dennis: if you missed the oscar telecast last night, not to worry. for the first time ever you can watch it streaming on the

internet at abc.com through wednesday. lauren: i had nothing to do with ketchup in those four hours. -- catch up in those four hours. lori: terrible at predicting the market. thinking about the oscars. it is predicted if you don't even watch the movies. dennis: you know she will not win because they endorsed torture. melissa: you knew "argo" was going to win. all right, dennis, thank you. lori: see you guys later. melissa: i am melissa francis. welcome back. i missed you. i'm happy to be back.

lori: i missed relaxing, hearing everybody talk about market. so much better than taking care of the children. kidding. i am lori rothman. which state will be hurt most be most by the massive budget cuts. with the deadline looming, it only talks their hearing about is who is responsible. melissa: aig former chief is going to sit down with charlie gasparino later in this hour. lori: the dow hovering at all-time highs. how serious are they on stocks? they surveyed all of these things. melissa: is buying a house like it used to be? we will discuss if it is still in investmenagood investment fog run.

lori: it is back to the floor of the new york stock exchange with our very own nicole petallides. nicole: welcome back to both of you at the 1:00 p.m. the dow and the s&p are both pulling back. the dow moves within 100 points of the all-time closing high. we set new fresh five-year highs, 14,081. there was some news out of japan and obviously favorable monetary policy and that was off by the news from italy and whether or not that would bring the austerity measures back to the forefront, with actually execute and to the austerity measures. the fear index has moved to the upside, the dollars has gained strength and as result the market has been selling off some. we have come up off of our lowest of the day.

lori: thank you, nicole. melissa: gas prices are finally pumping their breaks. they jumped $0.43. did you notice that? even after two days of declines, experts warned not to get too excited as price could hover nearly $4 per gallon mark. another price hike could be around the corner and seriously countries which from winter blend to summer blend. president obama calling on congress to reach some sort of a compromise. rich edson joins us with inside the beltway news. rich: they are not even talking about friday's deadlinecoming to the white house prodding republicans to sign off on tax increases because of a budget deal to avert the automatic spending cuts. the administration's just-released a report.

the sample warns more than 7000 new york children will go without vaccinations, south: will lose 100 teachers assigned to children with disabilities and more than 57,000 people will lose health on their job searches in ohio. in washington, d.c., the same old spending fight. melissa: these impacts will not all be felt on day one. but rest assured the uncertainty is already having an effect. companies are preparing layoff notices, families are preparing to cut back on expenses, and the longer these cuts are in place, the bigger the impact will become. >> what sequestration is, it is a way to cut spending. i don't agree with that, but do not cut 2.5% of the budget over a year when it is twice the size it was a year ago, give me a break.

>> somehow it's just if congress changes the design of the cuts and allows federal agencies more leeway to deal with them. the white house not respond to request one, did the president would support that. washington leaders in little motivated to avoid the starts on friday, congressional aides to democrats and republicans are already discussing the next budget fight, twin dollars in government spending authority expires on march 27. no deal there, government shut down. melissa: tim time is ticking aw. thank you so much. lori: continuing with this sequestered, the spending cuts, 55% of financial advisors that congress has to put aside its differences and make decisions for the good of the nation. john kline is the president of rinker j. exclusively with more on what is on the mind of the financial advisor. >> great to be back.

lori: a huge change in the way that the survey respondents are thinking about the economy and politics right now. >> it really is. november 5 was the last day i was here and there was a real movie sea change in the white house. very partisan, really coming on strong and now what we see is that it is extortion for the survey was done before sequester from us this is a general feeling what they would like to see if someone handed 60% of advisors wouladvisors would like president do something about the blooming entitlement. 65% want to see congress take a step toward the president and coming together with a compromise. lori: basically your respondents want to see the president and congress work it out. they are exhausted with this never ending can kicking, if you will.

>> think about investors have to deal with, it seems we go through it on a quarter by quarter basis and that is why we are starting to see a change in how advisors are thinking. one of the things that really fascinated me is 80% of advisors are now using a personal benchmark, household benchmark for how the clients are succeeding. lori: what is that exactly? >> only 17% are judging the success of their clients investment on s&p 500. now what they say is are my kids going to be able to go to college? these are the types of things that are on their mind. lori: investors are going absolute return, it is almost like they are separate themselves from the federal government, would you agree with that assessment? >> i think what they're trying

to do is take their lives into their own hands. one of the ways they are doing that is of absolute return. whenever talk about absolute return unless we talk about endowment, but what came out of the crisis was a real focus for investors on show me how to keep positive, how to moderate my volatility. right now we're seeing one out of every $4 that comes into our firm is going to asset qualities. lori: you name it, can you? >> we're really excited, 85% of advisors are very bullish in the market. we see that from what we have seen equity in the fourth quarter and the first quarter. we think advisors are bullish on equities, bullish on emerging markets, less so about fixed income right now they are neutral and they are bearish on

private equity. lori: john coyne, brinker capital, thank you very much. how they're putting money to work around it. good to see you again. melissa: so it is a high-stakes time for bp. how much more will have to pay over the worst offshore oil spill? we will take you live to the courthouse is as the trial gets underway. lori: gold or classic cars? which has outperformed over the last decade? it may surpryo break, silver is the winner on percentage rates of over 2%. we will be right back. alec, for this mission i upgraded your smart phone.

♪ right. but t most important feature of all is... the capital one purchase erar. i can redeem the double miles i earned with my venture card to erase recent travel purchases.

d with a few clicks, this mission never happened. uh, what's this button do? [ electricity zaps ] ♪ you requested backup? yes. yes i did. what's in your wallet? melissa: so this is pretty shocking to me. the price of classic cars rising over the last 10 years ending an

the third quarter of 2012. better than any other investment is gold up 434%. adam shapiro joining us on how lucrative this can be. every time the wheels turn you are losing money. adam: you think about the cars skyrocketing in value, they don't make them anymore. ferrari sold 1950s era california long wheelbase over $8 million. they don't make it any more, it is a sports car, two door convertible, another one coming up for auction march 8. this is a huge market especially if you have cash to get into it. some higher end cars, it's got to auction, show them the first car. this is a 1933 model j.

recently sold how much do you think? 50 grand. melissa: i have no idea. who would buy that besides jay leno? >> the chinese, people in the united states with great fortunes. coming up for auction between 3-5 million. we are only a month out from the scottsdale auction. next car. you can watch on television, there are cheaper cars, take a look at this one. this is a 1947 mercedes-benz, how much did it sell for? lori: 5 million. melissa: 50,000. adam: this went for

$1.54 million. i have this car in red, coming up for auction on friday expected to go for under a million dollars. it could go much higher. melissa: do you have to have a million dollars or more? adam: no, 60,000. the cost of maintaining the car is very little. you have to drive them to keep them lubricated. coming back to the united states, 59, how much? melissa: $10 million. adam: this went for $40,000. the mercedes you so, this is going to be perhaps the next trend.

it depends on which famous person drives them, it was the actor from "bullet," that helps raise the price. clark gable, his car didn't sell. depends on who the actor is. if you're going to try to make money, buy the car restored. two doors is better than four doors. you know what is better than four doors? convertible is usually more wanted. it is a wonderful hobby. melissa: thank you so much. as we do every 15 minutes, let's check the market. nicole petallides on the floor of the new york stock exchange looking at a big winner on wall street.

nicole: there is the 10-year chart, looks good. came back from a financial the l crisis and then look at barnes & noble. now given the story once again about a founder of a great company who says you are not taking my baby away. this is exactly what is happening here. you have the chairman, he is joining a group of executives who want to do this, so he's trying to move forward and take over the superstore. this cell uses at $900 million. shares on the rise. back to you. melissa: nicole, thank you so much. lori: a high-stakes civil trial over the bp gulf oil spill under way. big bucks at stake here. >> exactly.

they are settled $4 billion on the criminal side of things. what happens today is the start of a civil trial and an awful lot at stake because we're talking a lot of money and a lot of people involved. among those suing, the federal government, the gulf coast state and thousands and thousands of everyday people. talking about the fishman, the residents, the businesses, all the people affected by the crippling oil spill that lasted three months back in 2010. the department of justice will prove bp and its partners were grossly negligent by ignoring pressure readings in the well and maintaining safe drilling procedures which they say caused the deep water horizon explosion. if they get their way, the federal judge could order them nearly $18 billion in a trial that could last months worth could end at any time if british

petroleum decides to settle suddenly. the massive payout will be divvied up to all of the involved parties. >> one of the major impediments is that the states want a lot of money for their restoration and federal government is looking more for a penalty and obviously want their money back, but there is some disagreement on the federal side to how much money they really want. >> the hotly contested issue is how much oil gushed on the broken well into the gulf of mexico. the fed say it was 5 million barrels, however bp claims it is overly exaggerated. it is extremely crucial in this trial because the fines will be assessed on a per barrel basis under the clean water act. environmentalists want their slice of the pie to continue their restoration efforts, now three years after this disaster.

>> what he wants to do is make sure bp is held accountable necessary to make sure they rebound and that we restore the system and the state is compensated for the economic losses. >> the oil giant contended no single action, person or party is responsible and rather the blame in this whole mess is shared. it'll be very interesting. lori: sounds like it. thanks for the update. so, aig former chief hank greenberg suing the government for bailing out his company. that and much more coming up. melissa: is your house investment you think it is? i'm with her low home prices will mean a high return. that is next. friday night, buddy.

you are gonna need a wingman. and my cash back keeps the party going. but my airline miles take it worldwide. [ male announcer ] it shouldn't be this hard. with creditcards.com, it's easy to search hundreds of cards and apply online. creditcards.com.

melissa: so, is buying homes still a good investment? of the 15 straight months, but buyers remained still very wary after what is called the lost decade for home appreciation. will it home ever be considered a nest egg for retirement again? nobody better to ask than barbara. you know, it does feel like there has been this fundamental shift. >> loss of confidence. melissa: i feel like for my parents generation, this is great value value, at some .20 or 30 years later he sold it for many, many multiples of what you voted for and he retired. for people under 40, that lived

through this and they think something has really changed. >> something fundamental had changed, prices went down. if your parents bought their house by average home was 71,000, it is not as though they wouldn't have equity and not as if people won't have equity going forward, but what people do with their house. most of the problems we have had the people being disappointed in retirement is they slam their home with a lot of loans for the kids going to college. they spent equity when it comes to retiring, they didn't have a lot left. but where are you going to live? those are the two options out there. melissa: we look at a chart over time, what else you can do with your money. you put your money in the stock market because over the past years, have a comparison between

home prices, you can see home prices for the winner versus the market in the early part of the two thousandths. -- two thousandth do you think ? >> you buy or sell, most people stay in their home for a lot of years and capture that equity. i think that is not going to change that much going forward. melissa: what is a lot of years for you? many people expect to make money in two or three years. >> if you throw the dark any 12 years, you will always win in houston. one thing people take for granted about buying a home and is becoming a nest egg, forces them to stay. very few people will take the money and save it and invest in the stock market, but every

american who loves their home will be forced to make the mortgage payment every month and most of them do. melissa: you have to take out loans and pay for other things. that is a great point. >> that is a great theory that a lot of us don't have cash to send our kids to college and don't want to saddle them with enormous debt. really you will do anything for your kids if it means leaning against the house, most will do it. melissa: what if he wants to make money over time, is the general amount of time you should stay in the house? >> there really is no rule of thumb because it is where you live your life. it depends on what age where kids are, when you go to the suburbs and all of those are life happenings that have nothing to do with investment. the only thing you want to ask a service would i rather buy or

would i rather rent? most of us would rather buy. if you want a good school district, chances are good you will have to buy. melissa: thank you very much. lori: interesting. the credit card crunch, the debt piling up, the shocking number of folks who have little in savings. melissa: days after digging out from a foot of snow, the u.s. is bracing for a second blizzard this week. lori: who is up and who is down in the dow. the index itself off 34 points right now.

. . . . ♪ (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities.

lori: stocks now. let's head to the floor of the new york stock exchange and check in with nicole pet pelt. you're watching shares of yum! brands. what is going on there, nicole. >> the stock is going back and forth today. it is higher now. but pretty much flat. worth it to talk about what yum! brands is doing big picture. there were concerns in china pertaining to poultry and. there were a scare. too many antibiotics in the chicken. they saw sales drop at kentucky fried chicken. that is huge revenue generator for yum! brands. they have taco bell, kf. consider and pizza hut. the kfc got hit over in china. they're severing ties with some suppliers over in china. we'll see what that does. the latest numbers were a disappointment. over the last three months, down 11%. lori: don't mess with my kfc. thank you, nicole. melissa: do you have a financial safety net? according to research published by bankrate.com, a

shocking number of americans do not. nearly a quarter or 24% admit to having more debt on their plastic than they have money in the bank. 55% of the americans say they have more emergency savings than debt on their credit card at least. more men than women are prepared with emergency funds instead of shoe funds. that is according to the survey. 60% of the men surveyed say they have more savings than debt. while only 49% of woman could say this. lori: you know what is interesting? of all the components and all the questions they asked on that survey the one area of improvement was on net worth. maybe they're not saving as much but people overall feel wealthier which i thought an interesting dichotomy. >> guess. what other assets like their house? lori: perhaps. melissa: overought net worth? lori: an overall feeling and sentiment. melissa: sentiment. lori: sentiment. don't you feel rich in friendship sitting next to me. melissa: and entertaining. lori: maybe it is not true. anyway. japan is looking to decrease the value of the yen.

currency wars, love talking about this. if other countries start following suit we could all be in for real trouble. peter barnes joins us in washington with more. where are we? the dollar for what it is worth is a little stronger. is that impactful at all, peter? >> yeah. there is all the tradeoffs between the dollar and the yen. if the yen keeps going lower it could hurt us and the talk of currency wars getting more traction with japan will have a head of new monetary stimulus for the bank of japan to kick-start that company's suggest like economy. the front-runner for the job could mean a lower yen and which would help japan boost its exports but that could hurt u.s., u.s. exports and jobs by making u.s. products more expensive in japan which is our forth largest trading partner. the yen is already down 15% or so ends if the dollar in the last few months since japan began talking up this

more aggressive, these more aggressive efforts to stimulate its economy. just two weekends ago the g20 group of world's largest economies including u.s. and japan, issued a statement, a communique on stimulus and currencies that a lot of analysts viewed as an endorsement of japan's plans. so for now, it does not look like the u.s. or other nations are moving to devalue currencies in response to japan's policies. but depending how far japan goes, they might feel that they have to. take a listen. >> if countries dope retaliate, then what the risk is, is that they have recessions. the euro is rising right now for example, and unless the europeans try to offset it with easy, easier monetary policy, there is risk of a worsening recession in europe. >> here in the u.s. the alliance for american manufacturing is warning japan saying, quote, the practice of currency manipulation by a major

trading partner such as japan acts as a subsidy for their products entering our market and is a tax on our exports to their market. lori and melissa. lori: worth a mention, monetary policy, right, peter is keeping the dollar depressed, devalued. >> competitive. competitive. melissa: competitive. lori: we'll leave it there. thanks very much. peter barnes. melissa: good point. he spent 40 years at the helm of aig and he is suing the federal government for bailing out the company. hank greenburg joins charlie gasparino. that is coming up next. lori: before we head off to break let's look at the interest rates. 10-year, people are snapping them up. back below 2% on the 10-year note. back with more after this. [ indistinct shouting ]

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>> i'm adam shapiro with your fox business brief. according to the latest survey by the national for business economics, the economy will experience another year of sluggish growth in 2013. it is expanding at an annual rate of 2% but for 2014 the nabe is forecasting that the economy will expand at a faster clip of 2.8% which would be the best performance since 2005. general motors is dialing up at&t to provide high speed wireless service for on store ending the long term version with verizon. the automaker says the change will start with the 2015 car models.

materials of the deal were not disclosed. an app allows customers to wait for goods without paying for a cashier. the app can be used for online payments. that is the latest from the fox business network, giving you the power to prosper.

melissa: he spent nearly 40 years running insurance giant aig and now hank greenberg is sharing his story in a new tell-all book. he is joins our senior correspondent charlie gasparino now. >> thanks for being here, hank. let me rattle off some of the accomplishments. i've known you for years. big fan. entrepreneur. ceo of aig, the world's largest insurance company, maybe the largest company for a time. cia operative. workout fanatic. i've been on workouts with you. eliot spitzer nemesis. that is a good point in your favor. ceo of starr international right now and also the

author of a new book about aig. congratulations. >> thank you. >> long time in coming. it was seven years, if i remember when you started thinking about this. the aig story. it started essentially because you were ousted, forced out of aig, i believe unfairly by eliot spitzer over sort of mundane accounting issues and then, after that the company essentially blew up over very big issues. how much of this do you get into in the book? >> quite a bit. the book has two parts. charlie, the first part is the building of aig. >> right. >> that that's the reason i really wrote the book because there were some thousands of people who helped build aig. their story was important to be told. you know, it was, it was a national asset. aig was a very important company to the country. we were in 137 countries. >> right. >> we operated throughout the world.

>> it had nothing to do with the risk-taking that eventually blew it up when you weren't there. >> nothing to do with that at all. we were, we had 180 billion market cap when i left the company. we started out with 300 million. so it was one of the great stories of the century. and the second part of the book is what happened with spitzer. a disgraced attorney general. >> right. >> and what happened to corporate governance after enron. >> right. >> it changed. it changed the whole, really the, regulatory environment and the legal environment, regulatory things, after enron changed corporate america. boards became more concerned about themselves. >> right. >> rather than the company. >> and image. if someone like spitzer said you made a couple mistakes, this guy was clearly looking for scrap s. >> pretty obvious. >> we know in retrospect at

the time he was pretty powerful. one of those scalps was you obviously. he forced the board to push you out. what was fascinating from that point, it was 2005, the company did not do very well after that, even though it it wasn't insolvent at the time. but then it became insolvent. now as now, it was a national asset. it is essentially owned by the u.s. government. >> 2 didn't become insolvent. it had a liquidity problem, not a solvency problem. >> okay. >> plenty of capital. they didn't know what they were doing. >> the government took it over which is part of your lawsuit. >> yeah. >> let me ask you about that. a lot of people criticized you for taking over aig, it was necessary evil. they had to do it fast it was imperfect. you say no. you say it is unconstitutional. they essentially crammed down the existing share heard like yourself. they didn't have to do that but done it in a different way. how so? >> look. they could have made the fed

window open for aig. you know the fed window was open to the arab bank, which was 29% owned by the libyan central bank. think about that. >> right. >> they opened the fed window to them. >> not to aig. >> not to aig. but aig didn't have to accept that kind of a bailout, number one. >> right. >> because the so-called cdos that they were insuring, this is well after i leave the company, three or four years later. >> right. >> they could have refused to put up collateral because what was given to them was not what they were told it was. >> what good is it though suing them now? now we're in 2013. you're doing pretty well. you're running a pretty big company. >> yeah. >> you know, the benmosche, robert benmosche doing know, doing a decent job as far as you're concerned? >> he picked up a bad hand. >> right. it is coming out. it is running. >> yeah. >> what do you get from suing him now?

to make a point? >> look, thousands of shareholders lost their net worth. >> right. >> pen unshun funds -- pension funds lost billions of dollars. and all the facts weren't out. >> right. >> it took us a long time to get all the facts, all the nuances what had occurred. >> right. >> of course, what was done, we have a constitutional, we have a constitution says unlawful taking by the government is prohibited. >> and you have put out those facts in your book, which -- >> yes. >> we're getting kind of a wrap here. i want to ask you something, but when you look at the problems of aig, it all comes back to two things. i really do believe you leaving was a problem. one guy that kind of knew everything was leaving. the other problem was the buy that forced you to leave, eliot spitzer. you have made no fwons about, your feelings towards mr. spitzer. his suit against you largely evaporated. it is nowhere to be found.

it is meaningless at this point. the question though that i get asked at every bar, as we know spitzer blew up in, you know, in a prostitution scandal. >> right. >> the question i get asked in every bar, they know i know you, they know i like you, they say, you know what? do you think hank did it? this is what they believe. they believe hank greenberg set up eliot spitzer or at least, not set up, blew the whistle on him. it is an urban legend. you can put it to rest right now. are you guy that blew the whistle on him? >> no, not at all. i had nothing to do about that. >> do you think anybody on wall street did. >> no, i don't think so. i think he brew himself up. he blew himself up. he violated the law apart from moving money imppoperly and with his dealing with prostitutes he blew himself up. >> he got caught. >> and he got caught. >> and he got caught. >> well, if you did blow the whistle on him, i wouldn't care. i would still shake your

hand. you still work out. by the way i shook hank's hand coming in. the grip is still like it was back in 2007 when i did work out with you once. and, it's a pleasure to see you again. >> charlie, always good to see you. >> and kicking --. hank greenberg. >> good to see you, my friend. melissa: he went there. he really asked the question. only charlie gasparino. all right. lori: let's get an update on the market. stocks are sinking with the dow off 65 points. back to nicole on the new york stock exchange. where the dow, this is indeed a session low here. what are traders talking about. >> it is worth noting we're at ession lows on a day we kicked it off this morning and thought we would be testing some of our all-time highs or closing highs or intraday highs. now a complete turnaround. basically you can talk a lot about italy. with the elections there and the exit polls and how that affect what is we're seeing here in the states. what we've seen is the dollar has gained strength. each time i look up it is stronger, the dxy, compared

to the euro, than the time i was on prior. there are concerns that italy won't adhere to the austerity measures that have been put into place now. so that is the major issue affecting these markets. meantime bank of america is down 2%. boeing, coca-cola, pfizer among other laggards. back to you. lori: nicole, great, thank you. melissa: hedge fund manager david ion horn cores a victory over apple over its cash. lori: another blizzard is targeting the nation's midsection. the latest on the storm's path is next. the ♪ .

lori: just as the midwest recovers from last week's storm another blizzard, believe it or not is making its way across the country with warnings issued in four states. fox news meteorologist janice dean is in the weather center with the forecast. how about this time around, janice. >> they will get six to 12 or maybe 18 inches an top of the snow they got a week ago. we could see the potential for tornados. tornado watches for parts of louisiana and texas and arkansas. we have a tornado watch for north florida, with a tornado warning for the panhandle of florida. the cold side is giving blizzards conditions for parts of texas, oklahoma, kansas. anywhere from 12 to 20 inches of snow. whiteout conditions in i-4 in texas, saving people on the interstate.

they're trap. because there are snowdrifts of ten feet plus. the winter weather advisories from the great lakes and through new mexico. where you see the red we could see 12 to 20 inches of snow with blowing snow, 65 miles per hour winds making travel next to if not impossible in these areas. that will continue. the severe threat continues for much the gulf coast region to the florida panhandle. a multifacetedded storm giving us blizzard conditions and the threat of tore nate dose throughout the day today. we'll keep you posted from the fox news extreme weather center. back to you, melissa and lori. lori: how unusual are tornados in florida? >> you can get them this time of year. this storm is so powerful, to see a blizzard on one side and tornados on the other that is quite an event. melissa: amazing. >> you bet. melissa: score one for david einhorn in his quest to tap into some of apple's $137 billion cash hoard. shibani joshi has all the details. >> certainly a point for you

david einhorn, but he doesn't have the money yet so we can't say the game is over. a judge ruled after the market closed on friday in favor of david einhorn and his green light capital management firm and against apple, ruling in favor of his interests when he blocked apple from moving forward on a vote regarding prefered shares and how they are issued. this is something that einhorn wants. he wants prefered shares issued to unlock shareholder value. the judge says, bundling of this vote with other votes made it a violation of sec rules. he called them an apple name i-press or preferred shares. wants them issued at 50 bucks using some of that $237 billion apple has lying around. melissa: us do it make the shareholder meeting any less interesting? >> absolutely not. they will continue to press on this issue. in fact there are a couple other issues on pay that could get contentious. tim cook says this is silly

sideshow. david einhorn does not think this is silly or a sideshow. he will press and press to get some money back in his pockets. the stock is down 36% since september. they need more return in a different way. melissa: shibani joshi, thanks so much. so coming up tonight on "money", we have congressman jeff duncan of south carolina. he is returning 15% of his office budget back to taxpayers. he knows how to tighten his belt in tough times. a lesson for the rest of the government. he joins me at 5:00 p.m. eastern on fox business. i don't know. we were on vacation last week. we had fox business in the hotel i was at. we were down in the bahamas. the ashley was on. lori: nonstop. melissa: i got him a little something to make up for it. he was on, i think they had him working security out front. he was running some cameras. he did almost everything. so he is coming up in the next hour. there he is. here some ashley. lori: i didn't get you anything. melissa: i did. i did.

lori: so ashley and i stick around. they finally let tracy have a little vacation. we'll speak with delaware governor jack markel, shares the national governor association's. melissa: a little gift card. you can drink it.

lori: welcome to a new hour here on markets now on fox business network. i'm lori rothman. ashley: i'm ashley webster. stocks hitting new session lows after zigging and zagging doing everything else. the dow is down 86 points. earlier today it hit the best intraday level in five years. what is the next big move? one money strategist weighs in ahead. lori: the county down is on. fewer than four days to automatic spending cuts. the president is warning american governors they will involve crippling cuts. national governor's association chair jack markell says the president

is not bluffing. he joins us in moments. ashley: plus another spike in gasoline prices. they're up 20 cents a gallon in the last two weeks. we'll see what is causing the spike and whether drivers will see any relief anytime soon. lori: time for the stocks now at the top of the hour. let's go to nicole petallides on the floor of the new york stock exchange as we do every 15. nicole. >> the fear index continues to move higher. the dollar continues to move higher. i should have requested a 10-year bond because obviously that is something the yield is dropping. it is 1.88%. that is something the traders brought to my attention. you can see the nasdaq down one-third of 1%. the s&p 500 down 3/4 of 1% on a the same day where the dow made five-year highs. a complete turnaround. couple things going into effect. i want to talk about the fact that we're getting it tally vote and the elections could affect austerity measures. everybody is watching washington, ben bernanke,

the sequester. these are things on the forefront here on wall street. let's look at names hitting lifetime highs, all-time highs, multiyear highs. of course they are some of the defensive plays. when i talk about the flight to quality over to bonds, look at names like hormel, general mills, constellation brands. obviously consumer staples is a group that is a defensive play on wall street when you see them selling off. back to you. lori: nicole, thanks as always. ashley: now the very latest on the automatic spending cuts literally just days away. president obama is enlisting american governors to put pressure on congress to take action, anything. rich edson has more from our nation's capitol. rich? >> we have another could be net secretary of the white house warning of dangerous consequences. homeland security secretary janet napolitano just saying these cuts could affect the government's ability to secure the borders. others have warned of cuts to food safety inspection and airport delays. the administration just released a report detailing what it says will be the state by state effects of

the automatic spending cuts. just a sample , they warn of 14,000 defense furloughs in illinois. more than $200,000 cuts for services for domestic violence victims in georgia. more than a million of cuts for environmental protection in nevada. republicans say this is an administration scare tactic. the administration says it has no other choice and blames congress. >> in just four days congress is poised to allow a series of ash trayry, -- arbitrary budget cuts to kick in that will slow our economy, eliminate good jobs and leave a lot of folks who are already pretty thinly stretched scam blink figuring out what to do. >> enough is enough. now is the time to cut spending t can be done without jeopardizing the economy. it can be done without yep didsing the critical services. the president needs to stop campaigning stop trying to scare the american people and stop trying to scare states. >> the president continues his public push and on

defend spending cuts at a shipyard in newport news, virginia. as a way to avoid automatic spending cuts congressional aides say there are no discussions trying to come before friday's deadline to avoid these cuts coming friday. back to you. ashley: becoming more and more inevitable. rich edson in d.c.. lori: my next guest says president obama is not exaggerating when he warns the deep impact the cuts will have on states. he chairs the national governor's association and we're pleased to have the governor joining us via telephone. good afternoon, sir. how do you feel the president now going to governors to get his case passed along to congress? >> well i think he is just being very straightforward. and i think it is important that people throughout the country understand what the impacts of the cuts will be. so he, he played that out state by state but the other piece is the effect on the economy overall. your report just mentioned some specific kind of cuts

in different programs. but, for many of us, we're, we feel like the economy is starting to come back and this could really put a stop to that. and that is, particular concern. lori: so here's the devil advocate question. the point of contention among republicans is that the president is making a series of public appearances, making these doomsday predictions, less teachers, reduced medical care, defense workers in their states. that is all very well true. but why not have the decision where the cuts will happen made bit agency chiefs? and that is the real issue right now, this has become more politics or continues to be more politics than real business? >> well that is, i mean the point is the president is the only one who actually put a plan out there. and there is not really, there is not an offramp here. the sequester simply shouldn't happen. it doesn't have to happen. the impact on people's lives is real. and the impact on the economy. putting people back to work is also real. lori: as you know, governor,

the consensus is there is little hope to avoid a deal to avoid sequestration come march 1st. where are you on that? >> i'm not in washington. it is sort of difficult to see a source of optimism but i mean hopefully people begin to get what the impact would be on their constituents back home the what the impact would be on the economy. that means impact on putting people back to work. lori: we're getting revision on fourth quarter gdp tomorrow. as you know the first take was for the nation of course. negative .1ers. two consecutive quarters, three takes per quarter, equate a recession. where do you think the economy is he had hadded? you referenced this earlier in our conversation. >> i think the economy would be going in a better question if the sequester doesn't happen. that is the one thing i think we all know for sure. i think particularly at a time like this where the economy is not where any of us want to be it is crazy to put into place policies which are likely to mach things worse. just doesn't make any sense. lori: governor, what impact if the sequestration does

happen will it have on the state of delaware, a smaller state but important nonetheless. >> absolutely. for the people in our state impacted, whether kids in head start, whether people in substance abuse treatment, impact on them is significant. but there's a broader impact. and that is really the issue. some will say, maybe i'm not a recipient of one program or the other so it doesn't affect me. the challenge it could affect everybody because it could stymie economic recovery at a time we're working so hard. lori: it will be so frustrating trying to get people back to work. this will mean hundreds of thousands of jobs cuts across country. >> that is probably the most frustrating part of it all. people are working hard to improve the economic climate. businesses want to invest and kind of hire, with this uncertainty there is something they don't want to do. lori: governor markell, delaware. lori: thanks for joining us. >> take care. thank you. ashley: the dow is off some 105 points as you can see.

this after earlier hitting an intraday best level in five years. a lot of volatility on the markets right now. of course we have the sequestration issue. lori: my interview with the governor, democratic governor of delaware, saying well, it probably will happen. ashley: the market sinking with every question you made. all right, the national association of business economics is out with its latest survey. the bad news the economists predict, yes, indeed we're in for another year of subpar economic growth this year. they expect gdp to expand at 2% which is worse than last year's 2.2% growth. but there is some good news. by 2014 they expect the economy to grow at its facist pace in nine years. the economists are blaming budget battles in washington and europe's debt crisis for the pessimistic out look. the predictions are pretty grim, to be honest. they expect 2014 to be a good year with consumer spending rising 2% an unemployment falling to 7%. that is not wishful thinking. that is hope not. lori: i was saying let's

hope the increase in gdp is driven by government spending. ashley: true. what impact does these automatic cuts have on fdp growth this year? lori: don't forget we tax hikes to the fiscal cliff deal. that will take a cut out of consumer spending. lackluster growth is the new normal. if we get 2%, kind of sad people are satisfied. ashley: that is kind of a celebration. lori: gas prices almost 50 cents higher a gallon than they were one month ago. where will they go from here? american petroleum's senior economist is just ahead. >> how dan can automatic spending cuts boost your grocery bill. let's look how oil is trading. the market is heading lower. the dow is down 94 points. oil off about .4 of a percent at 92.74 a barrel. we'll be right back. everyone's retirement dream is different;

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lori: we are just days away from $85 billion in automatic spending cuts and it could have a surprising impact on commodities trading. san today smith has details from the pits of the cme in today's trade. >> hey, lori. cme is warning their customers. in fact they sent out a e-mail the sequestration or automatic spending cuts could have an impact on trading on some of their contracts. after here is a little excerpt of the e-mail or princeout they sent out to traders saying it is possible that the mandatory spending cuts should begin march 1st could have impact on physical delivery and cash settlement on cme livestock and dairy products that includes everything from lean hogs to live cattle, everything that goes on the dinner table from butter to milk contracts you name it. it could be impacted. virginia, you came out of the trading because you're in the agricultural pits.

you feel how about-facing sequestration that it will impact trading of these products. >> it will some degree mainly on the meats but we have to look at grains as well. there will be some issue getting delivery outand getting that moving. right now it is in the middle of the market. it is before springtime. >> what does that mean for food prices? everybody at home listen say what does that mean? if i go to the food store will i see prices to up? >> no, they won't really go up. if there is a small spike it will come up in the next couple months. things will get fast into play even if the sequester does happen it will spring back and things should, kind of iron out before prices really start to go crazy at the grocery store. >> last thing, one thing i'm asking all traders, do you think the spending cuts will go into place march 1st, or do you think we will avert it. >> i think there will be some aversion. at least a partial one. that will temper nerves and tempers in washington. and we'll start to push it

down a little bit. something will be happening over the incomes three or four months though. we till start to get this together? >> you do think so? >> i do. they will start to temper it. won't be like going off a cliff again. we'll have to start to put something together. i see the market really starting to pick up summertime. not just the grain market. the economy is really starting to make its turn. everybody will come together to start to move in the correct direction. >> virginia, i will let you get back to trading. thanks for joining us. really important to point out guys, the cme group says they're also telling customers be careful because some usda reports that many traders watch on a daily basis could be affected also if the cuts were to go into place. bottom line, this is about infections. if the usda has to furlough workers at government level, obviously safety inspections that have to take place to make delivery on some of these food products could be delayed or sometimes canceled. and that of course is what lori and, melissa, would

affect trading and all of us as we head to the grocery store. very important thing to note as we head to the grocery store. lori: perpetual uncertainty, fiscal policy, monetary policy. sequestration. ashley: meat inspections. >> hello, ashley. lori: melissa, you know, put on suit and tie. ashley: haven't been melissa for days now. back to ashley. thank you so much, sandra. appreciate it. stocks rebounding a little bit. we shot down, about 105 points. we've come back a little bit. we're down 72 on the dow. nicole petallideses on the floor of the new york stock exchange. where do we go now, nicole? >> there is a feeling of uncertainty that remains here today this afternoon. we started off with up arrows. i saw a chart behind the two of you where we started off in the green early this morning and set five-year highs on the dow jones industrials only to see the whole thing turn around. the dow is down half a percent, selling off 73 points.

big laggards are bank of america, coca-cola and boeing and caterpillar. big concerns about italy and elections and how the austerity measures put in place, that are pretty tough draconian measures will they be able to keep up with those. we'll look at gold. gold is something i'm watching very carefully. gold up almost $17 at the moment. gold often a safe haven. we've seen consumer staples doing well. utilities are doing well. we've seen flocking to 10-year treasurys. all this on concern not only about italy but about what we're seeing in washington. the dollar is strong. the xy is strong against the euro. we'll continue to follow that as well. you see gold with the up arrows i noted. back to you. ashley: nicole, thank you very much. we'll check back in with you in 15 minutes. looking at vix, up close to 17 now. up, 2 and 3/4 points. lori: volatility, uncertainty. ashley: yep. lori: coming up one big

money strategist says automatic spending cuts are a positive for stocks. not today. ashley: maybe not. we'll ask him about that. plus president obama says look, these cuts will be painful but does he have the power to make them less so? fox news's judge andrew napolitano says yes he does and he will tell us why coming up. first look at the dollar today. being a little bit of flight to safety. the euro down against the dollar. just under 1.31. but the pound is up against the dollar but let's face it, after that credit downgrade by moody's for the u.k. economy, the pound is still pretty darn low. we'll be right back.

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>> at 21 minutes past the hour i'm lauren green with your fox news minute. the central planes are getting hit by a major winter storm bringing snow and high winds. blizzard warnings have been issued by officials in kansas and missouri. forecasters predict up to 18 inches near amarillo, texas. they're also warning of possible tornados in the southeast. ikea stopped nearly all sales of meatballs at stores across europe after a check found horse meat in meatballs labeled as beef and pork. all the mat balls sold in the u.s. stores come from

u.s. supplier and they contain only beef and pork from animals raised in the u.s. and canada. those are the news headlines on the fox business network. now back to ashley. ashley: fox as you lauren green. lauren, thank you very much. elections in italy are raising investor fears that the country may abandon its reform efforts under mario monti and pulling down u.s. stocks from session highs. what is next for the markets? we wait five minutes before we find out. let's bring in the ceo of rbc wealth management. john, it has been a wild ride just today. can you put this all on italy? i find it hard to believe that some, you know, some results from an italian election that are not very clear is doing this to our markets? >> no, you can't put this all on the italian elections but of course the whole issue of european zone stability is one of the elephants in the room when it comes to how the markets are going to perform going

through 2013. i think, and what we've been telling our clients, you're going to see, in the near term, over the course of the next several months, is a fair amount of volatility because, as you have pointed out on the show just this afternoon, there is still is a lot of uncertainty in the marketplace place around the policy response to the u.s. financial crisis that we're looking at, the long-term structural deficit. and it doesn't seem like policymakers are able to do anything constructive about that. until they do, you're going to see the market reacting to this rumor and that piece of news. you will see it chop around. that is what is happening today. ashley: that is interesting. in your notes you say what has been at play in the last month or maybe the beginning of the year is the fear of losing money is being replaced with a fear of not making money. so you're telling your clients, look, look long term. look across the valley. evening -- meaning you expect there so be some sort of correction but long term

you see the market continuing to move higher? >> yes, that's exactly right. let's not forget my firm manages money for mostly individual investors and a lot of individual investors were burned very traumatically so by the financial crisis. they overallocate what they think are safe investments, stocks or bonds. they looked at 13% run in 2012. a 7% run in 2013. thinking ojai ma, have i missed the bus and should i jump on? with that kind of a move, any move like that gets followed by some kind of consolidation. we see that. that is a great opportunity for individual investors to get back to their target allocations. what are target allocations? we think they're pretty neutral? what is neutral? 55% stocks. 35% bonds. 10% cash. if we're not there, market weakness we're likely to see in the near term to get there.

ashley: i want a bit of the action on the market. what have you been telling them? >> well, i think the whole idea of a bond bubble. exposure to rising interest rates, is less compelling for individuals right now than the idea that they don't have enough exposure to stocks. so as i said earlier, we need to get on the equity train. if we're at the beginning of what could be a sustained uptick in equity we need to catch it. why do we think that is possibility. if you look across the valley. what is the valley? the valley whole issue of policy uncertainty in washington. if we get any kind of a constructive response, then what are we looking at on the other side of the valley? we're looking at housing. that is bottoming in the u.s. we're looking at energy prices coming down. we're looking at banks starting to lend. we see european zone stability.

china has better, more stimulative, economic policy today. those are positives for the market. you said 2% market growth in 2013. on one hand that is not exciting. on the other hand, with that kind of growth underneath us, with some kind of policy response and washington is responsible in the long term, you could see a very significant move up in the equity markets last half of this year. investors are afraid of missing that. ashley: yeah, if is a big word talking about washington getting their act together. i hear what you're saying, john taft. rbc wealth management. you may see binoculars across the valley with what is not happening in washington. diversify your portfolio is basically what he is saying. get exposure toward the asset class but be smart of it. lori: stocks, stocks, is where the smart money is going. ashley: that's why i'm not in it. lori: they're all going to stocks. all right. although not today. stocks are selling off

dramatically. people are snapping up bonds. we want to talk about health care. a trillion dollar a year business in this country. one writer says the industry is killing our economy. details next. ashley: as we head to the break. some of today's winners and losers on the s&p 500. there are winners out there. we'll be right back.

that type of comment, that of commentary will be more voluntary to the market. we have sent these bacchant. >> reporter: can we talk about the market's overall. we have really set those size.

to the people who want to just take that out and let it go. >> it does. and it kind of just shows how fragile markets are. if you look in our daily jerkin and men commit looks like things done well. yet to be very careful on how we plan intruder days and. >> reporter: went again and when the get out. people are long term. but the thing? >> actually, you have to stay and. lori: the cost of a trip to the emergency room is enough to make. tracy. this week's time magazine, one of the attack tackled the question, why medical bills in the united states of america so high? that's a good question. we take a look at the findings. >> i feel like a show promoting it, but he fun stuff i've never seen before. he trusted get a wide prices are so high.

for me the ticket was, that's right. we still have these high prices. in this country that 20 percent gdp for health care compared to 10% for the rest of the world and we pay more than the next ten nations combined including japan, china, and australia. we pay wait, wait, wait too much. and the problem is, our prescription drugs by 50 percent higher bond. medicare doesn't negotiate drug prices. the golan for the ride. your taxpayer dollars of funding some of that increase. he talks about a 61 year-old who goes to the emergency room with test -- test pains, a diagnosedh heartburn end faces $21,000 is a bill. tracy: that is outrageous. how do you bring the cost down? >> he has some solution. but i have found interesting that essentially you have two

systems, medicare which under pace compared to everybody else. the people who have coverage to pay the middle ground, no coverage to pay the most. this store was so hot to the new republican commission that refuse to print it. ashley: is that right? >> it went to time magazine. a huge hullabaloo. but i'm glad. it really is very detailed about the problem with prices. you know this personally, but when you see some of these stories, it's amazing. ashley: get bit so the heart of it. >> we will be talking about this tonight. ashley: i bet you are. don't miss the willis report

tonight at six and 9:00 p.m. eastern right here on the fox business network. lori: we will be watching. the gas price spike. the national average for regular unleaded has drawn to $0.44 per gallon from just one month ago according to aaa. despite of $0.20 in the last two weeks alone according to the lambert survey. these numbers are unusual. this early in the year to have many experts predicting a gasted once again move above $4 per gallon. this along with increases in the payroll tax maybe the finally won to punch. joining us now, great to see you let's talk. gas prices higher. more demand. what else? >> well, demand is also up. the cost of crude oil and ethanol. so those three factors are what drove prices up. the court price of crude has come down. lori: we're coming into the peak gas priced at a year, about a mother to away.

what is your forecast? will it come down before it goes back up again? >> and not in the business of forecasting. the key factors are going to be supply and demand factors. we have seen cuts in opec production dense forecasts of record will demand, and that is why we have a tight market. lori: let's talk about this goal of the u.s. energy independence, the timeframe is 2024. are you confident we are on track? >> we can be. between what we can produce in this country, imports from canada, and biofuels, we can become energy self-sufficient from a north american basis of. lori: there are some hurdles. the civil trial involving bp, big bucks, significant dangers with the deep water oil drilling. you confident, the fracking industry wouldn't run into some of the same risks? >> absolutely. has been done safely for 60 years. there's a lot of this information out there and we simply need to get it out.

lori: interesting. walmart indicating in their customer base we have a situation where gas prices are higher than it should be. increased peril taxes. we're facing the sequestration that is even more deep. spending cuts to the federal government which could translate into significant job losses, hundreds of thousands of jobs lost. is this going to be too much for the lower income if you will, consumer? will we see any kind of demand destruction because of this climate? >> there is no question that when gasoline prices go up consumers tend to cut back on other things. the average household spends 5% of its budget on gasoline, but the $700. we have seen when prices increase they tend to substitute cheaper products. lori: if we're looking at our expectations for gas prices humans in the global picture. another saudi arabia, cutting production. all of these factors. worst of the lemon look when determining what to expect to

fill the tank? >> take a look at what represses are doing. very significant. ethanol to. you just need said divide the bill of crude by 42 indices images per gallon of. you have a pretty good indication of where things are going. lori: for looking at economic forecasts, around supercenter so. there is always the question of what is driving growth. the usual suspects is a phrase governments plenty of government spending, and employment. that is concerning. >> well, there's no question. the real point is we have a way out of that. we can produce a lot of oil and gas in this country which would stimulate growth, jobs, and energy security which is what we need to focus on. lori: thanks. we cover a lot of territory, a lot of questions from all different angles to get you, and that pleased of had that opportunity. thanks again. >> as for having me. ashley: coming up, composite.

ashley: president obama limit the pain of automatic spending cuts with one simple move? one person says jesse can command these indexed to explain the. lori: people snapping up bonds left and right. yields on the tenure down. what a move. people still sitting out the safe haven of u.s. treasurys. also seeing a bit on the dollar. so go. people are still thinking it is the best of the worst in the look at the whole world. we're back with more after this. ♪ [ male announcer] surprise -- you're having triplets.

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♪ >> reporter: and shibani joshi with your fox business brief. opening statements starting today in the federal civil trial against bp for the 2010 gulf of mexico oil spill, the trial designed to identify the causes of the royal gelatin -- oil giant well blowout and a sign fault. and one share -- shares of one drug maker are jumping on stories that they made an offer to buy the company for six and half billion. the offer came two days before there was an outline of the production plans after the sale of its stake in a multiple system. and a 30 to travel survey the managers private foundations. as the lettuce in the fox

business network, giving you the power to prosper. ♪

♪ ashley: well, some days ago now some $85 billion in automatic spending cuts, president obama is warning that they will be crippling, but our next guest says, look, the president can do much more diffuse the impact of those cuts by using what is called transfer authority. it is interesting. fox news senior judicial analyst judge andrew napolitano joins us to explain. >> the first thing that needs to be explained is that the our's -- these are not spending cuts. there are reductions in the amount of increase. instead of spending going up like that, it's going to go up like that. ashley: that is a very important point. >> the federal money to the federal government spend even more money than its debt without the sequester. so that we need to know. we're not talking about the president's firing or for lot --

furloughing soldiers or tsa workers or faa air traffic controllers. we're talking about and hiring fewer of them. so, can the president -- let's say -- each of these cuts is about 2 percent per department. gillette said the pentagon needs to five will round up these numbers -- 100 new soldiers. his limited tiring 98? of course not. he hires the full 100 but less somewhere else, like maybe janitors that west pointer in the pentagon, not to become the pentagon and not to pick my friends a west point, but the point is, the president has executive authority to make sure the government works properly. in fact, he is required to make sure it works properly. his of says, he promises faithfully to execute the office of president of the united states. that word faithfully is in the constitution, and it is in his of to make sure that the government works, that he does not use government agencies to harm his political opponents and

help his political supporters. after eight. ashley: that good faith to me because their role in it for their own political gain, the political part, and they're not always making decisions. >> i'll tell you this. if the president of the united states of america furloughs a sufficient number of tsa agents so that we have to wait five hours in line to get to the airline or furloughs soldiers so that our defenses are weekend, he can be impeached because he will be violating his oath faithfully to enforce the laws. his job is to make the government work, and if he has to cut something, he should cut something that is not an essential core of what we hire the government to do, like keep us safe from the enemy and make the airline's work in the skies. lori: what is your take on that gives a warning from the president? one public appearance at the the other talking about, it's very much politics as usual, not business. this is the point you're making,

right? >> yes,. lori: if you let the agencies your back office, the where the port is versus the headliner, you know, we have this sense that we're going to have fewer flights and less meat inspection right away and it's going to be devastating in the president is using scare tactics almost. >> these fears are grossly exaggerated. this is less than 2% on the dollar, so instead of getting $100 in increase these departments would get $98. jeez, how will they spend it? the center is always this and everything else that they have. look, the government is too big, too fat. rework -- relented to do too much. this is a minor, in significant belt-tightening, but is a step in the right direction, and it is to begin. the debt is now 16 trillion. how're we going to pay that back? lori: not in my lifetime. >> maybe not even in god's lifetime. ashley: thank you so much. appreciated. all right. it is just after quarter of the hour. time for stocks as we do every 15 minutes.

the market was down triple digits us a long ago. let's head back down to nicole petallides on the floor of the nyse. >> reporter: love how the judge makes his points very clear. the stocking of the -- less talk about this market. has come under pressure. the fear index moved to the upside. the dow and not at 14,000 anymore after hitting a 5-year highs this morning. now you're seeing it down about 84 points, and it has been to the doubts that throughout this opinion with a fear indexes higher, the dollar also has gained. concerns about italy and whether or not they will keep up with those tough austerity measures after these elections are completed. that is something we are watching closely. they said exit polls. also, the concern that, in washington and then the spending cuts from the government, the 10-year bond, you do see the flight to quality. gold higher, the ten year. right now at just under 2%. that is something else that we can see to watch well. ashley: all right. thank you very much. appreciate it. lori: coming up, they supported the president's tax hikes. at the same time enjoying tax

breaks for themselves. some little hypocritical? details next. ashley: funny how that does sound like that. first, let's take a look at some of the day's winners and losers. the dow up 87 points. we'll be right back. ♪ [ woman ] if you have the audacity to believe your financial advisor should focus on your long-term goals, not their short-term agenda. [ male announcer ] join the nearly 7 million investors who think like you do. face time and think time make a difference. at edward jones, it's how we make sense of investing.

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one more time! ♪ music kids will spend 22 minutes watching us, the super duper party troopers, sing about ants in their pants. brushing for two minutes now, can save your child from severe tooth pain later. two minutes twice a day. they have the time. ♪ ashley: you know, sometimes stocks and the dollar trade in tandem. today is not one of those days. as you can see, the inverse dollar stock trade. flight to safety, as you were talking about earlier. certainly seeing the dollar rebounding sharply.

this flight to safe haven. lori: don't forget, there is a currency war going on. japan, depressing the value of the yen is also pushing up the dollar and other world's majors. ashley: and then the bond market we're seeing the yields. lori: come down five or six basis points. ashley: there you go. strong dollar, market down. the winner is, the oscars, showcasing a long list of factors to support the president's call for higher taxes on wealthy americans. you have not heard a peep about how hollywood takes its per-share the taxpayer funded federal and, yes, state tax breaks. here with more. >> well, with movies, roll the credits, this is our role in the tax credits that they get. it's like, look at movies. here's what they have done with state tax breaks. over 6 million from the state of california. five and a half million from the city pennsylvania. lincoln, three and a half million from virginia. seeking a big one, eight and a

half million from the state of louisiana. all told, one half billion that states are giving out to hollywood to bring the productions into their states. california is a lot of money. of course, the fiscal of deal has $430 billion in tax breaks for hollywood. the thing is, taxpayers are paying at the dock to the box office. some of their pang hollywood again in the form of tax breaks. and the thing is tomato you something, missouri, michigan, states and saying, wait a second. maybe it's not it's a great thing we bring these projections and our state because the draws are temporary jobs for at a state workers, and when the production shuts down, the end up going on jobless benefits. may not be so great. ashley: they ought to go to canada in romania and these other places where they get even more tax breaks. lori: -- >> that's right. they don't talk about that at all, but they are from taxpayers, and it is on the rise. forty-five states now are giving

tax breaks. there were 40 last month. now 45. up from five over a decade ago. a big deal. lori: the bottom line. thanks. oscar buzz abound. following last night's 805th annual academy awards. we will keep on this movie theme. they went on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on. here with some of glass lets high and low lights >> reporter: three hours and 35 minutes. in intolerable the end interminably long show for the academy awards on disney's abc network last night. but it still did about zero ratings. thirty-seven year -- 37 million viewers. up a handsome 19% from the year before. did we really need a number from the musical, chicago, which came out a decade ago or james bond theme songs from both super hot adelle and shirley who sold it bold figure -- single finger almost 50 years ago. the longest one came in in 2002.

for hours and 23 minutes. coast said mcfarlane, tepid reviews at best. was not skating and scandalous enough to suit his fans. to biting for precious and pious critics. the "washington post" critic calling him a combination of sicko and retro. only so-so at stand-up. now, life of pie was the biggest winner of the night with four oscars, including best director. time warner's movie 13 including best picture, but so did from kant -- comcast universal peace. and lincoln and sony and wine stain. no one theory says an oscar win in an $18 million to a film's box office. the impact may be lower this time because most of these winners already were pretty big successes. ashley: good point. lori: searching for sugarman,

your recommendation. i was so thrilled. you saw it. that was the best. ashley: well done. >> ended one documentary. ashley: i'm taking you through to the last hour of trading. weighing in on the markets. the legendary investor has some interesting calls, especially on oil and gold, potentially big move for both, but which weighs? it's a fox business exclusive. countdown to the closing bell is next. ♪ ouncer: you never know when, but thieves can steal your identity and turn your life upside down. >> hi. >> hi. you know, i can save you 15% today if you open up a charge card account with us. >> you just read my mind. >> announcer: just one little piece of information and they can open bogus accounts, steali your credit, your money and ruining your reputation. that's why you need lifelock to relentlessly protect what matters most... [beeping...] helping stop crooks before your identity is attacked. and now you can have the most comprehensive identity theft

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