumer spending are probably too low. i think that you are going to get a big cyclical upturn. but i think it is going to be in certain areas of the economy it is going to be in services. it is going to be the doing stuff, not in the physical owning stuff we spent a lot of money on

physical goods in the last six months and i think there is going to be a rotation in terms of the kind of consumer spending we are going to get >> do you have a price target for 2021 yet >> i do. it's 4050. when we put that out and it was 12% upside people thought that sounded incredibly bullish since that time, the market has moved ahead quite nicely but i think something like 10% it between now and the end of next year is very doable >> leave it there. jonathan gol up, michael yoesh cammi thank you for joining us to talk about the markets. we have got to talk tesla, falling hard today, down 6.5% in its first seg in the s&p 500 stock took a leg lower after a reuter's report said apple was working on-electric car of its own targeting production as early as 2024 and using a new battery technology that the

report says could radically reduce the cost of batteries and increase range let's bring in dan -- you have to choose now between two of your most beloved stocks. >> it is a fascinating development but ev is a trillion dollar market. you look at apple i continue to think it is a matter of when not if they get into evs likely through a collaborative partnership. look at tesla, despite the selling news on the s&p, it continues to be a golden age for ev we are seeing that domestically as well as in china. >> how do you think of today's action now people may be more seriously considering or questioning its sky high valuation now that it made sort of the blue chip status of the s&p 500? >> that's a great question

i think it is more me jerk you look at december numbers, in terms of deliveries, trajectory. especially with china. the hearts and bones of the whole story. going into next year right now, 3% of all audios, going to 10% when you look at cess la in the ev market, it is really tesla's world and everyone else is paying represent investors are continuing to own that theme right now they are the pure play in china, neoand others are starting to morph into its next phase of growth. >> dan, why do people need to save gas money why do they need electric vehicles if they are not going to be going anywhere the next three to six months? >> i think in the near term as we are seeing in the semilock down that's going to be constrained in terms of i don't remember all sales when we look at 2021, especially in china, i think they could be a 250,000 units for the year

that's the key right now that's why when you look at tesla we have $1,000 bull case, pace case right now is 715 it is sort of a pork in the road situation as they execute in china. that continues to be the core for ev in terms of where most of that growth is coming out. >> can you just justify the valuation, dan, for us i mean why does this stock deserve to be more valuable than the top eight or nine global automakers when it represents less than 1% of sales. i get there are big visions for elon musk and for investors, but explain why more than 1,000 times earnings is deserved. >> it is part of that bull/berry mowingal debate right now. i continue to see tesla as an automaker but as a disruptive technology bender that's the multiple it gets

i think they are trading in a different paradigm than traditional automakers right now, you will start to see gm, ford, and others f they have success, i think gm will, in ev you will see rerating happening. right now, tesla is valued as a technology company not an automaker. but any trip over the shoe lace the stock will see a downside. >> the expectations for this company are so say astronom astronomically high and even elon musk has warned employees that the street and analysts are watching their every single move, every single statistic the company reports. yet elon musk says i am considering moving our balance sheet to bitcoin a lot of people say he is just elon that's his traditional shtick. do you think that the company

needs to get some religion and that he needs to be acting more corporate, more buttoned up? >> yeah, i mean, to some extent elon will always be elon i think what you are starting to see in permission of profitability, the red ink is the mirror. as they build out, focus on distribution and the cyber truck, but no doubt i mean there is much more focus on tesla and more to gain and more to lose especially part of the s&p now, bitcoin, that continues to be a folk us in terms of that back and forth with micro strategy i think some investors were not too happy about that today. >> year to date, though, stock up $676. a stunning chart dan ives here on "closing bell." let's get back to ylan moi for the latest on the stimulus bill where the not often

mentioned rules committee is having its day in the sun. what's going on? >> that's right. the house rules competent committee has sent the combined covid relief bill and government funding bill to the floor where we expect several more hours of debate before a final vote after that, it goes to the senate where the majority leader mcconnell announced he wants to pass this as quickly as possible it could take a couple of days to get to the president's desk in a statement the white house said president trump has pushed hard for months to send americans badly needed financial relief we look forward to congress sending a bill to his desk eminently for a signature. to give you a sense of how wide-ranging this 5,000-page stimulus package is, stimulus checks, unemployment benefits, aid to small businesses and

money for the vaccine, there is also verbiage on medical billing. there is also language that allows -- to go after covid scammers and a permanent tax break for certain sectors of business this is the last bill the congress will be voting on this year >> interesting provisions that you found. ylan moi, thank you. up next, citi group says pent up demand next year could be powerful and could power the s&p 500 higher whh ocicstks and which sectors could benefit the most we will get an outlook up next "closing bell" returns in 90 seconds. stock slices.

for as little as $5, now anyone can own companies in the s&p 500, even if their shares cost more. at $5 a slice, you could own ten companies for $50 instead of paying thousands. all commission free online. schwab stock slices: an easy way to start investing or to give the gift of stock ownership. schwab. own your tomorrow.

dow reversing course today ending higher making the largest comeback we have seen since june it was down more than 400 at the low. joining us now to talk about how to best position for the year ahead is citi group chief u.s. equity specialist tobias fleck vich welcome back, this is the time of year when we go through the targets. golub has you bead, above 4,000. a modest upside. how do you see the year shaping up some of the stocks that benefitted from the shutdown

environment, those who have huge market cap weights could back off. on the other end you will see improving trends potentially in things like financial. you are already getting benefit from the news over the weekend about buybacks also industrials, cyclicals, and hospitality, leisure, travel and entertainment. the stuff we haven't been able to do. even though we have savings in the country. people are dieing to get out there and do stuff again a buddy of ours is going to be at the world series of poker in a week a lot of us would love to be out there to cheer him on. we are not going to be able to get to the middle of next year, each into '22, there is going to be powerful pent up demand to get out and do things and entertain ourselves on services side. >> many things

going to a poker tournament is not at the top of my list. i am glad it is for you. >> i am happy to -- >> fair enough i know you are canadian. how much is already in the market we have already had in tremendous run-up n. a lot of the places you listed. cyclical groups, the you russell 2000, small caps, the rotation has already begun. >> what we have seen mostly, hedge funds told us they covered their short positions on the hedge fund side. these value areas we have heard the long only institutions reduced their underweights we did a survey published over the weekend asking clients what do you see going forward into '21? why do you want to be. the first area was consumer discretionary, we think heavily influenced by the service. second, industrials, third area, financials they want to go there. they haven't gone there yet. again, they have reduced their

underweights but haven't really gone there for a number of reasons including value anti-worked for the past ten years. there is not a whole lot of faith in this. they need to so it almost the whifts their eyes phenomenon -- whites of their eyes phenomenon. the vaccine is a great news, gives us a light at the end of the tunnel but we need to be out there, broadly accepted no stories about adverse side effects. there are no logistical difficulties getting it out to people and we have a few other events coming down the road including the georgia senate elections. >> when you think about the overall market yes this might be pent up demand affecting s&p 500 companies or some of the sectors you mentioned. i am wondering where you see froth in the market and where it could be overvalued. a lot of attention has been paid

to the russell 2,000 the fact it has doubled since march even though the small cap companies are the companies that have the bumpiest road ahead. >> good question small caps look attractive on valuation criteria we run models looking at economic series that tell you how they trade rel sieve to one another. it still says blue skies ahead for the small caps if you switch out some of the big powerful mega tech names that have been the disruptors and they fade a little bit it holds the index level down i have defined it as pulling dog sleds potentially with cocker spaniels and chihuahuas rather than huskies it is harder to move the index the stocks could move higher but the broader index could have a little bit of a challenge. one last thing out there our primary sentiment metric is

at a higher level today than it was in 2000 before the economic slowdown i think we are talking about a pullback in the 10% area then we would be a buyer and take advantage of the upside a lot of good news is in a lot of stocks, particularly crowded in the tech space. >> we will leave it there. always good to see you. >> happy holidays, guys. >> same to you. after the break, the s&p 500's valuation, as you just heard, is near a two-decade high there is one sector that's still well below its recent peak mike santoli of course is going to be the one to break it down and the potential opportunity that lay ahead. aa reminder you can always watch or listen to us live on the go on the cnbc app "closing bell" will be right back

welcome back wlets' send it over to mike santoli, who is taking a closer look at earnings and valuation expectations let me guess, mike, they are a little high. >> the valuations are pretty high the earnings expectations are

pointing in the right direction, kayla. this is the earnings forecast consensus for the s&p 500 companies for this year, 2020. that's orange line obviously a big decline over the last 12 months of it is going to be coming in under 140 or so at this estimation. for next year subtly you can see the estimates are still holding up okay. also what's interesting is the current estimate right here, $169 is about what was expected to be earned this year one year ago. so we are just dialing ahead one year and stock prices are higher. what does that do to the valuation? look at this chart showing over the last decade, this is the year ahead s&p 500 price earnings multiple, which means the following calendar year. we are on 22 right now, clearly the highest we have been in a long time, you have to go back to 99, 2000, 2001 to get something similar. the market is to a place where it says we know thing are going to be getting better, snapping back 2010 was after there was a

climatic market low, the worst year of the financial crisis came to an end this was the last time earnings came in much higher than forecast on the year ahead basis. there is a chance that 2021 numbers are still too low. however for financials it is a different story in terms of relative value to their history. this is banks specifically s&p banks. 12 times they have traded as high as 16 or so during this cycle. three years ago. in theory there is more dry powder in the market than there is in the s&p 500. people will tell me interest rates are low, bond yields are stuck at zero. all of that is true but doesn't offset that you are buying in at 12 times. >> that is the argument, the fed is printing like we have never seen before and that changes the multiple. >> and capital has never been lower and all of that should filter into equity valuations.

it doesn't explain why we are here it doesn't say for the next ten years you are going to get great returns from this purchase point. up next, a former fda commissioner on whether the coronavirus vaccines currently ait g distributed will protect agnsthe new covid strain out of the uk and how that could impact reopening the economy we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ digital transformation has failed to take off. because it hasn't removed the endless mundane work we all hate. ♪ ♪ automation can solve that by taking on repetitive tasks for us. unleash your potential. uipath. reboot work.

president-elect biden receiving his first dose of the coronavirus vaccine in the last

hour, this coming as the uk announced the discovery of a new strain of the virus. leaving questions whether vaccines will still protect against any mutated variation. pfizer's partner dine tech releasing this statement quote, we are currently investigating the impact of our vaccine on this mutation so far we have tested approximately 20 different mutations and the vaccine was able to address all of them. it is too early to draw any conclusions at this stage. but our vaccine is able to mount a strong and broad immune response, so we remain optimistic joining us now is dr. peggy hamburg. she served as the fda commissioner under president obama. doctor, it is good to see you. i would like to first ask about this variation, what you know about it and whether it is reasonable to assume that if it is that prevalent in the uk, given there are still six flights a day between the uk and the u.s., is it remember here? >> well, we are still learning

about this new strain. it is important to recognize that viruses do mutate it's to be expected. this virus has been mew at a time -- mutating it doesn't mutate as fast as viruses like the flu but faster than others like measles we need to watch it. it is of concern that this appears to perhaps transmit more easily it doesn't seem to be more lethal, though, cause more serious disease and more death but we still don't know. it may be more prevalent in the uk simply because of human behaviors and how it's had an opportunity to spread. but it does seem that we are hearing reports that this same strain is found in other parts of the world it's likely here as well it's a powerful reminder to us that this is a formidable foe, this virus we need to keep monitoring it, and tracking it, and we need to

be prepared for these kinds of new findings but it's encouraging it certainly does seem as though the vaccines that have just been authorized for use will remain highly protective against this viral strain and we need to keep studying it and watching and it recognizing that this is a dynamic process >> this is the first mass vaccination effort in this country in at least a century. so of course there were going to be hillary clinton ups bccups, k you about the ramping of the vaccine which we are assuming will address the core covid virus as well as any mutation. those in charge of operation warp speed acknowledged there were some problems in estimation, and also some problems in the approval process that would actually put some of

these vials on the trucks. but i am wondering how quickly, in your view, the administration can rectify some of those issues to actually ramp up to what they had previously expected to distribute this month. >> this is an absolutely critical time in the course of this covid pandemic. we now have two authorized vaccines that are available for use, first with the highest priority groups, and then more broadly for the u.s. population and in other countries that are also approving these vaccines. but we have to make sure that they get to people as swift l z leez -- as swiftly as possible the good news is that we have vaccines it is heartening but we are also seeing some of the worst numbers in terms of new cases, hospitalization asks deaths so we need to get that vaccine out there. they are going to be -- there

are going to be initial issues as the distribution begins but we can't allow vaccine to sit in boxes in warehouses that could be out there getting to people so i'm glad that the operation warp speed team, the logistical effort is really taking a close look at how thing are unfolding, recognizing where there have been problems and addressing them and i hope there will also be a very smooth pass off as the transition to a new administration happens so that we do not lose vital time. >> in the meantime, dr. hamburg we are waiting for the johnson & johnson late stage trial results sometime in the new year they fully enrolled that, ultimately, if we get to a point where we have a choice here, early next spring or potentially

into next summer, would you feel more comfortable, would you feel more comfortable getting a vaccine from johnson & johnson or merck which are using more tested platforms and technology versus the mrna vaccines from pfizer and moderna where we don't know the long term side effects, if there are any? >> i have great confidence in the process that has been under way to develop these vaccines and review them in terms of the available data for safety and efficacy and we want to have a portfolio of different types of vaccines produced by different manufacturers. it may turn out that certain of these vaccines work better in certain subpopulations, that they are more effective in the elderly who don't tend to mount as robust immune response or safer in pregnant women, women of child bearing age, or in children so we want to see this set of

vaccines being developed and moving forward some of them have strengths in terms of supply chain issues we all know now that the pfizer vaccine requires these really low temperatures for the supply chain, minus 70 degrees centigrade, almost 100 degrees below zero fahrenheit. the moderna can be at just a normal freezer temperature and i think the j&j doesn't require freezer temperature. and the yoij j&j is only one do well there are going to be pluses and minuses for each of the vaccines i will happy and delighted to take a vaccine that makeset through the development and review process and gets the authorization from the fda and the go-ahead from cdc.

>> certainly, state and local officials are shaping their distribution plans based on some of those characteristics you just mentioned, as we will see which audiences they go to and exactly how these next several vaccines come to market. for now, doctor, we will leave it there our thanks to you for your time and expertise. >> sure. thanks very much. coming up on "closing bell," will colder weather help boost outer wear sales we will speak with the ceo of apparel maker columbia sports wear about his outlook as coronavirus cases continue to surge. that's coming up next. boss: doug? sorry about that. umm...what...its...um... boss: you alright? [sigh] [ding] never settle with power e*trade. it has powerful, easy-to-use tools to help you find opportunities, 24/7 support when you need answers plus some of the lowest options and futures contract prices around. don't get mad. get e*trade and start trading today.

don't get mad. want to sell the best burger add an employee.ode? or ten... then easily and automatically pay your team and file payroll taxes. that means... world domination! or just the west side. run payroll in less than five minutes with intuit quickbooks. america's been waiting for. get iphone 12 on the 5g this new iphone plus verizon 5g is incredible. switch now and get iphone 12 pro max on us. unlimited plans start at just $35. this is 5g from america's most reliable network.

time now for a news update with sue herera. sue, what's new? >> lots going on, kayla. thanks so much here's what's happening, everybody. on tear yoerk canada's largest province, has now announced a shutdown because of rising covid-19 cases the new measures go into effect on december 26th the vatican has declared it is, quote, morally acceptable, end quote, for catholics to get the coronavirus vaccine even if the research used cells derived from aborted fetuses the statement comes after some american catholics argued that

such prourkts are immoral. in parts of england, a run on supermarkets as the new virus restrictions go into effect. fears of supply shortages are also on the rise as france halted truck and train traffic from britain for 48 hours. and the bbc reporting the two countries may not reach an agreement today on reopening their borders. and here is a hopeful sign that 2020 is finally coming to a close. the yint illuminated 2021 sign has arrived in new york's times square this. year just 40 people are invited to see the traditional ball drop instead the millions who usually attend we are getting there we are lom done with this year sara, i will accepted it back to you. >> that ball drop is going to take a whole new significance this year. thank you, sue sue herera still ahead, shares of columbia sports wear have been rocky, underperforming apparel makers like nike this year

up next kplumia's ceo on the lagging stock and wthonheer the sales of outer wear will pick up now that winter is officially here we'll be right back. academy sports + outdoors started as a tireshop in san antonio texas in 1938. our vision is to be the best sports and outdoors retailer in the country with a mission to provide fun for all through strong assortments, value, & experience over the years, we've given customers not just great products, but outstanding experiences. we can't wait to have customers nationwide have fun out there.

at cdwwell we've made our happy,office pet friendly.s. [ bleat ] [ cooing ] maybe a little too pet friendly. well you know cdw can design a mobility solution with light powerful devices from lenovo to make your people more productive in or out of the office. anyone have any questions before we go? that's great cause i really need to get out of here. snake people are freaking me out. hey sheryl, you have a sec? -nuh, uh. for work place productivity you need lenovo, and it orchestration by cdw. people who get it. welcome back shares of columbia sports wear have tumbled 11% in 2020 in what has been a tough year for brick and mortar stores inn a

competitive outer wear space meanwhile nike and lululemon have soared, 43 and 52% respectively joining us, tim boyle, columbia sports wear president and ceo. welcome back, tim. it is good to have you is that what is happening, are companies like nike which called out outer wear on friday as a point of strength and cold gare taking share >> nike is obviously a juggernaut we consider them to be a close friend and a good company and good neighbor. because we are within about a mile of their headquarters here in portland. and they are a great company outer wear for them is a pretty new business but i think it pales by comparison to the rest of their business which obviously they dominate the sneaker category. >> sure. what has it meant for your business, tim? how would you describe that's been going on with sales and why it has underperformed a little relative to expectations when we are spending so much

more time this year outside for safety >> right well, you know, it has been difficult. we are in a quiet period, so it is tough for me to be granular about our business today but you know, we have a very large international business frankly, there are some markets where the stores have been closed for months now, especially in south america. and there are other markets that are open and where business is robust so, you know, we consider ourselves to be much more than just an outer wear k. we have offensely winter footwear as well so our business is broad across many different categories and merchandise. we love it when the weather is cold and our business is strong as it relates to outer wear. but it's not exclusively an outer wear business. >> if you had come on the show last week, you would have seen behind me a yard full of snow.

but it has been a little bit warmer and it has melted i am wondering how your outlook this year impacts the business outlook. b of a said the snowfall was a reason to downgrade. >> we are more than a u.s. company. our sales internationally were 40% of revenues. you have to really talk about whether in the world weather exists as an example, in russia, our business there is quite strong it's always cold in russia you know, the u.s. business is strong as well it is a big part of our business, but europe, they are having a terrific snow year this year they are having a difficult time with the by risk closing ski areas, and obviously some retail locations are closed it is a combination of where weather exists and where in the world we have stores open. so it is a difficult year this

year to predict what will happen what we rely on, frankly is the strength of our to be able to make it through periods of time when it is uncertain we know we will be one of the survivors. >> you have also some some strength in your e-commerce business i know double digit gains in the last few periods do those sales ever come back to stores once people do get vaccines how do you think about the transition that consumers are making with so much activity happening on line. >> right, i think there is going to be room for stores. you know, we always thought that perhaps the e-commerce business would end up being 20 or 30% of the total revenues for the company. but it's probably a little bit larger than that you know, we have to -- we consider our own e-commerce business as well as the e-commerce business by the bulk of our customers

our strongest customers all have a very significant position in e customers. and so i think consumers will start to come back to stores as they can we certainly see traffic where we have confident consumers being very interested in coming and touching and trying on merchandise and observing it in a physical location. but it will probably be over time much more robust digital business for all of us, frankly. >> and tim, with so much competition for consumers' dollars right now, and a lot of time on a lot of people's hands to shop around and look for things, i mean, how do you get their attention? do to have splshy viral releases like the baby yoda jacket? how do you get them?

>> i think it is that bus -- at the end of the day, we talk about this in the company a lot. we actually sell a physical product. our product have to stand up to criticism from consumers and alsoaccolades. so we try to make products that are incredibly different and unusual. the yoda collaboration with disney obviously was one that we're very proud of. the rest of our products all have some innovation that we've developed in-house that can separate us and help us differentiate our products from others mostly, frankly, from a performance standpoint >> i think they're very cute i'm a fan of the baby yoda jackets. tim, thank you for joining us. >> thank you for inviting me always fun to talk about the company. thank you. we appreciate it we have a news alert as well on peloton.

diana olick with the details >> yeah. that's right peloton is acquiring precorps, one of the largest global fitness equipmentmakers. the transaction valued at 24 u.s. million it's a division of ameri-sports and they have a significant u.s. manufacturing presence which is what peloton needs because of all its demand for stationary bikes and treadmills u.s. manufacturing capacity will be boosted, boosted research and development capabilities and accelerate peloton's commercial market it will be producing connected fitness products in the u.s. before the end of 2021 peloton's president william lynch said by combining our talented and committed r&d supply chain teams with the precor team, we believe we will be able to lead in the connected fitness market the acquisition adds 625,000 square feet of manufacturing

capacity in north carolina and in woodenville, washington back to you. >> and investors believe that, too. the stock is up 4.5% thank you. still ahead on closing bell, the rise of the retail trader fueled an ipo boom this year find out if that continues in 2021 when two more buzz worthy names go public. mornings were made for better things than rheumatoid arthritis. when considering another treatment, ask about xeljanz... a pill for adults with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis

when methotrexate has not helped enough. xeljanz can help relieve joint pain and swelling, stiffness, and helps stop further joint damage, even without methotrexate. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections. before and during treatment, your doctor should check for infections, like tb and do blood tests. tell your doctor if you've had hepatitis b or c, have flu-like symptoms, or are prone to infections. serious, sometimes fatal infections, cancers including lymphoma, and blood clots have happened. taking a higher than recommended dose of xeljanz for ra may increase risk of death. tears in the stomach or intestines and serious allergic reactions have happened. don't let another morning go by without asking your doctor about the pill first prescribed for ra more than seven years ago. xeljanz.

people are saving hundreds in a land not so far away, on the most reliable network with xfinity mobile. they can choose from the latest phones or bring their own. and because they get nationwide 5g at no extra cost, they live happily ever after. again! again! your wireless. your rules. your way to stay closer together this holiday season. switch and save up to $400 a year on your wireless bill. and get $150 off when you buy a samsung a series phone. learn more at xfinitymobile.com.

. basically no travelers were detected to have covid through this process how many of the screeners themselves ended up getting sick?creeners themselves ended getting sick >> more than identified in the task force a few dozen was my recollection. it was a stark data point when it was relayed out when not only are we finding anybody, we are getting more cdc and dhs employees infected with covid at the airports than we're finding people that was joe grogan the former white house domestic policy chief, one of a dozen u.s. officials serving on the coronavirus task force that i spoke to over the course of the last several months whether a

program to funnel travelers through a handful of airports and to screen them for symptoms actually worked. tonight, the findings of our investigation and the reason why the task force kept the program in place despite the ineffectiveness and the danger it posed to front line workers next on "closing bell," more on the rise of the retail investor (music) ♪

for members like martin. an air force veteran made of doing what's right, not what's easy. so when a hailstorm hit, usaa reached out before he could even inspect the damage. that's how you do it right. usaa insurance is made just the way martin's family needs it with hassle-free claims, he got paid before his neighbor even got started. because doing right by our members, that's what's right. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for.

♪ usaa tonight, moderna rollout progress and speed bumps stimulus update, what's in the

bill and your new check? and hundreds of airport screeners unprotected from covid? the s&p 500 is looking to close out with double digit gains this year and a flood of new retail traders benefited from their entry into the market kate rooney has more on that hey, kate. >> hi. it's been a banner year for brokerage firms. according to jmp securities the industry added 10 million new clients this year. based on app downloads, they estimate 60% came from robinhood. the pandemic zero commissions and volatility all made this year a perfect storm for bringing new people to the stock market the rise of fractional trading made some of those expensive stocks more accessible

according to apex, tesla overtook apple as the most widely held names. they saw a rise in popularity in new ipos back to you. >> the year of the retail trader kate, thank you. tonight on "mad money," don't miss jim cramer's exclusive interview with the ceo of robinhood we'll see you tomorrow "fast money" begins right now. this is "fast money. tonight's trader lineup, guy, tim, nathan and jack mills a sputtering start shares of tesla on a rocky road its first day on the s&p 500. and the worst looking chart in the market. why one of our traders say the fundamental trade for this stock is atrocious and later, the general is a 13 billion stock you may have never heard of why you might want to take a bite out of this company right now. two