boldly in a major way to help american small businesses survive this disruption and thrive on the other side of it. in particular we are preparing bold steps to ensure that main street can access liquidity and credit during this extraordinary time. so let me outline for you what we have been doing. i've divided -- created three task forces among senate republicans, each of them tasked with coming up with what could best be described as the next bi bill. we are trying to reach an agreement among ourselves as to what senate republicans and the administration favor doing next. with regard to the bill that came over from the house, there was some discussion about

whether to amend that with a bigger proposal because we all know a bigger proposal is necessary, but i've decided we're going to go on and vote as soon as the senate can get permission to vote on the bill that came over from the house, send it down to the president for signature and thus reassure the people around the country that we can operate on a bicameral, bipartisan basis quickly. second, we will not leave, the senate will not leave until we have passed yet another bill and clearly, that will have to go in two steps. as i indicated earlier, first senate republicans and the administration are going to try to reach an agreement on what we think is best for what could best be described as phase three. then the senate being the senate, we will sit down with

our democratic counterparts and see what we can agree to. we will not leave, the senate will not leave town until we have processed yet another bill to address this emergency. with that i will be happy to take a few questions. reporter: yesterday, president trump suggested the social distancing may be required until the summer. would that mean that this $1,000 that's being talked about as far as [ inaudible ] could go on? how long are you planning -- >> all of that is things we are going to address in the next bill that we are beginning to write already. the details of that, i can't tell you yet, but we know an additional bill of much larger proportions is necessary to meet this crisis. if we bend the health care curve, that will determine really how long this emergency lasts and that has required

extraordinary measures that basically have us in the unusual position of the american government in effect shutting down the american economy in order to meet these health concerns. if we can get on top of the health care concern and bend the curve, we hope that this will be of limited duration. yes. reporter: are you saying creating these three task forces [ inaudible ]. >> what i'm telling you is we will take up and pass the house bill as soon as the senate gives us permission to do it. then senate republicans in conjunction with the administration are going to write a next bill. the senate being the senate, we will then discuss with the democrats what we can agree to pass which will of course take 60 votes. the details of that obviously

have not been determined yet. [ inaudible question ] >> the details will be worked out in the way i just outlined. i can't give you an answer particularly on a large question like that about what the overall costs ought to be. we haven't determined that yet. obviously, that final determination will be made in consultation with our democratic colleagues here in the senate. what i can tell you is we're not leaving town until we have constructed and passed another bill, basically phase three would be the best way to look at it. liz: leader of the senate, mitch mcconnell, saying the senate is quote, working to put money quickly and directly into the hands of the americans but as you see, we have lost more than half the gains on the dow jones

industrials, specifically not as he began to speak. we were already up 700 points. remember, high of the session, 1190. now we were up 558 points because he admitted that the details of these multiple efforts to support the public and to support the american business world have not yet been outlined. to hillary vaughn standing by at the white house. hillary, earlier treasury secretary steven mnuchin had talked about a very large package, up to more than $1 trillion, correct? reporter: that's right. the president saying he wants this to be big and bold, whatever the stimulus package ends up being. so that could mean cash in people's pockets. secretary steve mnuchin saying he wants to get people cash now so a payroll tax cut would not cut it for this. mnuchin says he wants something to happen in the next two weeks. he just wrapped up a meeting with senators on capitol hill, asking for $200 billion to go towards these cash payments. the president also says he's looking at getting billions to

the airline industry. sources tell fox news john roberts that number could be $58 billion. we are also hearing that other industries could get a boost as well. >> first of all, we want to make sure that the states allow the drive-through portion of these fast foods to stay open, particularly in a time period where we are telling people don't go to restaurants, these companies feed a big part of america and i expect they are going to feed a bigger part of america. in regards to support, i will say a lot of these businesses are small businesses, companies, franchisees, 500 or less, and we have a specific program we will be unveiling that helps all businesses, small and medium sized businesses of 500 and less. reporter: the president says he thinks the economy will bounce back once this virus is eradicated. i asked him if the economic drag on the economy is having any impact on the u.s./china trade

relationship, if he received any indication that they may not be able to make their purchase agreements. he says up to this point, he hasn't heard that at all. the president is meeting with executives from the tourism industry right now. representatives from hilton, marriott, best western and other companies, disney, and he said earlier today before this meeting that he thinks those in the tourism industry might also need some help. >> they need help, let's face it. they go from having record-breaking years, this is the third year in record-breaking years, travel, tourism, everything, everything was hunky-dory, then one day we hear about this rumor in china and then we find out it's much more than a rumor. reporter: in this meeting, marriott says they have about -- their business in china fell 90% as a result of this and hilton says worldwide they only have about 15% occupancy. liz? liz: you know, i'm looking at marriott stock right now, ticker symbol mar.

it is down 12.5%. hillary, i think the important point is that we're looking at industries that employ a lot of people, middle to slightly lower middle class, and they are desperate for their salaries and it does not appear at the moment if they are all shutting down that that's going to happen. thank you very much. we need to get you some important information here. as new york city's mayor bill de blasio warns that new yorkers should prepare for a shelter in place order possibly, he stressed possibly within 48 hours, we are seeing many retail chains making moves well ahead of that. apple which said yesterday it was closing all stores until march 27th has now officially announced it will close all stores except those in greater china until further notice. now it's until further notice. the company released the news on its website. while the stock is up 3.25% right now, it is still down 7% on the week.

let's flip it over to macy's stock. macy's stock is under water at this hour by about 3.8%. the retail giant now saying it will temporarily close all 800 of its stores by the end of business today. that means macy's, bloomingdale's, blue mercury and other subsidiaries will remain closed until march 27th. the stock has lost 60% year to date. other retailers that are joining the lineup of temporary closures including l brands, obviously all the names from the limited, et cetera, to ulta beauty, ralph lauren. polo ralph lauren up .66% but l brands down 11%. ulta down 7.7%. 24 hours after standard & poor's downgraded the credit ratings of boeing and exxonmobil, these are widely held names you may have in your portfolio, boeing is still having trouble catching any kind of bid. it's down about 7.6%. we want to explain this to you.

the ratings agency cut the aircraft maker which was already struggling, obviously, since its 737 max jet grounding, they cut it to triple b from double a-minus. double a-minus is two notches above junk bond status. s & p cut exxonmobil from aa to aa plus which means it is still investment grade and that's probably why exxonmobil is catching a bid. it is up 3.5%. let us get you a stat right now. that is the dow jones industrials is up 669 points. the s&p for its part up 107 or 4.5%. why does that 4.5% number matter? the s&p is on pace for a record seven sessions in a row of greater than 4% moves, either way, up or down. but even with today's move higher, what levels do you, the investor, need to be watching?

we will bring in nyse trader, new york stock exchange trader scott redler who joins us on the phone from new jersey. john corpina is on the floor of the new york stock exchange. scott, i will get to you. speak specifically to the s&p at the moment. where do we need to hold above that would give investors some encouragement? >> this morning we came in, we were looking at the december 18th low. that was 2355. we hit this morning 2367. so by holding above that level, it gave a little bit of confidence for traders to dip their feet into the water and try to play it out. after huge days to the downside, typically the market has been trying to take back a third or half so a bounce like this doesn't mean we are out of the woods. there are still many complicated times ahead. at least that might be a short-term floor for active traders to trade against. every single week we are looking

for points of reference. for the past few weeks they have been lower and lower. today we are about 30% off the highs in the s&p. this might be a minor floor but i doubt this will be the floor of this complicated crisis as we go through the next few weeks ahead. liz: his level one floor is 2401. the s&p is 2493. john, he just talked about active traders. scott is an active trader. so are you. tell me what the sense is on a day like this, where the dow is up 3.25% but it was down nearly 12% yesterday. you're not even scratching back a third of what we lost yesterday. >> yeah, it's hard to have confidence in this market. coming into today, the volatility we saw overnight in the s&p futures were significant. once the market opened today it was just very hard to hold on to this rally. what we have seen all day long is that any time we are getting a government official, whether it's the president, whether it was mitch mcconnell who just spoke, whether it's mnuchin, the market is clearly reacting on

every single word they are saying. some to the upside, some to the downside. we need to let this market find its own place where it's at. significant sales have knocked down tremendous returns off major dow stocks and i think investors are starting to look at soctocks that were $80, now $30, as good buying opportunities. liz: you are looking at a more global picture, naiem. we know president macron of france is now saying it will backstop quite a bit of money for the banks there so they can continue to lend. it's almost similar to what we are doing here in the united states or at least promising to get done. we do believe the federal reserve here has already begun pushing money into what is the commercial paper market. we do know that this is breaking right now, that angela merkel says the european union will close borders to all external traffic. the uk no longer, of course, a

member of the european union. what are you seeing on your screens for our business audience right now? >> thanks for having me. it's a huge panic and the breaking news which you just mentioned, it has made the situation even more dire. because now with the borders officially closing, the supply chain, especially the food supply chain, is going to be massively impacted. even the uk is no longer part of the eu but we had food supply chains and i'm talking about utility stocks and about stocks like -- all of them are down over 40% and 50% and airlines, they are down and down. liz: and our airlines as well, they have already, dare i say begged the administration for a bailout. they will get it. the president said earlier $50 billion but i did see that we do

have, for example, there is a brazilian airline that is suspending all international flights. some of these airlines are not capitalized enough. here's a picture of the euro. if we pull up how the u.s. dollar is trading against most other currencies, give us a sense, scott, what you expect to see in the futures tonight. >> the overall s&p? liz: s&p, dow, nasdaq. >> okay. all depends how we close. right now, we are off the highs, taking back not even a third. i don't think this is lending much confidence. the overnight futures also doesn't give you much of an indication. yesterday we were locked limit up and by the time we were in the office in the morning, we were up small. at this point i think traders are trying to map out levels and zones and for right now, resistance in the s&p is 2700, that's probably a rally to be sold. today's low of 2367, we trade

against that, we break that, we are looking at 2200 easy. liz: good to see all of you. we will check back in with you frequently over the next couple days. thank you. when we come back, universities, elementary and middle schools online and not in school. a company that is looking to help keep all students from falling behind. that's next. in the transportation industry without knowing firsthandness the unique challenges in that sector? coming out here, seeing the infrastructure firsthand, we can make better informed investment decisions. that's why i go beyond the numbers. can we go get some ice cream? alright, we gotta stop here first. ♪ ♪ from smarter atms, to after hours video tellers ♪ ♪ comcast business is connecting thousands of banks to technology that turns everyday transactions into extraordinary experiences. hi there. how are you?

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life line screening. the power of prevention. call now to learn more. liz: we are getting this breaking news. if we can put up the ten-year treasury yield, it is now and has been in the last couple minutes back above 1%. back above 1%. remember, earlier today it was at .88%. the low of the session would be .9 -- .39, low of the last couple weeks, actually. there you go. 1.018 at the moment. let me read you some headlines. the new york federal reserve is expanding the overnight repo, the repo, the lending to banks, it's their short-term and it allows banks to have enough cash to then lend. we are looking at an expanded repo and they are doing it to ensure smooth functioning of u.s. money. it was $175 billion. they are now expanding it.

the daily repo overnight, to $500 billion. i think one of the important things is this also involves the afternoon repo. they are just throwing a bazooka of money at all of this at the moment. we are keeping an eye on the ten-year yield, pretty much across the board we are looking at rising yields at least for the 30-year, 1.63%. i'm just keeping my eye on these wires because i think it's really important to make sure you guys get all the information. at this hour, here's more information. 38 states have closed public schools. combined with district closures in other states, at least 74,000 u.s. schools are closed affecting some 40 million public school students. as more and more corporate employees and small businesses and universities across the nation are forced into quarantine amid the coronavirus outbreak, our next guest's company is offering a go-to solution for the student at home or stay-at-home parent who is

trying very hard to provide an educational platform that focuses on both remote learning and also job placement. andrew clark is ceo of zovio, a publicly traded education company, joining us live via skype in a fox business exclusive. first things first, how is the business doing at the moment? when i say that, i mean how much of an uptick have you seen on the platform? >> thanks, liz, for having me on. the business is doing really well. we have a variety [ inaudible ]. our online learning platform has seen a three to four time increase in interest as the universities have shut down all their campuses, as you mentioned, and are looking online. liz: yeah. and you know, some companies we know are struggling to provide remote access. how important is it to be making

sure the broadband pipes are still flowing because the one thing you don't want to see with all this increased usage is any kind of stoppage or clogging of the system. have you seen that with your servers or is everything running relatively smoothly? >> you know, everything's running smoothly on our end. all the servers are up, all our students and university partners are being well supported. really what we are trying to do now is reach out to our university partners and potential universities. i have two daughters in college that are both at home, having to take classes online, and a lot of those professors have never been online. we have the ability for them to take their curriculum easily in automated fashion, put it on their own system or one we can provide them. they can get the course if realtime in front of their students and create a better experience for students. we have a lot of bandwidth and capacity for that. liz: bandwidth is key.

talk about what you have seen and how teachers are able to utilize this and what's the most important aspect of the job you feel you can do? >> well, i think the most difficult thing especially for all these [ inaudible ] so many of them are not familiar with what it takes to have their curriculum online. there's actually fundamentals they might not be aware of when it comes to online instruction. we have a free resource that any university professor can use that provides them with a variety of different tips and videos helping them [ inaudible ] for students who are having to take classes for the rest of the semester and maybe the school year. liz: my kids are really sad. they miss school. they really do. good luck to you and zovio.

the stock is spiking. very volatile but at the moment, we are coming right back. the dow is up 626 points. the housing market, ara hovnanian, one of the nation's largest builders, is going to join us next. or trips to mars. no commission. delivery drones, or the latest phones. no commission. no matter what you trade, at fidelity you'll pay no commission for online u.s. equity trades.

liz: this breaking news. senate democrats are holding a news conference on capitol hill. if we can take this picture, it's senator steny hoyer of maryland, moments ago the u.s. senate democratic leader chuck schumer of new york said the country needs to solve the medical problems of the coronavirus as a first priority and we had senator schumer also saying there is a need to bolster paid family leave, sick leave and unemployment insurance. he also said that the national guard should be mobilized. he said the democrats' $750 bill addresses immediate needs but may not be enough.

we are also getting news out of the auto world. the united auto workers union is pressing the detroit car companies for a two-week shutdown of u.s. factories over coronavirus concerns and now ford, the first to possibly bite on that. it is weighing cutting shifts at u.s. plants to reduce virus risks to workers. the stock is down another 1%. we know big auto has struggled through all of this, although toyota and honda are moving higher right now. ford is now a $4.96 stock. gm is down about 5%. we've got tesla down 6.4%. you got to take into account production cuts would probably be among precautionary measures. ford is considering this as the uaw presses the auto makers to outright close the factories at least for two weeks. you're talking about a lot of disruption here. whether it's in the auto industry and certainly the retail industry, the retail industry is getting a big boost at this hour. jackie deangelis has today's fox business brief and focuses on

that. jackie: good afternoon. amazon surging after clearing the way for more household items and medical supplies in its warehouses. the e-commerce giant telling independent suppliers it will no longer accept nonessential items in its supply hubs in order to make room for items that are more in demand amid the outbreak. costco also making a major move with a billion dollar purchase of logistics firm inovio solutions as the big box retailer looks to improve delivery of its bulkier products across the united states. the move coming amid an increase in online sales for furniture, exercise equipment, televisions and other big ticket items. and positive developments in the hunt for a coronavirus vaccine, fueling big gains for pharma and biotech stocks. moderna, the experimental vaccine now being tested in a human patient in an early trial being run by the nih. this as regeneron says its drug could be ready for human trials

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liz: all right. we are getting this breaking news on phillips 66. this is a los angeles refinery. it is cutting production due to loss of demand. the stock is down 4% to $46.33. we know that oil and the oil patch has been hammered and has been basically flattening here because of the fact that demand is down, whether it's the airlines, the railroads, you name it, demand for oil and all of its products has been lower. crude oil right now in the aftermarket session down 5.8%. looks like it's about to go

below $27 per barrel. earlier, it had closed down 6% to $26.95. we may test that. we will keep an eye on it. we do want to mention, too, the cme where they have the world's largest futures trading platform has been breaking all records on oil futures and all kinds of derivatives there. the cme and the group have made a statement and it regards the u.s. treasury secretary's plan to shorten trading hours. the cme is saying the proposal by the treasury secretary to shorten trading hours is quote, not making any sense. shorter hours makes no sense. the cme is saying that it would not decrease volatility if you shorten trading hours, it would increase volatility, possibly because people would pile in and try to trade within a narrower band of time. cme group is up 9.2% right now. breaking news at this moment. president trump is expected to

speak with supply retailers and wholesalers on the covid-19 response in the oval office. this is the one area of retail that is just hammered with so many people crowding in whereas the other retailers, whether it's clothing or whathave you, they have obviously closed their store doors. for now, we will bring you any details on those talks when we get them. let us take a look at the major retailers at this moment. everybody from costco, these are the big box guys that have been flooded with customers, bj's, kroger, everybody moving higher. bj up 11.7%. sprout's farmers market up 14.3%. costco better by 7.2%. what we thought we would do is go to kristina partsinevelos who is at a big grocery store in ardsley, new york. i'm really interested to know what's being bought. i know fresh produce is all stocked there but what's really kind of running out there?

reporter: nothing, actually, at this moment is running out. there are fewer cans of perishable goods, non-perishable goods i should say like beans. overall the priority of the store is the remind people they are constantly getting an influx of shipments. what they are doing is having shoppers, this young woman over here waiting in line because they are not having everybody come in all at once. you have a lovely staff that has been here since this morning, sanitizing all of the shopping carts when you walk in there, paper towels, gloves for you to use and we are at decicco and sons, they have eight locations. i spoke to shoppers that came this morning, elderly as well as those that are at-risk, were able to come before store hours and tomorrow, they are opening at 7:30 a.m. eastern time. we found out why they came to wait in line. listen in. it seems like we actually may not have that sound bite. we have all these shoppers actually that are here. the priority for this store is a

family-run business operates eight locations and they want to encourage people to maintain the social distancing. they are coming together to open the shop in advance so that people that feel fearful about catching the coronavirus won't have as many customers around. they even have this, look at this, you've got signage all across the store reminding people to maintain three feet of distance and they are taking priorities. i spoke to one of the co-owners, and they have the whole system in place. signage on the floor so nobody steps ahead so you are keeping the distance. also, you asked me about goods, what they are restocking. you can see, here's some of that. customers are really moving about. this morning, relatively empty, already stocked up and it hasn't even been about five hours. clorox bottles, obviously there are limits for a lot of cleaning products here but it's just to remind our viewers, remind a lot of the people that are worried right now, especially with all the continuous news coming out that suppliers are still shipping the goods right now and stores are constantly

restocking. so the staff is fully staffed, they are constantly cleaning these locations and it's not only here. you have stop n shop, they will be opening their stores early between 6:00 and 7:30 a.m. eastern time across the country to allow shoppers to come early. those are the shoppers that are elderly or at-risk customers. you can see right now, people are in good spirits, they are cautious. you have everybody like this man wearing rubber gloves and they are just cleaning and following the rules, it seems like, in this store, keeping the distance. based on the goods i'm seeing, the healthy stuff is still available, the veggie patties, and all the gluten-free and vegan stuff. aside from that, there doesn't seem to be too many holes on the shelves. they told me they will be getting new shipments so here's an example, the community coming forward to step up and help those at risk. liz: we want to thank that store and all they are doing. they are absolutely a model. thank you. we do want to stress to people,

she just showed you very important visual proof that things are still moving. manufacturers are still making what they need to make and they are getting at least to some stores. everybody, take care of each other. don't panic. be cool. but we do know the coronavirus has been tko'ing the airlines and the cruises and retail. so if people aren't taking trips and buying things unless they absolutely need them, where does the housing market stand? even as mortgage rates are so incredibly low. with the closing bell ringing in 18 minutes and the dow climbing back up, we are up 971 points right now, we are talking to one of the biggest names in home building. ara hovnanian, on what he's doing to keep his business, hovnanian homes, healthy through the pandemic. check out this week's everyone talks to liz podcast. serial entrepreneur and billionaire john paul dejoria went from being homeless to launching john paul mitchell

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liz: the fed's frantic moves to boost the economy and put a floor under all of the financial issues that we may now start to face due to the coronavirus crisis is doing nothing to help the auto makers right now. month to date, ford is down 28%. we just got the news that it is considering cutting down on some of its production line. general motors down 34%. tesla down 36%. if the belief is that people are not confident enough to buy cars

or they can't even go outside of their homes to do so, what about major ticket items like houses? in a fox business exclusive we are bringing in one of the top builders in america, hovnanian enterprises. chairman and ceo ara hovnanian is with us. good to see you. thank you so much for speaking to our viewers. as entire communities go on lockdown and stop spending and industries like airlines are lining up at the white house, hat in hand for bailouts, what are you seeing in the past two weeks when it comes to home sales? >> it's been surprising, frankly. we went into the pre-crone period with really strong sales. we announced our quarter just a couple weeks ago, we were up 42% but what's been more surprising, the last two weeks in one word have been robust. we have been selling lot of homes. frankly, it's been surprising. liz: that is very surprising. do you expect though now that so much has changed that we may begin to start seeing fewer

people even looking at homes to buy? >> you would think that would be the case. our sales literally remain strong through the weekend. anecdotes so far are good. again, it's surprising. we are cautious. so far it's been surprisingly good. that's on the contract end, new sales. closings have been progressing regularly. customers want their homes, they want to nest. they are going to be inside for awhile, they want to do it in their own homes. so far, so good. liz: hovnanian saying sales have been surprisingly robust. you need to stay with us and let us know as it progresses. i live in bergen county, new jersey. bergen county has been very hard-hit, particularly the area of teaneck, hoboken. i know you have in west new york and possibly in edgewater, i have seen hovnanian homes there. they are beautiful. i talked to my contractor today and he told me that he was getting calls from his

lumberyard and his suppliers last night saying they are going to ban and we know they have now, they are going to ban construction workers from working. they don't want people out and about. they need to shut this thing down. first it starts today, then it was maybe this weekend. how do you put people to work if this starts to spread around the nation? >> first of all, most of our business, the overwhelming majority, are single family homes. we typically only have one or two, maybe three workers in a home. we are basically social distancing in our manufacturing. we are not like amazon. we don't have big ougautomotive plants. we are social distancing in a very different spectrum. liz: what about say on a smaller level, the home depots and lowe's of the world? my contractor said people are gathering at those places and you can't have people gathering. but on top of that, how do you pay your construction workers?

will you pay them if they are not working? >> well, first of all, we subcontract everything so it's really an issue that our subcontractors will have to deal with. thus far, it has not been an issue. what has been an issue is service calls. several of our contractors have said we are only doing emergency repairs. we have seen that around the country. others are doing that. our own service people when they are making a service call, will knock on the door, step back six feet, say is everybody well, do you feel comfortable with me coming in for the service call. so far, most are and everything is going semi-normally at this time. liz: ara, i would be remiss if i did not ask you, i don't like asking this kind of question, but our viewers do really need to know, either you, are you hearing of any of the home builders that have maybe liquidity or debt obligations? where do you stand? do you have enough credit? because we are seeing the airlines say we need $50 billion

now. >> sure. thus far, we have not had to ask for $50 billion or anything special right now. closings are occurring. we have been ending the last 18 quarters or so with 200 to 300 excess cash, $200 million to $300 million excess cash. thus far, everything is going fine. obviously we are very cautious. we know things are changing. we talk to our division presidents around the country every night at 5:00. we will do so today and get an update. so far, things are going well. liz: keep us updated. one last thing because we need to address this in our show. it is on a broader scale. the commercial paper market, the federal reserve said today it is beginning to see the stresses within that market for people who don't know what that means, it's where corporations go to borrow short-term money to make things like payroll and to pay their vendors. how serious, when you hear that as a businessman, it almost brings back memories, bad memories of the financial crash.

>> you know, what makes me feel good is the fed is alert, the fed is making sure there's liquidity in the system. that gives me some comfort. liz: ara, good luck to you and the company. please keep us posted. we truly appreciate you taking the time to come out and speak with our viewers. thank you so much. >> pleased to be here. liz: ara hovnanian. closing bell seven minutes away. we aren't taking any more breaks, because this is a fast-moving market. we are still up 753 points for the dow jones industrials but well off the highs which had been up about 1,190 points. for the s&p's part, the high of the session was a gain of 167. we are up 112. so we are really just taking little cat scratches back from the big, big multi-percentage losses from yesterday. ara was just mentioning the federal reserve. the federal reserve is absolutely putting in a shock and awe approach, pouring money into the markets. traders say, at least according to charlie gasparino, it may be

too late for one particular sector. which one, charlie? charlie: that's the municipal bond market. this is fascinating. mr. hovnanian is a smart guy and i have much respect for him but it runs counter to what he's saying. the muni bond market, obviously municipal bonds are paid off from municipal governments and their tax revenues. what traders in those markets are telling us, the municipal bond market, is the betting now is increasingly that the municipal -- municipalities because of the complete decline in gdp that's going on, we are in a recession right now, numbers don't say it but we're there, municipal budgets are already feeling it, with a lack of tax revenue, that there is going to be defaults in that market. i'm not saying new york city and new york state -- liz: which one, charlie? charlie: listen, i'm not saying -- i'm not going to give you a meredith whitney call that's completely wrong, but -- and i'm not saying it's actually going to happen. i'm telling you the market is

right now, liz, pricing in that it will happen. there is almost no liquidity in the municipal bond market. the liquidity i'm when people were predicting widespread defaults because of the financial crisis. right now it is a little different. banks are doing really well obviously. it is the local economies that are not doing well, which is essentially essential filtering into the municipal bond market. i can't tell you which one. every major municipality is complaining about lack of revenues. there are heavily indebted states and cities out there that borrowed because of low interest rates. it takes time for these things to actually default but if we do have the type of crisis that this is becoming, if it goes to sort of a worst-case scenario, the rumor is again, pure rumor, the tri-state area, new york, new jersey, connecticut may have to go into complete lockdown to

get a handle on it. there will be a price to pay. the municipal bond market will take take a price. they will pay a price. many, vast majority of our viewers that are interested in business actually own municipal bonds of their tax treatment. they are triple tax-free. this is big market for the business viewer. they are getting crushed. the real lack of liquidity prices are starting to plummet maybe last wednesday or so, continuing early friday last week. this thing is real, and again, liz, it is factoring in the notion that states and cities will be taking it on the chin because we are in a recession or maybe something worse. and, you know, you know, what is scary about this, the market is

up own fact government will cutting people checks. liz: sure. >> listen if someone cuts awe check for $1000 and can only spend it on toilet papers or essentials that will not add much stimulus to the economy, right? liz: right. charlie, thank you. >> that is the whole thing. that is why the municipal bond market is trading off. liz: good scoop. we'll watch charlie gasparino on muni market and liquidity drying up what he is hearing. we're up 1009 points. we always want to let you guys understand a couple things. number one, the headlines are owning the markets at the moment. we do know mayor bill de blasio has warned that new york city residents should prepare for a shelter in place situation. what does that mean for the new york stock exchange? we do know that the new york stock exchange floor is open for the moment. but they have been testing people's temperatures.

we have got pictures of that. as we look at some of that, bring in rich weiss, american century strategies chief investment officer. 153 billion in management. that number is wiggling around for you in the community, are you seeing opportunities and pulling the trigger here? >> opportunities will abound. i don't think the question is where are the opportunities. the question is when are the opportunities going to present themselves, liz. there are opportunities at some point in value stocks which tend to take off, you know, during or at the end of a recession. there are opportunities in small cap stocks no doubt but again, we are not at the bottom, not likely at the bottom. i'm not even sure we can see the bottom of this situation economically or financially right now. so i would even disagree somewhat with charlie. muni bond, especially in

essential service revenue bond, you know, dedicated streams of revenues, there are going to be excellent buys at some point for municipal bondholders. liz: i think you're right. we cannot see the bottom right now. so what is your advice at the moment for anybody who listens to perhaps, look, larry kudlow had said back on the 24th, for long-term investors this is a great opportunity. since then billions have been cut from the markets. >> well, overall, don't panic. don't knee-jerk react, we learned that time and time again. i would not reach out for most investors to try to catch a falling knife. even if you had some, some money on the sidelines, dry powder, best to keep it dry for now. most investors with a 401(k), treat it like you treat your face, don't touch it. presumably it was set up correctly originally.

and you want to let it ride for the time-being. [closing bell rings] liz: rich weiss, come back, i'm talking about next couple days. the markets close up 1045. fire up my twitter feed. liz claman. i will let you know how the futures oil and goal open. melissa: immediate relief to americans. stocks surging support as white house urges sport to individuals as part of a relief package. the dow closing down, see that sorry, up, 1042. we're in a new room. i can't see the board. i'm melissa francis. connell: i'm connell mcshane, scared me there for a moment. scary couple of weeks. s&p 500, nasdaq, also up big time, up 6% there on the s&p. this follows the worst day for the markets since the crash or the dow at least since the crash of 87. we get the snap-back rally. as we get into the fox business team