>> imus, imus, imus in the morning ♪ >> good morning, everyone. and it is a good morning for your money. i've got two headlines for you. new highs for stocks and home prices rising. those are the two pillars are personal wealth and things are looking up. the s&p 500 at an all-time hiih, nasdaq a 10-year high and the dow is closing in on 15,000. stocks, everybody bertnefits. the value of your home up 9%, no major decline in any city area it's the biggest investment that

people make and it's looking a little better. so, welcome, everyone, "varney & company" is about to begin. we gave people a sticker and had them show us. we learned a lot of us have known someone who's lived well into their 90s. and that's a great thing. but even though we're living longer, one thing that hasn't changed: the official retirement age. ♪ the question is how do you make sure you have the money you need to enjoy all of these years. ♪ we don't let frequent heartburn come between and what we love. so if you're one of them people who gets heartburn and then treats day afr day... block the acid with prilosec otc

and don't get heartburn in the first place! [ male announcer ] e pill eachmorning. 24 hours. zero heartbur

>> all right. private enterprise soaring into space. there she goes, look at that. this is the first test flight for virgin galactic that wants to be the first commercial spaceliner. and it landed safely. virgin's founder branson, who was recently on the program, says he hopes to have test flights later this year and passenger flights later next year. you've got to listen to this one, too, still on space, 20,000 people across the world have applied for a one-way space mission to mars. the project started in holland, the dutch are at it. the goal is to send a group of colonists to mars, permanent, no trip back home. 20,000 want out for good. there you have it. and the good news about your money, home prices up more than

9% in february compared to last year. and check out the 20-city index. phoenix, the big winner. prices climbed 23% in the last year. not bad. look at atlanta, prices shot up almost 17%, the lowest, smallest gain in metro areas was new york, and it was still up almost 2%. in a few minutes we've got more positive housing news. some interesting numbers on how you feel about the value of your home. we've got them for you. and to stocks, the s&p 500 closing at an all-time high. the dow moving towards 15,000 and the nascar is at a 10-year high and get this, the treasury actually pays off debt, first time we've seen that in six years. what is with all of this good news? oh, the opening bell is next. this is $100,000. we asked total strangers to watch it for us.

thank you so much. i appreciate it. i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally ban your money needs an ally. you know it even after all these years. but your erectile dysfunction - you know,that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needingo go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sual activity. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seekmmediate medical help

for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, or if you have any allergic reactions such as rash, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or difficulty breathing or swallowing, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis for daily use and a 30-tablet free trial.

>> all right. now, the big question today is can we get a little bit closer to 15,000 on the dow? i can tell you now when the market opens in about 90 seconds we'll move up just a fraction after yesterday's move up. and let's bring in tres knippa. and i want to see a smile on his

face and it's not there at this moment, go, what do you think? >> well, should we liken this to digging out of an avalanche with a spoon? and let's get our accounting straight here, this is not paying off debt. we have a 780 billion dollar physical deficit every year so we're accumulating debt so maybe we are reducing the space at which we're accumulating it, but only a fraction. shouldn't we be concerned? one of the reasons that this increase in revenue is because of the expiration of the payroll tax, right? i thought the payroll tax was supposed to go to social security? is that going into the general fund? wait a second, i didn't think that was how that was supposed to work. >> this debt paydown was sold because we raised taxes on the rich and on social security taxes all raised january the 1st, but the problem, what happens when we get into the second and third quarter and we see the results after slowing economy because we raise taxes? >> we're going to have to continue to hear these budget

estimates based on some magical number of growth, somewhere around the 4% and the europeans do it, we're doing it and i just scoff every time i read the budget forecasts because they're made on unrealistic growth estimates. stuart: do not follow the example of those europeans, whatever you do, tres. thank you for being with us. we're off and running this tuesday morning. you can see it, if you look carefully, robert downey, jr., he's at the new york stock exchange, he's the gentleman in that suit lightly to the left of your scene upper box there. got the new movie out. what's it called again, joe? >> ironman. stuart: a big deal apparently. we're off and running and we're down 14 points. i thought it might edge higher, but no, we're holding at this moment at 14-8. af he got a big name you know, disappointing profits, it's sizer, not only that, the

outlook. nicole, drag yourself away from robert downey, jr. and see what pfizer is doing. nicole: to the down side, and came out with quarterly numbers for earnings and revenue that were a little night and that was disappointing, and that's the down arrow and they also had to trim their outlook, which also doesn't bode well here on wall street and they don't want to hear that and they're still trying to recover after lipitor, after they lost the rights to lipitor. stuart: you know, when a dow stock loses 3%, that's the reason the dow is down 8 points. if it weren't for pfizer, i'm sure we'd be in the plus column this tuesday morning. nicole: we have to see how heavily weighted it is and how much it's worth. but sometimes you're right. a stock can be worth 5 points, 10 points, 20 negative points. stuart: we opened at 14-8 where we are right now. thank you, indeed, nicole. we'll go to the other markets, and check oil and gas and they affect your wallet every day. look at this, oil holding around

$94 a barrel, that's a relatively high level, strongest level in a few weeks now. now to gas, gained almost a penny evernight, closer to 3.51 actually. here is the question, could this be the start of an upswing that takes us to $4 a gallon gas by this summer? we'll watch this very, very closely and could be that we'll have $4 gas this summer and we were almost there in illinois and california right now and that will affect the economy and maybe the pipeline as well. the dow is down 16 right at 14-8, but remember, pfizer, a dow stock, is down 3%. let's bring in keith fitz-gerald now. let's go back to the stock market. you know, i saw a barons' magazine headline two weeks ago, 16,000 on the dow. what do you say? >> you know, that is a very interesting headline. i saw that, too. one of the big problems we have is by the time something hits the front page, as opposed to the back pages, that's a contrarian indicator that

everything is going to end at least the way we know it. remember, it's the economy stupid or the oil crisis, all of those things signal conflicting news and the end of whatever bull market or bear market was in effect at the time ten years ago. stuart: but don't you get the feeling and we've said this every day on the show for a month or so, this market just wants to go up? that's the feeling i get from everybody, it wants to go up. what do you say? >> well, of course it does. this market is addicted to cheap money. this is what bernanke wants, our leaders want. let's give everybody what they want. and this is like giving an alcoholic another drink and say it will cure you. my fear is very blunt. i think that everybody is now trying to get on the train, it's left the station and they're trying to squeeze that last bit of profit out. one of these days, bernanke is going to wake up and go, now what guys, i think i'm going to exit and it's going to fall apart at the seams and they'll realize the emporer has no

clothes. >> do you think that bernanke is going to hit it fairly soon? it's going to wind down sooner or later? when does he start making the statements? >> i thought he would have make it by now frankly. if i thought that bernanke was responsible and not so disillusioned, those are strong words, i thought he would have made the statements. he's continuing to pile on and see how much we can squeeze the economy, but we've spent trillions of dollars and the beck we can do is a couple of percent of growth? i don't think that the markets can sustain this. stuart: i had tres knippa a few moments ago, are you happy we're paying down debt the first time in six years, are you happy? >> like everybody else i'll take it, but i've got to qualify what qualifies paying down and debt. how is the money being used? i find, i don't believe in coincidences. our leaders in washington on both sides of the aisle are terribly under pressure from the american public right now and i think it's a very convenient announcement to say, hey, we're

doing the right thing and we you should keep us all in office a while longer. i'm skeptical how it's happening and i'm going to scoff at this every time we hear it. stuart: i think we've got an adjust the debt clock. in my opinion we hit 17 trillion not in the first week of september, it's now the second week of september. that's my back of the envelope calculation. f 26 points in pped now below the very early going. i've got best buy, up and down, all over the place, where is it? >> a couple of things are happening. they're exiting europe with a car phone sales venture with car phone warehouse group. and what's interesting, they bought this about five years ago. they're getting rid of it, selling their stake for less than half of what they paid for five years ago, but they're dumping it, getting out of it

and that frees up the balance sheet. and over at deutche bank, raised to $28. stuart: by the way, pfizer, that 3% loss is costing the dow about 9, 10 points. so, absent that, we would be just around 14-8. anyway, nicole, thank you very much. we told you a few moments ago about the home prices, the news broke at the top of the hour, i want to bring in scott rasmussen because he's got some more upbeat opinions from his polling on the housing market. first of all, scott, welcome back. 58% of homeowners have said that their home now is worth more than when they bought it. and that seems pretty good to me in this housing cycle. what about you? >> it's very good. in fact, since the meltdown, you know, we track this all the time, only once, back in the

fall and people were feeling better and most now believe the home was worth more than the mortgage. that wasn't the case years ago, and people are feeling good about the equity in their homes. stuart: i've got another one of your polls here. 37% believe that their home will go up in value in the next year. that's not such a strong number, is it? >> if you look at the trend, it's a very strong number. until fall of 2008 to the fall of next year, net negative. more people thought their home value would go down rather than up. it began to turn last fall and this is the most positive we have seen since september of 2008. 37% say their home will go up. only 17% say it will be heading down. stuart: wrap it up for us, scott. this is a positive view of the housing market by most people in america today. correct? >> that's correct. people are feeling good, not only about the value of their home today, but about where it's going. the best they have felt since 2008. >> all right. excellent. scott rasmussen, thank you very

much indeed for joining us again. stuart: i brought you two headlines right at the top and both are relatively good news, upbeat news. stocks at all time highs or certainly approaching the all-time high for the dow industrials and now, good news on housing. home prices are up in all of the 20 major city market areas, and people are feeling better about their housing investments. two positives for you this tuesday morning. mere is what i would call a plus for long suffering californians, the state's bullet train is going on trial and it's being taken to court. could it be killed? we'll have the wall street journal reporter who wrote that positive story for californians at 10:00 eastern this morning. time for your 7 early movers, we're going to start with buffalo wild wings, more profit coming in and profits are disappointing though-- hold on a second, let me get that right. more money came in, okay, so the revenues were good, but the profits were disappointing.

down goes the stock, got it. much better than expected profits at bp, otherwise known as british petroleum. up $43, right around where they were when they cleaned up the mess in the gulf. 43 bucks a share. anheuser-busch inbev, sales miss, down a buck, $93. trading income gives ubn, a swiss bank, a big boost. that's up nicely, higher profits and sales at herbalife, the company raised its outlook again, 39 on that one. analysts are banking on a 5-inch iphone, the question is, when will that happen? but apple is at 437 now, up another $7 this morning. not bad, nice comeback. better than expected profits at hertz, helped by higher prices, $24 a share on that one, up 37 cents. to the big board, and back alt 14-8, despite the drag on the dow from pfizer. and which is down 3%. so, now we're down 15 points and

we're now at 14-8 for the industrial average. time is money, so, in 30 seconds, here is what else we're watching for you. we now have a number, how much money in government assistance did the boston terror suspects and their family get? we will bring that number to you. it's a big one coming at the top of the hour. we have a republican congressman who supports the internet sales backs. that's right, a republican who supports a tax is here. and we'll talk to a man whose company is about to begin human trials on a new device that treats paralysis. fascinating stuff. it already works in monkeys. and after that, startling numbers that show a four-year college degree is not worth it. how about a technical qualifications? that's a different story. my, how times change. announcer: where can an investor

be a name and not a number? scottrade. ron: i'm never alone with scottrade. i can always call or stop by my local office. they're nearby and ready t help. so when i have questions, i can talk to someone who knows exactly how i trade. because i don't trade like everybody. i trade like me. that's why i'm with scottrade. announcer: scottrade- proud to be ranked "best overall client experience."

>> we're moving further south. down 48 points now, 14770 on the dow. now this, it's a question that many families are asking right now is college worth it? first of all, check numbers from the wall street journal, two year college grads in the health industry. two-year college grads in the health industry make $5,000 more than four-year grads first year out of school. move onto the technical trades. two-year grads make $20,000 more than bachelor degree students after graduation. charlie kirk, 19 years old, and i don't know whether he's in college or about to go. >> i'm in college right now part-time, but i'm running this youth organization. stuart: that's right, you are. so you've got strong opinions on this, and so do i. i say that a four-year liberal arts degree, college experience, is not worth it. financially not worth it and you say? >> absolutely.

and i think, you know, it's very important to realize that if you can afford it, if you can afford that liberal arts degree, art history or medieval history and that's okay. the real problem is that the taxpayer has to subsidize the kids going to study that and end up unemployed and we have to shoulder that burden. look the at unemployment 7.8%, if you're studying art history it's really seems like you're studying to be a barista at starbucks. stuart: i see a class thing here. a middle class parents can afford to send them to liberal arts study or whatever. they can afford to do it. young people who don't have that kind of money, cannot afford to do it so you've got this class economic division between people studying liberal arts and people going to technical school. >> right. stuart: it's a class thing. and that's a horrible thing in america. >> very much so. you know, a lot of the lower income people, they're told you have to go to college to succeed, a four-year university to succeed and it's a cultural thing and the government comes

with low interest loans, pushing them, and you have to go there to succeed and they end up studying something like socialology and might not be able to find a job. stuart: would you go so far to say, yeah, you can get a subsidized government loan if you go to a two-year technical school? >> i think that'd be a step in the right direction i'd like to see student loans out of the government. college are filling seats, as long as they have the kids getting the tuition, look at the supply and demand. the demand for college is high. some of the studies, if you get a degree, you're more likely to make more money in the future so parents said if you go to college you're going to be successful. if the government gives the kids the capital to be able to go to the schools then the college has no incentive to lower costs. stuart: tell me about some of your friends you know at college, no names, please, but are they getting heavily into debt. >> very much so, i have a friend that's going to brown university, took out $120,000 in students loans to study art

history. now, let's think for a second here, are you going to be able to find a job to pay off the loans or is that going towards unemployment in the future? art history might be a very admirable thing to study later on in life once you've accomplished, but let's be honest in this economic environment are you going to be able to find a job that can reciprocate? >> are you an intellectual snob, something against art history? >> no, in this economic environments what can i invest in that has the highest rate of return. there are no economic indicator long-term for my generation. stuart: i agree. you tell me about the friend of yours at brown, he or she, is he or she passionate about art. >> very much so, you can be passionate and love something, but if you're going to take out $120,000 student loan and not pay it back and the taxpayer has to subsidize that, that's where it starts to, i think, convoluted. if you love what do you and you can pay yourself through it, fine. if the taxpayer has to subsidize

that, there's something wrong. charlie kirk, speaks as a 19-year-old. where are we off 40 cents for the price of gold, 1468 to be precise. and president obama and his agenda of very big government. my take on that as it applies to obamacare is next.

with fidelity's new options platform, we've completely integrated every step of the process, making it easier ttry filters and strategies... to get a list of equity option.. evaluate them with our p&l calculator... and execute faster with our more intuitive trade ticket. i'm greg stevens and i helped create fidelity's options platform. it's one more innovative reason serious investors are choosing fidelity.

now get 200 free trades when you open an account.

>> the california bullet train an expensive bureaucratic boondoggle in my opinion. the cost has doubled from the initial estimate and the whole project is going on trial. will they stop it before a single piece of track is laid. the inside story at the top of the hour and also, we have the number. how much in government assistance did the boston terror suspects and their family receive? it's a big number and you will know it at the >> i really can't remember any legislation that's brought such predictions of gloom and doom and produced such chaos from both sides of the aisle, there is a crescendo of criticism.

here is my umpteenth take on obamacare. we told, but the democrat who called it a train wreck, a bureaucrat worried it would be a third world experience and a doctor who will leave medicine. now this, from a professor at stanford university. millions will pay more for health insurance and lose their coverage and hours of work reduced. and i bring this not to stoke the doom and gloom, but to show obamacare for what it is. it's a prime example of what this president is all about. president obama believes in government, and obamacare is all about government. and he believes that tens of thousands of bureaucrats can make millions of rules to reorganize our entire medical system. he thinks that top-down bureaucracy creates fairness, wrong. so far, it's created chaos.

and there's something else that goes to the heart of this presidency. obamacare is all about redistribution. money transferred from one group to another. upper income people pay for everyone else. and wasn't supposed to be this way. we went into the reform process wanting to get the cost of health care down, but that's not the way it came out. costs are going up, most pay more, some pay nothing. that is redistribution. that's it. girl vo: i'm pretty conservative. very logical thinker. (laughs)

i'm telling you right now, the girl back at home would absolutely not have taken a zip line in the jungle. (screams) i'm really glad that girl stayed at home. vo: expedia helps 30 million travelers a month find what they're looking for. one traveler at a time. expedia. find yours.

but maybe the problem isn'isn't your lawn. introducing the all-wheel-drive mower from husqvarna. we engineered its unique drive system and dual transmission to handle hills& thick grass& and tough terrain& without losing traction or power the all-wheel-drive mower from husqvarna. challenge the impossible. find the all- wheel-drive mower exclusively available at lowe's and independent dealers nationwide.

stuart: good morning, everyone. it is the last day of april. $100,000 over ten years. the boston herald has that report. the california bullet train. over budget. it goes on trial. our guest says, kill it. is it possible? more than just a dream says our republican guest. log on. find your password. in some areas, we are in uncharted territory. some of the stocks that you may own, are looking pretty good. ♪

stuart: i have to say that stocks are looking a whole lot bother before we got our report. let's get to the boston bombing marathon bombers and their parents. congressman scott garrett joins us right now. always a pleasure to have you with us. can i get your initial reaction? >> it is shocking, surprising, disturbing and all the rest. stuart: let me move on. that is a shocking number. lower tax rates. real tax reform.

that is being proposed. that is now the republican primary goal as opposed to where that omit or form. can you hold out any hope that we actually will get lower tax rates in the near future? >> yes. it is all how you defined the word. at that time, he laid out what would be in the budget. it seems as though there are some areas of commonality here on the tax portion. secretary is now saying we

cannot go there. it is all or nothing. i really do not hold that much hope for this despite the fact that they are trying to come up with a plan and try to pass it to the house. stuart: you are disappointing us, congressman. >> let me change all of that. absolutely. i think we will have legislation coming to the house and the floor for discussion. we should be hopeful for that. stuart: we really appreciate you being with us this morning. obamacare. anonymous criticism coming down the pike of this thing. is there any chance, i understand it will not be completely repealed, can you stop it from making chaos in our medical system? >> yes and no.

i think there will be portions of it where there will be commonality between democrats and republicans. democrats will finally admit when they voted for the document, they really did not know what was in it before they voted. they will be able to do that with the medical device packs and other things like that where you can make it better. the ultimate goal of the republican party will be left. this whole thing has to be repealed and go back to square one. stuart: how about tax increases? can you beat that back? >> sure. good question.

some of the provisions of obamacare, of course, some of them have already kicked in. some of them will be kicking in down the road. that is probably one of the best arguments for republican strengths in this area. obamacare is a failed system. obamacare will not work. the american public will realize we were sold durable goods here. they will sit back and say, look, this is how bad it is. stuart: congressman, we appreciate you being with us today. thank you, sir. a tax on internt

shopping. that may be coming. they will vote on it next week. we will ask scott riggle from virginia he is pro- tax. charles: the number hammering the market right now is the purchasing manager index. fifty is the magic number. first time we have seen contraction since september of 2009. we already knew everyone was bracing for the spring swoon, if you will. it is getting hammered right now.

stuart: good number on consumer confidence. >> we will see. it is a big deal. contraction and manufacturing which a lot of people that would lead us out of this. you saw a lot of companies missing the top line. stuart: stock market near all-time highs. we are down 74 right now. let's stay with stocks and local pet -- nicole: let's start with the here and now. their profits beat the street.

they are doing particularly well in key markets. the new ceo has worked hard. that is of the ways they are doing very well. stuart: rozelle is the top market for avon. thank you very much, though cold. the government wants to listen to your calls and look at your e-mails. a government task force is trying to pass a law that would find wireless and social media companies comply. all rise, judge andrew napolitano is here. he is laughing, but i know how he feels about this.

>> great defender of the market. stuart: the government wants to say, hey you, you are a social network. we want to look at what stuart varney is riding on his facebook page. if you do not lead us, we will take you to court and we will find you. >> sort of. there is two ways they get information. one way is to go to facebook or google or bryson and say we need this information and we need it right away. would you just work with us? in the bush administration, the government did that and promised immunity.

they also want to be able to say, we went to a judge, we presented probable cause. we got a search warrant. here is the search warrant. we do not know how to do this. you must cooperate with us. you must dedicate people to provide this information to us at your expense. if you do not, we will find you. you are obliged to make available to them the place they want to search in the thing they want to seize. you are not obliged to find it for them. if they do not do it, the government wants to fine them. stuart: is and it's legit to new added demands on search warrants

, bearing in mind the state of new technology? >> it would reveal all kinds of corporate secrets to the government which the government could then use. when it wants heels or keystrokes from a particular carrier -- stuart: why? he says, yes, go get it.

>> if the fbi can constrict the it department of google or news corporation to work for it, that would be a radical change. stuart: what is the difference between co-opting a post office? go get that letter. >> private entity. stuart: what is the difference? >> we don't have the manpower, nor will we show you our algorithms. stuart: what is wrong with the pressing of the button immediately? charles: it also feels like, you know, the local roll call with china. china wanting to censor things and having a bigger part.

>> if they passed the house, but i do not think this will pass the house. stuart: i would love to have the fbi have that button. >> are we on the same page? stuart: yes, just about. [ laughter ] charles: pulling teeth. stuart: thank you very much, judge. both low-water links keeps making news. keeps moving up and down. nicole: right now it is down. then out with their numbers yesterday and it was up.

it really is a mixed bag. it is no cheap stock. ninety dollars a share for buffalo wild wings right now. charles: i like buffalo wild wings. they had a problem with ticket prices, but it is an amazing company. stuart: panera bread. charles: it is phenomenal. first company to put choleric count on their menus. stock went straight up. stuart: twice as much. the plan could be gold altogether. that is next. ♪ everybody has different investment objectives,

ideas, goals, appetite for risk. you can't say 'one size fits all'. it doesn't. that's crazy. we're all totally different. ishares core. etf building blocks for your personalized portfolio. find out why 9 out of 10 large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus, which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefully before investing. risk includes possible loss of principal.

♪ stuart: best buy hits a high this morning after it sold its stake in the european business. best buy did not get half of what it paid for the european operation. nonetheless, the stock is up 10%. another name you know is pfizer. it is down 2.7%. the housing market. new numbers out today.

home prices up 9%. 2006.st year on year gain since a gambling company putting texas hold them online today. the catch is they will only wager bets from people in nevada, at least for now. joyful news. ♪ why are 8 million people sleeping better tonight? why are 8 million people they went to a sleep number store.

the only place in the world you'll find the sleep number bed. clinically proven to help each of you sleep more soundly. with dual air technology, it allows you to adjust to the support your by needs. each of your bodies. and the only place you'll find sleep professionals that will help you find a number that will change your life. your sleep number setting. you won't find any of these innovations in an ordinary mattress store. you'll only find sleep number at one of our over 400 stores nationwide. and for those who sleep too hot or too cool, now save $500 on our temperature-balancing memory foam bed set. don't just change your bed. change your life. at only one place: a sleep number store. where queen mattresses start at just $699. sleep number. comfort. individualized to find your store, visit sleepnumber.com.

♪ stuart. jones, big money. you remember that being a half carat blue diamond ring we showed you? it was a very nice ring. the project is actually going on trial because it is not living up to the terms that voters approved. welcome back, alisha. >> thank you. it will be killed. it is absolutely with the ring. you have 15 rail experts, including many former supporters who sat on the rail authority

through the deliberation. there is no way they can fulfill their promises. stuart: yes, we want this bullet train. skilled down, different, nothing like the original. now, they are taking it to court. >> that is right. now, they are saying $70 billion for 500 million miles. stuart: why did they put it in the california central valley? >> this goes back to obamacare. basically, march 2010, what they implicated was that they will

have the tough reelection bid. $3.5 billion. the federal government mandated. stuart: that is incredible. you shift a $70 billion project. you shifted to an area where it really is not needed simply because you need the vote of one congressman to back obamacare. >> that is right. >> you have to be kidding me. stuart: let's get back to square one. why does governor brown want this thing so badly? >> he sees it as his legacy.

his dad had the water system. i do not even think he believes that this is an environmentally sound project. he wants to have some kind of legacy. stuart: that is it? >> i think so. stuart: how popular is train? >> i think they would vote to kill it now. charles: especially the one that you wrote about. stuart: it is not a 200-mile per hour train. >> it will be diesel. they do not have enough money. stuart: this is priceless. have they spent any money yet even though they have not laid down a track?

>> this is really a project by the consultant for the consultant. every time they screw up, they have to pay more consultants to do more work. stuart: one more time, please give our california viewers the joyful news. thank you very much. thank you for joining us. that was really good stuff. get ready, a tax on internet shopping may be coming. ♪ you hurt my feelings, todd. i did? when visa signature asked everybody what upgraded experiences really mattered... you suggested luxury car service instd of "strength training with patrick willis." come on todd! flap them chicken wings. [ grunts ] well, i travel a lot and umm...

[ male announcer ] at visa signature, every upgradedxperience comes from listening to our cardholders. visa signature. your idea of what a card should be.

stuart: there was a report released on manufacturing at the top of the hour that really hurt the markets. it was on the chicago pmi. down went the dow. we are still down 70 points. charles, however, is going to make us some money. the stock that he likes is valero energy. charles: they are spinning off the retail side. they say the street will not give them the recognition.

refineries operating income is $5.25. it is a story that we talk about all the time. shall, they ordered 2500 rail cars to help move all this inventory. it is not necessarily a great chart. they have had a history of some poor, inconsistent execution. they have not been consistent. exporting gasoline all over the world. places like rozelle, they do not have great refineries there. this company is positioned to do extraordinarily well. stuart: you heard it right here. charles payne likes valero energy.

do not adjust your tv sets. i am about to bring you a republican in favor of the taxes. i am not trying to be facetious or sarcastic here. make your case, sir. >> well, stuart, thank you for having me on the show. i respectfully disagree that i am pro- tax. this law and forces the collection of taxes that are already do. i am a businessman. i am an advocate for the small business owner. a local entrepreneur, i just spoke with carlo this morning. she owns just cupcakes, spaletto retailer.

you pay sales tax. you buy from them, you do not pay the sales tax. it is not right. it hurts our traditional retailers. stuart: it is a new tax. it will raise revenues. it is a tax. it will be levered and an area where it was not before. that means money will be taken out of the system and given to the state. >> if they are paying their taxes right, they are paying the tax now. i am not trying to be argumentative with you. it is a collection of a tax that is currently due. it has widespread report.

bob mcdonald supports it. this is really, i think, common ground. it makes common sense. i am a strong advocate for men and women who go to work every day and mortgage their homes. i get that. it is looking for a level playing field here. it is not a new tax. charles: a lot of people say their reasons for that is it is tougher for smaller businesses. ironically enough, the woman that you reference, if she did want to expand her business, probably one of the easiest ways would be over the internet. a lot of people are concerned about those areas. >> there is a million-dollar

threshold. you have to sell a lot of cupcakes to get to a million dollars. the threshold is very high. i am a businessman. i know what i am talking about here. this can be done. the software is available. it is very easy. it is really not difficult. the threshold is high that they begin dollars. i really think what has happened is washington largely is wrapped around with the axle with some special interest groups. in the one that advocate position that i am four. at the same time, they have kind of taken over, i think, our congress in a negative way. stuart: i think i am right in saying that. digital commerce is excluded in

this. if i download a book or a movie, it is not a tangible item. there is no sales tax on that. >> that is my understanding. i think the key is to make things level. this really is not a new tax. it is marketplace fairness. stuart: we do appreciate it. after this, a company that could offer a breakthrough treatment for paralysis. giving paralyzed people a chance to walk again. we will have that right after this. ♪

♪ stuart: ibm has raised its dividend. nicole: let's take a moment and look at it. ibm, the board approved 12% increases and quarterly cash dividend. let's see what the stock is doing. it is improving from where it was a moment ago. everybody loves a good dividend, stuart. stuart: what is going on with apple? >>nues to move to the

upside. we heard recently about dividend and buyback. we are talking about a $100 million stake in apple. in seven trading days, it is up six of those seven trading days. it certainly is to the upside. stuart: thank you. our next guest runs a company for a medical device. he claims it could help paralyzed people walk again. it is an implant. >> that is correct. stuart: it goes inno the spinal cord. it supports the spinal cord. >> yes. that is correct. stuart: are you telling me that you can help people walk again who would otherwise never walk again? >> yes, that is our intention.

we can mitigate that scarring process. you can spare 10% of the spinal cord. the spinal cord will go through a chemical release program. you can stop those ripples and the strength of them and have less scarring after that. stuart: you had trials with monkeys? >> that is correct. stuart: you have been okayed for human trials. >> by the f da. we are starting this summer.

the biggest challenge is really going from rags to monkeys. we feel like we have made it past the biggest hurdle. stuart: it must be very difficult to actually use human beings. you are using them in and experimental fashion. >> the best in the business. stuart: any competition? >> no competition at all. no competition on the horizon. the human trials will last about 15 months. if we see any functional recovery, we think we will have a significant acceptance by the fda. charles: it just all sounds so amazing. so rosy. what are the pitfalls?

what are the risks? >> it is literally just a safety study. we do not see any complications at all. the risk would be some type of rare complication that we are completely unaware of. we have examined every complication out there and we do not think that there will be any. dennis: on the screen, there is a spinal cord. the spinal cord breaks and you put something into the spinal cord. >> yes. the leash and for about three weeks. we will intervene early so the lesion does not grow. then you have spare tissue around that lesion. functional recovery returned right below that point of injury.

for people already in wheelchairs, we add to that. stuart: it is a medical device. >> it is. there will be a little tax. right now, we do not have the revenue. stuart: how much does the and implant cost? >> these patients will spend over a million dollars their first year of care. stuart: you have painted a rosy picture. >> we do have chemical data. we have published it. we have one global rewards.

we presented in stockholm. a lot of people are aware of this data. stuart: publicly traded company? >> that is correct. we are just about to take off. stuart: what is your ownership? >> i own about one fifth of the company. i am very proud of that. we watch every penny. stuart: all right. we wish you the very best of luck. real success, obviously. a very interesting product. more "varney & company" after this. ♪ [ cows moo ] [ sizzling ] more rain. [ thunder rumbles ] ♪ [ male announcer ] when the world moves... futures move first. learn futures from experienced pros with dedicated chats and daily live webinars. and trade with papermoney to test-drive the market.

♪ all on thinkorswim. from td ameritrade.

♪ stuart: watch out, everybody. the price of gasoline is moving up. up about a penny overnight. are we on our way to four dollar gasoline this summer? the price of oil, $94 a barrel. ninety-three dollars right now. buffalo wild wings reported sales went up last quarter. prices down, though, because of high ticket prices. we are keeping our eye on the dow. the boston herald reported this morning that the boston marathon suspects and the family received

and lots of money from welfare. more "varney & company" coming up. ♪ ♪ [ agent smith ] i've found software that intrigues me. it appears it's an agent of good. ge has wired their medical hardware with innovative software to be in many places at the same time. using data to connect patients to software, to nurses

to the right people and machines. ♪ helping hospitals treat people even better, while dramatically reducing waiting time. now a waiting room is just a room. [ telephone ringing ] [ static warbles ] [ beeping ] red or blue? ♪ ♪ stuart: here is the president of the united states for a news conference. >> because of that, you get the first question. congratulations. >> thank you, sir.

i appreciate that. a couple of questions on national security. you said the red line was not just about chemical weapons. that was a game changer. now your administration seems to be suggesting that line is not clear. do you risk u.s. credibility if you do not take action? and then that ghazi, there are some survivors on that terrorist attack. will you allow them to testify? >> first of all, on syria, we have seen a slowly unfolding disaster for this. people. this is not a situation in which we have been simply by standards to what has been happening.

my policy from the beginning has been that president of saud have lost credibility, that he attacked his own people, has killed his own people, a least a military against innocent civilians, the only way to bring stability and peace is for him to step down and move forward on political positions. we have organized the international community. we have worked to strengthen the opposition. we have provided nonlethal systems to the opposition. we have applied sanctions on syria. there are a whole host of steps that we have taken. even separate from the chemical weapon issue. what is happening in syria is a blemish on the international community, generally.

in that context, what i have also said is that the use of chemical weapons would be a game changer. not simply for the united states, but for the international community. we have established international law and international norms that when you use these kinds of weapons, you have the potential of killing massive numbers of people in the most inhumane way possible and the proliferation risks are so high we do not want that genie out of the bottle. the use of chemical weapons would be a game changer, that was not a position unique to the united states and it should not have been a surprise. what we now have is evidence that chemical weapons have been used inside of syria, but we do not know how they were used, when they were used, who used

them. we do not have a chain of custody that establishes what exactly happened. when i am making decisions about america's national security and the potential for taking additional action, in response to chemical weapon use, i have to make sure i have the fax. that is what the american people would expect. if we end up rushing the judgment without hard, affective evidence, then we can find ourselves in a position where we cannot mobilize the national community to support what we do. there may be objections even among some people in the region who are sympathetic with the opposition if we take action. so, you know, it is important for us to do this. what i said to my team is we have to do everything we can to investigate and establish with

some certainty what exactly has happened in syria, what is happening in syria, we will use all of the resources and assets. we have also called on the united nations to investigate. the important point i want to make here is that we already are deeply engaged in trying to bring about a solution in syria. it is a difficult problem, but even if chemical weapons were not being used in syria, we would still be thinking about tens of thousands of people, innocent civilians, women and children, who have been killed bb a regime who is more worried about staying in power then it is of its well-being of the people it is a

game changer because, with that it is potentially even more devastating. it raises the strong possibility that those chemical weapons can fall into the wrong hands. >> by game changer, you mean u.s. literary action? >> by game changer, i mean we would have to rethink the and of options that are available to us.

obviously, there are options that are available to be that are on the shelf right now, that we have not diploid. that is a spectrum of options. as early as last year, our pentagon, our military officials preparing for what options may be available. i will not go into detail with those options may be. clearly, that would be and escalation in our view of the threat to the security of the international community, our allies and the united states. >> i know pieces of the story have been mitigated. there are people in your own department saying that they survived the terror attack and may want to tell their story.

will you help them come forward and just say it once and for all? >> i will find out what exactly you are referring to. what i have been very clear about from the start is that our job with respect to that ghazi is to find out exactly what happened. to make sure u.s. embassies are safe and secure. i will find out exactly what you are referring to. i am not familiar with it. >> there is a report that your director of national intelligence -- is a series with

lindsay graham. there still is not enough intelligence shared after the attack. that ghazi and boston are both examples of the u.s. going backwards on national security. is he right ended our intelligence missed something. >> i think what we saw in boston was state, local, federal officials, every agency, raleigh around a city. identifying the perpetrators just hours after the scene had been examined. we now have one individual deceased. one in custody.

charges have been brought. i think all of our lot enforcement officials performed in an february fashion after the bombing had taken place. we should be very proud of their work. the are proud of all the people in boston that helped save lives. what we also know is that the russian intelligence services had alerted u.s. intelligence about the older brother, as well as the mother indicating that they may be sympathizers to extremists. the fbi investigated that older brother. it is not as if the fbi did nothing. they not only investigated the older brother, they interviewed the older brother.

the question then is, was there something that happened that triggered radicalization and actual decisions by the brother to engage in the attack that the tragic attack that we actually saw in boston. are there additional things that could have been done in that in jerome that they have prevented them? we want to go back and review every step that was taken. we want to see if there is in fact additional protocols and procedures that could be put in place that would further improve and enhance our ability to attack a potential attack.

we will not know that until that review is completed. we will not know until the investigation of the crime is completed. that is still ongoing. based on what i have seen so far, the fbi performed its duties, department of homeland security did what it was supposed to be doing. this is hard stuff. i have said for quite some time, because of the pressure that we put on al qaeda or caught because of the pressure we put on these networks , one of the dangers that we now face are self radicalized individuals who are already here in the united

states. in some cases, may not be part of any kind of network, but because of whatever warped, twisted ideas they may have, they may decide to carry out an attack. those are, in some ways, more difficult to prevent. what i have done four months out is indicate to our entire counterterrorism team what more can we do on that threat that is looming on the horizon? are there more things we can do, whether it is engage with communities where there is a potential for self radicalization of this sort, their work that can be done in terms of detection? all of this has to be done in the context of our laws, due process and so, part of what

they are doing is to see if we can determine any lessons learned from what happened. [inaudible question] >> the russians have been very cooperative with us since the boston bombing. obviously, old habits die hard. there are still suspicion. sometimes between our intelligence and law enforcement agencies that date back ten, 20, 30 years. back to the cold war. they are continuing improving. we are committed to working togetter to make sure that those who report to us are cooperating fully in not only this investigation, but how we work on