thank you for being with us. it is time for "varney & company." stuart, over to you. have a great show. stuart: thank you. we win and they loose. good morning, everyone. great to be back. venezuela on the brink of bankruptcy. those movers in iran have their backs to the wall. a big drop overnight with more to come, probably. why are you not spending? could it be that obamacare cancels out the gas price gains? middle america still squeeze and hurting. "varney & company" is about to begin. ♪ stuart: check the price of oil.

sixty-seven, almost $68 a barrel. it had a huge drop in the past few weeks. we are going to start with russia. it has dropped in to recession. it's currently has flat out crash. ralph peters is here. it is good to see russia and putin in trouble. we are a financial program. could he do it? >> yes, he probably will be more aggressive. the budget gets tighter at home. he may play that. stuart, it is the putin is

facing a night mare constellation of problems. he has huge dilatory buildout. we have made wild promises. russia is facing, as you know, the banks and corporations, they are facing financing and refinancing crises. putin is going to be up against the wall unless the oil price shoots back up. if the oil price does not shoot back up, putin may start

shooting. stuart: i am looking for positives. let me move on to iran. i say they will never, ever give up on the pursuit of a nuclear weapon. i do not make it makes any difference what the price of oil is. what do you say? >> i think that you are mostly right. they are committed to it. by the way, iranians are used to sanction that can take a lot of hardship. with the price of oil plummeting, it really does set the stage for more domestic turbulence. the only way we will see a halt is an internal of people. that is a long shot. we also have two remember that

it is very nationalists. i am with you on that one. yesterday's announcement of the pipeline, that also ties into the falling price of oil as well as europe wising up to putin using gas as a weapon. >> how about venezuela? they are fast running out of money. i think they are very likely to default. i am not sure what the impact on us with the. this is america enormous leverage. >> venezuela is already helping out the american economy in a small way.

chavez so utterly profound and this man to the economy. it is a wipeout. they cannot even get toilet paper. it is an absolute economic basket case. it was wounded. now it is going to die. how it will play out, it is hard to say. the one thing that i can. to you is a capitalism is not returning any time soon. venezuela will get a lot worse before it gets better. welcome to socialism. >> i will never forget that. >> i am not concentrating on the negatives here.

i think it is altogether good. i am just worried about what they may do in response that fights us down the road. that is all i am worried about. >> there is an interesting article that the way. an interview of a dissident in the west. his great strength has been ignoring economics. now, chickens are coming home to roost. the diversification is not a choice. it is essential. diversify the economy. it creates alternative power bases.

stuart: i think that was the first time you have ever borrowed from the reverend wright. do you have a new book coming out, sir? >> i do, stuart, but not until may. as soon as i get those advanced reading copies, the first one that i get will go to you. >> i shall read it through and through. gas, let's get to that. this is flat out good news. $2.74. i believe it was $2.80 or something. a big drop in gas prices is putting $1000 a year into the pockets of the average household. we are still paying more for the basics like healthcare, rent, cell phones.

we are gaining from the gas price decline. middle america jill has have to pay more for health care. is it a wash? >> it is good for the u.s. economy. i share your enthusiasm. it is a long term trend. we have dollar strength. we also have, on the downside, weak global growth. this is a revolution that will continue. now, on the negative side, overall, what did the obama administration do? they said government crashed the housing market. let's raise health care costs for everybody. let's make the price of

financial services more expensive for everybody through dodd-frank. no wonder, stuart, that we have seen a growth at least two percentage points lower on average. >> a bonus squandered. >> absolutely squandered. it does not mean that we cannot recover, we just have to to make a change. you have to let people take risks. >> just as long as it is fair. [laughter] stuart: it is good to be back. wednesday lunchtime just about. right at 17,900. not that. much more on russia, the middle class squeeze in the next hour. governor palin is with us in the

next hour. it is off its session highs. 17,900. several stocks hitting all-time highs today. we have united health, 3 m, travelers. look at them go. all of them up significantly. gold bouncing back just a little. time for a look at jcpenney. it has been in the news a lot for the past five or six years. goldman sachs says sell it. it is down 5%. on the other side of the coin, goldman says go out and buy tjx. tell us where tjx is. nicole: up about 1%. goldman sachs looked at all these retailers and cut this group to neutral from a track

this. they took off stores. they put tj maxx in that spot. a $57 price target. good for tj maxx. that is why they consider that one a winner. stuart: hold on a second. did you just say that our shows is your favorite store? >> t.j. maxx is a great store. they just opened up in brooklyn. nicole: marshals. it is a good name. >> you just dissed it. all right. thank you very much, indeed. it could be that big hack attack that we are so worried about. a computer virus that could cripple the entire economy. we will talk about that because

that is the threat and it is on the horizon. how to eliminate obamacare. the former health and human services kathleen sibelius. she said she never met him. where have we heard that before? >> one of the most respected economists in the world. >> many of them i have stolen ideas from liberally. >> i do not know if you have named jonathan gruber's analysis.

stuart: i hesitate to call this a rally. of .02. pretty much dead flat. another video from jonathan gruber. he explained how to kill obamacare. listen up, please.

>> basically, i have done research. if you get rid of this man date, this law becomes much less effect this. stuart: kathleen sibelius now says she never met mr. gruber, professor gruber, i should say. >> a number of democrats. jonathan gruber who? we don't know this god. he was at the heart of it. all of these top democrats congratulated this guy. one of the brightest people. he went to the white house. this is absurd. the way to get rid of obamacare is to get rid of that and a. you must have insurance. we command you.

>> yes. if you want more people to have health care, give them more freedom and give them more choice. we want to coerce you. we are going to mandate it for you. you know what, god bless jonathan gruber for telling the truth. we have a new warning from the fbi after several sony picture movies were illegally leaked online. hackers now have the ability to destroy a hard drive. making the information on it unrecoverable. jonathan is an ethical hacker. let's be clear about that. you have to give me an understanding. this is a new level of hacking. >> exactly, yes.

the first stage, it allows them to have full access to the computer. we have seen this before. the information that they stole was intellectual property. over six movies that would be released. of course, they thought it was a big issue. we are all worried about the next phase of the attack. essentially, you can press a button. it erases the hard drive. it makes the entire computer no longer functional. it may as well be like a boat anchor that you throw over your boat. >> all of the computers within a specific company. somebody could grow the switch

someplace and they all don't work. is that possible with this new level of hack? >> it is possible. sometimes these computer networks are separated. we have seen this before in 2012. over 30,000 computers. they are no longer functional. stuart: that is really raising the energy. this is a whole new -- this is a totally different level. >> this is getting right inside a company and killing it. am i saying too much? >> no, you are not.

this is fully capable. this is not theoretical. this is the truth. this happens. stuart: if i come to you and say, hey, i am worried about this. protect me. can you? >> yes. these types of attacks can be prevented. you are watching your monetary data monitor data going in and out of your network. unfortunately, a lot of our companies are not ready for this level of sophistication. we are also not ready for the recovery side. what can really help you in this case is having a nice robust recovery method.

it is used in multiple industries. it is not used in critical infrastructure. what about pipelines, refineries. power plants. these types of info structures infrastructures are using physical computers with software and applications loaded on to the physical computer. it will take hours, if not days. the recovery process really needs to be bought out properly. stuart: very interesting stuff. thank you very much, indeed. >> it is remarkable. we are still facing this kind of threat. companies still are not ready.

it still has not happened. stuart: the iconic pontiac trans am is up for auction from smokey and the bandit. smokey and the bandit was released the same year as another trilogy. log onto facebook, twitter and answer the question. what was the other trilogy? we will read the name of the person that gets that trilogy. ♪ so,as my personal financial psychic,

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stuart: we asked if you knew which movie trilogy was released the scene u.s. smokey and the bandit. the correct answer is star wars. congratulations to dave martin for being the first to guess correctly on our facebook page. why do we ask that question? the famous pontiac trans am is up for auction. who is selling it? bear reynolds. there is a weekend the few days, it reached $70,000.

it is from jupiter, fla.. say that again. how old is he? >> brendel reynolds? 70? him when he has to be close to 80. using the microsoft search, life is -- >> oh god. stuart: new doomsday prediction from the famous physicist stephen hawking. he is not blaming the apocalypse on global warming, no, he says it is robots and artificial intelligence that will lead to the end of the human race. he says robots become smarter than humans, they manipulate us, and manipulate our leaders, quote, to develop weapons we cannot even understand. which is your greatest fear? rising sea levels, global warming or robots? come john. the wall street editorial. >> i don't think about these

things. stuart: keep it moving. sprint wants more customers offering to cut the rise in a tnt subscriber bills in half if they switch over. the deal is only good if you do it on friday december 5th. verizon and at&t customers must upload the latest bill on line, then bring a copy into a spring storm friday. the new plan will offer the same day allowance the customer's current one and will include unlimited talked and text but you got to unload, copy, take it to the store, get the deal, fall on friday december 5th. now some good news for the film, houston texans andre johnson treated 11 underprivileged kids to a christmas shopping spree. this is the year johnson has done it. on the field where is the no. 87 gives the kids 80 seconds to run through the store and fill their shopping carts with presents. there is a good man, round of

applause. two stories for the judge coming up shortly. ups benign the worker's request for temporary assignment allegedly telling her come back when she is no longer pregnant. the worker sued commonality ended to the supreme court. lawmakers getting into the ferguson debate on the house floor. congressman deplane the hands of the jester in support of michael brown. race is on the national stage. >> the 1% standard. >> other witnesses indicated not charging, other witnesses. >> and al is this a writing? ?

connell: when you cannot call this a rally. and moving up a little bit. peters connecting it to russia earlier. >> vladimir putin will be up against the wall and as the oil price shoot back up. if the oil price doesn't shoot back of vladimir putin may start shooting. stuart: how about the gas prices? that is the result of oil prices, money in your pocket even if you are not spending,

you have got it. the national averages $2.74. rite-aid $2.55 in new jersey. there are 42 states which have an average gas price under $3 a gallon. the cheapest gas in the land is $2.07 a gallon. no guarantee. i will suggest tentatively that $1.99 appears on this. i am hitting by the end of the week. >> driver's side air bags, it is very much in the hot seat and capitol hill for refusing to respond to expand the recall of those airbags. rich edson joins us from washington with latest. >> ongoing hearing, government regulators instructed eggmaker

takata to expand its we call to the entire country. takata is refusing claiming there is insufficient evidence to expand the recall, warned is short on sports to cover the current recall. the government is determining its next step. monica authorities in to expand the recall and for the years it has taken to get to this recall. the current recall affects 7 million cars model years 2000-2011. takata is making 3,000 replacement is a month and will increase that to 450,000 by next month. stuart: how about this for a headline, takata is toast. with that fly? >> one in 5 airbags in the country these hearings are not going well. this is the second one, probably more. stuart: when a ups truck driver told the company she was pregnant she lost her job. this green curtain will hear her case today. judge andrew napolitano is here. is this just a clean-cut case of

where she is pregnant so she doesn't get to keep doing the job? judge napolitano: i wish it were. is an enormously complex case which involves the eeoc, equal employment opportunity commission and administered agency of the government, managers and commissioners appointed by the president. his efforts to affect the outcome. involved the labor union to which this driver belongs and the collective bargaining agreement the union has with ups and their efforts to affect the outcome. involved two federal laws with ambiguous terminology and the supreme court has to figure out. the bottom line is ubs was crazy, crazy, profoundly wrong from a pr point of view and a legal point of view to deny this woman the benefits she sought. the benefits that she sought was work at comparable pay with far less rigorous exertion, to drive the ups truck you have to pass a test. the test is you have to lift the 70 pound weight.

no physician would allow her to do that when she is carrying the baby and rightly so. stuart: they refuse to accommodate her. judge napolitano: they argued she didn't qualify because of other aspects of her personhood for the available slots that they had. they also argued the slots she qualified for were prohibited by the collective bargaining agreement and the union didn't want her there. stuart: you could say ups is in the hot seat if they stopped her from working, they get sued. and to keep working as a truck driver delivering 70 palo than she had some trouble with that she could be sued because she's doing that job. they can't win. stuart: eventually they gave her the benefits. about a month ago. she is still pursuing the case. it wouldn't surprise me at all if the supreme court says this case is resolved and we are not going to -- already getting the

benefits. businesses would like some guidance on what the terminology in these federal statutes mean. the supreme court, is it right or wrong? is it right or wrong to get benefits? the supreme court is deciding what did congress mean when it use certain words in the statute? stuart: if you want good pr, get another job. judge napolitano: we were talking earlier this was a company that physically and literally touches most americans all the time especially this time of year. they should be particularly acute about their pr. >> pregnancy is not a disability. they issued a rule, we just decided that it is a disability. they pushed this case, made it a cause, ups did nothing wrong here. they did not discriminate against this woman. they treated her like everybody else that the company. if this happened outside of work we have our policies and i agree with the judge, bad pr but what they are doing here is trying to extend anti-discrimination law. it is bad and the best outcome

is what the judge said. judge napolitano: they would never get this through congress going through an administrative agency to regulate the relationship between employer and employee. it is very detrimental to the free market when they do that. stuart: next and another one for you. this got heated between megyn kelly and democrat congressman al green over his decision to use a hands of don't shoot jester on the house floor. roll that tape. >> how is it about race when every witness who testified michael brown was charging that cop was african-american? >> african-americans can make mistakes too. >> all of them? all six of them? >> what about all the others said is that he wasn't? >> with a racially motivated? >> not all americans are racially motivated is seeking their races too. judge napolitano: >> it because allows members of congress to engage in any form of expression they want on the floor of the house of the floor

of the senate. if doing this is factually based a politically out rages the voters will decide. stuart: they will indeed and they should. judge napolitano: yes they should but the benefit of the doubt should be given to his freedom of speech. judge napolitano: better say that. stuart: it is a fine show. thanks. socialism making its way to wall street? it appears to be spreading. charlie gasparino explains that story and chris back from his title fight with -- he lost big time but met all the money. what is that young man's next step.

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stuart: we told you about merrill lynch, it is contagious. wall street wants to spread the wealth socialism style. look who has the story, charlie gasparino. charles: they start counting at. wall street executives make most of their money out of the this, they get paid a nominal salary and a big bonus at the end of the year. in the old days the producers no matter where they were got the most. if the traders made a lot of money they got it, investment bankers may lot of money, this year is a little different, we heard from major firms, for some reason they are becoming -- the guys that talked to obama and obama talked about spreading the wealth, they are spreading wealth and leaving out the bonus pool, bankers who had a good

year are subsidizing the traders from what we understand. stuart: do you think this is, we built this as socialism. judge napolitano: that is what president obama said to joe. if i do really well why can't i make the money. the good thing about wall street, if you made money and be paid. and they turned that meritocracy on its life and is a bad trend. i think wall street is a protected industry to begin with. it moved totally from not just protected industry, now becoming part of the sort of socialist fabric that is running corporate america. stuart: mary kissel from the wall street journal.

>> there we go. hedge funds and private equity. most of the smart people on wall street did that. >> hedge funds are not as high as you think. >> we go to private equity. charles: now the you can't do insider-trading, the hedge fund business is not as lucrative as it used to be. and private equity, how many private equity firms are there? a finite number. >> smart guys already left. >> merrill said the tone, making people drink grass and doing yoga and meditation and now they are spreading the wealth. wall street is becoming the occupy wall street. bernard: when you are taking time out from a really good guest. a good friend of the show had his big fight against world famous boxer a couple weeks ago. he didn't win, got be in pretty

bad. yes you did. a got a lot of good publicity. was a big payday and looking for more big paydays in the future. you are fully trained nutritionist who goes boxing. >> i'm working on a recipe book and a diet book. >> the way you market yourself you are the boxing nutritionist. >> had to take advantage of the opportunities in front of me and every single one. stuart: when you did the mediocrity. >> he was fantastic. the greatest fighter. all-time great. >> might be the greatest one right now. >> a little guy when you see him. you don't expect him. >> he is so experienced. and master of his craft. we had a game plan and it wasn't the right one. stuart: this is a financial news program. can we assume you netted at least $1 million?

>> around that. more or less. >> just under that. stuart: where was the fight? you still got to pay taxes? >> my account this week and everything. we are being smart about it and sending money aside, the 401(k) set up, got payroll service. stuart: paid for your entire nutritionist school? >> paid for my school. stuart: apart from a recipe book but i don't think will make you a ton of money but it won't make your $1 million, when will you do that again? >> looking to get back into the win column early this year, get some big opportunities coming up and look for a rematch or a bigger fight. stuart: does it bother you to get clocked around the lot? you are 30 years old and been beaten up occasionally? >> the fight was 10 days ago and i am looking good. stuart: are you a little fuzzy and the head? >> not at all, not at all.

stuart: no down effects from being beaten up in the ring. >> i don't consider getting beat up, i got beat but i feel fine, i feel great. stuart: how many more years will you do it? >> the landscape of the sport changes dramatically from month-to-month so we got to see where we are and if i thought a passion for it which i do and we have the great opportunities one at? stuart: will you see is again? >> of course. stuart: the boxing nutritionists, that works. >> i will say anybody gets in the ring with many and you held your own, you did very well. that was a hard fight, you should be commended is that is good stuff. stuart: we are right behind you. we appreciate it. here is an experiment for you. drink ten cans of coke every day for a month. someone did that. results up next.

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stuart: this is a good one. and italian hunter said a new record, found a massive white truffle the way in just 4 pounds, twice the size of the previous record holder. these things are very rare. they can only be found a few months of the year and only with the special help of a special truffle sniffing dog or a pig. bias from around the world are already offering a one million dollars to buy that four calendar. now please check the share price of coca cola. it is down a bit today at 43. here is why we're showing you the stock. one that set out to prove the negative affected drinking coke. the bloggers george prior drank can cans of coke, more than a gallon of soda, can cans of coke every day for a month. to the results were dramatic look at the before and after pictures. lauren simonetti has a lot more

on this. first of all, you drink 10 cans of coke every day for a month. did he eat anything different? >> he can beat alia diet. he had a private -- high-protein high-fat diet. he kept his diet this same as halloween during this month. nothing out of the ordinary. >> and bass of the amount of sugar. >> it is an addition of 1400 calories a day. and is 10 grams of sugar day. he went from a one 68 pounds to 192 pounds, he went to 23 pounds and his body fat went up 65%, 9% to 16%. the question i ask, we don't ask kent hance of soda a day. to you drink orange juice that are apparently healthy.

>> we drink the same amount of sugar equivalent, 10 counts of cut. i don't do that. >> half of all americans adjust the tint counts of cut the day. of 1/2 to? that just doesn't sound right, does it? >> i am drinking my coke. >> i never drink soda. that is another piece of bad p r for coca. >> kicking fake sugar around and putting real sugar in but it is the same thing, sugar is bad for you. stuart: i don't like soda. governor sarah palin is next, she responds to my question, is consumerism going out of style? are we spending more because we are sick of all that stuff for spending less because of all that stuff and we don't like it? new at noon sarah palin, here she comes. speaking of the end of consumers and look at this. a mall with two stores in it that are open, what is next for the shopping malls of america? we will tell you what happens to that place in a moment.

stuart: are you buying as much for the holidays this year? i am not and i suspect i am not alone. many people are fed up with giving for the sake of giving, fed up with the mounds of presents stacked under the free, fed up frankly with buying junk, to show you care or you did your gift-giving duty. we are fed up with this. this year i am more inclined to take the kids on a trip or to any event or a special meal. something that has some meaning. i think consumerism, just buying stuff is going out of fashion. not sure why. is true we don't have the money you use to have but it is morrison that. the wave of cheap clothing, gadgets and toys has washed over us this past generation and left many of us from satisfied. it is a turn off.

what i see going on around me is purely anecdotal. if we are indeed turning away from consumerism is a good thing. thrift might be making a come back. wouldn't that be an interesting shift for america? the ultimate consumer society, changing course? wouldn't that be something? in a moment we will ask sarah palin about that. that got your attention, didn't it? sarah palin will be with us momentarily. this is from president obama speaking at the business roundtable. he said and i am quoting directly there's definitely a deal to be done on corporate tax reform, he used the term cautious optimism and that the time is right to work with john boehner and senator mcconnell. perhaps an area he is willing to compromise but he said that

moments ago before the business roundtable. let's get to the big story with governor sarah palin. great to have you back on the program. i wonder if you would give us a comment about what you said. consumers and going out of style. do you think maybe there is a cultural shift in america? they you think there is? >> between you and my mother, there should be a cultural -- you sound just like my mom when she says can't we just write each other poems for christmas? we don't need all this junk. i think reality bites and reality is biting the american consumer when we are realizing there is a lot of holiday superficiality involved and many people want to get back to more simplistic sincere lifestyle and we want to get rid of some of the stuff we maybe have felt compelled to purchase because of marketing measures that have been so successful. but you are right.

a lot of people want disposable income that we used have and we are making wiser choices despite the marketing that gets crammed down our throats. stuart: i want you to listen to a brief clip from a mom on fox and friends this morning. family decided to cancel christmas this year. listen to this. >> turning this into a different kind of a gift and looking at it may be instead of giving our kids actual physical gifts giving our kids the gift of perspective and the gift of really the true meaning of christmas and that is what is so great. we are getting down to what christmas is really about which is the birth of the savior and giving and that spirit of giving rather than justin has become so commercialized. >> your take on that please governor. >> i agree with that. i wrote protecting the heart of christmas last year which talks about the true meaning of

christmas and remembering the true meaning of christmas is not materialism that we are bombarded with but should be a year-round acknowledgment of the humblest of our savior been born in a manger and and the economic aspects of this. look what the government is doing to our small businesses which of course would be the economic engine in this country or small business community with the overregulation and tax disincentives for production and reward for work ethic in our small businesses. when big government so overreaches into small businesses than that creates an atmosphere when we are forced to reconsider our buying practices and habits because we do have

fewer -- lower-level of disposable income because government is taking so much from us and we are forced to face this reality this christmas season. stuart: the left is going to have a go at you when i ask you the following question. i can see coming in mile off but i will ask the question anyway. i will ask about russia. it has now entered into a recession because the price of oil is so -- >> verisign it is. stuart: you know this is coming right at you but i will ask the question anyway. i think a lot of people are worried about what vladimir putin is going to do now. the price of oil crashed, $67 a barrel. he needs much higher oil prices and he has gone into recession. the ruble has crashed. a lot of people think this guy will lash out and invade somebody else. what do you think? >> perhaps. that is an option of his. he probably has other reasons he wants to lash out. the price of oil a barrel, $70

today is good for the consumer because is he reported the price of a gallon of gasoline is a lot lower today too but remember back in the 80s vendor rich:s when a barrel lower was here in alaska our crude was down $10 a barrel. we still survived and russia didn't attack anybody. when you have been stable leadership across the world like you see in china and north korea and russia. you never know what is going to happen. that is more reason for the united states of america to be so sovereign and save and economically secure by making wise conservative decisions about where public dollars are going to go so we don't have to worry about some craziness vladimir putin is going to do. stuart: president obama won't use that leverage. we could have far more leverage if we drilled on federal land,

if we get offshore drilling. if we got more domestic oil production, we got more leverage. can you explain this to me? why doesn't he want that leverage in the world stage. >> our president has no clue of what the inherent link between energy and sovereignty, and even in the corporate world and understanding how energy is extremely important for our economy and our security. and that our president is clueless about it, you would think the democrats especially from oil-producing states. and to help explain to him, and some of these emerging economies too who are using energy as a

weapon against us and like you say, you take that away by being sovereign and secure in your own energy and independence. by drilling domestically. when you hear president obama spew this bs about what he has done to increase domestic supplies of energy remember it is b s because on federal land he still locked up. it is private land and state land where state leadership understands why domestic energy independence is so important, it is what we have done to produce domestically. it is not what president obama has done. stuart: you are going to make two headlines. you talk about russia and talked about the s. i think the headlines are being written as we speak and we eagerly await their arrival. thank you very much for joining us, we will see you again real soon.

liz, you were -- liz: in 2008-2012 the president, his campaign actively dismissed the idea of grilled baby drill, called absurd. it would not work. the oil prices are set on the global stage. it is about global supply. it is key to the story. do we dismiss positions taken during campaigns? act of the ridicule it? the 2008-2012. stuart: thank you very much. let's get the big board. this is a don't know where market, 4.9, five points the. three dow stocks are hitting records. united health, 3 m and travelers. gold bouncing back a little, nice gain just above $1,200, 1206 now. the j.c. penney we talk about this stock a lot, a lot of us thought the company might disappear along with other brands and mortar people but it is still there but it is down.

nicole: shareholder value is disappearing, stocks down 4%, $7.08. goldman sachs puts a sell rating on j.c. penney. they just can't back it any longer. basically saying they can't provide any meaningful downside protection. they talk about they expect future earnings and also corresponding downward revisions, despite the fact they are trying to go back to an old strategy, the platform basically has changed with online -- and off that calling this one a dow. this stock in december of 2011 was 35 bucks. last year dropped 54%, 2012 is down 40% and this year, third year in a row down arrows again. stuart: a-rod looking chart. thank you very much. national average for a gallon of regular gas is $2.74.

good news for your wallet, bad news for the oil drillers. can you make a profit on $70 oil. plunging oil prices have caused 40% drop in new well permits for the month of november. come on in, scott from chicago. if we are going to draw less in the future so we produce less in the future does that mean 65, $66 a barrel for oil is pretty much the low we bounce from here? >> i don't think so. all to be what we have producing here. and in the middle east, will the middle eastern situation continuing to produce so they paid their constituents but they use a lot of oil money to keep everything at bay where they live. that is a big deal so they have the computers sell oil and even if we have brewster's here going out of business to default on some of their loans we will be producing enough that oil prices

keep going lower. this reminds me of short sterling in 1992 when everyone started to put the new low that would hold, and 71 will hold, 65 would hold and everyone saying 60. i bet we reach those levels somewhere near 50. stuart: i have been away on a week's vacation. before that you were saying this thing was coming down to the $60 range. now you are saying maybe breach below 60 because everyone will keep producing. i you sticking to that? wrote >> absolutely. i don't think you will paulino. we will see some capitulation and a lot of guys are not hedges out there. that will be another big problems ultimately if we see that level go through and who knows how low we go but we will see that price go down before it stabilizes higher. stuart: i am looking for $1.99-in oklahoma.

by the end of the week or early next week. thank you very much. here is what we have wind up the next 45 minutes. i-man wears a special suit, he then gets swallowed by an anaconda and he fills it all. we have that man 12:50 on this program today. we bring you the downside of cheap oil especially in north dakota. could end up costing some jobs there. then we have burger king reaching way back, relaunch a 4-year-old menu item. simple ham and cheese sandwich. that is a gamble. will work? up next the new face of retail. if hundred 74,000 square foot mall virtually abandoned, only has two attendance. what does that mean? what is the owner going to do with it? we have the answer in a moment.

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stuart: amazon is taking a hit, that is a $9 loss which is close to 3%. is selling $6 billion worth of bonds, raising money to invest in drones. that is interesting. actors stealing five movies from sony pictures, leading them on the internet.

the fbi investigating the attack and warning about a new technology that not only steals the data but destroys the hard drive the data is stored on. liz macdonald has more on this. to is the fbi saying did it? liz: is the biggest hollywood mystery. this is the worst corporate hack ever. north korea is on a list of suspects but it is now they're thinking is was an inside job, former worker at sony. sony has done a lot of corporate layoffs, hundreds of workers. it could be a former disgruntled worker who did the hack. pieces of information about executive salaries and personal medical records are so disparate and on different systems that north korea doesn't feel like north korea could have had access to those symptoms with the malware virus. feels like an inside job. stuart: who did it? the fbi thinks maybe it was an inside job. the other side of the story is this is a much more dangerous kind of hack job because it goes

all the way in and destroys a hard drive so it can destroy all the information that has been collected within that computer. liz: a malware virus that destroys the computer hard drive. you can even retrieved it. sensitive information is:. executive salaries, possibly celebrity salaries, scripts form may be the upcoming sequel to the breaking bad season. social security numbers and bank account information and e-mail addresses, employee background checks, medical records for workers. it is such a severe tax, it has hollywood on high alert. the fbi, talking to the fbi about this, the entire entertainment industry, cyberwalls are so bad and so poor that hollywood has to get better as a banking industry in terms of building up their cybersecurity. stuart: when you did a very good job scaring everybody. i am not joking.

this is a very different raising of the threat level of hacking. liz: corporate trade secrets from one of the biggest hollywood studios. you could see the coming, more information leaked from sony unfortunately about their role play operation. stuart: forgive me for saying almost rather it be an inside job with a foreign government. stuart: the theory is a person testing it, coming possibly from a former worker at sony. stuart: thanks so much. look at this. what you are looking at our photos of the white flint mall in bethesda, md.. currently the mall has only two stores, p f changed's, now there are plans to tear it all down and create an excuse community geared toward millennials. this is happening all over the

country. there is half of them left. a ghost mall. what i they going to do? liz: i just finished reviewing plans for what they want to do. it was interesting. there was the bloomingdale's on either side of the mall. they will demolished everything in the middle of it and it will become a mixed use outdoor retail walkable space with restaurants, parks, they propose to put an elementary school to the side of the development, keep a large structure, scores, big box retailer, everything in the middle will be out before. kondos above the retail space. stuart: we all thought these malls are being deserted because online shopping is taking over the in this case, not wiping out the mall on the retail section, developing the retail section. liz: responding to what

customers want, a big box retailer or go to the internet but there is more of the trend. this is a new commercial real estate investment, this urban center, 18 our city. think about our neighborhood in new york, we have everything around us. the rest of america wants that type of lifestyle and that is the millennial generation a lot of these developers are looking at. you and i could get chinese food delivered -- stuart: the audience doesn't know you ladies live in new york. >> that style of life is what the millennial generation wanted. they want the delivery. >> do people want to live inside shopping mall? >> yes. in california the same thing is already done and up and running, when is glendale, calif..

it is revitalized that city center. unfortunately loren taylor is suing them but that is a story and won't get into. stuart: i have trouble driving at night at my age so this would be ideal for me. >> we appreciate the warning and. don't drive with stuart varney. stuart: what are you laughing about? >> you know it. stuart: all old people can't drive. we will get e-mails on that one. >> my parents are watching and they don't like you anymore. stuart: you are did to us. an update on the breaking news we brought you at the top of the hour. president obama at the business roundtable says, quote, there is definitely a deal to be done on corporate tax reform but after that he blames congress for not getting a deal done already. my administration has been willing, he says, but has been

stalled in congress. he said this 20 minutes ago. cautiously optimistic that he is willing to compromise. that is from the president. burger king launching a menu option, warm and and cheese sandwich. is that a smart move? ♪

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stuart: finally, california get some much needed rain. some concerns of a mudslide. more rain on the way. moore could vault today. here comes the rain and california is getting it. they are bringing back an old favorite.

it has been off the menu for 40 years. what is a yumbo? it is a ham and cheese sandwich. >> it is hot. >> they are not getting criticism for this. why is burger king putting a 40-year-old sandwich on the menu? the customers are 20 years old and the ceo is only 32 years old. stuart: i cannot get in a word ed -- edgewise. you are telling me they do not go for ham and cheese?

>> it did not have lettuce. processed ham on a round on and just the cheese and it made them happy. >> burger king is doing what mcdonald's is not doing. up 49%. stuart: 49%? >> they have a single menu. it is cheap. two of those sandwiches for $5. >> drill, baby, drill. if you missed our interview with governor sarah palin, i have a highlight for you.

remember, it is bs. on federal lands, he still locks it up. it is private land. state leadership that understands why domestic energy independence is so important. it is not what president obama has done. ♪

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stuart: wednesday lunchtime, dad -- that flat market. cast down way more than a pat on chad penny overnight. only two states have an average price over $3 a gallon. i am predict being $1.99 somewhere in oklahoma or texas by monday of next year. what do you think? >> i bought $17 of gas for $32

today. , seven team gallons of gas for $32. a lot of people think that with oil crashing like this, we are on the verge of another sharp decline in gas prices. >> 274. we could see it down into the 260s. >> maybe we will get to $1.99 by early next week. what do you think? >> i think that you must be reading my twitter account. that is a good bet. stuart: how low is low? >> we continue to see news from opec.

this will continue as long as we continue to see news about opec not cutting production. you are not talking about production going off-line yet. >> i am very sorry to cut you short here. i want to throw it over. the downside for north dakota, as gas prices come way down, 40% of new well permits are down 40%. this is a problem for you guys. with prices so low, it you cannot make a profit. >> some of the marginal errors will slow down development and production. consumers benefit small

businesses. small businesses benefit. we will be competitive in the world market. it may slow down some of the tremendous growth we have seen in oil production in our state and the country. >> we all have more money in our pockets. do you think that has been canceled out by higher obama costs? >> is it a wash? >> clearly, it shows the power of the private sector. you can see what happens. we are doing that in energy in states like north dakota and texas. you can see the impact. what opec is doing is a response and a reaction to what we have done with shell oil.

the obama administration,yes, that creates higher costs for consumers. stuart: i have asked many people exactly this question. why does not president obama just drill more basic energy? it gives us enormous leverage in the world. >> that is a very important point. we have increased production 60%. the obama administration is tying office on public lands. we are doing this in spite of his policies.

stuart: i want to bring you a quote from president obama. the president says we need to replenish the highway trust fund. raising gas prices. members of congress are rollup and to raise gas taxes. wants to raise gas taxes. what say you, sir? >> we believe that i lowering taxes, you stimulate act to the deep. just a fun little difference of approach that we have. stuart: thank you very much

indeed. you just heard the president there. especially gas taxes. stuart: a huge bonus. $0.50 reduction. >> at this point, he should lower that that down. stuart: all right. thank you very much. talking about maybe the end of consumers. even though people may have a little extra cash in their

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nicole: i am nicole petallides with your fox business brief. we have hit a record all-time high today. we did get in our private payroll numbers. it was the lowest number since august. caterpillar, general tech knowledge he, 3 m also are winners and are hitting new highs. walgreen sales have been on the rise, particularly in the pharmacy market. reporting after the bell. aeropostale, guests. calvin klein, tommy hilfiger. all of that and more "varney & company" coming up.pu ♪ heart disease? one.

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stuart: a shareholder meeting at microsoft today. are they going to raise their regular very interested in this because i own microsoft. >> they tried that in the past. it did nothing for the stock. i think you get a lob more bang for the buck.

it would not surprise me if it wasn't. i think it is better served with acquisitions. >> they introduced a special one-time dividend. if you own the stock at the same time, you have $3. i liked it. i think it is just a little bit short sighted. i have a feeling that they probably will not do that. i think the money is better spent. >> we were talking during the break. he said something i was determined to make sure we all heard publicly.

>> i think it has a good chance to get to 60. i think 2015 will be a great year. a lot of great things that they are doing. they have a lot of other things that they are doing. stuart: good stuff. >> it past three and a half dividend yield. i would be very happy holding

it. burger king, on the other hand, even with the merge, i do not think that that will do a whole lot for them. i think long-term it is not a great five. right now, a huge percentage of the stock is held short. stuart: i have to ask you, liz, a question. i am saying back and sue were his own to an end in america. we have had enough. i sense a cultural shift. is it just me?

>> 6 million fewer shoppers on black friday. we did the online shopping go up. >> we are seeing it and feeling it. stuart: he is the chief economist. i think that there is concern among american consumers today. i think they are spending a little bit more wisely. hopefully we do not change our habits all that much.

>> i would just like to see drift reappear in america. local value as opposed to a piece of plastic. they also should be concerned about how much they spend. i am sorry to cut you short. thank you for being with us. amen wears a special sue. he proceeds to get eaten by an anaconda. all for the sake of television. here he comes.

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>> you can bet that this is something that i will never, ever do. eat dinner alive via a 25-foot and mouthanaconda snake. >> okay. you have to take me through this. you put a special sue on. >> you have to provoke a defensive response from the anaconda. stuart: did you get inside the

snake? >> you have to watch on sunday. >> a 250-pound snake. you are doing this for ratings. do not tell me otherwise. you are talking about a fifth of the plants oxygen. are you doing this because you are a grainy? >> absolutely. i am not so much like we have to save the rain forest just because. the resources available in the amazon. let me make a prediction.

you have to tell people that a problem before you can fix it. >> would you watch on sunday if i told you now? >> i will not do that. i got beaten up by a snake. i am not even allowed to talk about that. stuart: was it $200,000? >> much, much less. sunday night, 9:00 o'clock eastern time on discovery channel. more varney in a moment. ♪

stuart: i have no time left. here is deirdre bolton. >> thank you so much. one big private equity firm is making a con tent related investment. we will share his investment strategy. the ceo of financial startups. he says he can manage your money better and cheaper than any larger competitor. if you are watching risk and reward on your computer, tablet or phone, you are not alone. traditional tv viewing is down. scott, we knew the numbers were going in this direction. were you