are to 18. liz: it is a two-day fed meeting t begins tomorrow. anything that comes out of it, fox business will be covering exclusively right here. so stay tuned. "the willis report" is next. david: see you tomorrow. gerri: hello, everyone, i'm gerri willis. crude oil continuing its plunge, closing today at just under $56 a barrel. that is the lowest since may 2009 and quite a far cry from the summer when it was $107 a barrel. but despite the boom, u.s. shale producers are creating, opec refuses to blink and will stick to its decision not to cutout put. joining me fox business contributor phil flynn, market analyst for price futures group. great to see you. how low is oil going. >> $55 is a key area. they tested it a lot sooner than people thought they could. if they take that out, 45 or

$40 is not out of the question. i don't think this selloff is over by a long shot. opec dug in their heels. they want to bury this market. so far they are having a lot of success. gerri: on the flip side though, don't you have to say that american producers are having a lot of success? you remember when opec ruled the world? you know, the 1970 -- 3 oil embargo, the oil crisis in 1979. we couldn't blink without opec checking it out and making changes what they were doing. they ruled the world. now frackers and you at technology behind them having a very big impact in this marketplace. look, i got to say, congratulations to them. >> yeah. opec was trying to laugh these guys off a few years ago. when somebody asked alley naimi about the fracking revolution in chicago he kind of scoffed. he is not scoffing anymore. in fact opec is doing everything they can because they realize that this is the biggest threat to their dominance in the global

oil market probably in history. gerri: right. >> and they're going to do whatever it takes. gerri: i want to drill down what it means to consumers for just a second and we'll get to the broader implications and why the stock market is reading what is going on right now as negative. >> yeah. gerri: we have 13 states, 13 states, now looking at gas stations with gas prices below two dollars this is amazing to me. this is from gas buddy. look at all the states. texas. unlikely places like ohio, virginia and so on. this is great news. this is putting $362 back in the pockets of american consumers this winter alone. this is been a gift, really, a holiday gift. >> it has been. gerri: for consumers, right? >> it has been. courtesy of big oil and frackers. but you know what? i'm glad that prices are falling but i don't like the way that they're falling. gerri: right. >> i was under the belief that gasoline prices would have got

to these levels over time anyway. we're in new era of lower gasoline prices. the way they're falling so dramatically of what opec is doing, it is actually doing damage to the economist. we're seeing people in the energy industry laid off because prices are faulk. we're seeing some investment that caused the low gasoline prices in the first place to be put on hold. you know, when prices come down in a normal way that's a good thing but when you have somebody like opec manipulating market, overproducing on purpose to drive people out of business of it will do damage. short term great news for the consumer. down the road if opec wins the price war it will be bad in the future. gerri: aren't other markets worried about broad international implications? for example we heard russia's state bank says we'll have negative growth next year if this continues? venezuela on precipice of default. middle east itself, you talk about opec having all this

power, the reality is really destablizing to that region, right. >> it is and we're seeing that every day. countries like norway cutting their growth. they're saying it is a disaster. countries like venezuela but it shows how important this price war is to saudi arabia. they're willing to take the chances to destablize the region so they win this price war. because they, look at it as a fight for survival. so, at the end of the day, this is how desperate opec is right now. >> fight for survival for opec but for us, consumers are saving a billion dollars for every penny gas prices fall. that is great news for a beleaguered american consumer who hasn't had a raise in five or six years. phil, thanks for coming on. >> thanks, gerri. gerri: we want to know what you think. here is our question tonight. does the u.s. have opec over a barrel? log on to gerriwillis.com. vote on the right-hand side of the screen. i will share results at the end

of tonight's show. >> >> you know it is one of the busiest shipping days of the year, the holidays. you have to get presents out. 10 days left before christmas, delivery giants handle a onslaught of packages. last year a late surge in web buying blindsided shippers causing millions of gifts not to arrive on time. you remember pictures of the gifts falling through the hedge? will they deliver this time around? we're joined by the top retail analyst at pricewaterhousecoopers and strategy and unit. thanks for coming on the show tonight. so are these shippers getting it together this year? they say they're spending lots and lots of money? >> they're doing a great job. they have rebuilt a series of redistribution centers. they clearly add the a -- added a lot of people and additional flights. we they worked with retailers and they understood the kind of volume that will be generated this year.

gerri: e-commerce sales were supposed to be up 13% this year. even bigger than last year. the shippers will have even more of a burden. as you well know consumers are holding theirselves, they kept their purses closed a little bit. they're not buying as much as they were which makes me think they're waiting until the last minute of the if that happens though, that's a lot of pressure on those shippers. >> absolutely, gerri. it is going to be very interesting next 10 days. retailers are doing everything they can to drive people into the stores. without question, shoppers are trying to find that best deal. let's expect sort of the last couple of three or four days will be very heavy shipping days. however, i really do believe that the manufacturers, i should say the shippers and retailers understand the volumes that are coming. gerri: well, here's what we're looking at the 25% of retailers say they are going to be able to deliver one to three days before christmas this is up 17% from last year. this is amazing. i mean, goodness, gracious.

the only thing better is same day delivery. >> that is exactly true. what is interesting that if we have decent weather for the holiday season and if the retailers don't get too aggressive on pricing and too aggressive on deals, my expectation is we'll see packages under santa's tree will get there on time this year. gerri: i want to remind people what the deadlines are right now just in case you're wondering. december 18th, free shipping day. 1000 retailers opted into that plan. december 20th is the last day to send cards, packages and letters. dead lines there coming up in case you're getting ready to send something. tom, your company has very interesting outlook on average household spending for the holiday. tell us about it. >> we divided america into two groups. the selectionists which basically represent about 33% of america and they're planning to spend about $980 this holiday

season. that is about the same as last year. and then survivalists, about 67% of america, who actually are down from last year. these are the folks that typically make less than $50,000 a year. this is absolutely, every dollar counts holiday season. gerri: you described it as the most promotional holiday season ever. in fact pricewaterhousecoopers, their expectation is that the average household will spend 684 this year, down from 735. you're basically saying christmas sales are going to fall. why? >> we think that, again, with the fact that the average income this year has been about 3%, that people are struggling with the issues of how do i live my daily life? what disposable income do i have? so we have seen throughout the entire holiday season, 140 plus hours that i have been in stores, we've seen people actually trying to stretch every dollar they can. we continue to see that through the season. gerri: tom, thanks for coming on

the show. >> great to be here. merry christmas. gerri: merry christmas to you. still a lot more to come this hour, including your voice. your voice is important to us. that's why during the show we want you to facebook me or tweet me @gerriwillisfbn. go to the website, gerriwillis.com. at the bottom of the hour i will read your tweets and emails. police are offering more details about the deadly end to the hostage crisis in australia. we'll have the latest what our homeland security department should be doing differently. stay with us. ♪ she inspires you.

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gerri: that terrifying hostage situation in a cafe in downtown sydney ending more than 16 hours later with the death of the gunman and two of his hostages. so how likely is something like that to happen here in the u.s.? joining me now, former homeland security official michael balboni. welcome back. always so nice to have you here, especially on a day like today that is so confusing of the story about the self-proclaimed cleric, haron monis. tell us about him. >> he has a violent history and

been on the radar of security official as long time. gerri: tried to kill his ex-wife. >> tried to kill his ex-wife of the was in court on friday. what stirred everybody's imagine in this particular attack what has gone on in australia last couple months. there was issue out to the folks who are sympathizers in australia to go take australians off the street and behead them. gerri: right. it was a call to arms. >> a call to arms. so a lot of concern, in fact the folks in australia will have more of this issue. the question becomes, what does it mean to the rest of us? we always see isolated incident, that is the question, is it isolated? the thing you and i talked about, isis and al qaeda are very sophisticated in messaging. when you do global messaging in this internet world you will have people who will respond crazy or not. >> that is what we saw with haron monis. 16-hour siege.

27 hostages takenned. shooter killed. two hostages killed. the eventually the police stormed this little cafe. do you expect something like that here? >> no. i don't expect this particular attack because, you know, if you take a look at robert hasan, the fort hood shooter. >> yes. >> went out and killed people. abdulmutallab killed the plane. shahzad in times square wanted to detonate the truck and kill people. taking hostages is not what they do unless over in the middle east where they put on the video and behead folks. this stipe of hostage taking -- gerri: one off, strange. >> didn't fit the script. gerri: frightening and really causing terror for people at any rate, right? whether he is connected to any larger group directly or not it doesn't really matter in some ways because it still strikes fear in the heart of so many people. >> these individuals are referred to as inspired but not necessarily instructed. the question if they it could

happen here, it can really happen anywhere. gerri: michael, nothing to say, that it doesn't happen in times square tomorrow or chocolate coffee shop up here at corner anytime soon. >> really complicating the issue, these folks who do this do not have a footprint on the security radar screen. they're off the radar and come in. you don't know when the switch is flipped that they go from aspirational to operational where they actually take jihad in their own hand. gerri: what do we do about this? >> in new york city where i have the most information, we have developed a intelligence capability. we developed state of the art security forces. we put men and supplies on the street. hard for everybody to do. our concern is always they go to a place where they're not as prepared. new york city is always a target. perhaps l.a. other cities don't have it on their focus. that is the concern that has been around since 9/11. gerri: still worried about it.

michael, thanks for coming on tonight. great to see you. >> great to see you too. gerri: you have less than 10 hours today, less than 10 hours to sign up for a obamacare plan that will take effect january 1st. that midnight pacific time and three a.m. east cone deadline is last chance to make changes. you want to check it out. you may find your costs soared. governor governor is preparing for heavy call -- healthcare.gov reporting that increasing wait times. 6 1/2 million people have coverage through obamacare. the administration hopes that number will grow to nine million next year. once again tonight's deadline is only for those wanting coverage to start in january. open enrollment doesn't officially end until january 15th. but that coverage doesn't start until march. as always, highly complicated with obamacare. later in the show the latest on the sony scandal only seems to get worse. next we answer the question, how do you do that?

advice for dealing with those sometimes out of control closing costs when buying a home. ♪ ♪ (holiday music is playing) hey! i guess we're going to need a new santa ♪(the music builds to a climax.)

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gerri: before getting the keys to your new home, more and more homebuyers are experiencing sticker shock at closing times. here with ways to lower your closing costs, greg mcbride, chief analyst for bankrate.com. welcome back to the show. great to see you. what is up with these numbers? closing costs up nearly 6% year-over-year? why? >> well, a lot of this is just the fact that lenders have requirement where they quote you on good faith estimate they're

not allowed charge awe penny more when it comes to origination fees. we've seen over last couple years, when in doubt, lenders quote you a higher fee, simply because nobody will complain if it turns out to be lower at closing but they have zero latitude for that fee to actually be higher. otherwise they would redisclose and it just delays the closing. >>, so i don't understand why that makes it higher every single year? that makes no sense. >> a new rule went into effect couple years ago. meant two things, one, that lenders when they quote origination fees, fees they are responsible for on good faith estimate, there is zero latitude, zero variance allowed at closing. not allowed to be penny higher. third party fees, appraisal, attorney fees, that sort of thing, 10% vary rans. gerri: that is little loser. >> 10% meaning that it is

allowed to come in as much as 10% higher when you get to closing because those are fees that lenders themselves is not directly charging. so what we've seen over past couple years is that lenders have to do, they have to be spot on with regard to fees they're charging you. they have to do a whole lot better job of estimating third party fees. this is driving up costs to lenders despite fees are going up themselves. gerri: thank the federal government for new rules. the average closing cost of $200,000 mortgage is $520. other question i have on this, i'm not sure if this has to do with rules we're seeing variety in closing costs. texas 3,000, arkansas, 2800. those are the highs. lows dip down to $2200 in some states. why such variation? >> variation between states has a lot to do with cost of doing

business and different rules and laws that apply in particular states. but even within your state, i think it is important for consumers to realize, not everybody is charging the same price. so closing costs can vary based on property location, property specifics or simply because that not everybody charges same price. that is the point where borrowers as and consumers you have to shop around and compare and negotiate so you get the best deal. gerri: ask for that goodwill estimate up front, get that to make comparisons. tell us how to lower those costs. >> part of this during the application process, you want to apply with as many as three lenders on the same day. what that will do is each lender provide you with a good faith estimate. you sit down, and have the three estimates you can lay out in front of you. you can make a apples, to apples comparison among the three lenders. not just interest rate they will charge you but origination fees

they charge you at closing. that is how you really see what the total cost will be to you that you're paying for this loan. but also, gives you some latitude, some ability to negotiate. hey, how come you're charging this fee. i have a quote somewhere else. they're not charging that fee or a lower fee. gives you latitude to negotiate. it really puts odds in your favor scoring the best deal for your situation. again, not just interest rate but look at fees as well. gerri: sometimes you have to be super tough about this. when my husband and i were buying our home, we were told, good faith estimate, we don't do that in new york. and i said, it is federal law. you got to do it. and they finally came across. but people get intimidated sometimes, they say, oh, okay. i won't ask. you have to step you and ask for your rights and that is certainly one of then, right, greg. >> excellent point, gerri. you're absolutely right. tell you another one that goes along with that. lenders pick network of

providers for third party fees. you as consumer are not necessarily bound by that. you can pick a different title company or attorney fee offering you a better quote so you can reduce your costs under that category as well. gerri: great stuff, greg. thanks for coming on. good to see you. >> thank you, gerri. gerri: coming up next, as net worth of middle class continues to fall we'll have advice getting off the downward spiral. how do you do that? the scandal from sony continues as the entertainment company is now warning the media not to unpublish what hackers uncover. we'll have the latest. stay with us. you don't need to think about the energy that makes our lives possible. because we do. we're exxonmobil and powering the world responsibly is our job. because boiling an egg...

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♪ gerri: there are lots of confusing signals out there about the bottom lines of u.s. families. debt burdens are falling, home prices are rising, so why are people more confident about their futures? with me no, rick edelman.

let me give you just one of these data points that's out there, people paying down debt to the consternation, really, of economists who want them to go out and spend and propel the economy further. are you seeing this in your own business? >> not in ours, but it's because our clients have their act together already. they understand the uncertainty, they understand the political question marks, they are fearful of terrorism like everybody else. but, you know what? they're not letting it stop them from pa doing what -- from doing what they know they need to do. gerri: you see that number, people paying down household debt, getting that under control because that was one of the problems before the great recession. credit card debt, mortgage debt, you name it. and now we're starting to finally see household values pop back up, right? real estate values are higher. stock values are lower, so it's sort of a confusing picture out there. and like you, i truly believe

that consumers have yet to really get that confidence boost that will make them do the right thing and really go and invest in their future. i think they still have fundamental questions about the safety, the fairness of the markets and what they can expect out of them. >> i think you're absolutely right, gerri. there are so many folks that are so focused and fixated on the negative that's out there. they're looking at uncertainty politically, they're looking at the volatility of the stock market, they're looking at their own personal experience; job loss, housing market declines, their 401(k) imploding in 2008. guess what? that was six years ago! we've got to take a look at what's going on in the world in general because, you know what? the good news is far outpacing the bad news. and if we don't get over our own worries, fears and anxieties, all we're going to do is guarantee that our financial future will be one of poverty and regret and neglect, and we need to get ourselves out of that habit.

gerri: it's a head in the sand kind of syndrome, i think. >> it's really easy to fall victim to the negative, and we have to get past it. we really do. gerri: i agree. you know, you even see it in holiday spending. i think that's part of what's going on, people just not trusting it, not wanting to get out and spend really. there's a certain amount of cynicism not just about the markets, but everything, right? these retailers, they'll give me a better price in another two weeks or a week and a half or whatever. it's fascinating -- >> you know, you're -- gerri: go right ahead. >> it feeds on itself, it really does. people have to recognize that, you know what? my situation really isn't so bad. the future is looking brighter than it was before. all the fundamental analysis is looking very, very strong about the marketplace. we need to get past this and recognize, you know what? i'm six years older than i was in 2008. gerri: right. >> i'm closer to retirement -- gerri: and the kids are that much closer to college, my friend. there's lots of things -- so how do you rebuild that confidence?

how do you get people, and i know maybe your clients are all super smart and they don't face this, but how do you talk people into taking that first step, making that extra step just to get their finances together to start saving and investing in themselves? >> it starts with financial education. it really does. and that's the backbone of the services that we provide to our clients. that's why i've written so many books and why i'm thrilled to be here with you, because people need to understand how the financial markets really work, how growth of money really works. the notion of compound interest that most people have no clue about. how to really take advantage of your 401(k) at work or thrift plan, whatever it is you've got, without taking a lot of big risks. realizing that it's not the big decisions like houses and cars that make the difference, it's the small decisions like that cup of coffee that you buy or the soda at work. it's really the day-to-day activities. the pennies add up to dollars, the dollars add up to thousands and millions. and if you understand the basics of money management, you'd be

surprised how easy it is to achieve the goals that you have for yourself and your family. gerri: rick edelman. if i don't see you, merry christmas. >> to you too, gerri. gerri: a tragedy to report to you now. the latest headline in the fight over e-cigarettes, a topic we talk a lot about here. a 1-year-old in upstate new york has become the first child to die from liquid nicotine. yes, it does happen. that is the substance, of course, used in e-cigs as they continue to rise in popularity. police are not saying the child died from an e-cigarette or how the exposure occurred, only calling it an accident. according to the american association of poison control, one teaspoon of liquid nicotine talk about lethal to a child, and smaller amounts can cause severe illness. despite the dangers, there are currently no standards set in place requiring child-proof packaging. the center's announced a number of exposures has more than doubled since last year to more

than 3600 as of no 30th. november 30th. state lawmakers are introducing bills requiring child-resistant caps on bottles of liquid nicotine. of new york's governor is set to sign a bill any day now. hopefully we'll never see these tragedies again. and on to sony, a story we're also covering a lot. they have hired one of the country's top lawyers to try to stop the massive leak of documents rocking the studio. in a sharply-worded letter, the attorney says anyone who reports on the stolen material is just as guilty as the hack ors. adam shapiro joins us now with details. adam? >> reporter: it is pretty amazing when you consider it, but the important thing that everyone needs to know is that it's david boies. i mean, this is this high-powered attorney who, you will remember, from the clinton

era. he represented the former vice president gore before the supreme court back in 2000. so this is no lightweight, and he issued -- we got a copy of the letter that he issued to one of the news publications today in which they say, look, we do not: >> r eporter: and then he goes on to say if you do not comply with this request and the stolen information is used or disseminated by you in any manner, sony pictures entertainment will have no choice but to hold you responsible for damage or loss arising from such use or dissemination. we're talking potentially hundreds of millions of dollars. on the other hand, there is that little thing called the first amendment in which the press does have a right to report on valid news. so this is going to be, first of all, boyce is three weeks too late. this information is already out there. you can't put it back in the bottle. gerri: can't put it back, but, adam, frankly there must be more to come if he's out there making

these kinds of statements now, right? >> that is correct. the hackers -- guardians of peace, the name by which they go -- are promising a christmas present for sony because they still refuse to stop the release of that movie, "the interview," on christmas day. and they're promising information they say will be blockbuster, but most of the information that has been released, there is absolute criminal activity here, the stealing of social security numbers, the violation of hipaa, you know, the releasing of medical information, that is a criminal activity. but most of what's been released is very elementary school, 8-year-olds saying do you like her, do you not like her? i don't hike him, he's evil. it is immature at its best. it has a salacious quality because we talk about it, and we like to see the powerful and the wealthy make fools of themselves. but i think most of us probably at some point in our lives have made fools of ourselves. [laughter] but there hasn't been anything so earth shattering z to -- as

to rise to the level of the pentagon papers. gerri: this sort of is a first amendment issue, right? i would defend sony's ability to put this market out without some kind of christmas surprise, which we don't know what that is, do we? >> reporter: we don't. and it's troubling, especially if you're on the receiving end of sony, and it's important to remember three weeks into this disaster, this is a criminal event. very important stuff has been stolen, and copywritten material has been stolen and released to the public, the movie. so there are going to be millions of dollars, perhaps hundreds in millions in damages. who do you go after? but even "the new york times," gerri, "the new york times" got one of those letters, so the editor actually in a quote said it is unlikely that they would stop, you know, printing material because of the lawyer's let or. but this is -- letter. they said it's hard to have a firm policy on how to handle these kinds of materials.

as we've made clear, we have used documents surfaced by others. it would be a disservice to pretend these documents were not revealing and public. what we're learning about hollywood celebrities, believe it or not, they're human. i mean, unless you eat with one, but that's another story. [laughter] gerri: adam shapiro, thank you. >> reporter: you got it. gerri: and now we want to hear from you. the price of oil continues its six month fall bringing the markets down with it. does this mean the has opec over a barrel? here's what some of you are tweeting me about our poll question tonight. joe says: another viewer says this: let's hope so. it's about time they stop controlling our economy. it's about time they stopped controlling our economy, i think that's what that was supposed to be. and on facebook, david was one of many posting this: drill, baby, drill. and peter agrees, drill and frack, that's what i'm talking about. in addition to following me on twitter and facebook, be sure to like fox business on facebook.

and here are some of your e-mails on obamacare regarding gruber's comments that the american voters are stupid. here's what jamie from florida writes: the american people are not stupid. it is the americans that voted for obama twice that are really stupid. and regina from louisiana tells her story: i am 47 and have worked since i was 15. due to illnesses, i am no longer able to work. i had to go on obamacare. my premium was $123 a month, and i just received my new premium for january, it's going up to $167. i don't know what to do. a lot of people are going to be in regina's position. we love hearing from you. send me an e-mail, go to gerriwillis.com. and when we come back, could you tell the difference between regular diamonds and ones made in a lab? we'll put you to the test. and junk bonds getting a lot of headlines recently with the price of oil plunging. we're covering your assets with advice on these investments coming up. ♪ ♪

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...weigh you down? don't wait ask your doctor about spiriva handihaler. ♪ ♪ gerri: well, today stocks taking a nose dive, the dow down 99.99. dropping oil prices pressuring the broader markets as oil falls below $56 a barrel and a big week ahead for wall street as traders brace for the federal reserve's two-day policy meeting which starts tomorrow. we're covering your assets with barron's editor. jack, welcome back to the show. let's start with the fed, we've got a lot of ground to cover here tonight. let's talk about the fed. they're talking about getting rid of that phrase "considerable time." >> well, i don't think that they're going to do it earlier than we anticipate, i think "considerable time" means sort that kinda six months. the problem is they don't want to freak the markets out now, but they don't want to freak the markets out later when

eventually we think they'll -- gerri: but the market's already freaked out. we had a major selloff last week, continuing into today. >> so the last thing they want to do is freak it out more. i think this is the considerable time tantrum, and it turns out they'll leaf anytime there -- gerri: so you think they won't do this. >> i think they won't. but do you know how when the ocean's cold, you're scared to go in? at some point you're like, ooh, that's cold. that is the moment the fed doesn't want to deal with -- it's a horrible analogy. gerri: tearing off the band-aid. all right. so what do you think they are going to do in this meeting? will we hear any resolution to any of these issues with the fed? >> i spend most of my day worrying about words. i don't play in that league of being incredibly careful. maybe they'll leave considerable time but change another word -- gerri: let me ask you this. two mandates here, unemployment and inflation. so unemployment is largely under control. i think you have to say we've

seen some good numbers, people seem largely satisfied. we're under the inflation threshold, so now the two mandates are competing with each other. what does that mean to the fed? >> well, this is hilarious because the criticism in the fed has always been that they shouldn't worry about unemployment, now people are saying it's the other way around. i don't think it's a problem, actually. the number one force that pushes inflation higher is wage growth. clearly we don't see that right now. how do you get it? you drop unemployment to the level that employers start to have actually raising salaries to attract people, then you get both your inflation and your unemployment problem solved -- gerri: i don't see that the fed is can even handle one mandate, much less two, so i'm not very confident ant getting both of those -- about getting both of those under control. there's been a lot of focus on junk bonds, and this was an arena that consumers were in in mutual funds quite a bit. they pulled back recently, junk bond prices now down 8% since the summer. what does this tell you?

what's going on in the broader market that is telling the story? >> this is yet another factor in the energy selloff. so as the price of oil has gone down, these producers in the shale oil formations that were making money hand over fist at $100 a barrel, suddenly it's $60, $57 a barrel, they're around the break even point. so the people that have lent them money buying their bonds are worried about defaults. so now you can buy these energy bonds for 85 cents on the dollar, i wouldn't be surprised if they're 70 p cents on the -- gerri: wow, defaults? >> well, that's the fear. we're not at that point yet. they can still service their cash flow, but at some point that could come, so all the junk bonds have sold off. gerri: i think that's why the market's down. carl icahn now saying that the junk bond bubble is going to burst. [laughter] famously calling for the end of that. is that the next bubble? >> well, you know, i hate to argue with carl icahn, he's a smart guy, and in general, i don't caring with him. we have had more talk of bubbles over the past five years than

you can shake a stick at or whatever. so i don't know that it's a bubble in the sense that it's going to burst. are we letting air out right now? absolutely. but, you know, look across bond land. all bonds are too expensive. in switzerland they pay you about half a percent to lend you money for ten years. so at some point we are going to have to go back to normal, but that might take ten years. gerri: jack, thank you. i know you're giving up a lot to be here tonight, so thanks for being with us. merry christmas if i don't see you. >> thank you. you too. gerri: still to come, my two cents more. and diamonds are a girl's best friend, but is that only true with manmade stones? the comparison coming up. we're going to have diamonds on set. who doesn't like that? ♪ ♪

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♪ ♪ these rocks don't lose their shape, diamonds are a girl's best friend ♪ gerri: love that. marilyn sang about them, women fantasize about them, and men, believe it or not, spend 25% of their salary paying for one? but do you have to shell out all that money for that precious stone, the diamond? my next guest says, no. merry christmas to you. here to explain is the president and ceo of pure grown diamonds. welcome to the show, lisa. this might be some very good news for some people who want to go shopping over next week and a half. you have diamonds that aren't conventionally mined. how are they made? >> hi, gerri, thank you for having me. happy holidays. after 70 years of research and development, a scientific breakthrough has been achieved. the cultivation of laboratory diamonds that are grown identically to mined diamonds.

gerri: you say identitily, what do you mean? they're not grown in the ground, and it's a couple of months. tell us how it works. >> they're physically, chemically and optically identical to mined diamonds. the pure grown process starts with a carbon seed that's place inside a low pressure microwave chamber, hydrogen and methane gases are added, then the reaction begins. a plasma bowl ignites, carbon molecules rain down onto the seed, crystallization begins, and 8-12 weeks later a diamond is formed that is ready for cutting and polishing. gerri: so i want to show folks examples of your work here, because we have them on set. and there's a huge difference between the price for your diamonds and the price for the mined diamonds. if you're looking at this solitary over here -- solitaire

over here -- >> it's a significant savings. it's 30-40% generally. gerri: i have a three-stone ring here which i will put on. i believe it's $8100 versus $12,500. and the earrings here are $2100 versus $3300. a lot of people out there are going to say, is it the quality? for example, you know, when you buy a diamond, it's so hard. if you have it in a ring, you know it's not going to get scratched or be broken, are these diamonds as hard? >> our diamonds are identical to mined diamonds. they're the same color range, the same clarity range. in fact, every diamond comes with a certificate from igi that states the properties of the diamonds, that they're lab grown. they're identical to mined diamonds because they're real diamonds. gerri: well, they're not mined diamonds, and i think that's what most people think of when they hear "real diamonds."

what's been the response in the marketplace to these products? how are you getting the word out? >> the response is tremendous. when people hear that our diamonds are sustainable, they're conflict-free and they're the new choice of diamonds, the diamonds of the future, they're very excited. and on top of that, the savings is an extra bonus. diamonds are a symbol of love, and pure grown diamonds are a symbol of love forever. gerri: we often talk about clarity, right? do these -- >> correct. gerri: -- diamonds meet the same kind of standards as the mined diamonds when it comes to cut and clarity? >> exactly. they have the same color, clarity and cut as mined diamonds, and it states that on the certificate with every purchase. gerri: you know, a good reminder to people out there. you feel like mined diamonds are expensive. their prices are up 75% since 2009, so if you're somebody giving an engagement ring this

year, this is something to think about. talk to us a little bit more, we talked about the hardness. do you also measure them by carat? >> our diamonds are measured the exact same way that mined diamonds are. they're measured for the four cs. a one-carat diamond that's earth mined is identical to a one-carat diamond that is laboratory grown. gerri: i'm sitting right beside them, and i can't tell difference. lisa, really appreciate your time. >> please visit us an puregrowndiamonds.com and 32 west 47th street at our showroom in new york. gerri: thank you. and we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment is right. cialis is also the only daily ed tablet approved to treat symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain,

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gerri: does the us have opec over a barrel? we asked the question on gerrgerriwillis.com. 46% said no. interesting split. finally, it's hard to believe, but the markets

were selling off on low oil prices today. cheap gas is very good for you. low gas prices put money right back into that household budget. in fact, for every penny gas prices fall, american consumers save $1 billion. so what are professional traders so worried about? oil prices have fallen so far so fast that it's destabilizing entire regions of the globe. russian's central bank made a dramatic move, hiking interest rates to 17% from 10.5%. venezuela perched at the precipice of insolvency. opec, is fast losing its grip on the markets. hard to believe. the organization that brought the world to its knees with the 1973 embargo and 1973 crisis now itself humbled. why? largely because of

american ingenuity. being frobeingfrackers are makie industry. good for us. that's my "2 cents more." thanks for joining us. we'll see you right back here tomorrow. charles: i'm charles payne. you're watching "making money." the market selling off. dow loses 100 points. the gains we had them early. they evaporated as scenes from the hostage situation played out with the gunfire and all the misery, reminding us that we're never truly safe. at least not as safe as we feel. price of oil sinks down to a five and a half year low, below 56 bucks a barrel. nicole. >> charles, in the early going, it seemed we would get some of that back. the s&p was down 3.5% last week. the dow was up 120