business will have all breaking earnings numbers. then the -- foxbusiness.com has everything you need. david: meanwhile we have gerri willis to take you through the next hour with the "willis report." we'll see you tomorrow. gerri: hello, everybody, i'm gerri willis. it's been six weeks since bill gross abruptly left the firm he helped build over 40 years ago. since then investors have been pulling money out of pimco's flagship fund. how much can this firm withstand before sustaining lasting damage? what about that damage to individual investors? "morningstar" has conduct ad top to bottom review of the company since gross left. its director of manager research active strategies, michael herbs is here with his findings. we're joined by fox business senior correspondent charlie gasparino. welcome to you growth both. michael, i will start with you. i will pose the question we asked in the intro here, how

much damage can be sustained? we're still seeing money flow out of the total return fund as well as pimco generally. those numbers in october, up to almost 50 billion. is there lasting damage here? >> we don't think there is any lasting damage at this point. based on our modeling we think pimco could sustain outflows up to 300 to $350 billion over the next two years before its performance or operation is impeded. gerri: all right. charlie, what do you make of that? >> i am like blown away. he thinks they can take 350 billion? now we should point out it is a fund. how big is the fund, whole complex is over a trillion dollars, right? i think i'm safe saying that. gerri: formerly the biggest fund in the country. not anymore. >> total return fund was the biggest fund in the country. i will say this. i think if pimco, if pimco has $350 billion over the next three years coming out of that fund, that company will be, if you

think the stuff going on there now is anything, that will be worse. that doesn't mean i think the place is going out of business. i don't think even current management can withstand that much money coming out of that, without being forced out. this is very bad stuff. gerri: my concern is not just for pimco, it is about me at the end of the day and all individual investors who have money in pimco. are they being hurt here? >> to be clear that 300 to 350 billion figure is across the firm, not from pimco total return. >> right. >> there are a number of reasons we believe that way. the reasons that we believe that, we think that is at what point the bonus pool and operating margins could be affected. gerri: all about the bonus pool, isn't it. >> we should point out -- gerri: make call answer this question for me. what i'm concerned about is individual investors. and they have their savings. savings for retirement in this fund. what happens to them as more and money flows out? >> thus far, analysis would

suggest that there hasn't really been a performance impact from the outflows. we tracked daily performance for the fund over the month of october. arguably the heaviest period of outflows we're likely to see. and the fund's performance landed right at the category midpoint for medium term bond fund. >> i would say this. that fund was probably too big to perform very well. we're talking about total return. off the top of my head i forget -- sir, do you remember exact size of it, post, prebill gross? this was a huge fund. it was over a trillion dollars in assets. this thing was really big. >> the funds topped out at $290 billion in mid 2013. >> my mistake. >> a little off. >> a lot off. i think it would do beautifier it was smaller. it would be easier fund to manage. i think what we're going to see right now in the next, supposed to come out today sometime, is some of the changes that we've been talking about on the show.

total return fund, post-gross, we'll get the first look at it, a fund taking a lot less risk. a lot of financial advisors looking at numbers. maybe disclosing a little more. there will be a fundamental change to the fund. at least that's what i'm hearing from financial advisors. we'll have to see what it is. tell you this, just from a standpoint of performance, if, i think it is better that it's smaller. that -- gerri: that is absolutely true. >> easier fund to manage. gerri: michael, question for you, charlie brought it up, we were expecting disclosures today really opening the kimono what happened in this fund now. it didn't happen. are you surprised? is this something that send a message? >> honestly i'm not too surprise our indication based on roughly three dozen conversations with pim go the last six weeks suggest nothing radical about the strategy will shift. the key thing will be three, quote, unquote new managers on fund will be key contributors to the fund over past 10 to 15

years. we expect any evolution to the fund to be gradual, rather than radical. >> i think they're going to have to disclose more. i think, i think based on what i'm hearing from inside the company there was clearly disagreement by bill gross over use of derives to jazz up the performance of this thing. i think when you have the sec breathing down your throat it will be interesting to see. bottom line, how do you get a fund this big, invests in fixed income to beat market indexes or beat a bond? only thing to roll the dice on this stuff. when sec looks at you when you are rolling the dice, people generally scale back the risk and i think we'll generally see that. gerri: michael, your report, very lengthy and in depth, pimco is more secure than when bill gross was at company. outflows not debilitating. what is your message tonight to investtores who may still be invested with pimco or total return? >> i think one of the key things to remember here is bill gross

left on his own. he did not lift out of the team. we're seeing experienced veterans returning to the firm. this is research operation that was as strong as it was when bill gross was there. not to say he won't be missed. he is certainly will. very talented investor by any measure. that said, pimco total return and pim coast's funds have been a team-based operation for 15 years. we suggest to people now -- >> kind of dominated that discussion. i think that is why he is out. i mean, my only point is this i think net-net a good thing he is not there. there was such disarray internally. i would say this. how did you jazz up a bond fund to make it beat a bond in return? only way you do that is go out and play around with derivatives and play around with stuff. that is risky business. >> i take exception to the --

gerri: go ahead, michael. >> i take exception to the notion that pimco is playing around with derivatives. >> they did not? they are using, you don't like the word playing around. they are using derivatives. >> right. because it implies they don't know what they're doing. look at other firms like blackrock and they're all using derivatives. >> no offense. aig knew what they were doing. fixdick fuld knew what they were doing before he didn't. i have been hearing this forever. you know what you're doing until you know what you're doing. we should point out and let viewer know they are rolling the dice. they maybe best at it but they're doing it with derivatives. doing it with credit default swaps. gerri: quick last word here, michael, quick last word and we have to go. >> quick last word there, they're not necessarily rolling the dice but for folks uncomfortable with der i haverifftives they may want to consider other options. >> everybody, when you play with derivatives rolls the dice. doesn't mean you shouldn't do it but you're rolling the dice. gerri: michael, charlie, thanks for coming on.

spirited debate. we appreciate your time. michael thanks for details from your report. >> sure thing. gerri: appreciate your time. your voice is important to us, that's why during the show we want you to facebook me, tweet me @gerriwillisfbn send me an email at gerriwillis.com. at the bottom of the hour i will read your tweets and emails. more evidence of bad behavior by the world's biggest banks. they are slapped with millions of dollars of fines for manipulating currencies. the latest after the break. how can power consumption in china, impact wool exports from new zealand, textile production in spain, and the use of medical technology in the u.s.? at t. rowe price,

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i never really thought i would make money doing what i love. we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams. go to legalzoom.com today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. gerri: how much do you really know about your stockbroker? it's a question many people struggle with when they hand over hard-earned cash. new investigation by no less than the "wall street journal" is shedding new light on shady practices an pinpointed 16 hot spots across the country where troubled brokers, they tend to concentrate. ed butowsky, managing partner of chatwood investments is here with details. what we're talking about here, let's be clear. these are bad apples. this is not every person out there but bad apples. but if your broker is a bad apple you're in big trouble. we have a map of where the folks are who have dings on their

background. they seem to concentrate in places where the rich people are. >> that is who they manage money for, right? gerri: right. >> not in every single case. qualify what we mean about a ding on a record. someone questioning something or somebody upset with their returns. gerri: it can be criminal actions, client complaints. recent bankruptcies. a lot of things can cover it. some can not be serious but some might be. >> if they are serious and somebody has stolen money and somebody a bad apple get them out of business. somebody who gets complaint from client who says i'm not happy with my returns, finra requires that gets put on their record, jerry. that is a problem. gerri: this is why it is important to check broker check at finra. >> right. gerri: go to the website. it will kick backdate at that. look at this seriously with a

grain of salt. you need to read between the lines to understand what they're saying this is critically important. this is one of few tools consumers have to check out brokers. >> one thing i will say. a lot of advisors, a lot of clients up front, gerri, need to understand a lot of big problems come from privately traded reits. privately owned reits are a big problem. anytime you make investment, if somebody is taking 7% up front, that is a private investment of some kind, a big ding up front. be very, very careful about that the problem overall when you look at finra checks an background checks on advisors, i know great advisors who wrote a letter -- gerri: there are bad guys. we're not hiding anything here. we're not wallpapering up. there are bad guys. we'll try to identify them. >> right. gerri: no less than "the wall street journal" this, wasn't sec, this wasn't finra.

this wasn't regulators. the newspaper looked at 87% of brokers. almost covered the universe of 630,000 brokers. and they looked at brokers that had three or more problems. now i think that's fair. people need to know where these folks are concentrated. as we were saying it is southern california, it is florida, it is new york. even michigan has people who, you know, do this kind of stuff there. and, as you're saying it is only 1.8% of brokers. but if it is your broker, that's a problem. >> let me tell you, i have a lot of people who call me when they have a problem with a broker and ask me, ed, what should i do about this? how do i rectifying this situation? there are problems out there. there is as i said there are bad clients out there too, who unrealistic expectations. >> talking about practice. i think that is one of the most important things. >> right. gerri: in florida, the most common thing to invite prospects to dinner. this broker who is has maybe bad intention, invite you to dinner. we have a copy of an ad for one

of these wednesday night confabs. >> right. gerri: where folks were invited, ultimately these people got ripped off. you know i think the people out there who are listening tonight, and maybe there is somebody out there who feels like they are hard done by a broker, they should contact the show @gerriwillisfbn. they should contact you and reach out. i think people out there are frustrated in some cases. they just don't know where to turn. >> look i had a lot of people call me, if somebody has a problem, gerri, they can call me. i will look into for them. i don't want their money. i don't want to make anything. i will tell you people in some cases don't have problems and they think they have them. there are a lot of cases people have no knowledge they're being ripped off until they do a little more friend six and detailed work. it's a problem. it will not be rectified anytime soon. they should ask the right questions, and do not invest in privately-held reits. gerri: no privately-held reits. go to finra broker check to check out your broker. ed, thanks for coming on show.

>> absolutely. gerri: several big international banks, have you heard this story, jpmorgan, citi, bank of america were fined over $4 billion today in a market corruption case. the banks were punished for getting together and rigging, rigging exchange rates for dollar and british pound. those rates affect all sorts of financial deals and pension and money market fund. liz macdonald is here with more. liz? >> that's right, gerri, bank regulators slapped $4.3 billion in fines on six major banks including jpmorgan chase and citigroup for rigging the foreign currency market. it is $5.3 trillion daily market. what is going on here, jerry, the banks are accused of failing to stop their traders from rigging world's biggest financial market which is tied to pension fund, sovereign wealth fund and central bank reserves. regulators overseas and in the united states did a deep dive into traders emails and social

media chat rooms and noted a black slapping culture of corruption that lasted at least six years n their collusion the traders went to far to nickname settles quote, the dream team or the three musketeers. they even congratulated one another after they did their manipulations by texting each other, quote, nice work, against. hooray, nice team work with still another trader asking, how can i make free money. traders at jpmorgan, hsbc and citigroup with went so far to email each other to protect themselves from their fraud and own branch bosses from finding out. so far more than 30 currency traders have been fired or suspended. the bank of england dismissed its top currency official. the royal bank of scotland is probing 50 current and former workers pulling their bonuses as well. regulators are moving to file enforcement actions against potentially 11 ubs traders.

this is the first chapter in the forex trading probe. banks like jpmorgan chase still face criminal probes by the department of justice. gerri. gerri: liz, thanks for that. and later in the show it is day three of our user'sfied to shopping. -- user's guide to shopping. wait until you see some the gifts we have for you. speaking of gifts s black friday becoming non-existents r tent? changing hours of traditional retailers is putting this traditional shopping day to shame. stay with us.

gerri: third quarter earnings for embattled jcpenney coming about an hour ago and it was not good. sales falling shy of analyst estimates and it was the same story for macy's earnings earlier in the day.

the department store chain beat estimates on the bottom line but missed expectations for sales. here to weigh in on what this means for consumer sentiment, retail expert billion mole lick. great to have you on the show. >> great to be here. gerri: are you surprise what happened to jcpenney? >> i'm a little surprised. i think jcpenney is continuing to trend in the right direction. their consumers spoke loud and clear saying they want their daily and weekly specials back in store. while trending in the right direction i know it fell short but i think there will be optimistic outlook coming into the holiday season for jcpenney. gerri: from what i read sales slowed in september and october. a tough time for jcpenney. they have had a hard time getting back to what they did before and that's putting sales out there, promotions out there. can this company come back in your view? >> i believe it can and i believe the traction they have had despite missing the earnings is a trend that we see across the board in retail, that consumers are going to pursue the deals and specials that they

can rely on and depend on from retailers they trust. gerri: i will ask you about that in a second. but first, macy's, as we mentioned, their results disappointing as well. was that a bigger surprise than jcpenney? >> no, not for me. i think the retailers like macy's and nordstrom and neiman, the higher-end retailerses those that will perform well online with flash sales and other, other tools to offset the in-store challenge i think will continue to struggle until they actually deliver and fulfill in the same way that brand like jcpenney's are. gerri: so this must an be the trickiest promotional environment in some type. what will be the strategy that works in your view? >> he well, again i think it is building that reliability. that every retailer is competing for that same dollar and you see elasticity from consumers who may used only shop at jcpenney or used to shop at macy's they will actually bridge gap.

whatever retailer will capture the mindshare of that consumer where they rely on them and depend on them for consist deals i believe what jcpenney has done will win in the end. >> there has been some anticipation as we look to the holiday shopping season. there is a lot of build-up in anticipation and dollars that consumers may have ordinarily spent in the past, september and october, have been held waiting for those unbelievable offers that they know are just weeks away and that they have been getting notified about even in advance of black friday. gerri: well the answer from retailers of course has been to extend from black friday to move

it up. walmart is extending black friday into a five-day stretch. kmarts doing sometingike2 hrs saigh. e w goi to sta hiday saesn sepmber is lab day goi t be the openg o cists nextear > wel ias ieverl retaers te day befre halleennd actually saw christmas decorations and holiday decorations up. i think that will continue to creep. wouldn't surprise me back to school is soon dominated by holiday. gerri: bob, thanks for coming on. great job. >> thanks, gerri. gerri: coming up our user's guide to shopping with a look at the pros and cons of gift cards. plus we enter fantasy land with a look at unbelievable gifts in this year's neiman marcus catalog. from $48,000 perfume to slightly more affordable stuff. some expensive ideas for the person who has everything. won't stay with us.

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gerri: yes, indeed. it is that time. our users guide to holiday shopping is helping you take the stress out of the season with expert advice on all you need to know before making your purchases. it appears many of you will be giving gift cards this year according to the national retail federation gift cards have been the most requested gift for eight years straight. analyst jeannine. thanks for coming on the show. great to have you here. i always think of gift cards as the lazy man's gift. you don't have to shop around. don't have to wrap the product. people seem to ask for them. >> people still love them and some people are still giving them. a lot of interesting things with retailers. they're finding ways to make it more personal and finding ways to make

it look like you put more thought in it. >> you're not getting a real one, you'll give them something you get online. >> 60 percent of all gift cards offered are offered electronically. and mobile gift cards are picked up steam as well. gerri: is this the kind of thing where people have family far away, who buys these cards? >> younger demos buy them. millennials. they're not as popular with retirees. they do better with men versus women. the higher the income bracket, the more likely you'll give a gift card. it has a lot to do with time, time to look for gifts. gerri: and let me tell you, the pros and cons, it's the ease of purchase, the convenience that makes it great. there's some fees you might not want to pay. tell us about those. >> general purpose cards, nonstore cards the ones issued by banks and networks, those will have fees attached. because that's how the bank or network is

making money. the store cards tend not to carry them because the store will make money off the purchases. gerri: so purchase fees, there's like $3.15 to how much. >> $3.15 to $6. gerri: i find that's too much. really at the end of the day, wouldn't it be a strategy for people, and that's what they're looking for this holiday season, to find that store that the person you're giving it to that the person really loves. >> it works because you're saving them money and you're showing that you know something about them. it makes it more personal if you give them a gift card to their favorite store. gerri: tell us about the dormancy fees. >> dormancy fees are $2 a month after you don't use the card for a year. gerri: does it go to zero?

>> whawhat happens is people get gift cards and then forget about it. gerri: but if you buy an e-card you're in a better situation. right? >> yeah, the e-cards are popular among retailers. those won't carry the fees on them. yes. e-cards sit in your box so it's easy to remember you have them. pop them out at the store, scan them, ready to go. gerri: great sto for coming. now, we want to know what you think. would you rather get a gift or gift card? log on to gerr gerriwillis.com i'll share the results at the end of the show. here's what you were tweeting me. harvey writes this -- reflects more thought effort and concern. donna, it depends on who it is from. husband, gift. mother-in-law gift card okay. i'm not so sentimental

so gift card is fine. cash is better, you can use it anywhere. that's true. sean disagrees. someone actually takes the time to tell how well they know me or i should ask why are we friends? are you in search for a a extravagant gift for your loved ones or yourself and you've been good this year, neiman marcus has their 2014 book with amazing options. ginger, welcome to the show. i always look at the neiman marcus catalog. always so much fun. how many years have you been doing this. >> we've been doing a christmas catalog since 1926. eighty-eighth year. we've been doing over the top fantasy gifts for the past 15 years. >> tens of thousands of dollars. let's start with stuff you'll actually buy. we'll show this stuff on our set. incredible water for

crystal caviar and vodka serving set. this is pretty awesome. tell us about that. >> it is. it is a beautiful set made by water for crystal. eighteen caret gold on the outside. again, you can do with chill vodka, offer a shot of vodka to your guests as well as some fabulous caviar. gerri: $1,500. the vodka set 2,000. you've got what you're calling a multi game set. this is for the person who likes to play a little poker. have a little dice. really gorgeous. sitting on our set right here. tell us about that. >> good. that's a crocodile embossed set that comes with everything you need for game night and roulette wheel, a felt chips, cards, dice, everything that you would need to put on a fun game night at home. it's $1,500. gerri: the dice, i have to tell you, it was pretty glam.

it had crystals where the little dots are on the dice. so it was pretty amazing. >> yes. so crystals. yes, these little minimum oat yeas where great for an evening out. they can glam up a little back dress. you're carrying these bejeweled bag that can hold a come, lipstick, if you need it. it becomes its own cute accessory, if you will, very cool. in the shape of a guitar are just great. gerri: you have to be cool to carry that. (?) so you've got an ice scraper where an extra special gimmick. >> yes, for those who are looking for a little glam even in the most mundane of tasks, we have a faux fur ice scraper for $40. great for someone who

needs glamour. >> it's so cute. not real fur. i have to tell you. you've got a dog bed, we want to show which is groovy. >> i don't know what size you have. they range in size from small dogs to large dogs. and these are really beautiful dog beds, and they can be personalized with your dogs name, not that he'll know. it makes it great for you. gerri: dogs don't read, the last i checked. >> that's what i heard. gerri: let's get to the fantasy gifts. you have a 50,000-dollar water-ski that goes on land too. tell me about this. >> it's essentially an atb vehicle that within a flip of a switch, five seconds, switches to an amphibious vehicle. i thought they were a lot of fun. $50,000 a piece. we covered them in print from velvfrin.

they're a lot of fun. if someone has -- or wants to hang out at the beach, this would be a great toy for them. gerri: it is a great toy. how many do you think you'll sell? >> it's hard to say. i've given up being in the prediction business. i think this year it will be popular. we've had quite a few calls on them. i wouldn't be surprised if we sell between five and ten. gerri: but you have 100th anniversary maserati. this is attractive. >> this is. and they did 100 of the neiman marcus edition of the maserati, and these cars $95,000. very beautiful. special engine. four-wheel drive which is unusual for a maserati. someone looking for a collectible vehicle, but also it looks great, this is a perfect car. glenn: car. gerri: i want to tell you we

have a special guest sitting right here on set with me who is demoing as we speak, look at lucas, how cute is he. he just sat up. that's so perfect. he's demoing your child car. it looks like from me from here it's a mercedes. >> it is. it's a little red mercedes convertible. i don't think it will go more than 3 miles an hour. but that is a great gift for a child when our delighting on christmas morning. gerri: he seems very delighted by it. you're supposed to sit forward, honey. there you go. awesome. (?) ginger, thank you for coming on. it was a great tour. i feel edified. and i might that get ice scraper. >> good. you need it. you never know. gerri: thanks so much. and a special thank you to home depot for the holiday decorations.

just gorgeous. coming up tomorrow, our users guide to shopping continues with more exciting gift ideas. this time i'll be joined with consumer reports with their picks for the best electronics under $200. one woman's story on how she became a successful owner of her own bakery business and housing continues to be a weak spot in a recovering economy. next, we'll show you the most affordable places to live. the ceo of cold we will banker. you'll want to see that. here's your consumer gauge with the numbers that mean the most to you. we'll be right back.

gerri: location, location, location. this go-to real estate man the coldwell annual home listing report. the real estate giant examines the most

expensive and the most affordable market for a four bedroom two bath home. they're comparing apples to apples. budge husky. thanks for coming on the set. >> always a pleasure, gerri. gerri: them why you do this study. this is the question i have. if i'm going to buy a house with these basic parameters, what's it going to cost me market by market. >> we've done it for many years, and we find at the end of the day, as you suggested, it's all location. we hear so much on the national level about averages and median prices, but as we move through the housing recovery we find that real estate becomes hyperand hyperlocal. people want to know what will it cost me in one location versus another. we look at over 2,000 markets, and we zeroed in on a four bedroom two bathroom home. so we're comparing apples to apples across the country. gerri: when you dig into these

numbers. it's interesting. california is a real rock star on this list. right? and silicon valley really. >> no question. california has always been high on the list. this year nine out of the top ten expensive markets, but to your point it's shifted from southern california over the years, to northern california, silicon valley. tech boom. so much wealth being created. gerri: redwood city. >> lossal to see. a typical two bedroom four -- gerri: most affordable where we looking. >> the most affordable, cleveland, ohio. $65,000. of course, you can go in the suburbs in that market and find beautiful homes upwards of the millions, but clearly one of the most affordable markets in the country at this time. and going through a revival.

gerri: lake whiles, florida, georgia. really picking all over the map here. gerri: i want to see, you have an interesting full screen on how much a los altos house would buy you somewhere else. it was 1.9 million? >> 1.6 million. you could buy 30 homes in cleveland for one home in silicon valley. gerri: one of my favorite places, charlotte, north carolina. miami, five. that's a difference i wouldn't expect. seattle, of course, here. i was asking you here in the break, because you see this first hand. you know, we're following the real estate market so closely, not just because people aspire to own their own home, but because it means something for the broader economy. >> the housing market is doing well. our third year of recovery. the last two years we had rapid growth in both unit sells and prices.

we were moving from the overcorrection. we were coming back at a rapid price. what we've seen prices have started to trend. they're going up, but at a slower pace and at a healthier pace because we're moving back toward traditional market which is exactly where we need to be for the future. gerri: story this week saying easier mortgage rules are giving like a little boost to the housing market do you see that. >> they are. and and for the first time buyers. particularly as it comes to regulations on qualified mortgages, qualified residential mortgages, and so we just had some important decisions. down payment within the last probably two to three weeks, no longer is it 20 percent. it's back down to a more manageable level. this is exactly the kind of common sense solutions we need to get us go forward into the future. gerri: housing will help

retailers. it will help people who make furniture and carpet. it reverberates and goes through the economy. once housing is going, it will be interesting if it takes off and get beyond what we saw originally. investors went in and it only went so far. >> we have the traditional buyers moving back. gerri: great to see you, thank you. >> great to see you. gerri: we'll be right back i'm only in my 60's.

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who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations. remember, all medicare supplement insurance plans help cover what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. call now to request your free decision guide. and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now -- and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is. gerri: where there's a will, there's a way. tonight, the motivational story of a woman who indicators to the stars, but faced set back after set back on her journey to success. el think white and the

winner of food networks cupcake wars. thanks for coming on the show. great to see you. we appreciate you coming on. >> thank you. gerri: you have a fascinating background. you're actually a star in france as a young child. tell us about that. >> yeah. well, i grew up in paris. at the age of six years old i started to do tv and music and movies. and i worked consistently until i was about (?) twenty, 20 years old. this picture right here -- gerri: you faced some setbacks. >> yeah, i worked a lot in france. i was very famous in my country. and i moved to america. i did three albums. they weren't successful. it was really hard. i found myself in my 20s all of a sudden not being successful, and i had been successful all my life. i had a very untraditional childhood where i was on tv every day. i had a tv show. i did records, concerts. i thought that chapter

was going to continue. but i learned that life is about chapters, and sometimes you have to experience other chapters. gerri: let's talk about that. because you became a single mom. and you raided your mortgage to start your business. tell me about your decision to do that. how hard was that? how concerned were you that it might not succeed? >> well, you know, i didn't have the concern. what happened was, at the time i had no money. i only had $500 child support, and i had no idea what i was going to do. i was really panicked and a friend of mine told me, well, you have something. you have the house. you have equity. it was the time where banks would give you money without asking you questions. he took me to the bank, they gave me $150,000 like that in five minutes. so i was like, wow. and i didn't have the consciousness of being,

oh, what if it doesn't work. i got myself in a business. that i knew nothing about, except the small things of working and learning how to bake with my dad as a little girl. i mean, i really did not know anything about business. i was an actress and a child actress, you know. gerri: so how did you know? because running a business is no small easy thing. takes a lot of talent and work. were you willing to put in that percent periation to get it done. >> i did. i learned. how a commercial bakery worked and i went back to la. i opened a store, and i started baking. it was really, really hard because (?) nobody came at first. you know,it like you're in a store, i made $80 a day. right when i started opening the store, the street that i was on, closed because they were widening the street, and they were -- they had to do construction. so all of a sudden, the

store, i have this brand-new business, i'm ready to do he give, and the street is completely closed. it was a ghost town. nobody walked in. i made $80 a day. gerri: what was the turning point of your business? i hear how you worked hard and educated yourself to do this thing. was there a turning point where you said, okay, now, this is working. >> yeah, the turning point was really when producers from delicious production came to the store, and they told me they wanted to do a pilot about cupcake business. they asked me if i wanted to do it. and i was like, of course, i want to do it. i've been in tv all my life. this is a great opportunity. i knew the power of tv. we did cupcake wars. we did the pilot. it got bought by the food network. i happened to be the first winner. that changed the business. then the street got reopened. and everything started to flow from there. the exposure on cupcake

wars -- gerri: arnold schwarzenegger. you have a list of a-list stars who love your product. elsie thanks for coming on the show and sharing your story. it's an inspiration. >> thank you very much. gerri: here is some of your emails on a recent topic. 200 bucks a month. social security. diane says, i'm enable to buy beep beef because of the cost. home insurance has increased. i don't buy clothing and shoes, and they think less than $20 a month is going to help, i would do better on welfare. that is sobering. thank you for that. andy says, it's minuscule and it's stinginess and an insult long overdue to reform the system. remove fraud and bayous. peggy, stingy according to the way the government spends money.

my mother said it's better than a kick in the pant, but not much. we love to hear from you. go to gerriwillis.com. and we'll be right back

gerri: i don't believe stock brokers by definition are bad guys yet the story we covered earlier in the program showed just how common it is for older wealth clients to be pursued by -- southern california, new york, you can check out a broker, their background using the online tool called broker check. let me warn you, it's far from perfect. not every detail in the report is there because some problems aren't reported. what's more, the details aren't exactly user friendly, in short, you may have more questions than when you started. that's okay. in addition to broker check, you need to run a gut check. does the person feel good. interview other clients.

charged with running your money there's never too many you can do. that's my "2 cents more." making money with charles payne is coming up right now. charles: i'm charles payne, and you're watching "making money." president obama, he gets his climate bill with china, now, he's set to roll out climate and pollution measures that is bigger than any president has done. a big reality check for the g.o.p. who think last week's election has given then a mandate. rich edson live in d.c. >> evening, charles. with this final federal election behind him, president obama and his administration are rolling out the details of regulations designed to limit carbon emissions. ozone. newly constructed power plants. this is the president agreed to