>> as mentioned this bill is moving forward there has been a -- that refinements -- needed now -- the clock ticking, what are you willing to make now to get this through. >> as you will note i wear a different hat secretary health human services administrative hat executive branch i am here as guest to encourage my colleagues, i am the republican side but on democrat side as well get together collaborate, and come forward with a work product that will respond to needs the of the american people what they are telling us, from a administrative standpoint is they don't have the kind of access they want they do have not able to afford we met this week at the white house, with many individuals who felt they had been harmed, by obamacare by aca. farmer was shared his story, he is a he relatively a healthy guy on individual market, his premium 500 bucks a month his deductible 7,000 dollars, so he has to get spend 1,000 dollars, out of

his own pocket before he gets the first dollar, of insurance coverage, that is a plan that may work for theovernment may work for insurance but doesn't work for him, we hear those stories across the land. >> just let me add, that -- >> republicans are united our goal to meal replace object kae working for years we believe a better way than top down government takeover of health care that is what we have been working on for years, we are working on the specific legislation, has been a very open, a transparent process every step of the way, we have gone through committee hearing from members continuing to work, through the detailed of this legislation, but we are on track, we are on track to bring this bill, to the rules committee early next week on to floor, next week. >> -- >> [inaudible question] . >> front, okay. >> seek -- >> hey. >> this bill -- the president,

on campaign trail is the president with this bill keeping his promise -- >> the important point here is that the metric always this washington about medicaid we determine success by how much money we put into it not the kind of care that is provided to the beneficiaries or recipients of medicaid sadly fact of the of the matt the medicaid program broken for so many one out of three physicians in this nation all the to be seeing medicaid patient don't see them we should stoech back say why is that the must beomething that's what we hope to do along with our congressional colleagues. fashion a program at that works for states and works for patients and we believe we can do so in a way that saves money as well. we are going to be one more in the back. >> the president is very supportive of this plan. the president is very supportive of this plan and

thinks that it addresses his priorities which makes sure that preexisting illnesses are covered and we have tax credits for toes in the vulnerable population and encourage people to purchase coverage and have a transition in the program and have a soft landing and move from one system to another. to get down drug prices and address medical malpractice, all of those things outlined by the president in his joint session and we're excited and enthusiastic about the support of this plan. >> thank you very much. >> finally. dear lord. okay. [laughter] that was sausage making, an an appeal for the ryan plan on obamacare. that was a press conference that lasted roughly 20 minutes, i don't think we learned anything new, but we did see the sausage making process going forward, i gue you could say that. obamacare, you just heard all

out it. the principal opponent of obamacare, a critics for many ten years, betsy mccoy, joins us now. >> there's something new, but it wasn't discussed in this news conference, unfortunately. and what's really important is that is meeting with a group of conservative republicans with the house and that's news worthy because today was reserved to spend with chancellor angela merkel from germany.

the president is committed to getting this through. and telegraph that. >> tom price. the ryan plan, he goes up first at 8:45 eastern time and he gets his points in first. >> he didn't have any points, that was unfortunate. i would say that the biggest selling point for this bill was never discussed and he only talked about the impact on the 10 million or so people who buy health insurance on the exchanges. what about the 170 million people who are repealing the employer mandate. if you're out looking for a job, it's going to get easier when the bill is passed. that's big news. >> okay, excited, i don't blame you. >> well, the employer mandate made it too expensive to hire people. look at hundreds of thousands

of people who got demoted to part-time status. your point is the best point all day. the president put off a meeting with the chancellor of germany who meet with those who are opposed to the ryan plan and-- ments the best chance to get a repeal bill through and he will. stuart: all right, happy st. patrick's day. >> top of the morning. stuart: it seems no retreat for stocks and we are going to open higher. we've been saying this for a long time. opening higher, we're close to 21,000, crossed that level yesterday and we'll go back close to it today. we'll be up at the opening bell, which is 25 minutes from now. liz: that's right. stuart: st. patrick's day. look at this, tiffany on the upside in early going, premarket, 4% higher. strong demand for high end jewelry in china and japan.

weak holiday sales in america, china, japan, off set the weak holiday sales, up 4%. canada goose, nice pop on the first day of trading, it looks like it will be up again today. wait until you hear what the ceo of canada goose, cold climate clothing, wait until you hear what he had to say about climate change. the biggest tech names that you know and which many of you have invested in are sitting at or near record highs. we have apple, facebook, alphabet, amazon, microsoft. just by the way, you take them altogether, look how much each company is worth, add it up. and it's $2.6 trillion. that's the new wall street, that's what we cover frequently, they'll be up again today. let's bring in aaron elmore.

i think the republican party is in trouble if they can't get it together and do something on obamacare? >> you know, i couldn't agree with you more. i actually think you're always right and today more than ever. here is the difference. donald trump is not a traditional republican and not a mocrat. the republicans did themselves, the republicans got donald trump elected because they went too far to the right and he's trying to please his main constituents, the american people and the republicans are losing their way and he's saying i care about the american people. stuart: it's a test for president trump, he's got to bring them together, got to do that. this is a testing time for donald trump, this is the very first big legislative thing he's put forward. he cannot afford serious delays and cannot afford to fail. now, we understand that in about 20 minutes he is jaw-boning with the republican study group. you're on the republican side of this. is he knocking heads together, is he playing hard ball. >> sources are telling having

paul ryan on your side is not a bad thing in washington. he's a very smart plan and knows what he's doing. i think that donald trump is a persuasive individual and have this worked out soon and mitch mcconnell on his side. everyone wants to work with donald trump. president trump knows what he's doing and everyone will come to his side. here is the they think about a negotiation. president trump knows that we don't all have to say one side or the other side, agreeing and coming somewhere in the middle is where we should all be. one of his primary focuses on getting elekked was repealing and replacing obamacare. that's about what is going to happen. i want your reaction on this. berkeley, california, insisting of divesting of a company that works on trump's border wall, contractors, designers. >> shame on you, you know the

crime rate in berkeley, 87% higher than the national average. violent crimes 3% higher than in all of california. maybe you guys should work on that instead of getting so angry about donald trump. that is a real problem in berkeley. if they're saying we are not going to help donald trump and work with the president of the united states they should focus on what's happening in their community instead, getting jobs and wall. 87% higher than the national average. stuart: thank you, that's your response. >> sorry i'm not with you today. stuart: happy st. patrick's day anyway. >> you as well, wearing my green for you. stuart: i've got a green tie. check the futures, we're going to be up at the opening bell again. not much. we often start like this, not up much, but up, the bottom line. another day of action at the white house, president trump meets with angela merkel, no

love lost between these two, could be contentious behind closed doors, but all smiles. and releasing a ship after a began fight, standoff over, no ransom payment made. we'll tell you how it all w down in one moment. and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, or adempas® for pulmonary hypertension, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have a sudden decrease or loss of hearing or vision, or an allergic reaction, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis.

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>> a software maker is going up nicely at the opening bell, 5% up. they make photo shop. did you know that? a product of theirs that's doing very welch the stock is up. how about this one? somali pirates release the hijacked oil tanker. now, what's happened? >> you know what? no ransom paid. i think they realized the game was up and they weren't going to get anywhere. this is an oil tanker from djabouti to mogadishu, taken by eightrew members all from sri

lan lanka. and there was a little bit of a gun battle, the pirates, that is. they gave up. stuart: do we have any idea what troops fired the shots? >> navy sources, international water has a navy source and eu is involved in that as well. piratesy in this area, you know, captain phillips the movie and everything, is almost unheard of now because they're not getting anywhere with it. stuart: successful conclusion. no one hurt and we'll take it. ashley: yes. stuart: president trump is about to welcome germany's chancellor angela merkel in the white house. first meeting since then candidate trump bitterly criticized her immigration policies during the campaign. come on in, rick grinell, he joins us now. i expect when the meeting take place for the cameras, smiles, big hand shakes and diplomacy and behind closed doors, i

don't think it will be so friendly. what say you? >> i don't think it's going to be friendly, but i don't think it's going to be that bad. look, i think that we have a lot in common with germany. we certainly have issues where we disagree. they certainly need to hammer out a policy on russia, i think that's very important. we need to figure out what we're going to do with isis. we've got to create a different policy in syria. stuart: that's all great and-- wait a minute, wait a minute. >> and immigration. stuart: what does angela merkel want from president trump? and what does president trump want from angela merkel and what are they going to get? summarize it in 30 seconds. >> interesting enough, i think merkel wants some sort of commitment on climate change if you can believe it, but-- >> that's not going to happen. ashley: good luck. >> that's not going to happen, but she's going to need to push that for her constituencies and donald trump, i think, is going to try to get a commitment to increase spending at nato.

i think that's a very important point, the germans are not paying their fair share. stuart: they've already said they're not going to do that. she's cold on that whole idea. >> well, i think that she's under pressure. she's certainly under pressure from general mattis and from president trump. they're going to make it a priority. as you know, president trump made 2% spending of gdp at nato, which is a commitment that these countries make, he's made this a big moment. so, i think you're going to see that push from donald trump, but i think they're going to get along just fine. stuart: that's not the point. for the cameras they will get along just fine and hold a joint press conference and hunky dory, big smiles and big hand shakes. >> look, i have a small difference of opinion because germany is europe's largest economy and trump is a businessman. they're going to be able to talkbout business issues. now, essential, again, russia, russia sanctions are going to come up and immigration and some other issues.

stuart: no, no, no, hang on a second. germany has a huge trade surplus, often in cars, with the united states. >> sure. >> mr. trump, president trump will doesn't like that and will pressure them to do something like that and angela merkel is not going to give in. >> i don't think that angela merkel is going to give in, but i think that we have a lot in common with germany. yes, we have problem, but i suspect we will he get along quite well. they're both powerful leaders. stuart: i'll leave it at that. we'll agree to disagree. i've got one more for you, the proposed budget contracts america's contributions to the united nations to the peace keeping and general budget of the united nations, i say this is politically popular and it will happen. you're a former u.n. guy. you approve of it? >> absolutely. we have way too many peace keeping operations. we should be going through that budget and getting rid of them. we've had peace keeping

operations that are spending tens of millions dollars trying to find peace for 50 years. this is really an outrage. there's so much waste there, i think that you could easily go through and figure out where our monies are being spent. try to go away from assessed contributions and more towar voluntary contributions and programs that work. stuart: rick grinell, i agree on this, what you'll see today from angela merkel and donald trump are platitudes, smiles, hand shakes and maybe a hug. thank you for joining us, we'll see you later. ashley: i don't know about that hug. stuart: i find this an interesting indicator. more than 3 million people quit, quit their jobs in january. now, why would you do that? because they think they can find better, higher paying jobs elsewhere. that's an optimism indicator, isn't it? more on that in a moment.

>> oh, look at the price of oil. $49.08. back to 47, back to 49. no impact on the stock whatsoever that we can see. more than 3 million people quit their jobs in january, they think they can find a better job elsewhere, to me--

by the way, the highest number since february of 2001. >> wow. stuart: look who is here, took him three hours to get to the studio, but jeff sica. >> people are tired of being in underpaid jobs they can't seem to advance. when you find this many people quitting and looking for better things. who among us doesn't want a better sign. stuart: 3 million, more than any other since 2001, i'm shocked at that. >> the statistics in the employment number were that americans were underemployed, taking two jobs to make ends meet and now you have people with confidence, quitting, looking for better jobs, looking for better opportunity. stuart: taking a risk. liz: as the data comes in, doesn't it give a message or send a message to the weak-kneed republicans in congress who are all lilly-livered over obamacare

reform and tax reform we may lose the mid terms, may lose the house, man up and do it. the trump voter wanted this and confidence is coming in, sorry, that's how i think. stuart: it must be st. patrick's day. liz: top of the morning to you. >> what you're going to see, you're going to see wages go up and see savings go up and see consumer sentiment and spending go up because when people are confident and when they're out seeking better employment, they're going to spend their money and they're going to save their money. stuart: wow, how about that, jeff sica, by the way, in a couple of minutes' time, you will see the market go up, again, not a lot. the futures indicate what, 20, 25 point gain, no, maybe 40 points up for the dow. we'll be back close to 21,000, yes, we will. back in a moment.

>> ohthis could be trouble. we've got 45 seconds before the opening bell. i've got to tap dance for now 40 seconds? what am i going to do? what am i going to say? let's build the excitement, shall we? this market seems like it wants to go up. over the last week we've seen it get to and approach and go above 21,000 despite all the political turmoil, all the sausage making with obamacare reform and with the tax cut maybe being delayed. bee despite all that, despite

all of the contentious politics, the money side of the equation, as we cover politics and money, look at the money side, it's all optimism. the dow jones industrials average closed 66 points at 21,000 and we're about to open this friday morning. where are we going to go at the opening bell? i tell you right now we're going to be up. thank you very much indeed, everyone. thank goodness for that. we're up 30 points. 20,962 is where we are. lots of green on the left-hand side of the screen there. still more green and we're only up 20 points, not quite as much as i was expecting. now, the big money for the past two years at least and especially since the election, the big money has been pouring into big tech. the new wall street, we cover it every single day, apple, amazon, facebook, alphabet, microsoft, they're at, near or above their record highs. facebook is at 140 again, apple at 140 again, 851 on amazon,

off we go. look at snap. that's a tech company, a very small one, going the other way. it popped when it first traded there last week or earlier this week, i should say, and now it's down firmly below $20 a share at 1985. okay. it's friday morning, we're off and running and the dow has opened with a gain. let's bring in ashley webster, elizabeth macdonald, jeff sica and scott shellady. i call this the new wall street, that is the big name technology companies. scott shellady, still in london, i might add. any reason to believe that the money will start coming out of the biggest of big-name tech companies? >> no, and the three words, drones, kiosks and robots. that's where america's going to innovate and create more wealth. unfortunately, an unintended with middle class, jobs going away there, and any president would have to deal with that, not just donald trump. but that's the wave of the

future and america is number within at that around the world. so we're going to innovate and create. it's kiosks, drones and robots. stuart: that's fascinating. jeff sica, we added up the value of five big-name companies. 2.6 trillion dollars. ashley: and facebook and google t another all-time high. stuart: both facebook and alphabet. ashley: all-time highs. stuart: any reason for you to believe, you're a trading kind of guy. any reason to believe that money will start to come out of the big name techs? >> the big name techs, if i probably had to put money in, that's probably where i'd put money. one thing to keep in mind, these companies have been very dependent on a weak dollar and they have been very dependent on low component costs coming from places like mexico. so if we see things like the border tax, which makes those components more expensive,

we're going to see profit margins press at the big technology companies and they already add much as admitted that, that they're going to see profits pressed because when you have a market and stocks priced to perfection, you have to be ready. stuart: not yet. liz: that market value is about the gdp of india. that says something. stuart: 2.6 trillion. liz: yeah. stuart: look at that, snapchat is firmly under $20 a share and falling as we speak. 19.79 right now. earlier this week, it popped up to around $28 a share i think when it first went public. scott, something tells me you saw this coming, didn't you? you were never a fan of snap? >> it's, you know what? we talk about technology just like in the last segment. to me this isn't technology, it's a gadget. i can't get behind something a gadget or a one-trick pony. they don't have the advertising

revenue that facebook could. i don't see the power twitter behind them. i've called them more of a gopro technology and i can't see it's morphed. they are a trying with the television and shows they're trying to do. at the end of the day, is there room for that? and number two, is it still up for grabs? >> amazon, you know, the alexa, now you can access alexa from your iphone. i'm told that siri is really nowhere near as good as alexa. what do you say. ashley: pretty upset right now. stuart: she's not talking to me. >> siri has been left in the dust. stuart: really? >> alexa is kicking siri's butt. the bottom line, alexa first of all, has the technology to work with household appliances, the first time amazon put alexa on a smart phone, there will be integration between devices, and the smart phone. that's what the market wants.

you can give commands to both your devices and have the integration. siri does not have that. so, i think that siri is going to become obsolete. most of what apple does, roll out new versions of old products, they'll be left in the dust yet again. stuart: that's serious stuff. liz: and it's also about shopping and advertising and, boy, amazon is cornering the market. one individual said they're almost like a monopoly now. stuart: at some point we'll face anti-trust problems. in some of the businesses they are in. ashley: the way they're going. they're innovative and thinking way ahead of everyone else. stuart: what do you think, scott, where do you stand on siri versus alexa? >> i think it's fantastic and i love alexa and here is the technology, the changes say in 25 years ewhen i first moved over here, stuart, i had to have a car and couldn't get around and do what i need to. i didn't have a car and had everything delivered on either

amazon or a local grocery delivery store. i don't need that type of thing and the big change, everything that i've ever needed down to a little eyeglass rubber thing to fit my nose, i can get on amazon so that to me is the power of technology that we've said and that's the way forward and the new economy and again, you've talked about the ice age, what's going to happen to these malls. so, yeah, i think that amazon with the web services is fantastic. stuart: and we've been on board with this, the new wall street is the new technology and we're all over it. i mean, that's a very good story. now, i've got some gee-whiz for you. sony has filed a patent to transfer battery power wirelessly from one phone to the other. the right phones introduced i put my phone on top of my phone and leach my battery power. ashley: no comment on that. stuart: you lose battery power and i gain it, wireless, stick it on top. ashley: lovely. [laughter]

>> back to you. >> thanks very much, stu. stuart: thanks. sony is not moving. check out the big board. we've got a gain and it's a modest gain and 20 points up and 20,956. a couple of individual stocks for you, first off adobe, they make software, got it. better profits and strong demand for their products like photo shop, that's an adobe product and the stock is up nearly 6%. look at tiffany, good strong demand from china and japan from high end jewelry. weaker holiday sales in the americas and that stock is up 3% right now at 93. a pop for canada goose when it started trading on the big board yesterday. now the ceo says he's not worried about warm winters. that's interesting from a guy who sells down jackets, e-mack. liz: his quote, changes to weather patterns have not impacted our sales. it's not something we're worried about. i'm just not sure they're going to come out with fur-lined

bikinis and tank tops. ashley: what's he going to say? yes, it's terrible. >> they have the $900 parka, that's for extreme cold, that's one of their highest margin products. the fact he's saying this is a good thing and we have to hold him to this for future earnings report because i did so well on the ipo. liz: it should be noted they did not debut a month earlier when the weather was like 70 degrees. they debuted with a snowstorm in new york. stuart: well put. scott shellady, in london, where the weather changes every five minutes. would you buy a goosedown jacket. >> it would have to be cold for me to ever wear a jacket. look at my body type, number one. number two, $900 that would be the ice age for me to buy the jacket and number three, he's not a proponent of global warming or he has to get out of the business and i can't

belim saying any other thing, of course the weather is not going to change our profits bah because he has to say that. he wouldn't say that if it's hot and we're going out of this business. stuart: and very good point, there, shellady. show me disney stock, please, the live action version of beauty and the beast hits theaters today. in the production meeting there was widespread agreement this is going to be a huge moneymaker for disney. does anybody disagree? sica? >> no, first of all, a lot of people focus on the critics. critics are always wrong, this is going to be the biggest feature of this type and one thing i love about disney, disney finds a way to make an entity profitable, whether it's through merchandising or distribution, in china or in europe. disney is masterful at taking a their content and marketing it. stuart: they opened up a

franchise with beauty and the beast. liz: a movie and a broadway musical and now this. stuart: and a sequel. liz: and a sequel. stuart: you milk it, you milk it and the stock is at $112 a share on disney right there. now, here is a technical financial story, but it's a big one. goldman sachs scooping up poor quality home loans and they're poor quality. ashley: bad loans. bad loans essentially. goldman sachs is doing what some people did several years ago. you're in the real estate investment business, what do you think. >> brilliant. the bottom line there are always going to be aggregate of loans, below grade. but aggregating these loans and buying them, this is all a numbers game. buying as many of the loans as you can buy and having, what's great about buying real estate loans, loans, you have the real estate as collateral. if you feel confident you have

the real estate as collateral, you carepotion that. it's a good thing, i would buy as many of these loans as i could buy. stuart: fascinating. thank you, jeff. now, we have this health insurance. the health insurers, those people, they see premiums rising significantly under the ryan plan for obamacare. replacement. the g.o.p. has a problem, i would suggest they've got a problem here if the health insurers see premiums going up under the ryan plan, they've got a problem. >> this story needs to be put in context. they're talking maybe 15%, 20% hike in individual plan prices next year and then the cbo. this is the cbo. premiums come down by 10% over a 10-year period. why is it going to pop next year? the mandate goes away, that means they need to raise premiums. ashley: what about deductibles? you hear the hero stories of $7,000 deductables. liz: that's missing in the debate.

what people have had to endure under obamacare. stuart: millions of middle americans, have a 6, $7,000 deductible, why bother having it. stuart: and you don't get it until you shell out $7,000 of our own money. liz: and people laid off-- >> why don't the republican bang the table and say we're going to relieve this. liz: they don't do political theater like democrats do. stuart: scott shellady, did i just hear you say you moved to london? >> yep, i moved to london and come back after 12 years, in the states, have come back. because you know what? we've got a lot of opportunity both in the u.s. and here and a lot of european action with the elections and we've moved back for a while and see how it goes. i'm here permanently. stuart: have you appeared yet in piccadilly circus in your cow jacket? >> no, and it's difficult to explain when i'm walking around a lot of people don't know what it is. over the next few years i'll be

able to debut it someplace else. stuart: good luck, son. [laughter] >> it was great having you on the show, jeff, scott, one and all. and happy st. pat's day to boot. the gain is gone, we're up only 3 points, that's where we are. your retail ice age story of the day, radioshack, do you remember them? that's my generation, really. closing hundreds more stores. we'll tell you how many in a moment and how is this for liberal lunacy? the city of berkeley, california voting to divest from any company involved in the building of president trump's border wall. we'll have the story in a moment.

>> friday morning, 9:45 eastern time. they are holding on to a very small gain, but it is a very small gain. 9 points higher, 20,943. another wave of store closures for radioshack, how many this time, liz. liz: they're talking 300-- let me get the right number. 365 stores, that's a lot, but this is a big number you want to know. there's going to be 1500 stores shut in 20-- this year. it goes beyond radioshack and we're talking the retail ice age. j.c. penney's macy's and sears down to the limited. so 1500 shores shuttered by retailers across the country. we're talking 365 alone for radioshack. stuart: back in the '90s, i think they had a store within five miles of every person. ashley: radioshack. i didn't know they were still operating.

most of them are going. is newfr leftist, california, specificallyhe far left city of berkeley. they voted unanimously to divest from any company who has any aspect of building the border wall. stuart: u.s. president concrete and ceo, that's what you do, you make concrete? >> we make concrete. stuart: and you want to put your concrete in the wall. >> we're going to evaluate. we don't know how much concrete is going to be in the wall. too early to tell. stuart: what do you make of berkeley saying we won't touch your stock with a 10-foot pole. >> i think it's interesting of the controversy of the-- >> interesting? i know you're a ceo and publicly traded company and you can't pound the table, you're not pleased, are you? >> i'm not pleased that construction has become politicized, obviously. stuart: when congress

authorizes the money and there's some money in the budget and some money already authorized from way back. >> correct. stuart: when they give the go ahead, when does construction actually start? >> i would anticipate a couple of months. because all the designs have to be vetted yet and then they have to be costed out, they have to be engineered, but i would assume by fall, there will be actual structurals being built. stuart: and the shovel will hit the dirt. >> that's what i anticipate. i know you don't know the final design yet, he understands that, but are we talking a one or two-year process or longer or shorter? >> with 2000 miles it's going to be longer, built in multiple stages, but that's a long border, 2000 miles from the gulf coast of california and probably done simultaneously in various portions of texas, california and arizona. >> okay, now, there's a huge mexican cement company, cemex, it's called. so they're bidding against you? >> i understand recently

they've decided not to bid. stuart: is that right? >> that's right. stuart: that's for political reasons, are you happy about that? >> no, because we don't produce cement, we don't produce-- we buy cement and mix it and makeoncrete. stuart: i'm sorry, i'm sorry, i didn understand the process. stuart: cement is that gray powder stuff. >> that's correct. stuart: you mix it with sand, water and gravel and it creates-- >> concrete. stuart: that's what you do. so you're the mixing people. >> we're mixing people and we're much more interested in the infrastructure and build it. the president is proposing $1 trillion. the democratic congress has proposed a similar level of spending. we do think that's going to come probably in 19. it takes a while to get this and tax reform and regulatory reform have to come first. you've got to be able to efficiently deliver projects and then have to be able to find the money to fund them as well. stuart: but concrete guys are happy as clams any way you slice it, you're going to win. >> with gdp going possibly from

2 to 4%. 86% of our business is for general building so that part of the pie is very enticing for us. stuart: i've got seen your stock and i know you can't comment on it. >> right. stuart: but i take it it's gone up since the election, is that accurate? >> that's accurate. stuart: a lot? >> some. [laughter] >> not enough? . bill, thanks very much for joining us, we appreciate it. >> thank you, stuart. stuart: check that dow industrials, it's getting better. we're up 17 points and as you can see, a majority of the dow 30 are on the upside. i've got another sign of optimism for you. the surge in job creation and confidence in the economy. a result, intense bidding wa in the housing market. that's interesting. back in a so those financial regs being talked about? they could affect your accounts, so let's get together and talk, and make sure everything's clear. yeah, that would be great. being proactive... it's how edward jones makes sense of investing.

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one of the 10 companies, construction companies bidding on the wall are hispanic-owned here in the united states. you did the berkeley story before a lot of the bay area companies bidding to work on the wall. stuart: i don't think that mexican companies can afford to walk away from this stuff. the peso is way, way down. ashley: this is a billion dollar contract for concrete and cement required to build the wall. it's a lot of money. stuart: and politics kept them out. ashley: absolutely. stuart: not good. a sign of optimism, specifically in the husbanding market. am i hearing, ash, about bidding wars? >> yeah, there's a chronic shortage of housing on the market. it's expensive tiff in your new yorks, boston, san francisco, this is happening in the heartland, not nuture homes on the market. when there are instances, by a house $300,000. and then there are calls, $18,000 cash on top to get the house. stuart: back to the old days,

like 2004, 2003, 2004. liz: yeah. stuart: and that's a sign. ashley: the prices as a result are going up which is tough for first time home builders, first time home buyers i should say, be warned. stuart: yeah, be warned. officials in the city of berkeley voted to divest from any company that is involved in building the border wall. i think it's to stop president trump from doing absolutely anything. my take on that just a couple of minutes away.

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>> fresh from the violence that greeted a visiting conservative speaker, berkeley makes headlines again. here it is. berkeley officials in the city of berkeley, they have voted unanimously to divest from any company that is in any way involved in the building of president trump's border wall. not just contractors, but any company that designs or finances the wall. okay.

we get the point. berkeley will not allow either free speech or free commerce. but where do they stop? would the berkeley city council invest in, say, defense contractors? probably not. defense is bad, you know, especially when you're defending the world's most vibrant democracy. drug companies? doubtful. hillary said they were greedy. banks? forget it. tobacco no way. goldman sachs, are you kidding? oil companies? you must be joking. pipeline companies? never! i could go on. but what about alcohol? that's tricky. booze is kind of sinful, but on the other hand, you rarely meet an abstinent student, do you? maybe berkeley buys into diageo, but does it quietly and marijuana companies? you don't have to ask. they will stampede to weed. i think the left is trying to make the country ungovernable. whether it's students on campus, democrats in congress,

protesters on the streets, or unelected judges in the courts, the aim is the same, stop trump from doing anything. so far, in my opinion, regrettably, they're making the running, they have the upper hand, they have seized the initiative. the second hour of "varney & company" is about to begin. ♪ ♪ got a dream to take them there, they're coming to america ♪ >> oh, yeah, "america" by neil diamond. we're playing it because next hour, germany's chancellor angela merkel is meeting with president trump. she's come to america. they're meeting with veterans affairs official, this is the live action presidency, the deal maker in chief. meetings all day long. breaking news now, on the

economy, consumer sentiment numbers just crossing. liz: they're coming in stronger than expected and it rose for the month. so, january, we saw it at the highest in a decade, it dipped slightly in february and popped back up again. this is the biggest economic story coming out of the trump victory and that's confidence in the economy. stuart: confidence, optimism. ashley: optimism is the word. stuart: that's the mood of the day. optimism and confidence. and how about snap, not much confidence there. it's below $20 a share and coming down, 19.42, 2% lower today. gopro, they had a big pop, i think that was yesterday, down a little bit today. just giving back a fraction, down 1%. gopro is back at $8 a share. now, canada goose, that was a winner on its first day of trading. and now it's down to, well, it's not down to, it's $17 a share. up another $1.50.

it's done well. canada goose has done well. got it. higher sales at tiffany helped from asia and china and japan in particular. that offset weaker domestic sales for tiffany. the stock is up now 1%, 91 on tiffney. back to my editorial at the top of the hour. i'm saying the left is trying to make america ungovernable and i think they've had some success. i'm going to make myself unpopular, but i think the left's process of stop, block, get them to retreat, stop anything trump. they've got some successes to chalk up, i think, fred. >> well, they do have and they've had some successes not only in berkeley and i think they're going to have more. i think this is just the beginning. the democratic party now has taken the stance that we're going to apply total resistance

to the trump administration and this is happening in places around the country. remember, at the environmental protection agency where the bureaucrats there rebelled in public and demanded that donald trump's choice to head epa, scott pruett, not be confirmed. i'd never seen anything like this where the bureaucrats rebel in publicly, they weren't doing it secretly. and sanctuary cities saying they're not turning over illegal immigrants, it's building. stuart: so far president donald trump does not have a full cabinet. the idea of resistance there, and some cabinet members that have been confirmed they don't have their top lieutenants, they have not been confirmed. >> the top lieutenants in so many places there's not deputy secretary or assistant secretaries, people who run the various departments of any cabinet agency. so, it makes it very difficult.

look how many stories you see, now, about some acting deputy secretary or something. these are obama people. they're not-- or bureaucrats. they're not trump people and it's going to be hard, it's going to take months to fill these agencies at the top. stuart: okay. fred, stay there for a second, i want to branch out to a different story, i'll get back to you in a second. both sean spicer and mick mulvaney discussed president trump's budget yesterday. roll tape. >> we had america first and america first candidate, you now have an america first president and it shouldn't surprise anybody that we have an america first budget. >> i think this budget is a huge down payment on the president's goal of showing his commitment to fiscal responsibility and respecting the taxpayer. stuart: and dug glass ho holtz-eakin is here. you may or may not agree with me, i don't think in this day and age-- you're smiling -- in this day

and age, i don't think you can cut domestic spending and actually do it. we've presented this budget with big cuts in various domestic programs, i don't think you can do it in this day and age. what say you? >> i think it's going to be very hard. among the things on the list for cuts are, you know, the corporation for public broadcasting people have taken runs at in the past. and national endowment for the arts, and tried in the past. these are back to bush, and they've identified the fact they aren't working efficiently and don't merit taxpayer money and they're still in the budget. so, it's a, i think, you've rrtly identified, a very difficult tax. stuart: i don't think see how we can ever address the growing deficit if we can't cut spending of some kind dramatically. >> well, inthe big problem here, they took off limits the big money and that's the 70% of spending that's over in the

entitlement programs. what went up to the hill is 30%. 70% is, a, where most of the money is right now and b, the real growth is happening the next decades. programs that grow at 5, 6, 7% a year and we're not going to see that rapid growth in revenue, so, i think there's got to be a way to get this under control and this is small potatoes on the side. stuart: look, if you can't cut successfully public broadcasting and can't take a couple hundred thousand out of the budget there's no way on god's green earth you'll make a significant cut to medicare or even social security. therefore, surely at some point in the future, you've got yourself a debt crisis, have you? >> well, as you know, i'm very concerned about the outlook for the federal government. i think it's the single biggest financial risk. the american health care act, the house is conflating right now.

cuts 1.1 trillion out of entitlement spending and does it in a way that gives flexibility to the states and allows them to have a more efficient medicaid program that helps low income americans, it's a step in the right direction. it's not just cutting the money, you have to have programs that america will be proud of and i don't think we do at the moment. >> real fast. the budget that the president presented will not be the budget that congress votes on within a few weeks or months. it's just going to be thrown out, rewritten. is that accurate? >> that's absolutely accurate. dead on arrival, as are all president's budgets recently. stuart: douglas, thank you very much indeed for applying your expertise to this. now this, president trump set to welcome germany's chancellor angela merkel at the white house, back to fred barnes, that's an awkward meeting? >> i think it's going to be a chilly meeting. remember angela merkel made it clear that she does not like

the policies of donald trump. they disagree on immigration. they disagree on lots of thin things, but what will happen we'll get some happy talk, they'll talk about nato and a great history years and decades between the united states and germany and so on, but there is going to be a joint press conference afterwards, early this afternoon. there there may be some sharp disagreements. stuart: you think? >> well, i think so. stuart: really? >> i mean, they can't avoid it completely. they're going to-- some questions if they're halfway decent and sometimes if they aren't halfway decent. if you ask both parties about-- trump and merkel about immigration, they're going to be quite differentanswers. stuart: do you have any idea who invited whom? did president trump say come on over, chancellor. or the chancellor said, i'm

coming over, donald? which way was it? >> i'm not sure. germany is one of the biggest countries in the world and an american ally since world war ii and this meeting was going to happen sometime. who invited whom, i don't know. i think trump was better off, since he's having her come to the united states though. stuart: the meeting, surely, is important not for what will be agreed upon, but there's a meeting, they'll shake hands, they'll smile and sort of get together and smooth over on at least on the surface any serious differences. this is all about diplomacy and appearances, isn't it? >> well, a lot of it. you'll see a lot of that at the press conference and there will be a photo opportunity and i guess, in the oval office where the two of them are there. look, i think the disagreements are so deep and the chilliness that's there. i don't think you can hide it entirely. we'll see some of it. stuart: fred barnes as always, thanks very much indeed.

we'll see you again soon, fred. >> very good. tates : there are now 500 that have declared sanctuary status, meaning illegal immigrants can move there without fear of being asked questions and punished. sheriff david clark, that's the man on the screen. he says there is increasingly no sanctuary for ordinary american citizens. he'll join us in a moment and it is st. patrick's day, meaning up to 2 million will be turning out for the st. pat's parade here in new york city. starts in about, i think about an hour. listen to the music and we'll be back. ♪ ♪ ...you realize the smartest investing idea, isn't just what you invest in, but who you invest with. ♪

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>> we like dramatic video and we have this for you. this is mt. etna, sicily, active volcano, a bbc crew

filming an eruption, caught in the explosion, versus steam, lava, molten rock shot into the air. eight people injured. you n't see muchbut that's what hpens when you get caught in a volcano when it's active. the bbc did get out, but had to run for their lives. mt. etna, one of the most active volcanos that you can see. 500 cities in america have declared sanctuary status for illegals. and our next guest says there is no sanctuary for american citizens. that's sheriff clark. welcome back, good to see you. >> my pleasure as always. stuart: myself, i now, as a newly arrived immigrant, and a fully fledged american citizen, you say that i have fewer rights than does an illegal in new york city or other sanctuary city? is that accurate?

>> i don't know if you have fewer rights, but you have fewer protections. in some of these cities, you mentioned 500. they're aiding and abetting criminality when they allow safe haven and safe harbor for people in the country illegally and have been arrested or convicted of some very serious crimes. we're not talking about the person who comes into the country illegally and, you know, tries to blend in, i'm not sanctioning that. i'm taking criminal illegal aliens. one in milwaukee this week, 2011, in a catch and release situation. last week he pointed a firearm at his girlfriend, at his young children, threatened them, beat them and now he's held and trust me, after this one, he will be deported because we are and we have been assisting ice in a deportation of criminal illegal aliens. stuart: are you doing what you're supposed to do? if you are assisting ice, the feds, in deporting criminal

aliens from a sanctuary city, are you doing what you're supposed to do or you're breaking the protocol of sanctuary cities? >> i'm doing what the people of ill milwaukee elected me to do. i have a duty and obligation to protect people. not only, but law abiding citizens as well when they're victimized by crime. that's why there's no pushback here. you know, this stuff has been polled in terms of law enforcement, local law enforcement. we don't have to do this. i think there's an ethical obligation as well, stuart, under the law enforcement code of ethics. one of the tenets is to assist with other lawful and legal law enforcement agencies in the pursuit of justice and that is what this is here. i don't know why it's such a big deal for some of these chief executives. you know, there was a letter last week or several weeks ago signed by about 60 sheriffs and chiefs sent to the senate that

didn't like this idea. look. the feds can't make us enforce illegal immigration, we don't have the north unless you're under the 287 g and i've applied. a guy is an arrested for something serious, he's in the country illegally. ice says a lawful detainer, a legal process, hold onto him until we get the deportation process started. it's not indefinite, it's a short period of time. these 60 as well as some other cities are saying we're not going to honor that. you can't make them. then again, the feds withhold federal funding, i'm hoping they do that. because that's the carrot we need when people-- when i say people, law enforcement, mayors, governors, i don't want to live in a sanctuary city. stuart: can't we cut at this, isn't this all about the hispanic vote. if you go against being a sanctuary city, you lose the hispanic vote, you lose the election. isn't that what it's about?

>> well, that's what they think it is on the left, but you don't because donald trump doesn't do too bad with the hispanic vote and he was preaching this the entire time. we're talking about illegal immigration, we're talking about criminal illegal aliens, that's what he's going after initially. you're right, it's about the votes for the people on the left. for me, i don't get involved in that stuff. i have a duty and obligation to protect law asiding citizens and i'm going to do everything in my power to do that. stuart: sheriff clarke, i'm sure we'll see you again. >> thank you, stuart. stuart: secretary of state rex tillerson, you might say he's facing down north korea. he says he will not rule out nuclear weapons for japan and for south korea, okay? said i he's in asia. dow industrials holding onto a minuscule gain, four points higher, 20,938. back in a moment.

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>> more dramatic video. this is flooding in peru. dramatic. a woman swept away, pulled under by the current, trapped under debris. miraculously, she escapes. she survives. ashley: oh. stuart: heavy rains there caused at least a dozen deaths. a good lady got out. good stuff. adobe makes photo shop, right? it's a software company, photo shop, very good sales there and the stock hit an all-time high earlier of $130 a share. it's backed off only just a fraction. now this, secretary of state

rex tillerson refuses to rule out nuclearization of asian allies to deter north korea. listen to this. >> the policy of strategic patience has ended. if they elevate the threat of their weapons program to a level that we believe requires action, that option is on the table. stuart: i guess that option being nuclear weapons for south korea and japan? >> exactly. and he says that's not to say we're going to do it, but we're not ruling out, certainly weaponizing the area to basically meet the aggression of north korea and does say and kind of alluded to it in the statement there, the past 20 years of diplomacy toward north korea have been an absolute failure, quote, unquote. stuart: and north korea has missiles that can reach japan and bases in south korea and they've got a nuclear capacity. you have to believe that the south koreans and japanese in

some form in particular sh have some form of defense. >> donald trp tweeted that they've been behaving badly and china has done little to help. stuart: is anybody going to contest that they've been playing for years. liz: they take u.n. development money, north korea does. that's what happens at the u.n. when the president says he wants to look at the state department and what it's doing with spending, that's on the table and it should be noted that south korea is in political turmoil with its leader recently impeached. stuart: that's south korea. liz: south korea. stuart: i was mistaking it with north korea. they assassinated the-- >> the stepbrother. stuart: the stepbrother. inability in south korea, nukes in the north, and who can plame japan and south korea for wanting to defend themselves.

liz: and the key here is china. stuart: they must be annoyed at north korea. nukes to japan? >> exactly what they didn't want. liz: beg your pardon, china does not want an influx of north korean refugees, that's dicey. stuart: the world's hot spot has been the middle east, maybe it's now the korean peninsula. liz: could be. stuart: very soon, in 90-- less than that, about 55 minutes from now, angela merkel will be driven up to the white house steps. she will be greeted by president trump. they will go inside and there will be a meeting. you will watch the diplomacy unfold as the two leaders get together on the steps of that building right there. you'll see it. i predict hand shakes, big smiles, maybe a hug, we'll see. [laughter] . president trump unveils his budget. one of the left's talking points is the potential demise of big bird. there's a story we're following for you. back in a moment.

♪ bad to the bone ♪ . he.

stuart: republican lawmakers met with president trump. it is all about replacing obamacare. roll tape. listen in. >> provide coverage for indigent and the disabled. we're excited about it. we've come here to celebrate with the american health care act and move forward with a yes. >> here here. >> these were folks that were either a no or a maybe.

and we had a nice meeting. we've been talking all during the night. this just didn't happen over the last 20 minutes. this has been going on all night long. and we are doing some incredible things. i want everyone to know i'm 100% behind it. i want everybody to know that the press has not been speaking properly about how great this is going to be. they have not been giving it fair press. the press is, well, as you know, i call it the fake news. it is fake news. this will be great for people. i watch, i say that is not the bill we're passing. and i also want everyone to note that all these nos, or potential nos are all yeses, every single person sitting in this room is now a yes. and we made certain changes. and very, frankly although the block grant is very important the i want the states to get the money and run the program if they want to run it, because

they can do it better than the federal government. they are better equipped than the federal government. i want people to know obamacare is dead, it is a dead headlight care plan. it is not even a health care plan, frankly. i watched architect of the plan, i watched the old clip where he says american people are stupid to vote for it. i watched bill clinton say this is the craziest thing i ever seen. only because everyone knows it is on last dying feet, the fake news is trying to say good things about it, fake media. there is no good news about obamacare. obamacare is dead. unless we gave it massive subsidies in a year from or six months from now it will not be here. more people are on the plan, there will not be any people on the pl. i was in tennessee, i was telling the folks, half the state has no insurance company. the other half is going to lose the insurance company. the people don't know what to do. it is a disaster. obamacare is dead.

nothing to do with these people. nothing to do with me. it is on respirator and about ready to implode. we could wait for six months or a year to let it happen. this is not the right thing to do for the people. this is a great plan. this is going to be fantastic. you will have bidding at one level by insurance companies and remember this. remember this. those lines are going to come out, you will have bidding by insurance companies like you have never seen before. plans will come out like nobody's ever seen before. plans that nobody even thought of now will be devised by insurance companies to take care of people. and we're going to take care of people at all levels. so i just want to let the world know, i am 100% in favor. these folks a they are tough, and they love their constituents and they love this country. these folks were nos, mostly nos, yesterday. >> that's correct. >> and now every single one is a yes.

and i just want to thank you. we're going to have a health care plan that is going to be that is second to none. it is going to be great. the people will see this. by the way it will take a little while before it all kicks innd welds together takes a little while. with obamacare, it got worse and worse. premiums went up 116%. they went up 58%. the governor of minnesota said the affordable care act, obamacare, is no longer affordable. that's what he said. the affordable care act is no longer affordable. and he's a guy, he is a good democrat. he wanted obamacare. he said it is no longer affordable. obamacare is not an alternative. it is not there. it is dead. so i just want to say, thank you very much, i really appreciate it. 100% of the nos are yesess. and some of them were young nos. some were just nos and a

couple were mixed. i want to thank you you folks and we'll have a great, great, health care plan. >> thank you, mr. president. stuart: i think the news there came at the very beginning. again at the very end. the people in that meeting, the republicans in the meeting, the president said when they went into the meeting they were maybes or outright nos on the ryan plan. at the end of the meeting, there was a lot smiles, he implied, the president implied some of those nos and maybes had been converted into the yes column. that is what the president is doing. he is bringing people together. he is negotiating. he says he is making progress. at one point there he was extolling the virtues of his new plan saying, insurance companies will be coming in with all kinds of bids and all kinds of premiums will be offered. did i hear, insurers, their stocks went up. liz: they started moving up, they started coming down. it is a mixed bag right now.

stuart: my opinion, the news is the president banging heads, bringing them together. maybe he is making some progress. there you go. the big board, the dow jones industrial average, no response whatsoever so any of this. we're holding on to a tiny fractional gain. i call it dead-stop friday. big tech companies, that is the new wall street. this is what we cover all the time, they're all at or close to all-time record highs. if you add together the value of those five companies on the screen, it comes to $2.6 trillion. which is about the value of india's economy with a population of 1.2. that's an important group of stocks right there, and they're all american. how about this? totally different story with another tech company, that would be snap. down today, 2% lower, back to $19 per share. next, happening next hour i should say, germany's chancellor, angela merkel and president trump, they meet. the president's been very, very

critical of germany in the past. let's hear that. roll tape. >> hillary clinton is running to be america's angela merkel. and we've seen how much crime and how many problems that's caused the german people and germany. hillary clinn want to be america's angela merkel. [laughter] and you know what a disaster this massive immigration has been to germany and the people of germany. we have seen attacks in france, in belgium, in germany, all over the world. it is not compassion, but reckless to allow uncontrolled antry from places where proper vetting can not occur. stuart: now, the other side of the coin. there have been attacks by migrants who went to germany. they have conducted some attacks

in the past year. president trump was railing against that. and against that for part of angela merkel's policy. give me a list of the incidents. ashley: it is quite a list of 2016. we can give you five or six. february last year a knife attack in hanover. a police officer was stabbed by a 15-year-old moroccan girl. in may, one dead, three injured. a man attacking people on a train in munich, yelling "allahu akbar!." in july 18th, axe and knife attack by afghan refugee injured five on a train. july 24th, ma chet see attack in germany. syrian refugee killed a pregnant woman. sail day, suicide bombing in an sb ach, germany. asylum seeker blew himself up. before december last year, isis-inspired tunisia driver drove his truck into christmas

market in berlin, killing 12 people, injuring 50 others. stuart: quite a list. driful list. katie hopkins in london. i think this will be a awkward meeting. do you think otherwise? >> it makes me, the most awkward meeting all time. the equivalent of having your ex-wife at a wedding. it will be horrible. these two could not be more opposite. he likes cheeseburgers. she is about the frankfurters. he is flamboyant. she could murder both her parent in the night and eat their livers for breakfast and you would never know. these two are diametrically opposed. he wants a travel ban. she's the mother of all migrants, i do not see the meeting going well. stuart: i'm so flab are gassed what she might eat. are, you don't anything productive can come out of it? look, when they greet each

other, there will be handshakes and joint news conference, no, nothing comes out of this concrete, productive? >> no. no. you've underestimated merkel i'm afraid. merkel never smiles. she actually travels with a wardrobe assistant specifically tasked to keep her looking boring so that people will focus on her politics. that as the truth. stuart: no. >> she has this gesture, that is her famous illuminati gesture. she is known for not giving anything away. you know, trump said, drain the swamp! she is the unelected leader of the unelected bureaucrats in brsels. that makes her virtually bog monster. nothing productive will come of. all of europe, especially british people like me, why trump would tolerate her in the building. trump said in the "art of the deal." i don't mind about money. i just use it to keep store. now is a good time to remember

angela merkel is worth $11.5 million. that trump is worth 3.7 billion. so i think maybe he wins already on this one. stuart: that was remarkable segment, katie hopkins. i don't know what to say except the satellite would go down on us. i would go on a couple hours. >> come on, let's do it! let's do it! stuart: come back soon, katie hopkins. thank you very much, ma'am. >> thank you. stuart: we've got to go, go to a break. the dow industrials absolutely dead flat. but we will be back. and the urinary symptoms of bph. tell your doctor about your medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, or adempas® for pulmonary hypertension, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. do not drink alcohol in excess. to avoid long-term injury, get medical help right away for an erection lasting more than four hours. if you have a sudden decrease or loss of hearing or vision, or an allergic reaction, stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis.

♪ ashley: and now this. president trump meeting meetingp republicans on the new health care bill. betsy mccaughey says the president will push that bill through. roll tape. >> the mandate made it to expensive to hire people. look at hundreds of thousands of people that got demoted to part-time status. stuart: your point is the best point to make all day. the president of the united states put off, delayed a meeting with the chancellor of germany so that he could meet with republicans who oppose the ryan plan, bang heads. get them together. that is important. >> over the next four years depends getting repeal bill through. he is going to do it. ♪

stuart: oak. the city of berkeley, california, the city council voted unanimously to divest from any contact of any kind with any company that is building the wall, designing the wall, preparing the wall, producing, content of the wall.

they don't want anything to do with it. so come on please, carlos pascual, former ambassador to mexico from the united states. i believe you were the ambassador during the obama administration. is that correct, sir? >> i was the ambassador during the years 2009 and 2011, correct. stuart: where do you stand on the wall, may i ask? >> i think that is a big question that the united states has to answer whether the wall is an effective measure for its own security. if we look at -- stuart: where do you stand? do you have an opinion? >> i do. i don't think it is an effective measure in order to protect the security of the united states. the principle issue of migration is going in opposite direction. more mexicans are going back to mexico than going to the united states. the majority of immigration problem to the united states is actually from central america. mexico's a critical partner in being able to address that problem and so finding a way to

work with mexico on these issues is probably the most cost effective way of actually addressing the immigration issues that the united states is concerned about. stuart: i do want to ask you this. cemex, the mexican-owned cement company has just withdrawn from playing any role in bidding on the wall whatsoever. it had said it was going to do it. now it's withdrawn. i take it because of intense political pressure coming from within mexico, is that correct, sir? >> most mexicans are opposed to wall. the wall is characterized as a mechanism to keep mexicans out of the united states because they have been characterized as criminals and rapists and so it many about as very emotional issue here. and when mexicans see that the majority of mexicans are actually coming back into the country, they don't see this something which is really effective measure. they see it as political and emotional issue. as a result of that, mexican companies have been against it, mexican political class have been against it but mexican

civil society is against it as well. stuart: mr. ambassador, i'm sorry to cut this short, but i must and i do appreciate you being with us today to give us that side of the opinion. we appreciate it, sir. thank you, mr. ambassador. >> all right. you're welcome. stuart: there is a lot of outrage of president trump's budgets. the left says amongst other things he is trying to kill big bird. it is friday morning. look who is here, juan williams, author of the book, "we the people." juan, you used to work at npr. >> yeah, they fired me. stuart: they let you go. >> they let me go. they did so with some elan. did it publicly with the boot, stuart. stuart: we're glad youe he. >> thank you, thank you. stuart: now are you joininthis core husband, oh, you can't kill off big bird? you can't kill the taxpayer contribution to the public broadcasting. oh, you mus'nt do that. are you going to defend your former employer who fired you. >> let me defend big bird of the

as you know big bird works for hbo. so he has gone to the free market. he is doing fine. stuart: exactly. so why can't public broadcasting do fine? run commercials? >> i've always been of the mind, public radio, national public radio, npr does very well and i think they could do very well on their own. here is the thing -- stuart: it is the united states. why should our government provide money to a broadcast that is putting out tainted leftist news? >> let's slow down a second. i agree with you that their news is tends strongly left. i used to go out and raise money for npr as one of their hosts. you would go into some small rural communities, without federal support, they don't have a newspaper, they don't have any source of news t does play, go into smaller -- stuart: have they got a radio? >> they got a radio. stuart: have they got it. v and satellite tv? >> i'm just telling you, stuart. stuart: can they get fox in

rural areas? we're not quality news. >> we are quality news, thank you. stuart: yes, we are. >> i'm telling you unstood that part of it, but in terms of a larger scope ihink npr could be self-sufficient. stuart: you know what? >> what? stuart: i think i won this one. >> i came in to kiss the blarney stone. you told me you're not irish. you're an englishman. an english man. stuart: i'm an american. >> that's right. you changed. thank goodness. this is huge, this is huge news. stuart: i'm putting you off the set because i got president trump. >> go. stuart: president trump meeting with veterans affairs officials. here's the tape. listen in. >> those who protect us. i've been saying that a lot over the last go years at rallies and speeches. we will protect those who protect us. that as just starting. because i think the veterans have not been treated fairly. david and a group of brilliant,

brilliant doctors and businessmen are forming a board, and you've got the most talented people i've ever seen working with you. there is no more games going to be played at the va. i want to thank david, your secretary, your new secretary who is going to be so outstanding. he passed 100-0. when i heard that vote i said, where did that come from? 100-0, passed 100-0 for bringing your experience, determination, for the crucial task of reforming the va and insuring care for our returning heroes and warriors. tonight i'm having a major meeting with some of the people that we put on the board. ike perlmutter is an amazg man. marvel, disney, one of the great, great business men of our time and others we're having a meeting tonight at with we call affectionately the southern white house. seems to be the most convenient

location. everybody always wants to go to the southern white house. are you going to be at that meeting? you heard about it, right? it is going to be great. all about the va. the va's mission statement is engraved in the plaques outside of its headquarters. it reads, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan. that was stated by abraham lincoln. that was lincoln's pledge, called lincoln's pledge. but for too many veterans this hasn't been their experience at all. we've been reading horrible stories over the years and already, dade, i'm hearing it is getting much better. a lot of improvements are being made. it is going to change. under my administration it will change. very important to me. during my campaign i outline ad detailed plan for reforming veterans care throughout the country. we're working to put that plan into effect. it is moving, i think, i can say

honestly ahead of schedule. as commander-in-chief i will not accept substandard service for our great veterans. every member of our government is expected to do their utmost to insure our veterans have the care they're so entitled to, maybe more entitled to than anody and that hasn't been the way they have been treating but it is the way they're going to be treated. again, i want to thank you all for being here. it's a great honor. maybe i ask david to say a few words. >> thank you, mr. president, mr. vice president. i wanted to let you know the people in this room are some of the most dedicated, passionate people ad he advocates for our veterans and they are are our partners in this quest to transform va and we really are so grateful that they're here with us standing as partners. i also wanted to thank you, mr. president, for the budget. i think that you have honored your commitment showing that

this country cares about the veterans and you've given us the ability to make sure we are able to care for them. i also wanted to tell you yesterday the house passed an accountability bill and we're very, very grateful for chairman rhodes leadership and the house leadership doing that we're looking forward to the senate bringing a bill forward. as you said we're committed to a plan you outlined during the campaign to making the va the type of organization that americans want it to be and we're will on the way to do that thank you very much. >> that's great. unrelated we just had a meeting with probably 12 congressman and it was an amazing meeting. they were all nos, would you say, mike? they were all nos or pretty much no. and after 15 minutes, now in all fairness, not 15 minutes. it was really after about four or five days, but after 15 mites, ty went fm no to all yeses.

e health care looks like it will be in great shape. it's a great plan. the press doesn't give it a fair read. i heard that before, the fake news. it is a great plan. or i wouldn't be involved with it. i wouldn't be involved. so we had 12 nos. and we have rejiggered it. we've done some great things. but the nos, in every single case went to a yes. so that was a great honor. and health care looks like it is really happening. it is going to be great. obamacare is dead. some of you folks have, yourselves, you have family members that have suffered greatly under obamacare. it's dying. it's just about on its last legs. if we did nothing, if we did absolutely nothing, obamacare is dead. it will fail. in tennessee where i just left half of the state has no insurance carrier, no carrier, it's gone. and they're going to leave the other half of the state very

soon. you have that in many cases. many states are down to one. and they will end up with nothing. so obamacare is dead. we're going to come up with a replacement that is going to be fantastic. we have no support from the democrats. that is why it's a little, we have to go interesting little routes. instead of just approving it, it has to be approved in pieces and that's working out really well. but we just got 12, very, very great people that went from no or maybe but maybe leaning to no, right, mike? and they all have given me a commitment, they're voting for our health plan, our health care plan. so that was great. i want to thank you all for being here. let's talk. the press will leave. thank you very much. ashley: good morning as always for president trump, meeting with veterans affairs officials. stay right there. third hour of "varney," straight ahead.

( ♪ ) i moved upstate because i was interested in building a career. i came to ibm to manage global clients and big data. but i found so much more. ( ♪ ) it's really a mting pot of activities and people. (applause, cheering) new york state is filled with bright minds like victoria's. to find the companies and talent of tomorrow, search for our page, jobsinnewyorkstate on linkedin.

stuart: within the hour, you are going to see a remarkable display of diplomacy. europe's strongest leader, germany's angela merkel, will arrive at the white house to meet america's leader, president trump. they really don't have much time for each other. during the election campaign donald trump poured scorn on what he called her catastrophic decision to admit a million muslim migrants. chancellor merkel was clearly rooting for hillary. but you are going to see smiles, a handshake or two, maybe even a hug. that is diplomacy. what goes on behind closed doors may be something else. president trump want germany to defend itself, stop relying on america. angela merkel won't have it. she won't spend much more on defense. donald trump want to keep islamic terror out. angela merkel let it in. germany has a huge trade surplus with america. president trump not happen happy about that. there is a long list of issues

that separate the two. odds are neither side will give much ground. let me throw this into the mix. europe needs cheap energy. america has abundant cheap energy. we could open the door to trade in liquified natural gas, sell it to them. they won't have to get it from the russians. that is leverage. that is bargaining power, but diplomacy, it will begin with big smiles about 20 minutes from now and you'll see it. the third hour of "varney & company" is about to begin. ♪ ♪ stuart: speaking over irish music on st. patrick's day. what a disgrace, varney. how dare you.

liz: we won't kiss the varney stone. stuart: yeah, have fun, children, have fun. [laughter]. moving swiftly along, can we move swiftly? thank you. any moment now president trump will greet germany's chancellor angela merkel on those steps right there at the white house. that will happen any moment from now. we're expecting about 18 minutes time, very precise with these things. you will of course see it when it happens. i want to move on to your money. now we have a very, very slight decline for the dow jones industrial average but look at that! we're at 20,924. if you are looking at the economy and future growth you have to say as of right now, optimism rules and there has been no serious retreat for stocks for a long, long time. look at the major technology stocks for a moment, at or near their all-time record highs. apple, facebook, alphabet, amazon, microsoft. by the way you take them all together, add up the worth of

them, their market value, and you get to 2.trillion$6 trillio. is that the size of india's economy with five tech companies? liz: correct. stuart: snap, firmly under $20 a share right now and sinking. barely holding $19 a share. that's snap. confidence, optimism, i will say they are bursting out all over. the country is confident that the president trump's pro-growth agenda will be implemented. zane tankel, you are a restaurant ceo. do you see and feel this explosion of optimism i'm talking about? >> optimism comes from leadership. obviously like him or not like him you have to respect the leadership. he definitely see it. but the big one everybody's is waiting for is tax reform. if we get the tax reform, then i

think we'll really see a surge. stuart: we had numbers this morning, consumer confidence, wasn't it? liz: consumer sentiment coming up. strt: way high up e. small business confidence, homebuilder confidence, all out there as very, very strong. >> absolutely, again in anticipation of tax reform. more money in the pocket. one of the things he can do is is repatriation of all billions and trillions offshore. give them a tax moratorium. bring them back all here again. that is immediate injection into the economy. stuart: i'm reading between the lines here. you're saying yes, explosion of confidence and optimism all around the tax cut. what happens if we don't getthe tax cut this year? >> well -- stuart: well, well. >> that is what i have to say. goes back to leadership. as long as it's on the table and as long as they're continuing to drive it, i had occasion last night, stuart, to have dinner with senator tim scott of north carolina, orrin hatch, ed cox from new york state, very

small group, maybe 15 of us and they all said -- i said i was coming on air to see you today. they all send their very best. stuart: that is very nice to hear. >> i asked them that question because i knew this was our topic. they all said it is well within their constituencies. ed cox surprised me as he travels the state, upper new york is a wasteland. he said he feels that optimism. stuart: you now that's interesting because upstate new york, you're right, it's a wasteland. i'm very familiar with it. it is a very sad story. >> yep. stuart: but he says picking up, signs of movement. >> he said he feels that as he travels the state and he talks to people in the state he definitely feels optimism. i can tell you within our about 200,000 meals a week, a week, there is a sense of, but again around tax reform. and the elimination of the mandates in health care, not pulling headlight care apart completely. obviously that is not going to happen. like eating an elephant stuart,

you have to take one bite at a time. to break it all apart insert a new one that will be more than a little difficult. stuart: in your line of business you want to get rid of the mandate? no i think everybody wants to. puts more money in the consumer's pocket. it is in effect a tax cut. stuart: i got it. deal with this. this is the story that comes to us from the city of berkeley, california. don't wince too much. >> i lived there when i graduated college. stuart: did you go to berkeley? >> no i worked at metropolitan life insurance company as a training program. i went to wharn, dd and stuart: i'm sorry. went to wharton. >> i graduated. stuart: donald trump he finished at the top? >> no comment. stuart: the city of berkeley. let me get the story out there, they voted, the city council voted unanimously, became the first city in america, we'll divest or invest in anything to do with any company that has nothing to do with building the

wall. i think the left is trying to make america ungovernable. i'm delving into politics here. i'm on dangerous ground. go ahead. >> that is the beauty of democracy. people can push and pull do as they want. if that is what berkeley, berkeley is not new york city. stuart: wait a minute you will not pass judgment on this? an american college campus saying we can't build the wall, we won't have anything to do with you. >> if you have it on any campus, it would be berkeley. stuart: tank kel, pass judgment. don't go down the middle with you. >> i can't go down the middle. join the people in berkeley. it will happen. other than through a brick wall. could be technology and light beams and lots of difficult ways. reality we'll get pushback. i'm a realist. stuart: when i bring sane tank tank -- zane tankel who had dinner with all the bigshots i

expected him to pound the table. is it st. patrick's day. >> it mu be thjewish in me or the irish in me. stuart: zane, you're all right. >> thank you, stuart. stuart: now this, a wave of store closures. radioshack. how many are going out. liz: they're shutting remaining 900 stores shut. we know radioshack has been a stinker for some time. this is a poster child of the retail ice age. they are a victim of taste. retailers will shut 1500 brick-and-mortar stores this year, jcpenney a macy's. those anchor stores a millstone around these shopping malls, with a third of shopping malls estimated to go under. stuart: radioshack i remember well. but i don't know where one is any longer. liz: everybody knows it has been a stinker for some time, the reason it's a stinker, a sign of

the retail ice age. they're symptomatic and poster-child of it. stuart: america changes fast. ashley: it does. stuart: that is the point. 1990s, radioshack was king of the hilt. now they're not. 20 years, bye. modest loss, 10 points down. 20,924. we're waiting for chancellor angela merkel to arrive at the white house any moment now. in fact it will be 10 1/2 minutes from now if all goes according to german punctuality. she will drive up to those steps, i do declare. i hope i'm right. action-packed presidency. back in a moment. ♪ no matter how the markets change... at t. rowe price... our disciplined approach remains. global markets may be uncertain... but you can feel confident in our investment experience around the world. call us or your advisor... t. rowe price. invest with confidence.

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stuart: ah, here is breaking news of real importance. we have news on obamacare, the replacement plan and the vote. ashley: being reported by

"politico" house republicans vote next thursday on the ryan-obamacare plan that they have strong belief they can get the 216 votes needed to get this thing through. we saw a lot from president trump this morning meeting with the nos or maybes on the ryan bill i changed all their minds. the press is on to get this thing through. they clearly feel confident they're turning around enough of republicans who may be a little doubtful to get this thing through. stuart: liz was saying a moment ago. this is must-win vote. liz: for the president. can't have the first loss of his presidency being obamacare reform. stuart: presumably they count votes in advance. they must know they're getting 216? liz: they were zeroing on 23 republicans in the districts that hillary won. they're going into thursday vote means they possibly have the vote. stuart: i'm interested to see the reaction on the stock market. no reaction thus far. ashley: no.

stuart: i would have thought things are going well, they think they will get the votes, phase one will be voted on and probably passed, i would have thought -- ashley: it has to go to the senate, right? stuart: progress is being made. ashley: absolutely. stuart: the sausage is being made. ashley: hard press is on. stuart: health insurers dead flat or ever so slightly lower across the board there. the dow industrials still down 13 points. let's see if there is any market reaction to this later on. we've been talking all day, all week, in fact a long time about confidence and the optimism in the economy. the latest finding is we have homebuilder confidence soaring to the best level in 12 years. bob massi is with us, fox news legal analyst who dabble is a little in the real estate business i do declare. i'm told the real estate business is strong across the board right now. is that accurate? >> it is. statute, thank you for having me on. i always enjoy working with you.

yeah, let's use vegas which we know was one of the hardest hits. it is booming everywhere. when i drive around vegas, it looks likes' '06. there is not a resell inventory or new homes going up. prices are going a little higher than they should be. stuart: that is vegas. across the country, we're told, in some areas including the midwest they are bidding on houses that come up on to the market. some people are saying, i will buy it for the asking price. then somebody comes along saying i will give you more than that there is a bidding war moving prices higher. that is because what you're talking about here, a shortage of supply of homes coming on the market. >> there is a couple of things. there is a shortage of inventory. there is bids here. i go to these things all the time to see what is going on. there are still some foreclosures. people are building on the retail market. there is not a lot of

inventories. investors not as much as it was a year ago, stuart. there is a bidding war going on. it is happening in florida and a lot in the midwest. if you don't have inventory -- the other issue, stuart, by the way we're experiencing i think it could be common, lack of labor. there is lack of labor. we don't have enough labor to build homes they want to build. that is another issue they're dealing with. stuart: has that something to do with immigration? >> yes it does. being from las vegas, obviously the southwest, i think we have a better sense what role that has played in the construction industry. i will tell you there are places where i could drive down the road in the morning and see 150, i'm sure, those here not legally, getting picked up to do construction. it is not what it was. there is a labor issue also we're dealing with. stuart: lot of people who watch this program, they have got some money. they're debating, where i going to put that money.

back into the stock market at all-time high? or maybe into the real estate market. i have the sense that the real estate market is poised for significant takeoff. that is my opinion. i may be right or wrong on this but i want your opinion. are we poised for the kind of takeoff that we saw maybe in '03, 04, something like that? >> i think it depends on the price of the house. if you're buying a house, stuart between 200 and 350,000, now remember, in las vegas, that's a big home. you could buy a 3,000 square feet home out here for 300,000, $350,000. out here, yes that is not a bad buy at all. you have to be careful when you start getting up into the five or 600,000-dollar homes. those may not appreciate as much. again i am concerned there is overbuild happening again and overselling. if that happens, we better be careful we don't make the same mistake again. stuart: i have 30 seconds and i

have this question for you. on the strip they built city center. huge construction project. >> yes. stuart: this was a few years back. they couldn't sell the apartments they built. are they sold now? >> yeah, i just had lunch with one of the premier guys that sells it at mandarin oriental. with the announcement of possible raiders of nfl coming here. go by one here today you will make money my friend when you sell it. stua: i knew it. bob massi, thank you, my friend. >> the prodigal son returns, my friend. stuart: whatever you say. thanks, bob. market come back only a tiny fraction. adobe, nice gain, 5% higher. adobe is technology company, got photoshop. good demand for the stock in the adobe umbrella. tiffany doing well in japan and china. high-end jewelry selling well there.

not so good in north america. asian sales are good enough to push the stock up nearly 3%. market scan, please. have a look at the entire dow 30. where are we? plenty of green. plenty of red. i would call that pretty much a mixed market with the dow down eight. show me the white house steps again please because by our estimation, we're about one or two minutes away from the arrival of germany's chance lore angela merkel on the doorstep. ashley: german timing. stuart: that's right. liz: watch for the smiles. stuart: germans known for punctuality. i want to see if there big smiles when the chancellor gets out of the car and greets president trump. i will guarranty there are smiles. we're celebrating st. patrick's day on "varney & company." check out the bagpipers on "fox & friends" this morning. listen in. go ahead. ♪

ways wins.

especially in my business. with slow internet from thphone compy,