♪ just like the ones that i used to know ♪ ♪ honey, it's where the tree tops, tree tops glisten ♪ ♪ and little bitty, little bitty, little bitty children, they're trying to listen ♪ ♪ to hear, hear for the sleigh bells that are ringing in the snow ♪ ♪ i wanna tell you one more time what i'm thinking about ♪ ♪ imus, imus, imus in the morning ♪

>> moments ago the new york stock exchange observed a moment of silence following the events in connecticut last friday. it was a somber moment in the financial world. ten minutes from now, trading will begin and these are the stories which we will concentrate on this monday morning. speaker boehner says, go ahead, raise tax rates on millionaires, that's a retreat. it's a new offer from john boehner, a higher tax rate on incomes over a million a year. gas prices really falling fast. in the whole state of missouri the average is 2.94. nine states are within a few cents of breaking below $3 a gallon. and yes, it's the monday after the connecticut shooting and father jonathan morris is here for "varney & company." scuba diving the great barrier reef with sharks, or jumping into the marke he goes with people he trusts,

which is why he trades with a company that doesn't nickel and dime him with hidden fees. so he can worry about other things, like what the market is doing and being ready, no matter what happens, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense, from td ameritrade. can i still ship a gift in time r christmas? yeah, sure you can. great. where's your gift? uh... whew. [ male announcer ] break from the holiday stress. ship fedex express by december 22nd for christmas delivery.

>> good morning, everyone, big news on a big name stock that we

followed very closely here on "varney & company," apple says it sold a record 2 million 3 c1 iphone 5's this weekend in china. still, one citigroup analyst down grades the stock and says it's got a much lower price target. there are also rumblings about orders for its products this christmas. all right, so, nicole, did we break below 500 bucks this morning? >> we did. we broke down on apple shares below $500 for the first time since february. but in that same breath, i can talk about the fact that their iphone sales over in china broke records on the rollout. stuart: okay, but right now, i'm seeing it expected to open around $510 a share. >> right. stuart: but i did see it pre-market at 499. just for a brief spell so we broke below very briefly and now we've broken back up again. >> and you have that citigroup downgrade which just piles on to the other analysts who have lowered their expectations on apple. stuart: and there's a switch.

all right. john boehner bends and makes the president an offer and it includes higher tax rates on the rich. boehner's proposal, higher rates on incomes over a million dollars a year. that's projected to raise 460 billion over ten years and that's about half the president's revenue raising plan. now, in exchange, the speaker wants the spending cuts. his total package would save 2 trillion dollars in ten years, so, boehner shifts on the principle of tax rates and the ball appears to be in the president's court. how comes the tricky part. the debt ceiling, the president basically wants to do away with it, he wants to be able it to run up as much debt as he pleases. "the washington post" offers to push the debate way into next year and then boehner says, okay, but only if the president agrees to spending cuts. so, mere is where we stands this monday morning, no deal, but a shift in principle by speaker boehner. tell us what you think of boehner's proposal.

i don't think that conservative will like this one. post it on our facebook page. the nation's mood is somber this morning, the country is in mourning following the events friday in newtown, connecticut, father jonathan morris on that next. ♪ ♪

[ male announcer ] they are a glowing example of what it means to be the best. and at this special time of year, they shine en brighter. come to the winter event and get the mercedes-benz you've always wished for, now for an exceptional price. [ santa ] ho, ho, ho, ho! [ male announcer ] lease a 2013 glk350 for $399 a month at your local mercedes-benz dealer. you know how painful heartburn can be. for fast, long lasting relief, use doctor recommended gaviscon®. only gaviscon® forms a protective barrier that helps blocktomach acid from splashing up- relieving the pain quickly. try fast, long lasting gaviscon®.

>> all right. a lot depends for the trading session this week on any headlines that come out of these fiscal cliff negotiations. you can expect headlines to move this market. this morning, we don't have a real market moving headline. we've reported that speaker boehn boehner has offered a deal which includes higher tax rates on people making more than a million dollars a year. that's not big enough to move the market and we're expecting again, i say this almost every day these days, a pretty flat market right from the opening bell. we'll be concentrating on individual stocks, some of which may really move. in particular, apple, pay very close attention to that. it's dropped from 705 a share to barely above 500. and early this morning broke below 500. we're watching that one. [bell ringing] and we'll pay attention to facebook despite the new shares which could be sold by insiders late last week and this morning we expect indeed we're going to

be see facebook hit $27 a share. so, let's check the early going, where are we? the opening trend, what is it? it's ever so slightly higher. we're up 9 points in the first 30 seconds of business. let's go to nicole. as we said we're following apple all morning long, downgraded by citi. 2 million share sales of its iphone in china this weekend and it's at 508 i see. >> this is the one we've been watching throughout the morning because it's been all over the place. now it's lower. right, we checked it moments before the pre-market and we saw it it at 510 and then it was down to 508 in negative territory and now virtually flat and record sales in china, but concerns about the supply, the asian supplier, and [inaudible] neutral from a buy and a price target reduction so the new price target, 575. that's down 675, not good if you were really hoping for apple to

take off to a thousand. stuart: you know, it's nothing these days for analysts to shift their target price for apple by $100 in a single move. 675? oh, no, no, 575. now, that's quite a shift, is it not? no? >> it is a big shift and now what happened, as soon as it crossed 575, the price target, it's, you know, that's a big deal, right? and keep up with the time. >> it's called horizon forecasting, that's what it is. nicole, thank you very much indeed. dow is up 36 in the very early going this morning. another market we're following, the gasoline market. what a big drop nationwide. the average falling to 3.24. and this is according to % triple-a. we uue triple-a's numbers here, down ten cents in one week and please keep in mind the national average was still higher than it was last time this year. and look at this, the lowest missouri 2.95. the country. that's what we call a two handle, the first number on the

gas pump sign is a two and we could be seeing more of that, more states with a two handle very, very soon. now, we are of course, shocked and saddened by [inaudible] the country's trying to get to grips with this dreadful shooting. listen to what governor mike huckman said about this over the weekend. >> where was god? i said you know, we systematically removed him from our culture, from our schools. well, i've been barraged by people who have said i said well if we had prayers in school this wouldn't have happened. that's not my point. we've created a culture, not that it specifically creates this crimes, it doesn't, but where evil and violence are removed from our sense of responsibility. stuart: joining us now from newtown, is fox news contributor, father jonathan morris. you just heard what governor huckabee had to say, you take god out of the schools out of our so he site and this kind of things happen and what's your

perspectives. >> we're a few miles away and arriving the first time with some trepidation and the comments made by governor huckabee, had a lot of truth to it, but i think couching it within the context, also, the fact that we can't say with prayer in schools this would not have happened. you know, what i think, my own personal reflection as a pastor, i'm thinking how could i have gotten to that young man or to his mother or to his family before this would have happened, before this happened, if i had lived in that town. i think the people in my own neighborhood, yes of course, there are other factors, there's mental illness, there's a broken family. there's so many things that we don't know yet, but i believe deeply when we reach out to people and help them realize how much they're loved and by showing them love, these type of things can be stopped, at least

to some degree. and all it took was for one person that reached out to this person, we don't know the circumstances surrounding it, but had that young man been able to be wrapped up in the arms of the community and his family in some way, would this have stopped, stopped perhaps? and so, i think what governor huckabee is saying is that culture and environment do make a difference, even when people are on the edge. stuart: i wonder -- it's not a very good line, but we are hearing you okay, father. i want you to just conclude. would you please just give a message to our viewers from you as a catholic priest. >> absolutely. i'm sorry about the bad line. the message that i'm taking for myself, and i hope that can be imitated by others is to double down on love, to double down on love. to love people who are in our reach, to reach out to those who

we might not be in contact right now, because this young man, used the god given gift of free will in a terrible way, and we don't know exactly why and we'll find out maybe in coming days, but also have that gift of free will and we've used it well and i think the way to do it is to double down on love. stuart: well, father, i think america is in mourning and i think the mood is somber and reflective and we appreciate you being with us today, father jonathan morris and your message there, we appreciate it, sir. >> thank you. >> it's monday morning and training has just begun for the new week, where are we? up 33 points. and maybe speaker boehner making an offer about the fiscal cliff negotiations, maybe he's saying, look, you can tax pat a higher rate incomes over a million dollars a year and maybe that helps market sentiment? we're up 43 points in the very early going. to nicole, google shares are

higher. what's this, another analyst raising a price target, is this what happened? >> we're doing the analyst morning for you. you know what? really, take aside what the number is. it just shows you what wall street is thinking. so, if you just take that message, that will give you a clear indication of which way the stocks may be going. so, in in case, ever core partners is looking there and raising the price target to $850 from 830 and they have an overweight rating and so, this basically is telling you, they're hot on google. by the way, stuart. i saw you earlier o fox and friends with gretchen talking about the fiscal cliff and i like that tie on you. stuart: i thought you were going to make some substantive comment on my comments on john boehner, but it's-- you like it. >> i like all of it. stuart: it's new by the way, brand new. >> i have an eye like a hawk eye. stuart: yes, you do, young lady. thank you very much, nicole. and maybe the indicator is

stick, but the dow still shows a 43 point-- oh, it's moved. 44 points higher this monday morning. all right. coming up new at 10, germany's chancellor angela merkel says europe will have to work very hard to it maintain its current standard of living. at the top of the hour, find out what she's saying about welfare and here is another development from overseas. we brought you the story last week, french actor gerard depardu, he is leaving home, leaving france because of higher taxes and handed in his passport. now, the french prime minister has some choice words for mr. depardu. he's obviously in the happy with him and find out exactly what he said at ten o'clock eastern time this morning. time is money. 30 seconds, here is what else we've got for you, an in japan, again, a landslide win, so, what's the new prime minister going to do about the world's worst debt problem? print more money and stimulate more, too. build more infrastructure.

will that work? we have our own resident japan expert. question, is jeff immelt's cozy relationship with the president costing general electric shareholders money? we will be discussing it. and i lost on friday when i questioned "the washington po " post's" claim that the senate would be better with more women. i'm not done debating that. more coming up on this program today. and we want to hear from you as well. send your e-mails to varney@foxbusiness.com and we read them on the air. and we read all of them, by the way. i've got news, clearwire selling itself to sprint for $2.97 a share and sprint raised its offer by 7 cents. some clearwire shareholders wanted and expected more. that stock is down. sprint is up, it's getting what people consider a good deal, at least that's what the market is saying. it's up what, 4 cents, not much. aig selling the rest of its asian insurance unit it's going to bring in 6.5 billion dollars.

that was the jewel in the aig empire, being sold. general electric, meeting with investors in new york today. on friday it raised its dividend, but it will pay it next year. not good for shareholders because if taxes go up, they'll be paying a higher dividend on taxes paid next year. and then ubs, it could pay an illegal fine for illegally manipulating interest rates known as libor and the stock is down aly bit more today. caribou coffee being taken over for $16 a share, 340 million dollars total. it's halted from trading right now. we'll let you know when it starts trading and finally, lexicon pharmaceuticals, one of its drugs giving fast track by the fdaen market kind of likes that, 7% gain. and barely budging, obamacare expected to cost billions of dollars.

but if your doctors were only paid if you stayed healthy would that save money? we'll talk to a doctor about that next. ♪ [ male announcer ] at scottrade, we believe the more you know, the better you trade. so we have ongoing webinars and interactive learning, plus, in-branch seminars at over 500 locations, where our dedicated support teams help you know more your money can do more. [ rodger ] at scottrade, seven dollar trades are just the start. our teams have the information you want when you need it. it's anothereason more investors are saying... [ all ] i'm with scottrade.

omnipotent of opportunity. you know how to mix business. with business. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can even take a full-size or ave. and still pay the mid-size price. i could get used to this. [ male anuncer ] yes, you could business pro. yes, you cod. go national. go like a pro.

>> moved a little, not much. check the price of oil, that's important these days, we're at $87 a barrel and yet, gas prices keep falling, that's interesting. well, we have obamacare, it was supposed to save billions of dollars in health care costs. you know, that doesn't seem likely now, does it? however, there's a movement that could really change medicine and maybe save a lot of money.

that is pay doctors and hospitals where the patients stay healthy, not when they get sick. joining us now is another briti british-- dr. william cheatham. how are you. >> thank you very much. stuart: in massachusetts they tried this, they tried it where the doctor reaches out to patients and says, hey, come in, you need a heart check, or an eye check or something like that. it's proactive on the part of the doctor. my question is, does it save money? >> well, it's a very good question and this is not a new concept. preventive medicine is what they're being incentivized to do for patients and this is in massachusetts if you turn the clock back thousands of years ago, doctors in ancient china were incentivized if the patient were well and went to work. and this model of with the british system, and in the u.k.

incentivize with the preventive checks, blood pressure, cholesterol, urine checks and in the hospital, they get incentivized and rewarded. in massachusetts if the doctor does not save them money, then the doctors get penalized. stuart: and how do you judge, is it cost per patient per lifetime that the doctor is judged on? >> so what's happening here is that doctors are entering into contracts with insurance companies and they're given what's called a global budget. and they get a set amount of money to take care of a patient. if they look after those patients economically and save money they're rewarded. if they do not look after patients and spend money excessively and doctors are penalized and they're tracking it. stuart: that's interesting. let's suppose you've got a universe of 200 patients for one doctor. we'll give you x number of

dollars to treat 200 people. you go above the dollars you're going to get penalized and come out of your pocket. keep below that number, the total cost of 200. you're incentivized and keep the difference. >> that's how it works and obviously with this kind of pros and cons, it incentivizes doctors to look for appropriate health care costs where patients are concerned, they're thinking is this a way to skimp and to offer patients below standard care? we have to look not at the dollars, but quality control and this is one of the problems with managed care in the '90s, people were very, very skeptical about it. stuart: are doctors badgering me, come in, mr. varney, got to check your blood pressure. got to do this, do that, do this.

the gold report monday morning. where are we this morning? right around $1700 an ounce. and an espn commentator criticizes robert griffin iii for not being black enough. and now that commentator has been suspended indefinitely i'm told and charles has been waiting all weekend to make a comment on that. he's going to get his chance in about 90 seconds.

>> espn suspends rob parker for saying that redskins quarterback is not black enough because he's dating a white woman and may be republican. and hold on a few seconds, i want to remind everybody exactly what mr. parker said. he's not real, he's black, but he kind of does the thing, but he's not down with the cause,'s not one of us, he's kind of black, but he's not really like the guy you want to hang out with.

all right, charles, ready, steady go. charles: he went on to call him a cornball brother. and this thinking, i don't think that he should have-- first of all, i don't think they should have suspended the guy. this holds the black community back more than jim crowe laws, anything else, this is the most dangerous in the black community, not keeping it real has destroyed lives, resulted-- >> not behaving and thinking in a certain way, which this gentleman refers to as the black way of doing things. charles: being articulate, striving to do better, there are right now millions of black kids in this country who are afraid to show how intelligent they are and never develop into what they can be because of their own people in their own community. i've got to tell you i went through this. when i moved from an army life to harlem at 12 years accused of being a white boy. i got beat up every single day for a long time and i can tell you right now there are a lot of black kids right now who could

be the next einstein and won't be allowed to develop that because if they speak proper english and they show the depth of desire they're going to pay a heavy price for it. i'm not talking on-line bullying, i'm talking something more severe. stuart: it's interesting, charles and thanks for your comments on this one. scott, we'll get to you in a second and move on real fast because time is moving. should we be taken, should we be taking financial lessons from europe? angela merkel warps about too much welfare and the french actor gerard depardu gives up his passport in a tax revolt. both of those stories will and are new at 10.

stuart: new at 10:00, lessons in capitalism from europe. merkel warns about european welfares says it is too expensive, we can't afford it and remain financially competitive, she says. the big story today, though, speaker boehner, proposing higher rates on those making more than a million bucks a year. he wants entitlement cuts in return from the president and the ball is in the president's

court. it is monday morning. here's our company, charles payne is here, lifeline chief executive officer scott page is here and nicole petallides is on the floor of the new york stock exchange, where the dow jones industrial average is now up 66 points. nicole, i want to know about apple. earlier it dropped below 500. now it's just above 500. nicole: right, in the premarket, it was below the $500 mark for the first time since february. right now it's not too far off that level. it's at 506.30. this is a loss of 3/4 of 1%. we talked about citigroup cutting their price target to 575 from 675. bmo, another analyst brokerage type house also cut their price target. they are just concerned. there's intense competition. they are not making big margins on some of their products. stuart: you know, this is the first time in a long time where apple has taken a huge drop and has not bounced back very quickly to establish a new high. not seen that for a long time, i think. nicole: i think you are right. and, you know, i was at the same

time while you were saying that, thinking about the kids that i know for hanukkah that are already getting apple products. i heard a little child saying our friend got an iphone, and that's really nice for them. next thing you know, the next night of hanukkah they got a mac book air. all the kids in america whether they get them or don't get them, have an apple product on their holiday list, it seems. a lot of kids -- not all, that's too general, but you know what i mean? a lot of kids would love some sort of apple product. stuart: i take your point. i think they should take an honest look at the microsoft tablet. nicole: the surface is a great product. stuart: another commercial coming from me at any moment. i can feel it coming. nicole, thank you very much indeed. new at 10:00, two lessons from europe. first merkel of germany says europe cannot afford its lavish spending on social welfare programs and second, a french passport is turned in, if you raise taxes, rich people will find somewhere else to live or will get around it. scott page, what do you say

about that? pass judgment on the europeans and taxing the rich. i know you are all in favor of it. go? >> i think they have to raise revenues somehow and taxing the rich is the way to do it. entitlement programs in europe are well known to be very very lavish. they have to be paid for somehow. and raising taxes seem to be their answer to it. stuart: it's not working? >> what's not working? stuart: raising taxes on the rich in europe is not working. it is not paying for the social welfare programs which are bankrupting them. >> they need to look at entitlements. >> would you draw the same lesson here? >> yes, i think that should be the president's first priority. they need to raise revenue -- revenue. the only way to raise revenue is to tax. charles: first of all you get to the point of diminishing returns. france is a great case point for this, 30 years their unemployment rate has been 7% or higher. there are no fresh millionaires in france.

all the fresh millionaires around the world are coming from moscow, beijing, all around the world where they are not taxing people to death and dissuading them from starting businesses. what happens to the reagan model? lower taxes -- it's pretty simple. if someone gets a thousand bucks, he can go out and spend it, people get the money and put it in circulation. if the government gets 500, you are going to keep the 500. no money circulates. bring down tax rates. let people keep more of what they make. they will spend it and have a vibrant economy. >> you have to cut entitlements. stuart: obama will do anything but cut entitlements. >> i think he will cut entitlements. i think he is loading this as one of his last passions in negotiations. i think entitlements will be

cut. charles: i doubt it. it's going to be such -- stuart: it will be a phony cut. if it's a cut, it will be a phony cut. >> it has to be in the delivery system. people on entitlements in country have become generational. they expect to be on entitlements. [talking over each other] charles: the president ran on the notion that he's going to save -- you know, protect your social security, protect your medicare, protect your medicaid. i don't see him touching the stuff that needs to be touched. >> i think he's going to be very -- stuart: that's a difference of opinion. you think he will do entitlement reform. i don't think he will. you don't think he will. charles: it is form of lip service. stuart: that's just our opinion, scott. debt and demographics are really two huge problems in japan. frequent varney & company guest keith fitzgerald knows all about this, about an aging population

with a slowing birthrate. listen to this. >> yes, you are, and you can see that anecdotally. they sell, for example, more adult diaper products than they do infant diaper products right now. stuart: you know, that really is extraordinary, isn't it? well, now, japan has elected a new government. the country's new prime minister vowing to pull the country out of its 20 year recession with another huge stimulus program. keith is going to join us at 10:35 this morning. we will ask him if this new print money and stimulate more, if that new plan is going to work in japan. clearly, there's been a very big drop in gas prices over here recently, and it's happened all across america. the national average for a gallon of gas is now $3.24 a gallon, according to triple a. that average has fallen 10 cents in just the past week. the lowest state average in america, missouri, $2.95 a gallon. tennessee, south carolina, oklahoma, they could fall below $3 in the next couple of days. all right, big deal. that puts money into the economy, by the way.

so let's go to mcdonald's -- let's not go to mcdonald's. let's go to nicole to talk about mcdonald's. the mcrib is back? nicole: either way i would go to mcdonald's with you. the mcrib is traditionally a great product for mcdonald's. launches their season. this barbecue pork sandwich has a following, stuart. they are introducing it once again now this holiday season. they have been doing well with the breakfast. they have been doing well with low-priced offerings in europe. there's a lot of high hope -- high hope on the mcrib. stuart: just doing it for december, is that correct? nicole: i think that's correct. i want to double check. i'm hesitant to say it wholeheartedly. i think that's correct. stuart: you haven't checked, in other words. you haven't been down to mcdonald's and checked? all right, you said enough. nicole: you're so rough on me. no, go ahead. stuart: we love it. thank you very much nicole. general electric raises its

quarterly dividend but will make the payment in january, as scheduled, instead of moving it up into this year like many other companies have done. if the tax on dividends goes up, that money, the extra money will go to the government. please don't forget, ge's chief, jeff immelt is an obama crony. that's a strong word but it's true. it wouldn't look good if the president's business buddy is skirting taxes, now would it? charles: not just an obama crony, but they get a lot of business from the administration. they got enron's energy wind mill business. that's going to boom under president obama. obviously hep's the head of the jobs -- obviously he's the head of the jobs council. brought back a few jobs from china, a lot of pom-pom waving. immelt was in a tough predicament. i think it is unfortunate he put the president's agenda ahead of shareholders. stuart: the shareholders lose. what are you shaking your head at? >> i think he's doing the right thing. ge has paid a positive dividend every quarter for the last 100

years. the shareholders of ge have a choice, if they don't like what the leader is doing, sell shares. i think he's doing a great job, he's doing his part to stimulate the economy and bring more revenue. charles: the stock has been a disaster under his leadership, unmitigated disaster. forgetting about the agenda and everything else. >> it has been but still paid positive dividend. i don't think that ge shareholders, again, we're back to choice, if they don't like what he's doing, they need to sell -- stuart: you don't think immelt could have done something for his long suffering shareholders, paying them now instead of paying next year when they pay a higher tax rate? >> he's looking at a bigger picture. he realizes the country needs revenue. stuart: his responsibility is to the shareholders. they own the company. his responsibility is their interest, not president obama ''s interest. >> i think he's serving everyone's interest by doing this. charles: you don't run your company like that, scott.

i'm talking about people who are not shareholders who don't have any skin in the game do you feel a responsibility when you are making executive decisions -- i know we feel responsibility to society, but we're in a pecking order. i mean, is it customers, employees, shareholders, the general public or general public and then the rest? i mean -- >> i think to get this country back on its feet again, to make a sacrifice of what he's doing, i'm a believer that he's doing the right thing. i'm a believer in greater good. my glass is always half full. i think he's doing what responsible business leaders who understand what's going on in this economy need to do which is raise revenue by paying more taxes. stuart: congress' approval rating is about 20%. here's gridlock, political infighting and a general mistrust by the public. will we better off if more women are in the senate? they are. there's going to be 20 women in the senate starting next year. that's the premise of a washington post article which says the new record number of female 20 is a good thing. i'm going to quote directly from

the washington post article. women are more collaborative and collegial leaders studies have found. all right joining us now is kelly jane of the weekly standard. just because you are a female and because you are assumed to be more collegial and more civil, surely that doesn't mean that you have better answers to the debt crisis, does it? >> well, you know, feminism really confuses me. are we equal to men or are we better to men? you know, i'm puzzled by that. i was really puzzled by that piece because it seems to be accepting some of the stereotypes that women have been complaining about for hundreds of years. stuart: okay. >> that women are one thing, men are another. stuart: let's get right into this. do you think that women are more civil? do you think that women are more collaborative? do you think that women are more collegial? would you ascribe those characteristics to females? >> i would say some women are, but look at the women in

political leadership. would you use any of those words of nancy pelosi for example? stuart: i'm not going to answer the question. keep going. >> i mean, that's what i'm saying is that, you know, the type of women that get into political leadership aren't necessarily the stereotypical women that this washington post article seems to think that these women are. i mean, to get -- to be a politician, you've got to be tough, and you've got to play the rough and tumble game and a lot of these women are very good at that. pelosi in the senate. patty murray, you know. you look at some of the more collegial bipartisan women, a lot of them have been republicans, the moderate republicans like olympia snowe. stuart: would you think that margaret thatcher was collegial? >> no, and thank goodness she wasn't. thank goodness she wasn't. stuart: precisely. >> the idea that we have more women there's going to be more bipartisanship as if

bipartisanship has never existed. bowles simpson commission was a bipartisan commission, it had bipartisan agreement, but the president ignored it. there's been plenty of bipartisan legislation scene ideas in washington, but they're not always taken on by the one guy who is in charge. stuart: hold on a second, kelly jane, because we have with us charles payne who is just dying to get at this. charles: listen, maybe collegial may be the wrong word but i do think they have different instincts like mothering instincts. as someone who flips the channels and every now and then stops on one of those housewi s housewives, shows. if you saw the real housewives of atlanta, we wouldn't vote any women into office, but having said that, i do believe that there are some little traces of truth to some of the stereotypes. stuart: you do? charles: yeah. >> this is the problem is you say women have mothering instincts they might look at things in a different way, you

might think that's a positive thing, but i might keep in mind that for decades and women were told that because we were supposed to be mothers, we were supposed to be staying at home and not even voting let alone becoming a part of the political system. stuart: well said kelly jane. thank you very much for joining us. we appreciate your input on this. >> thanks for taking about this. stuart: yeah, well, you know, it is a good subject. 20 women, it's a record high will be in the senate next year. the washington post says they will bring certain characteristics with them and maybe we will get some kind of compromise. i frankly disagree with that because i'm not sure i want a compromise along the lines that the washington post wants to compromise on. that's my own point of view. kelly jane, thank you very much indeed. >> thank you. stuart: all right, scott, go ahead, ruin my day. go. >> you know -- stuart: you want to pay more taxes. you think that women will vote for more taxes. so you're in favor of this. >> no, i'm not in favor of it. i don't think women are going to vote for more taxes. i think bringing women into the fold is fair.

they should be treated equally. that's what we've been talking about, everything equal, no discrimination. i don't see there's any problem by bringing more women into it. stuart: i don't see any problem. i just don't see all these advantages that are supposed to flow from it. i have to digress for a second, house speaker john boehner says go ahead raise taxes on millionaire, still no direct response from president obama on that one. have republicans retreated? we will discuss it next. with fidelity's new options platform, we've completely integrated every step of the process, making it easier to try filters and strategies... to get a list of equity opon.. evuate them th our p&l calculator... and execute faster with our more intuitive trade ticket. i'm greg stevens

and i helped cree fidelity's options platform. it's one more innovative reason are choosing fidelity. now get 200 free trades when you open an account. [ engine revs ] ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] the mercedes-benz winter event is back, with the perfect vehicle that's just right for you, no matter which list you're on. [ santa ] ho, ho, ho, ho! [ male announcer ] lease a 2013 c250 for $349 a month at your local mercedes-benz dealer.

stuart: look at this, a modest gain for the market, it puts the dow back at 13,200. up 65 at the moment. is this because speaker boehner has bent a little on tax rates? will there be a market rally if a deal is actually reached? i think there may well be. we will talk to charles about that in a moment. one stock we have kept very close eye on is caribou coffee, it was halted when we told you about it earlier, now it is trading. up big. it is being taken over. the price being paid is 340 million, up nearly 30%. representative tim scott will become the next senator from south carolina. jim demint resigning. governor nicki haley will pick his replacement and she will pick tim scott. 84 million dollars in the box-office this weekend, new record for december release, for the hobbit.

stuart: speaker boehner is willing to bend. he will propose higher tax rates on those earning more than a million bucks a year. he wants other spending cuts in return. but he's proposing higher tax rates. big deal. joining the company now is from town hall.com. john, i'm saying that speaker boehner has bent that, he has retreated on an issue of principle. he was saying get more money out

of the rich by restricting deductions. now he's saying okay raise tax rates. i think this is a big deal. you say what? >> i think it is a big deal too. i think it shows why republicans lost this last election to obama is because either you believe that tax increases are bad and harmful to the economy or you don't, and, you know, apparently we didn't fool the american public when we had boehner out there talking about tax increases for the rich. stuart: you don't think boehner should have done this. you think he should hold firm? >> no, absolutely, as you said, it was a strategic retreat in order to avoid a defeat. and i think, you know, he's tried to compromise here in order to avoid further defeat for republicans. i think what he is going to find, he will get more compromise and more retreat than he bargained for and defeat is going to be thrown in as an extra. stuart: i don't think conservatives are going to go for this. i'm wondering whether speaker boehner could actually get higher tax rates through the house of representatives? >> i'm not sure that he can.

i think it's much like the debt ceiling negotiations back in 2011, when boehner really had a deal already, but tea party republicans prevented him from going ahead with that deal. and that's the reason why we got the kicking can down the road this time. stuart: now we have a ceo on our company this morning, scott page, and he was saying look, speaker boehner has simply woken up and smelled the coffee. he's got basically no choice. if he refuses to raise tax rates and the president demands higher tax rates, then we go over the fiscal cliff, we go into recession and the republicans get the blame. i think that's your argument, scott, right? what do you make of that, john? >> well, i mean, i think that certainly a risk, but i'm not sure that obama gets out scot-free on this if we go over the cliff. i mean there's a lot to lose for everybody. and the point is is that you either believe in the economic

approach that we talked about as a party in 2012, or you don't. and if you go ahead with obama's plan, essentially you're conceding that, you know what? we don't really believe this makes sense. we think the government should be spending more money. stuart: do you think the president will bend in return or do you think he actually wants to go over the cliff? >> i think he eventually will bend, but it is really hard to tell when obama's dictating and boehner is caving. stuart: let's leave it at that because i think you have expressed it precisely. i think you have it right. john, thank you very much for joining us. we appreciate it. dow is up 53. japan has been in a recession or the doldrums shall we say for two decades. going through a population crisis and elected someone who promises to spend more and print up a storm. sound familiar? my take on that is next.

>> economically and save money then they are rewarded. if they do not and spend money unnecessarily, then those are penalized. stuart: that was a doctor in our last hour. there is a move towards paying doctors to keep you healthy as

opposed to treating you when you're sick. she liked this new idea. it's making its presence felt in massachusetts by the way. check the market, where are we this monday morning on very low volume. we're up 53 points. we have apple again moving way down getting dangerously close to dropping below 500 bucks a share. an update, please, nicole. nicole: yes, we traded as low as 5 501.23. we've been trading closer and closer to that $500 mark which we said in the premarket actually we saw apple drop below $500 for the first time since february. there's a lot of concerns that they are just not making the margins and that they face intense competition from samsung, from nokia, from your beloved microsoft, etc. stuart: everybody's thinking is this stock going to bounce off 500? i mean, that's pretty much a low recently. does it bounce? if you buy it now, do you get 25 bucks out of it within a couple

of days? nicole: i don't think 500 is a bounce point. 505, 518, those were some technical points. i will go to technical analysts and ask them where the next. sometimes those 00 numbers are more psychological than they are technical. we will look for the next support level which is likely in the 400 range. stuart: nicole, thank you very much. apple shares continue to fall. is apple a buy? if we get a deal from speaker boehner will the market overall rally big-time? those and other questions will be answered by our company on this program at 10:45 this morning. we don't spend much time watching foreign economies. america is still by far the largest and america is still the epicenter of technology and innovation, our focus is here. however, occasionally, you know it's worthwhile looking over there, even if it's just to show how dire somebody else's problems are. so here's my take on japan.

debt and demographics, huge problems, first, just look at the sheer size of japan's accumulated debt. it is twice the size of its entire economy. it is the most indebted developed country in the world. much worse than even greece. then look at demographics, a little known program that haunts japan, they are having ever fewer babies. they don't want mass immigration to top a falling population and they are living a whole lot longer. so they have a lot of seniors and a tiny up and coming generation. japan has the most extreme demographics in recorded human history. what are they doing b a it? -- about it? not much you can do to persuade liberated japanese women to have more children with very traditional japanese men. that's a huge problem. demographics, like a super tanker, it takes a long time to turn it around. but japan has just elected a new government which promises to get the country out of its 20 year

malaise. how is it going to do that? the new prime minister wants to print a ton of money and huge stimulus plan building yet more infrastructure. does that ring a bell? have we seen something like that here? it really can be useful, you know, to look over there. it might show us over here where we might be going. not good. [ male announcer ] this is steve. he loves risk. but whether he's climbing everest, scuba diving the great barrier reef with sharks, or jumping into the marke he goes with people he trusts,

which is why he trades with a company that doesn't nickel and dime him with hidden fees. so he can worry about other things, like what the market is doing and being ready, no matter what happens, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense, from td ameritrade. can youlyric can.aid do th?e. lyric can. lyric can. lyric by phonak is the wld's only 24/7, 100% invisible hearing device.

it's tiny. but lyric's not just about what you can't see. lyric can be worn 24/7 for up to four months, without battery changes. incredibly easy to live with, lyric can be worn showering, sleeping and exercising. in fact, you might forget it's there at all. call for a risk--free trial. and you'll see lyric can also give you exceptionally clear, natural sound in quiet and noisy environments because of how it works with your ear's own anatomy. (testimonial section) (testimonial section) (testimonial section)

did you know, 94% of people who use lyric would recommend lyric to a friend or loved one. can your hearing aid do l this? lyric ca to learn more about lyric's advanced technology, call or visit trylyric.com for a risk--free 30--day trial offer. you'll also get a free informational dvd and brochure. why wait? hear today what a little lyric cacan do for you. lyric from phonak. life is on.

stuart: we've been saying all morning that john boehner has bent on the issue of tax rates moving closer towards the president's position. the negotiations are moving. here's the question, if a deal gets done, any deal at all, do the markets rally? our next guest is at the cme. do they rally if there's any kind of deal? >> well, i actually think it is going to be one of those buy the rumor sell the fact things. i actually think that the framework for an agreement has already been made, but politicians have a disincentive to show compromise early. why don't we just make the deadline tomorrow and get this over with? that's why the market -- if you will notice, the market action, the stock market is not falling off a cliff because they haven't reached an agreement. is it possible that you get sort of a psychological rally and

then a sell off into that? i think that's probably more likely. stuart: we hear you, tres. thank you very muuh indeed for joining us again. i mentioned this a couple minutes ago a landslide victory over the weekend for liberal democratic party in japan. that means more money printing, a lot more stimulus. is that going to bring japan out of its 20-year doldrums? joining us now is keith fitzgerald with money map press. he's just come back from a trip to japan on friday i think it was. you spent a lot of time -- you're our japan expert, right? that's basically what you are? >> well, expert is a big term but i have been over there for more than 20 years off and on. i think i know about that much. stuart: we have discussed money printing and more stimulus, is it going to get them out of the doldrums. but i have another question, the new prime minister, he's making noises about abandoning the pacifist element in japan which is limiting the constitutional role of its armed forces. getting rid of those limits.

that would be a real sea change for japan, wouldn't it? >> yes, it would, because the pacifist constitution was basically written by the united states occupational forces following world war ii and it's been implemented. there are a number of people, i think the election itself was a nonevent, but what happened is there's a reformist party that's come in that is i think the real seat, they have 50 seats and they are going to exert unprecedented influence i think on the prime minister to get things done including some very interesting proposals, revising the constitution is one of them. stuart: if they revise the constitution, spent a whole lot more money on the military and they spent a whole ton of money on stimulus and they print up a storm of yen, does that get japan out of the malaise? >> unfortunately, no. stuart: why not? >> no, i don't see it. they have got a demographic problem. they are dependent on exports. those are falling. the economy is contracting. they have increasingly few workers supporting a huge generation of retirees.

a nonreversal window of opportunity. stuart: it seems incredible to me that 25 years ago japan was the economic superman of the world. they could do nothing wrong. and now they're in abject decline and you're telling me there's no way out really. how do the japanese people feel about this? they know what's going on. they know they are in decline. they know that literally people are dying out. how do they feel about it? >> many of them are absolutely heartbroken to watch their notion to go off their own cliff, it is not a fiscal cliff per se but to go off a demographic cliff certainly concerns them. they have a stick to it-ness that we don't have for example. there's discussion leading right to the core of the constitution. i think people are beginning to realize they are going to change what makes them japanese to even survive this. stuart: i'm told that liberated young japanese women simply will not get married, because if they

do, they will be tied to traditional role, staying at home, establishing a family for a traditional guy who spends little time at home. there's not a willingness to have children because of the emancipation of women and a nonchange of japanese men. is that accurate? >> that's very accurate. not only that, but the young couples or young people, they don't want to have children because it's become prohibitively expensive to do so. we in fact know several families who have made the conscious decision not to have even one child because theoretically that could bankrupt even a middle class family in japan by the time you get a child all the way through the universities. stuart: you made an interesting statement. >> the statistics in the last few years have shown that couples both men and women of fertile age are less interested in sexual relations than they have ever been before. there are a number of reasons for that.

there's computerization. there's technology. there's the formality of relationships the cost of a marriage. but the bottom line is we have socially a very real phenomenon over there where they are simply are not having sexual relations to the degree they used to and certainly not sexual relations that are producing children. charles: i agree. i have been reading this phenomena. young men who don't want their father's career and not interested in women. apparently they say it is a real dilemma over there. >> it is a very real problem. you can see this, for example, when i first started going to japan, it was the thing to do, to go out to the night life, to go dancing. sex was just like it was in the era here in the united states. there was a lot of it and easy to find. today if you go out, i'm part of the over the hill gang now, if you go out and look at the younger group out there, you don't see that kind of coupling or socialization between men and

women. it's a very very marked change. stuart: i know you are not as familiar with china as you are with japan, but nowadays we think of china as the economic superman. do you think there's a chance that in 25 years we'll be looking at china as in terminal decline >> i don't know about terminal decline. there's something called a window of opportunity. that window doesn't actually close till about 2025. japan's window opened in 1950 and closed in roughly 1997 i believe. i have to check my numbers. but yes china is going to have the same problem that japan does but it's so much bigger sheer number of people that it probably won't be until 2025 or 2030. stuart: i find this fascinating. you and i share an interest in demographics. i think it is one of the great movers and shakers of any

economy around the world. keith, thank you very much for joining us. i want to do more on this in the next year. okay? we will do it. thank you very much. >> thanks. stuart: we will have more varney & company for you in a moment.

stuart: we have been following very carefully a big drop in gas prices and it continues. the national average today is down to 3.24. that's down about 70 cents from the peak that it hit in april. gas prices are still higher than they were this time of last year, however.

look at this, missouri 2.95 sl the average -- is the average. first as a state to fall below 3 bucks. oklahoma tennessee south carolina could be joining missouri very very soon. oil now $87 a barrel. gold hanging right around $1700 an ounce. it is exactly 1700 as of this moment. the dow jones industrial average is up 58 points. is it because there's some hope for a deal on the fiscal cliff? we will ask charles that question. more varney & company coming your way in 90 seconds. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 this morning, i'm going to trade in hong kong. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 after that, it's on to germany.

tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 th tonight, i'm trading 9500 miles away in japan. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 with the new glob aount from schwab, tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 i hunt down opportunities around the world tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 as if i'm right there. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 and i'm in total control because i can trade tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 directly online in 12 markets in their local currencies. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 i use their global research to get an edge. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 their equity ratings show me how schwab tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 rates specific foreign stocks tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 based on things like fundamentals, momentum and risk. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 and i also have access to independent tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 firms like n davis research tdd#: 1-800-345-50 and economist intelligence unit. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 plus, i can talk to their global specialists 24/7. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 and trade in my global account commission-free tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 through march 20. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 best part... no jet lag. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 call 1-866-294-5409 tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 will help you get started today.

stuart: when a tragedy like what happened on friday in connecticut occurs, we all reflect on what we could be doing as individuals and as a country to prevent this kind of thing ever happening again. just listen to what the president said last night. >> can we say that we're truly doing enough to give all the children of this country the chance they deserve to live out their lives in happiness and with purpose? i've been reflecting on this the last few days, and if we're honest with ourselves, the answer is no. stuart: now, i sense that there has been a shift in our country's opinion on the issue of guns and several other issues

that are wrapped into this tragedy. what do you think, scott? i say there's a shift in public opinion and something will be done. >> i think there needs to be a shift in public opinion. i think there needs to be an immediate ban on the sale of assault weapons. these are weapons of mass destruction. they were involved in most of the tragedies that took place. i also think this country as a whole needs to look at how we handle our mental illnesses. let's not hide it in a corner and bring it out and acknowledge how to deal with it as best as we can. something has to be done. it's a shame that tragedies like this cause change, but i think change needs to happen. there's 300 million people in this country. 300 million guns, one gun per person. that's way too many guns to be around in society. charles: i think those are two areas we will focus on. some of the things i read over the weekend is sort of demonization of regular gun holders, the demonization of people who go to shooting ranges, the demonization of the 2nd amendment. that kind of stuff is where you are going to get some real serious pushback and some real serious fights out in this

country. i think if we go along the assault weapons -- low hanging fruit is assault weapons, mental health. but once that has been cleared and another one of these tragedies happens, what's the next step? i think that's what people are concerned about. stuart: let me raise the issue of cultural shift. is it still acceptable in hollywood to put out a series of shoot em up bang-bang movies in which movie stars et out there and slaughter people on mass? is that okay? >> look at the video games where you can sit at home and practice going through mass shootings. when you look at these things and talk about the amendment again, this was put in place, the right to bear arms, this did not take into account the technological advances in weaponry. i think we need to visit the 1st amendment on right to bear arms and put restrictions on it. stuart: second amendment; right? >> i'm sorry, second amendment. stuart: i don't see how you can ban stuff from hollywood or

video games. i'm not sure how you could put in law a ban of that. i'm not sure how much further we can go on mental illness. this young man applied for a pistol permit and was turned down. i don't know why. maybe it was on the grounds of mental illness. he got the grounds from his mother. and can you in fact put in a ban on certain kinds of weapons? i think the answer to that one is yes you can. charles: i think beyond the people who are obviously extraordinarily evil and sick, but regular people who shoot each other in the street, gang bang and that kind of thing, i think there's a cultural element to it, particularly in the music. i was listening to one of my son's songs the other day, i don't know who the guy was but he said i could pay $50 and have you killed, you know, it was part of the lyrics. so, you know, there's no doubt if everyone is going to start pointing fingers, the mea culpa needs to spread amongst everyone. i can tell you right now there were 300 million guns not used in that massacre in connecticut

and those people feel like i need a gun specifically for that reason. >> i'm not discussing handguns. i'm discussing assault weapons. charles: i agree. those are low hanging fruit. i can't imagine anyone outside of the nra standing up really aggressively saying no, no, no. i mean you are right the public opinion has swung too far. they are going to do something with assault weapons and they are going to enhance mental screening. by the way, that's something we do need to work on, mental health screening. >> a cooling off period too to be able to walk in a gun show and walk out with a basket full of guns is just ridiculous. stuart: we hear you. america i think is in mourning and i think it is being very reflective at this moment following that dreadful shooting. let me go back to the markets and nicole, what do you have for me on apple? i'm sorry, i want to just move back -- we're going to take a short commercial break. more varney & company in just a moment. [ engine revs ] ♪

♪ [ male announcer ] the mercedes-benz winter event is back, with the perfect vehicle that's just right for you, no matter which list you're on. [ santa ] ho, ho, ho, ho! [ male announcer ] lease a 2013 ml350 for $599 a month at your local mercedes-benz dealer.

stuart: i see google as a big winner today and i always want to know why. nicole i think has an answer? nicole: it is. it is a great one today. take a look here, up arrow, up 1 1/2%, a nice move. 713.15 is the price right now per share. evercore raised their price target to $850. that's up from 830. when we take a look at a longser chart here -- longer chart here over 6 months, up in the last

six months, has had a good run in six months. stuart: it surely has. that's a nice-looking chart if you're a google stockholder that's for sure. nicole thank you very much indeed. as you know, we have a big drop for apple stock that's in the last 2, 2 1/2 months. is it about the company? is the competition gaining ground? or is it a stock that's being sold because so many people have made a lot of profit and they want to cash out this year, not next? what is going on? charles has a few answers. charles: those are all contributing factors. you could also throw in tim cook has this sort of -- steve jobs' shadow has faded and it is up to tim cook to revive it -- revive it. it is all about competition. competition in all areas. apple is going to have to step up and improve it is the same innovative company it's always been. good news, expectations have gotten extraordinarily low for this company. it wasn't that long ago when it was being said apple at a

thousand. i feel a little bit better when it is a little bit more reluctant. when the company does go through, the shares might be rewarded. stuart: scott, you are in the life insurance basically, do you know anything about apple and the stock? >> i have an iphone. i do believe the stock will go up. apple is an innovator. as soon as they start the hype about the iphone 6, i think the stock will go up again. it ee's volatile. it's a stock. i believe there will be a rebound. stuart: you think it bounces from 500? >> i think it will eventually bounce. they are a leader in technology. charles: i still have it in my retirement account. i haven't sold it. i think it has another move to the upside. the company will be heavily scrutinized and better come through big-time in the next couple of earnings reports. stuart: let's take a look at the overall market. let's suppose before january 1st we get some kind of deal on taxes and spending. i don't know what the deal would be. it's a deal. we don't go over the cliff. we have had tres saying you probably get some kind of stock market rally. do you agree with that?

charles: i don't think any deal would do it. boehner might have thrown it into the mix with the debt ceiling, i think the market loves that aspect. the idea that america would stop paying its bills, one thing fiscal cliff, but the debt ceiling says we stop paying our bills and that's an immediate spiral with the perspective of the global world's perspective on us. i hope he doesn't give it away. a million dollars threshold for being rich is much more reasonable than 250,000, the market would probably have a big rally. stuart: if you get a million dollars threshold, if it's that high, and you get promises of spending cuts, and that's all you get, and you get no debt ceiling, this market surely would rally big-time? that's exactly what wall street wants. an unlimited gusher of money coming right at wall street. come on. >> i agree. i think stocks will go up. i think everyone again is paralyzed by the fear of the discussion of the fiscal cliff. i think this is showing some

compromise. i think it is going -- charles: look at japan's stock market in the last week, straight up. stuart: the highlight reel, wait for it, coming up next.

speak to here it is. the highlight reel. >> two lessons from europe. stuart: racing taxes on the rich in europe does not work. charles: bring down tax rates. create a vibrant economy. stuart: it will not cut entitlement. hold on one second. scott page right here five life insurance policies from people who are aging.