"friday feedback." email us at varneyviewers@foxbusiness.com. tomorrow is friday. at the end of the show we'll go through your questions, your messages to us. if there is any hate we'll weed it out. if there is any love we'll put it out there. my time is up, neil, it's yours. neil: at least you get the love. thank you very much, stuart varney. i really live for your mail days. all right, did they mean that for me? but i guess not. we're following a couple of developments right now at the corner of wall and broad. a lot of economic news. we're focusing on everything else that could rattle russia's economy and markets. the administration cracking down on a variety of sanctions, some which we've never seen before, including a number of financial measures that will make it difficult, if not next to impossible for u.s. firms and their customers, i.e., you, to

buy russia debt. if you're so interested. that really funds the government there. going after the sovereign funds, a new wrinkle in the multiprong attack the administration has to punish russia for its interference in the 2020 election. blake burman at the white house to spell out this multipronged approach here. this time it has a lot of potential teeth in it that could cause a lot of people, namely in russia a lot of problems. reporter: neil, this is the first major action of the biden administration against russia. the biden administration saying today that these sanctions they just unveiled are in response to what they describe as russia's quote, unquote, harmful foreign activities. let me tick through some of the actions put forth today. as you start at the top, you're right, they expand sovereign debt sanctions inside of russia. sanctions 32 entities and individuals for interference in the 2020 u.s. election.

10 diplomatic personnel from washington, d.c., are, expelled. the u.s. is now blaming russia's foreign intelligence service for the solarwinds hack. by the way there is response to the report that russia put bounties on u.s. troops inside of afghanistan. at least at this point the white house not publicly spelling out what that response might be. a spokesperson for the state department today saying of the announcement, the following, quote, these actions are intended to hold russia to account for its reckless arc shuns. we'll ask firmly in response to russian actions that cause harm to us or our allies and partners. here is how a spokesperson for the kremlin responded by saying in part, quote, we condemn any pursuit of sanctions. we consider them illegal. in any case the principle ofs are prosty in this mat serval lid. reciprocity in a way that bests service our interest. we should note president biden

and russia's vladmir putin spoke earlier two days ago on thursday and president biden proposed having a summit between the two at some point in the upcoming months in a neutral third country. so this today from the administration potentially setting the tone maybe in advance of that possible meeting. neil? neil: is there any chance, blake, that russia said, well, now that you're doing this to us no summit, no real reason to have a summit? reporter: certain think there's a chance this possibility the president wants. he invited vladmir putin and other leaders, 30, 40, to a climate summit. there has been outreach but, takes two to tango, right? neil: yeah, you're right. blake, thank you very much for that update. blake at the white house. other developments today, the reason why the economy, the markets are certainly doing so well, you're doing well, we're doing well. a lot of you buying. we're buying like crazy. we had jobless claims at a record low throughout the pandemic.

we have never seen them this low, 576,000. add that to the fact that retail sales jumped 9.8% in march. you get the idea. lydia hu, wayne, new jersey, a big beneficiary of all that buying. reporter: neil, we're inside a shopping mall, the willow brock shopping mall in wayne, new jersey. what we're finding that more and more people are returning to brick-and-mortar retailers and restaurants. in new jersey we have insight saying there is an uptick in foot traffic by about 55% across this state since the start of the year. across the country it is up, foot traffic, 47% to retailers. take a look at willowbrook. the mall has been open for about an hour, we're already seeing patrons coming in to do their shopping, get something to eat. we had a chance to ask some of them why they feel comfortable to public spaces now, what brings them out to malls?

here is what they had to say? >> i do a lot of shopping online i like the store better because one of the main reasons trying to keep businesses going. >> out to get something for my grandson. i feel very safe now because i'm fully vaccinated. >> i enjoy looking at something new and try stuff. so that is why. reporter: here's a look at the cities in the top five with the highest rates of foot traffic to the brick-and-mortar stores. cities like pittsburgh, detroit, minneapolis, san diego. they have seen over 100% growth since the start of the year. neil, we understand this is really driven by lifting of restrictions, vaccines being rolled out, also that stimulus check hitting peoples bank accounts there is a survey from bankrate.com, 13% of people who got the stimulus money plan to spend it on discretionary items like maybe, shopping at a mall. back to you. neil: well, you haven't seen it like i said during the pandemic.

nice to see at least people getting out although the mall -- [inaudible]. just not into that, lydia. lydia, thanks very much. lydia hu on that. get feedback how this is hitting the markets. the dow is up 300 points. there is concern this will be inflationary. we're not seeing it in the 10-year note. yields are dipping a little bit. that is separately helping technology stocks. the nasdaq up about 123 points. so this notion this competition for stocks a little less so today. so they're having the best of all worlds. the economy that is clearly humming and prices at least today seem not as nearly as dangerous as they were. the yield now about 1.55 on a 10-year. remember when it was flirting with 1.70, going to 1 and 3/4 still might. not happening today. liz peek, mike murphy, shana sissel.

liz, if i can begin with you first from your take on these economic numbers. a lot of borne of the improvement on the virus front. the fact now as of today 37% of americans have had at least one vaccine dose. it is rapidly increasing the troubles around j&j notwithstanding. the great coming out party is on. what do you make of it? >> well, neil, it is incredibly good news but let's start with the vaccine. people are emboldened. mobility indices show people are out and about. there are two trillion dollars more of excess saving. consumers have less debt than they have had in a very long time. the consumer pocketbook is up $25 trillion in terms of net worth year-over-year. all of that points to a pent-up demand and ability to spend and i think there is, you can feel it. there is just an eagerness for life to get back to normal. for a lot of americans that means spending more on a great

many goods and services than they have been able to do over the last year. number one maybe is travel, going out, all the things that have been so depressed, they're all coming back. neil: yeah. you know even you're seeing it in investment firms data and banks data that's coming in. what i found interesting, mike, schwab reporting that it added 3.2 million brokerage accounts in the first quarter. that is more than added all of 2020. similarly robust reports from big investment giants. jpmorgan chase, goldman, city group. there does seem to be some traction here? >> hey, neil, great to see you. there is real traction and you can point to the stimulus as kind of feeding this. look at the market over the last say 12 months. up had a lot of retail activity there. you have had the gamestop saga. you hear about new highs on a regular basis.

you hear about high-profile ipos. you hear about high-profile spacs coming to the market. so people at home are feeling better. they have more money on the sidelines whether it's from savings, whether from being home due to covid or whether it is from the stimulus. people are now coming back into the markets. this is great for the big banks. it is great for the investment firms and the swabs but it is great for the overall economy as well. people want, i will say, neil, i'm hoping people are investing and not trading and not part of chasing hot stories but really investing their money because that is what we need in this country, long-term growth for people. that is what we're seeing now. neil: yeah and there could be a lot too, but shana, i don't want to be the wet blanket here. i try to give both arguments for this and one of the things that concerns me, kind of addressing what mike said but flipping it around, there is a little bit more devil-may-care when it comes to investors in these

markets right now. whether you want to refer to that chasing bitcoin and all these digital currencies, i don't call them fads at all but those who want to dive in to get some instant money. they might have missed tesla. they might have missed amazon. they might have missed bitcoin. they don't want to miss this wave. it is sort of like, i don't know, sort of a rogue spirit where that could get a little frothy. are you worried about that part? >> actually i am. that is something i've been worried about ever since the gamestop fiasco. with the archegos issues a few weeks ago. it is a lot of leverage, with a lot of people being speculative in the market. we have all the liquidity, all the savings, all the pent-up demand that is all great but excess leverage can lead to a liquidity crisis which i don't think enough people are concerned about or think about right now but it is a valid

point. this is a concern and having too much of that into the system can have unintended consequences. neil: you know another thing, again sounds like i'm being a naysayer, liz, i don't mean to be. i look at things, i wonder, i guess i should be happy all the major banks are draining down the loan-loss reserves. they were prepared for the worst in the pandemic. they put a lot of money aside where a lot of people bolted on their loans. didn't turn out that way. now they trim that cash down. i'm wondering, is that a worrisome sign? this is something born ever the financial meltdown, more than a decade ago, not saying they are getting away from it. they were bracing for rainy days, now they seem to be pulling back for that. should i worry about that? >> i actually don't think you should, neil. there are other things to worry about like inflation which i -- neil: murphy told me to ask you that question and i thought it was a criticism but thank you

for clarifying. >> here would be my response to that. the banks capital ratios and so forth are in excellent shape. they took precautions as did all industries expecting a horrendous economic collapse last year as the economy was basically shut down but guess what? it didn't happen. yeah, they took a few mine more losses but those numbers are perfectly within the realm of reasonableness. we, neil, i think the american business community really anticipated such horror shows, look at what has happened to inventories? inventories are low across the board. we have severe shortages of some products because nobody anticipated demand would come back this quickly. so the banks act the appropriately then and i think they're acting appropriately now. neil: i hope you're right, but, mike, let me ask you a question what is happening with the investor sentiment out there and that a lot of it is born of the

belief that the economy is reopening up, it is reopening up aggressively, people are going to get back to work and this is a good part of this blistering base of economic recovery that we will see that remainder of the year. do you buy that building up to be sort of a consensus bullish argument? >> i do, neil. just to be completely argument i buy that argument. i think the investor today, neil, has access to more information. therefore is more schooled or just smarter investor than we've ever seen in the past. now some people will use excess leverage. some people will chase bitcoin or the next gamestop and will destroy their accounts, their trading accounts. they're highly leveraged speculative trading accounts but i think there is a lot of people out there that realize the market over the last 100 years goes up in a pretty steady pattern of 10% a year. so if they're investing in the

top growth companies in etfs like the s&p 500, they're going to make money over time. so i think people are realizing that and a lot of money is coming in. people feel confident with low rates and they know that if they have a long-term approach history tells them they will do well. so i think we're in a good place right now. neil: all right. you're a young man. long term to me is lunch tomorrow but that's fine. that is a great perspective but, shana, how much of what the market is doing is sensing maybe those tack hikes they have been fear don't come to pass or don't come to pass soon, what do you think? >> i think there is some of that. i also think as mike pointed out, people are feeling embowlenned, the market has done so well. it didn't collapse and the economy did not collapse during the pandemic which makes people feel much more comfortable. i don't know if they're paying that much attention. the potential tax reform and increasing of taxes was a

headline for all could have weeks but, i think attention spans are short. people saw it, they reacted to it, the market went down. now we've moved on to the next thing and the more recent data is largely very positive. so people are just feeling much more optimistic. i also think you cannot underestimate just the overall feeling of people being able to get out and feeling like normalcy. just makes them more optimistic. so they're less likely to pay attention to the negative noise during this period because they feel better and there is something to that. people didn't feel good even when the market was going up six months ago so they weren't all that encouraged to go into the market because they didn't feel good but now it is different. i think that really does drive human behavior because you know, no matter how much we want to think that this time is different, human behavior is extremely predictable. when people feel good they invest money, go out and shop, spend money, less likely to

save. so i think that is a key driver here. neil: hey to break it to you, my wife does not need that impetus but i understand what you're saying. guys, i want to thank you all. a great read on all of this. the dow up 292 points. these guys alone added 60 points where we started, right? meantime we're focusing on developments you heard about a push on the part of some democrats to pack the supreme court. fdr did that in the 1930s. didn't really say anywhere. they say the nine justices they have, make them 13. by the way, make joe biden the one to appoint the other four. what could possibly go wrong? after this.

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(announcer) do you want to reduce stress? shed pounds? do you want to flatten your stomach? do all that in just 10 minutes a day with aerotrainer, the total body fitness solution that uses its revolutionary ergonomic design to help you maintain comfortable, correct form. that means better results in less time. and there are over 20 exercises to choose from. get gym results at home. no expensive machines, no expensive memberships. go to aerotrainer.com to get yours now. neil: all right. never mind the fact that the president just formed a commission, a bipart sawn one he says to look into idea of changing some of the supreme court including the number of justice, how long they can stay on. number of key democrats already leading the move to pack the supreme court from the nine

justice, had better part of a century to maybe as many as 13. jacqui heinrich following all of that from the supreme court. jackie. reporter: neil, we wrapped up with a press conference from the bill's sponsors and responded to house speaker nancy pelosi saying at this point she does not support bringing the bill to the floor. she does not support the effort to expand the court given the president's commission has not reached any conclusions yet. they said they weren't surprised but they think as more decisions come down, speaker pelosi and others, they believe will come along. that is what house judiciary committee chairman jerry nadler said. i asked about congressman jones' tweet, expanding the court is infrastructure and his answer to me was, it was made partially in jest but he wanted to get the message across that the supreme court is a foundational issue. take a listen to some of the sound from this press conference why this group of democrats is pushing this bill. >> too many americans question

the court's legitimacy. the consequence is that the rights of all americans, but especially people of color, women, and you are immigrant communities are at risk. reporter: the proposal would add four seats to the supreme court bringing the total number of justices to 13. not clear yet how president biden feels about it. the white house would not comment. biden called a commission to study overhauling the court. its findings are expected in six months. house speaker nancy pelosi is withholding her support from this until that is settled. >> do you support jerry nadler's bill to expand the supreme court by four seats and would you commit to bringing that bill to the floor? >> no. support the president's committee to study such a proposal. right now, we're back. our members are, committees are working. we're building, putting together the infrastructure bill and the

rest. reporter: a lot of people are asking what are the chances this can actually go through. the answer to that without filibuster reform there is really not a clear shot but senate majority leader chuck schumer has been asking democrats to work with republicans in hopes of reaching consensus on other legislation. the expectation that won't go very far and more and more democrats may be willing to reform the filibuster. that would give an avenue for legislation like immigration, guns and this initiative. neil: jackie, thank you very much. jacqui heinrich at the u.s. supreme court. the late ruth ruth bader ginsbus not a fan of adding justices to the supreme court. she reflected that before passing away. i wonder what another great judge, ant anyone scalia. his son chris ask with us. what do you think your dad would

think of this. >> thanks for having me on again, great to see you. it's a great question my father was never asked as far as what i know about court packing. court packing was never an issue when he was alive because conservatives never had a majority on the court. only now that the conservatives have a majority because court packing is in play. the left doesn't like the fact they no longer have the majority on the supreme court. but i suspect my father would have agreed with his good friend, justice ginsburg and with his other good friend, justice breyer, who are on the record, justice breyer just the other day, a speech at harvard suggesting that court packing is a very bad idea because it politicizes the court. neil: you know, chris, it is interesting, the math they're using to justify this. we have three liberals on the court right now. they want four new justices picked by the president.

that would make seven liberals likely if it is president biden to do it, voila, we have a liberal court. what do you think? >> it is hilarious also. it is an attempt to basically sweep out the relevance of president trump's three appointees on the court. but, plus one just for extra good measure. it's a way to eliminate what president trump was able to comb accomplish with the supreme court. it is such a brazen bill. the one good thing about the bill, something like two sentences. you always like to see that from congress, it is so rare. but it is so brazen, such a transparent power play. and if you listen to some people on the left about why this needs to happen, they argue well, it is presidential elections were fairer, if the senate were more fairly constructed then democrats would control the supreme court anyway. so in other words for some liberals this is not just about reforming the court.

it's a way to kind of reform all three branches of government in one fell swoop. neil: yeah. you got to wonder as well, right, chris? be careful what you wish for. let's say a republican president comes in a couple years. say this is decided in the meantime, yes we can bring up to 13 justices. a republican president nominating very likely four conservative justices. it is overly tipped conservative. then the push will be, next time we'll make it 20. we'll make it 21. where does this end? >> yeah. i think that is exactly right. it is as if people, democrats and congress forget what harry reid did when he eliminated the judicial filibuster for lower courts. mitch mcconnell said they were going to regret that and they did because mcconnell took the next step, eliminated the filibuster for supreme court nominees. democrats need to remember they will not always be in power, believe it or not.

could be just in two years they're not in power anymore. this bill passing would increase likelihood of them losing power. i don't think this is popular. unpacking the court is popular. president biden dodged the issue on the campaign trail. that is why nancy pelosi doesn't support this bill right now. they know it is unpopular. neil: they can only afford in the house really two no votes among the democrats with a narrow majority, nothing happens there. it is that tight. people focus on the senate, tighter than a tick in the house. chris, always great talking to you. thank you very much. >> thank you, neil, thanks for having me on. neil: be well, chris scalia. we're learning a little bit more, i stress a little bit more about johnson & johnson and these clotting tendencies, tendencies too strong a word but we noticed two more affected by the issue, include one healthy otherwise a 25-year-old male.

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neil: all right. johnson & johnson reporting two more blood clotting cases. one in a 25-year-old male. we don't know much more than that. that brings it to eight of these so-called clotting issues that came up to led to a pause of the distribution ever the j&j vaccine. at last count a little bit more than 6.8 million doses have been delivered across the country. dr. marty makary of johns hopkins university, best-selling author, the price we pay, always enjoy having him

on. doctor, you said something struck me putting this in a great perspective. are we going to essentially shut down, paraphrasing here, a vaccine for million to one odds? and we have effectively, and we might for a while but should there be allowances made to address these clotting concerns, though limited, to put people's minds at ease? >> you know, good to be with you. it appears we have enough clues here what group is at risk. i think it would be reasonable to put a pause on that group. or at minimum, give people the information, let them make decisions. isn't that what we believe in? if we start canceling medications or putting holds on them in a emergency just because one in a million or in this case, one in 7 million people have died, we'll not have penicillin, tylenol, oral

contraceptive pills that kill one in 2000 people. we lost sight of the fact that we're in a health emergency. we're supply constrained. people are clamoring to get this. if i was a male over 50 i would be probably okay taking the j&j vaccine right now. neil: so that population, that might, that might hold off or feel anxious, that might cool it, who are you addressing? >> yeah. so i would say women under age 50. it is only approved for people over 16 anyway. so i would say they should avoid the j&j vaccine until we have more information. also we have a great safety profile on the other vaccines, which is what 95 plus percent of the country got. we got more experience with it. it is not, you know, the riddle of the sphinx why women are getting this. we know the body's immune system has a inflammatory component that interacts with blood

clotting. they have to pause the entire drug just to educate doctors, i would like to educate doctors how to use insulin the right way. that doesn't mean we will stop using insulin. most doctors, it is not rocket science. when you have a clotting issue, you don't give heparin. that is already standard of care. neil: give your take how this affects heard immunity we should be at or near as britain is at or near now. if people are reluctant, forget about the j&j vaccine if this pauses others to say all right, i don't think this is a good idea right now for whatever reason, wouldn't that push that back? >> look, you will have massive public health messaging whiplash. you can't put out there everybody needs to get, the vaccine, say, a complete hold because one in seven million

people have died at a time we're still losing hundreds of americans. we're either in a state of health emergency, or, we're in a situation where we have plenty of vaccine supply. we can't have both. so when they do this it really threatens the entire messaging. "the new york times" had a piece this morning written by a very prominent physician who was the architect of the obamacare legislation. he basically said we should move to vaccine mandates. well i'm sure "the new york times" got that before this j&j incident. so you can't go from one extreme to the other like that. neil: one of the other issues has been raised whether a booster shot is in order in the fall or down the road akin to what you and i chatted about, do you need follow-up shots, this ends up being like the flu, you take a shot every year. do you see that happening? do you see this, now becoming a regular default in american medical guidance?

>> i used to think it was a certainty, neil. i talked to many more virologists including one extensively this morning who is one of the most prominent in the country from mount sinai and i don't really think it is a sure thing. i think we're probably not going to need boosters. now things could change with a new variant that has yet to mutate but i don't think so. be careful with the companies, executives and their proxies, they're out there in the media, telling everybody that we're going, that the boosters are likely. they're trying to prepare people. they are trying to shape public perception that they will accept a booster if it is necessary. be careful with some of that language that you're hearing. neil: dr. marty makary, great seeing you again, my friend. >> good to see you, neil. neil: dr. makary, as he was wrapping up there, confirmation of northern ireland it will be reopening bars an restaurants on

april 30th and hotels, indoor dining on may 21st. northern ireland has been riveted by riots and the rest. this is more in direct response to the improvement on the covid front, not necessarily the safer conditions in some northern ireland cities but that they are planning eventually to do the reopening that was in process of happening to continue happening. disturbances not withstanding. stay with us.

♪. neil: you in, sign on. a number of individuals and celebrities and businesses are signing on to a long list in which they are now pushing others to follow suit and boycott georgia, boycott those state has are considering voting measures that they argue are similar to georgia's. it's a list that is growing fast, depending whether you like it or not, it is getting to be quite a following. mike emanuel with more on all of

this. reporter: neil, some interesting names are trying to stay out of it. walmart, jpmorgan chase, and of course home depot are some examples. home depot saying in a statement, quote, we've decided that the most appropriate approach for us to take is to continue to underscore our statement that all elections should be accessible, fair and secure and support broad voter participation and to continue to work our associates in georgia and across the country have the information and resources to vote. the senate's top republican says it would be wise for corporate america to stay out of politics. mitch mcconnell says democrats are totally focused on changing how americans vote. >> we could learn tomorrow that an asteroid was hurt telling toward earth and democrat was say, our only hope was to pass hr-1. this isn't about responding to recent state laws. it is not about justice or equity.

washington democrats want to rewrite all 50 states election laws. reporter: on the other side are celebrities companies like target, microsoft, amazon and mastercard. noting in a two-page statement published in "the new york times" and "washington post" titled, we stand for democracy, quote, for american democracy to work for any of us we must insure the right to vote for all of us. we all should feel the responsibility to defend the right to vote and to oppose any discriminatory legislation or measures that restrict or prevent any eligible voter from having an equal and fair opportunity to put cast a ballot. some georgia companies are clearly trying to stay out of it. i mentioned home depot earlier. coca-cola, delta air lines also did not participate in the ad with businesses feeling pressure to take a side in this hyperpartisan moment. neil. neil: all right. mike emanuel, thank you very, very much. another prominent bold-faced name that didn't sign on to this, jamie dimon of

jpmorgan chase. charlie gasparino why that might be the case. charlie? >> digging in on this why the head of the world's largest bank by assets, one of the best bankers out there is decided to stay pretty far away from this issue, not sign on to that declaration which many of his colleagues did. the word i'm getting from people close to dimon is pretty interesting. yes he decided not to sign it even though he was urged to sign it by ken chenault, some of the former amex chairman and ceo and some of the other members of the group. jpmorgan on one hand believes its past statements in support of voting rights broadly, secure elections, suffices. that it didn't need to go one step too far, one step, maybe too far and support this, this declaration that takes special aim at georgia, florida, maybe texas, all red states, that are looking to pass voter laws. i think it comes down to this, i

think jamie dimon saw what happened with rob manfred of the mlb and how fans reacted to the fact that he pulled the, the all-star game out of georgia over the voting law and there was a backlash and the last thing that jamie dimon needs from people close to people that i'm speaking to that are close to him is that type of backlash, when does business in 48 states, including many of the red states. he is concerned about the customer base. the other thing he is concerned about signing on to a group that makes proclamations about racism, jim crow, and voting laws, if you read the voting laws, this is a far cry from jim crow and racism. voter i.d., for example is not something that is not preventing from people going to the polls. as a matter of fact, there is good evidence that states with voter i.d. actually increased turn out. he wants to stay far away from

this. neil, i do think this will be a trend going forward. if you noticed coca-cola, and delta, initially urged, were behind, were behind the attacks on the georgia voting law. i think they came out against the mlb having its all-star game in atlanta. i have to check that. but they caught a lot of flak from their customers, so now what they're seeing, despite the wokeness of corporate america, customers are fighting back and also republican elected officials. this wokism is not that great for business. neil, back to you. neil: still as curious, i always look at jamie dimon as a pretty savvy political player as well. while this was going on his not signing on to this particular measure he did announce that jpmorgan chase is allocating about 2 1/2 trillion over the next ten years for climate change solutions, that sort of

thing. it is as if he was trying to signal to the left you know, this is a cause near and dear to me and you, on this we can agree. what did you make of the timing of all of that? >> listen, everybody, listen, all the ceo's kiss up to the wokeness to a certain degree. it is not beyond jamie dimon for being a little woke. i will say this though, attacking voter laws extremely popular in red states what it really comes down to, i don't think i'm going out on an opinion limb here to say the georgia law is not jim crow on steroids. to do stuff like that you will alienate, you're basically branding 70 million people voted for donald trump and, you know, at least identify closely with being republicans as racist. that is not a good business model. and the mlb is finding that out. coca-cola is finding that out. i'm pretty sure delta air lines will find that out as well. doing something marginal on

climate control is just not, as aggressive, what the mlb did, some of these other players. neil: yeah. keeps you in good stead with them though. charlie, thank you very much, my friend. charlie gasparino on that. mean time we're following this crackdown on russia right now and some of these sanctions being imposed on the white house for interfering in the 2020 election. one of them could have a direct hit on you. you probably don't even know it. after this. this is wealth. ♪ ♪ this is worth. that takes wealth. but this is worth. and that - that's actually worth more than you think. don't open that. wealth is important, and we can help you build it.

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neil: all right the administration cracking down on russia it says for interfering with the 2020 election. a lot are focused on the economy, people who can invest in the country, those who invest in russian bonds, like a very lucrative business for a lot of investment firms directly, indirectly affect a lot of their clients who don't know well, they're directly or indirectly invested in this stuff but it is fighting fire with fire. rebecca heinrich, hudson institute. what do you make of this, rebecca? >> i think it is good, neil, the

biden administration is making it clear who is responsible for interfering with the american election, at least one of the countries, and also part of the executive order mentioned the massive cyber espionage act solar winds, that the united states endured, one of the largest cyber espionage attacks ever, that the russian federation pulled off. they're being sanctioned for that. that is a good start. much more will have to come because it is difficult to have proportional sanctions when there are massive attacks against the united states. it is not really tangible. it's a cyberattack but it's a good start, neil. neil: i'm wondering what it leads to? the two, vladmir putin, joe biden kicked around the idea of a summit. would the russians still go to that? >> i don't know. i don't know if that is really worth it at this point. i don't put a whole lot of stock into the president's, with all due respect into his savvy, deal-making savvy.

i think at this point what needs to happen congress has been serious, adamant, a bipartisan way if this administration really wants to push back on russia, the best thing we can do is impose sanctions on nord stream 2 pipeline that goes from russia to germany. that is the biggest power play the russian federation is making to harm and weaken nato f this administration is serious, so far secretary of state blinken has been tough rhetorically, has not backed up actions t was not in the readout between president biden and putin when they had discussion recently. i don't think president biden mentioned nord stream 2, which is very concerning. that is what we would do. the trump administration tried to push back on the pipeline. that is what i would be advising this ad american station. neil: putin is getting cozy with china. will this hasten more of that kind of talk? >> great point, neil this is one of the issues we want to push back. to come back at russia from a

position of strength. we do not want to exacerbate a problem already serious between our two countries. if there is opening to drive a wedge between the russian federation and the chinese communist party. we don't want to do things that would push them together. we've seen up tick of participation between the two countries militarily. that is something we want to keep an eye on. neil: all right. thank you very, very much, rebecca heinrichs with the hudson institute. we have a lot more coming up including an update on coinbase. we're learning as well that cathie woods, she has had, you know, technology fund, coinbase is a big part of it, $250 million worth. she believes. ♪. you can spend your life in boxing or any other business, but one day, you're gonna take a hit you didn't see coming.

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the personal loan let us renovate our single family house into a multi-unit home. ♪ and i get to live in this beautiful house, with this beautiful kitchen, and it's all thanks to sofi. ♪ neil: welcome back, everybody i'm neil cavuto. well jobless claims plummeted to a pandemic low, they've never been this low, 57 6,000 in the latest week, continuing a trend of job improvement here, that in the latest month, saw very close to a million jobs added to the overall economy, so the trend is our friend and the markets are reflecting that as well of the nearly 10% pick-up in retail sales in the latest month, so, what do you make of the timing of a number of senate democrats who

are looking to overhaul in unemployment programs to beef up benefits, extend them to more folks, and maybe provide enough for them not to look for work, because there's been a real shortage of available labor in a very tight labor market right now. let's get the very latest on all of this from jackie deangelis, following it closely in new york hey, jackie. reporter: good morning, neil, well i'd call the timing ironic let's take a look at the jobless claims numbers showing the new claims for unemployment last week fell to 57 6,000 that was much lower than what we were expecting 700,000 and as you said, a new pandemic low. now, unemployment is generally good news for the market but it does initiate this interesting question. if the economy is reopening and people are getting back to work, then why, why are senate democrats introducing this bill to overhaul the unemployment insurance system and add to it? well, the pandemic brought on an unprecedented crisis, and the stimulus packages passed in

congress addressed the emergency needs of many americans, but now , this bill would look to add to employment, unemployment insurance, in a similar way long term, and the goal be to prepare for another downturn or pandemic but who knows when that be. interesting though a problem right now is some people are enjoying the extended benefits so much they're delaying their return to work and in turn causing a labor shortage in some industries. one of those is construction. now this legislation is a safety net that republicans argue the economy doesn't need but democrats argue that in many states traditional unemployment benefits are under the poverty line. the senators intro introducing this they're putting in this bill some key points here. number one, that americans can apply and receive unemployment benefits more quickly. the checks would then be larger. low income earners could get about 75% of the wages that they were collecting when they

worked, and there's the extension of the duration of benefits past 26 weeks, like we saw during the pandemic, so neil , the democrats say too many people are laid off for no fault of their own, and they suffer, but the flip side is, not everyone who got the benefits, for example, during the pandemic , really needed them or needed all of them. neil: all right, well-reported jackie i appreciate that. jackie deangelis, following all of that. to charles payne right now, " making money", of course best selling author, and my friend, which i think matters the most but charles, you know, i don't think we need anymore government help. you could make that argument with the $1.9 trillion covid relief package when we had clear proof that the economy was perkolating to put it mildly, you reported that ahead of anyone, and now this effort to expand unemployment benefits that maybe make them for generous at a time when employers are looking for workers. what do you make of all of this? charles: you know, neil, you're absolutely right and what's

really interesting is that if you look to all of this most recent data, it's so shocking, you know, like some of the ism data when they go and start to ask business owners they are saying they can't even find band candidates like anyone the person that takes like that comes to work late everyday, the person that's got to leave work, you know? they can't even find bad ones they'll take them, so it is it. now here is the issue and there's a progressive deep this eutopian dream, that's been around since the late 1800s if you read a book by king gillette, i encourage people to read it after he became one of the richest people of the world he became a socialist at least in his mind and spent all of his money on expensive liquor but that aside, the idea is that big government, you know, will be able to take care of a certain amount of people. for instance today, with all of this great numbers all these great data that we got in there

was still 16 million people getting some form of unemployment benefits and there's a bifurcation in our economy. it's not a k, i don't think that accurately describes it because it's a much smaller portion but it's still millions of people, and they're going to leverage that and to try to force these ideas down our throats that there should be a stimulus check every single year to most people that there should be universal basic income, that there should be a new well for the state and by the way we really should be focused on how big it was employee padded in that covid relief package, it's back and it's back big and they want to do more as we go under the current so-called infrastructure plan there's only one of two parts and the second part specifically focuses on even more on these sort of hey, the government should write a check and send it to almost every american, so, businesses are saying golly, look at the work, we've got it it's right here. we need workers in the meantime big government folks and progressives are saying that we need to go ahead and just start to pay people not to work.

neil: you know, you can look at it differently though, charles. i agree with some of the premise there. those stimulus checks, those extra benefits were a big reason why retail sales were up almost 10%, not exclusively, but it's interesting that the government is prompting spur ring more economic activity than would normally be the case when you're getting checks out to people. in other words there's a $1,400 individuals get. is that dwarfed by the economic impact they have, what do you think? charles: i don't think so, but there is a school of thought, in fact i'm going to be presenting a very similar question to larry kudlow on my show later because there are places, for instance japan, which is monetized their debt, which has debt to gdp 200% of gdp which is doing all of these sort of things right now. i mean their fed goes as far as even buys stocks in their

markets, and, you know, people are saying the currency has held up pretty well. they don't have hyper-inflation. maybe this thingworx. if you don't believe you ever have to pay the money back, if you don't believe there's ever, you know, the law of supply and demand that ultimately too many dollars diminishes the purchasing power then keep printing it up, keep giving it away and keep celebrating this stuff until maybe one day it doesn't work and the question is what happens when that day comes? how irreversible will it be, do we have to go back in the history books and look at the zimbabwe and venezuela more recently, do we ever want to go through that kind of a crisis? neil: thank you very much, for adding the wimer republic just when i thought it couldn't get anymore in your face, but in all kidding aside, you know, there's a debate, all right tax cuts stimulate the economy. democrats are pointing to this and others that spending can stimulate the economy and this is proof and it's in the economic numbers, so rather

than be, you know, paused by all of this stuff, that they are going to use this as evidence that it works, and it gets results, and rightly in some of these numbers there is a little bit of proof. what do you think? charles: there's no doubt about it and by the way, this grand experiment if andrew wang wins in new york city, we're going to see it on steroids, you know, even more of an experiment with pays people not to work and these sort of things but we did pay $600 billion last year to service our debt, not to pay off the debt, to service it. we've got interest rates that are ultimately going higher so at some point we'll be spending $1 trillion a year just to service debt and someone may ask , wouldn't it have been better to maybe take that trillion dollars to build hospitals, to fix roads, to improve our education system, so you're right. there's a fair amount of ammunition out there and you could have a legitimate

conversation about it. i think history proves one thing , but there's no doubt, neil, and i've been talking about this for a long time, that there's a large group of people who want to completely turn our economic system upside down and right now, they are in a position to do so, so we may learn the answer to all of this stuff, one way or the other, the hard way. neil: all right, we shall see , charles payne, i'll see you in about 50 minutes my friend, charles payne the host of " making money" and apparently he reads a lot so it's not necessarily my kind of literature but he reads a lot this next fellow reads a lot well respected is the democratic california congressman, congressman, good to have you back. we were just on its notion that those stimulus checks everything has brought us some of this economic news and some on the other side of the aisle, sir , and we're aware well we're going to pay for that and this is a short-lived kind of an

effect. what do you make of it? what is causing this? >> well first of all i don't know if i'm as well-read as charles, i have to pick-up the book he recommended but here is the point. the unemployment rate is coming down, the republicans made the same argument. they said don't give stimulus checks, don't have increased unemployment benefits, people aren't going to return to work. well, if that were the case why are we seeing unemployment numbers coming down? obviously people are returning to work and the real issue is that there are some people who have been hardest hit in our economy, who do need extra help, and i think that's what the democrats are focused on, but the evidence just isn't there, that people aren't returning to work. neil: couldn't that also be congressman people returning to work because the vaccinations are up to one out of three americans who have had least one dose of the vaccine and that the slow coming out that's been going on well entrenched for a while now continues and that's what's prompting all of this.

>> i do think that's the case, absolutely the case, but if there was some disincentive these checks we're providing then i don't think you'd see the numbers going in the direction. i guess here is the point, neil. most people i meet, they like the dignity of work. they view that as a matter of pride. i know they keep citing these people who rather have a paycheck than go out to work. i haven't met them, at least not in my district. most of the people want to work, they want dignified employment. neil: but it could cause a problem, right? i mean, with the best of intentions, no one mistakes people's compassion on this front, but you would provide a mathematical incentive for them to stay home, because for a lot of them, especially those that are dealing with child care issues, it is cheaper to stay on. >> the reason i don't think that it does provide a disincentive is they know that it's temporary. we can argue whether it's six months or a year and most people know they need a stable job for 10 years, 20 years a good paying job to provide for

their families, so so i agree with you that you can't have it be some absurd amount that would [indiscernible] incentivize work. i don't think we're near there, i think most people i talk to much rather have a good paying job, and that should be the goal across the aisle is how do we create more good paying jobs in this country. neil: all right, so while i have you, what do you think of this effort to add four justices to the supreme court, a lot of some of your key democratic colleagues are pushing that effort even as the president has a bipartisan commission examining this. are you for that? are you for adding justices, those who call it packing the court. >> neil, i haven't been on that bill. i'd rather take a different approach which is term limits for supreme court justices and i'm for term limits for members of congress and senators as well i have a bill that says 18 years you serve on the supreme court and then you go back on to a circuit court. you shouldn't be there for 40

years, 50 years, and i hope the president's commission will look at that, but it seems to me that maybe less polarizing at a time where our country is deeply divided. neil: the reason why i mention it by the way, they extend term limits to tv anchor, congressman , hopefully you can come up with legislation to stop that, but let me ask you a little bit about the progressive influence on this white house, maybe on your party. the president made it very clear , he'll have a commission look into this , several members go ahead and jump the gun and propose this. they're really sticking to their guns and infrastructure about some of the things that might not had a lot to do with infrastructure. do you think they are taking over your party? >> you know, i'm a progressive but i'll tell you something the person whose in charge right now is president biden. most of the things that progressives are pushing liken ing fossil fuel subsidies are in president biden's bill. most of the things we're pushing in terms of renewable energy are what president biden is proposed

and it's president biden's commission that ultimately will make the determination. look we're a vibrant democracy. we have people who any member of congress can propose things. i've proposed a lot of bills in my time here, but the president is in charge of the democratic party's agenda. neil: you know, there are progressives, sir, i don't mean to disparage that, but there are also crazy progressives. you're in the progressive camp you want to do a lot of good but you also have an eye on math and i'm just wondering whether there are those who are using the progressive calling to justify things that are just over-the-top. do you fear that they are hurting the progressive message itself? >> well, there are disagreements look i call myself a progressive capitalist. i believe in markets, i believe in present entrepreneurship and innovation but i believe we all have to have healthcare and education and medicare for all and for free public college and we can debate along that, but what i think is important is two

aspirations for the progressive movement. one, i think we have to believe in the good the markets and entrepreneurship has done and two, we have to be for a common american identity. there's a lot that has been wrong, in our country, but there's a lot that's great about our country, and i think we ought to be celebrating the aspirational aspect of america as well, and i think if we have those two views, then there's a lot of room for debate within this. neil: well you're getting the debate. ro khanna, thank you very much, the california congressman. thank you. we have a lot more coming up the dow still about 260 points it's a strong economy that's doing it here. it's also progress on the vaccine front, and that despite what's going on with j & j the fact of the matter is one out of three americans at least one dose of the vaccine and of course that harolds the argument that we're very close to herd immunity. who knows, but right now, wall street isn't delineating, it's buying.

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neil: all right, let's take a quick look at coinbase, if we still can. the shares are jumping even after that landmark nasdac debut and by the way, coinbase, being the sort of not exclusive one stop shop for all things digital currency, but most of the components of that, including bitcoin that you can buy or sell there, are all advancing as well. to christian smith, blockchain association executive director. christian, i guess this pretty much puts to doubt the notion that this is just a passing fad, as it is, it's an employee and ing one. what do you make of it? >> yeah, you're absolutely right, neil. i think this past week was monumental moment for the crypto ecosystem. we're now at a point where we've seen how the inner workings of coinbase works through the filings, we know they have 56 million customers, the asset class as a whole is over $2 trillion so there's no

putting the genie back in the bottle, crypto is here and it's here to stay. neil: nevertheless, there are some in government who seem to be weary and leary of it at the same time and one of the things we're hearing is that in extreme cases or if it seems that it's a real threat to the system that , you know, that embody them , they will out law it and prevent people from investing in it. i think the genie is long out of the bottle to do that, but do you worry about that? >> well, we certainly do worry about it, because the blockchain association it's our job to interact with regulators and lawmakers on these issues but the reality is is you can't kill bitcoin. you can't prohibit it. these networks whether they be bitcoin or the other cryptocurrency networks that are out there are built on open source software, and they're available anywhere and they are decentralized so there's no way to shut them down. i think that the challenge that regulators and other policy makers have is they need to shift their thinking away from this intermediary-based approach

of regulation and think about how can we get the right information that we need to law enforcement other participants in order to ensure consumer protection, ensure that we combat illicit finance, without trying to do it in the old way, because the old way isn't going to work and the old way, if they attempt to put that on, is really just going to drive the criminals further into the dark, so, but that's not what these networks are about. these networks are about providing new and better services. it's an opportunity for americans to jump in and get interest and yield and places where the traditional financial services institution has failed. neil: you know, kristin, i believe that the legitimizing, i'll get it right, of this whole technology, got a boost with so many companies, from tesla to so many of the investment firm, home depot and others, put their money and interest behind it.

i think the next wave might be when you could start trading this through etf, i believe there are eight to a dozen applications in before the securities and exchange commission from fidelity galaxy investors a host of others that that will expand the pool of traditional investors into what was once deemed a rogue technology. do you think that that will help build, you know, the passions for this , for these type of investments, just by having them mainstream through etf's? >> yeah, no, a lot of people want to get access to bitcoin, and a broader portfolio and there is no etf for that today there are over-the-counter products that greyscale and others have but the good news is yesterday, the senate confirmed gary gensler to become the chairman of the sec and chairman gensler formerly taught the entire course at m. i.t. on blockchain and bitcoin so

there's a lot of optimism because he really understands how the technology works and sees its potential, and so we're hopeful that during his tenure, we'll see the approval of a bitcoin etf. we're also watching closely to see what he wants to do on the regulatory front because today cryptocurrency is regulated. there are different aspects of the industry that have to comply with different laws, but it be helpful to have some clarity on the securities law front, and so the industry is eager to engage with him, and be a resource as he figures out where he wants to go on the issue of securities law regulation. neil: all right, i'm getting the federal reserve chairman to appreciate this and he's not quite there yet. kristin smith, blockchain association executive director, good seeing you again. we appreciate that. >> absolutely. neil: about 270 points, thank you, as the great reopening continues in the country, in fact, some are pushing that reopening as far as it can go, after this.

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neil: all right, the great reopening continues in this country. in fact, it is picking up the pace right now, the very latest from ashley webster following all of this out of los angeles. ashley? ashley: [laughter] good afternoon, neil. there's more people who have gotten fully vaccinated that we know the more we've seen people prepare to catch a flight, and they are more confident. well authorities at logan airport, for instance, in boston are gearing up for a very busy school vacation week, bringing in as many tsa agents as possible. now, travelers will experience some new procedures, if you haven't already been to the airport. instead of handing a photo id and boarding pass to a tsa agent passengers will now scan the documents themselves. tsa agents will sit behind the plexiglass booth as you pass through, masks are required while traveling, but must be lowered to confirm identity.

you can see here. now, the lines might also seem longer but the tsa says agents are just spacing people out to maintain social distancing. i'll take their word for it and by the way, the tsa looking to hire about 6,000 agents nationwide, and another sign that the economy is reopening, especially for travel. meantime, out west in nevada governor steve cicilack says he expects every county in the state to be able to fully reopen at 100% capacity, by jun. the reopening could be a little uneven, as each county will have the authority to make their own decision from may 1 onward, so some may reopen earlier while others won't. now, the casinos, of course that's what everyone love, continue to operate at 50% capacity, and continue to be governed by the state gaming control board, but also, they too, hope to be fully open by june 1. and even further west, out in

california, everyone, 16 years administration older can now book a vaccine appointment. the new order went into effect last night with authorities saying the online website can handle up to 300,000 reservation s per hour. that's a lot. nearly 24 million doses have now been administered throughout the state and nearly 22% are residents have been fully vaccinated. neil i have not yet taken a flight now in over a year. as you know, i've been on the very grueling assignment schedule but i've taken my car to the beach, to the golf tournament, to the boat show, so i'm hanging in there, as they say. neil: i wish you well, my friend i don't know how you do it. ashley: thank you. neil: some reason you've got photographs of key people and you continue doing it so i'll leave it at that. ashley: all right neil: thank you, ashley you are the best. i love that guy, ashley webster, we need that don't we, kind of, dan beckerman joins us right now the president and ceo of aeg,

into sports and entertainment conglomerate companies left and right all over the place so i'm sure, dan, you're welcoming all of this great opening up. how are you handling this does it depend on the locale? >> yeah, thank, neil for having me happy to be here especially on a day when the markets up. with our businesses we're seeing reopenings vary by city by city by country by country, but we're seeing a phased reopening, luckily tonight we're welcoming fans back at staples center to a partial capacity for the lakers vs. celtics, i'm happy to be welcoming fans back after a year of having fan less events. neil: what is the capacity, you said partial, what is it supposed to be tonight? >> well we're going to walk before we run. we're going to have about 2,000 fans there tonight, and we have the ability under our county and state guidelines to ramp up the capacity in the coming months so you could see us up at 35% or even more as the events happen over the next couple of weeks. neil: when do you think we'll be

at full capacity in some baseball stadiums? i believe at arlington they only won in baseball, that is allowing full capacity over 40,000, to watch the texas rangers when do you think that we'll be seeing that more commonly? >> well, we've been told in the state of california the governor has announced his plan to really reopen things more broadly on june 15 of this year, so in california, we're hoping to see things go back to normal with some common sense modifications, obviously but by this summer we'd like to start seeing events at full capacity. neil: how do you deal with those who are worried about going to such venues whether it's 2,000 or 30,000, what kind of requirements protections are you making to ease their anxiety >> well we've heard from our fans and while they're extremely anxious to come back to events we have 80% of our fans both on the music side and the sports side who have held on to their tickets so they are anxious to

come back but they've also told us they want to feel safe and comfortable in the venue and that's really our job to build that trust and confidence with them and create that environment for them, so you'll see emphasis on common sense health measures like mask wearing and social distancing, people will be sitting six feet apart if they're not in a vaccinated section. the foodservice will be a little bit different, in our indoor venues people will be eating in designated areas. we think a lot about air purification and filtration, shani shaniization, cashless payments for food and beverage and merchandise, so we've heard what fans need to feel comfortable and we want them to feel comfortable when they come back. neil: all right, keep us posted, as this progresses, it's all very good news, but a lot of people are itching to go to these events, entertainment, sports you name it they've been sheltered for so long they're getting stir crazy, dan beckerman, the president and

ceo. well we told you about the economic boom going on we told you about the retail sales up almost 10%, housing is very very strong in fact the number of listings don't stay listed too long these days, and then there's furniture, which is again, part of this boom. good luck trying to get furniture, and good luck trying to get it to you soon. we'll explore that, after this. you packed a record 1.1 trillion transistors into this chip i invested in invesco qqq a fund that invests in the innovators of the nasdaq 100 like you become an agent of innovation with invesco qqq

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and more peace of mind... consider adding this. an aarp medicare supplement plan. take charge of your health care today. just use this...or this to call unitedhealthcare about an aarp medicare supplement plan. neil: all right here is the good news, right now, the economy is booming, housing is booming and well furniture that's booming too that whole industry is booming. now here is the bad news good luck getting that furniture any time soon if you're in the market for a couch, table or whatever. grady trimble now taking a look at a supply shortage that's halt ed right now with pretty significant delays in north carolina. grady? reporter: hey, neil and these furniture makers here at hickory chair are working as fast as

they can to keep up with that surge in demand, but there's one thing that's out of their control, and that's the materials that they need to make this furniture. right now, wood and metal, those are incredibly hard to find, and if you do find it, it's going to cost you more but the biggest shortage facing the furniture industry right now is foam products like this , and , well, they put it in a chair so it's gone. here it goes right by me, right here, foam products like that, and these types of products they are actually made from petroleum in texas. the weather from two months ago shutdown those foam factories there, and they're still trying to play catchup right now. some of the factories here in north carolina, the furniture capitol of the world, had to shutdown, not this one, but some of them did. all of them, though, are certainly dealing with supply chains that are spread thin. listen. >> our product is made as materials arrive, they are consume consumed very quickly within days of when they arrive

so the entire supply chain is critical to show up when it's ordered. reporter: so, how long will you have to wait for your couch or table or what have you? well, it could be several week, even several months in some instances, and if you're buying right now, you might have to pay a pretty penny more than you ordinarily would, because so many people, neil, as you know are investing in home decor and furniture, because we're still staying home, quite a bit. neil: it sounds like too, grady it's hard to hear me, that, you know, the buyer has very little negotiating room there, right? there's great demand for this stuff so you can't wheel and deal on a lot of this can you? reporter: no, you can't. not if you're the buyer, certainly not. in fact, they added a price increase recently here at hickory chair that was scheduled to go into effect but because everything cost more to make right now, they had to add another surcharge on top of that , which they hope to be able to at least bring down a little

bit, or get rid of entirely as things kind of even out and get back to normal. neil: all right, thank you very much, for that, grady. you know, my producers been waiting the better part of four months for a couch i told her get a bean bag and be done with it but she didn't bite at that. we got janice see with us, love love janice, i don't love the weather message she has because earlier this morning you said snow? what the heck! what's going on. >> janice: yes, say it ain't snow. i mean, not in new jersey, where you are. it'll be a chilly rain, okay? so, that's i can do for you, my friend. but if you live in interior sections of the north east and new england, yes. kids are going to wake up to snow and plenty of it so let's take a look the map will show you the temperatures are going to go down across the northeast overnight tonight, we've got cooler than average temperatures across the rockies and the northern plains, we also have warmer than average temperatures across the gulf

coast, that's starting to fuel some of these thunderstorms. we have a severe thunderstorm watch in effect for south central texas, that's going to be ongoing this afternoon, and we could see large hail, damaging winds, as well as flooding issues. this has been around for the last couple of days these flash flood watches and warnings for parts of texas through louisiana, mississippi, and alabama. that's going to be a concern throughout the day today as we've got all of this gulf moisture working its way north ward, and then, of course, the snow. we have spring time snow across the rockies and the high plains, where we have the cold air that's starting to sink south ward. you could see heavy snow six to 12 inches, higher totals in the mountain us regions of colorado, wyoming in towards even parts of north dakota as well as kansas and missouri, and so we'll watch this forecast as it moves into the central plains. a separate area of low pressure is going to crank up across the northeast. it's going to get stronger in

the atlantic, and bring us some spring time snow. again, not for folks in new jersey, like where neil cavuto is, our friend. we will see a chilly rain, but north of that, that's where we're going to get blockbuster snowfall totals, 12 inches, 18 inches, so, i'm sure many of the kids will enjoy this. the parents who have to shovel, not so much. there's your forecast today so we'll watch the potential for the showers and thunderstorm s across the gulf coast. the snow and the cold era cross the rockies and the plains, and then we'll watch that snow overnight tonight. for the most part in new england , and upstate new york. my friend, neil, always nice to see you. neil: you know, janice, haven't i told you, you left canada for gods sake, stop bringing the weather from canada to us. just move on. you're in the united states. >> janice: i'm used to it. it snows in may sometimes where i'm from. neil: i know. yeah, all right just because it does, doesn't mean you have to bring it here. all right, janice, thank you

very much. best selling author all of that stuff, she really gets on my nerves sometimes with all of that good fortune but she deserves every bit of it. we have a lot more coming up including the move on a number of prominent republicans now to put it out there, if donald trump is running for president, i am not. two prominent republicans have already stated that. whose next and why? after this.

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neil: all right, that makes two prominent republicans, first nikki haley said that if donald trump runs for president, she will not. now marco rubio adding to that, this time saying that if he saw that donald trump was running for president, he would opt out himself, in fact he sees things as they stand now in 2024 be donald trump's for the taking if he wanted to get the republican nomination then. where is all of this going? let's go to hal lambert the former ted cruz natural

finance chair, founder and ceo, maga etf create or and george sea with us, capital ceo so these guys know their money which is why i first want to go in at that angle, george, let me begin about the role that financial types will play handicapping and playing the 2024 presidential race, if it looks like, you know, donald trump intends to run and all these others will opt not to run , is he the guy you give money to? >> well, hi, neil. i think it's kind of amazing we're talking about this over three and a half years before the next election, and i also think it's kind of depressing -- neil: you're right. >> [laughter] i also think it's kind of depressing watching all of these other candidates that want to run for president in 2024, running around trying to get attention and i think that it's weak. it's not a show of strength, and i think they need to go back to

george w. bush's playbook in 1998 and do their day jobs and wait for people to come to them first. i think people are starting way too early and on the donald trump side, i have a personal opinion that when you're way past 70 years old you need to let the presidency go to a younger man or woman and i think joe biden is proving my point right now, and so i hope the president declines to run in 2024 and lets the next generation take over. neil: what if he doesn't, hal lambert. i was thinking of the guy you used to work for , ted cruz. now he is always on that short list of possible presidential candidates in 2024. do you think he, too, would say all right, donald trump is running, i'm not. >> well i think he's going to be smart and wait to see where we are in a couple of years, because a lot of this depends on how the biden administration is doing at that time. if they raise corporate tax rates way high, and they raise the income tax on everybody in the economy is puterring and not doing well, and you don't have

unemployment down to where it needs to be, i think there's a lot of people that are going to look at this race and want to challenge joe biden then, and so i think it really will depend on where biden is, but look, right now, as it stands today, if former president trump decided he was going to run for president, he'll be the nominee. i think i've talked to many many republicans a number of which do not like president trump, who also agree he be the nominee, so , i think that's where we stand. as far as contributions to him, that'll be interesting too. i think corporate america is going to be hesitant, but then again that'll depend on how the economy is doing in a couple years with biden. if things are bad, i think people are going to go hey, president trump did it the first time. we want to give him another shot it'll be up to him to decide if he wants to run or not. i think ultimately, president trump needs to decide sooner than he could, meaning we don't want to string this along and have him decide right before basically the deadline to get on the ballot, and then it's too late for anybody else, so, i

think hopefully, he'll come out right after the mid-terms and let everybody know where he stands so that people can prepare. neil: do you think his real interest is in giving them enough time to run if he does not? i don't know, but you know, hal, i also look at this and george i'll take this up with you, first, george this notion that they're all in klineed to stand back if he goes in. well there's other things besides age could be an issue, and the southern district of new york is still looking into a lot of legal matters that the could blow up, and a year or more before these races even begin and leaving that aside do you see any republicans like chris christie comes to mind, i have a feeling he would run regard law enforcement, whether he would be a threat and an alternative to donald trump, i have no idea, but what do you make that there are a few who might just say i'm going to roll the dice on this there's a large part of the segment of the republican party with the mitt romney and the liz cheney and some others

who think that donald trump be a bad idea. what do you think of that? >> well, i'm frankly kind of stunned that nikki and marco would announce unprovoked they won't run if he does in 2024. it's just so early and i feel like these are unforced political errors and they're not quite malpractice but pretty enclose else to that. i look at the rick scott and the ron desantis and the mike pompeo's of the world. they are all being very cozying up to president trump and being loyal to him, but they're not talking about this. they're out there working their brand and working super hard, and staying silent and running deep on that subject and i think that's a lot wiser smarter way to go about your business. neil: you know, the two could be sucking up though, right? hal, there's a possibility. >> that's what they are trying to do. i don't think that's super effective though, at all. neil: i see. i see. you know, the other issue is it be easier, i think, for donald trump to get the republican

nominations and to win the election but you both pointed out a lot depends on how the economy is doing in 2024. if it is doing poorly, could donald trump, as the nominee, close the deal with all of the baggage associated with him or do people see past that and say well, say what you want with the january 6 protest and all the back and forth, economy was good prior to the pandemic, markets were good, markets are doing just fine right now and tip continue to but what do you think of that, hal. >> january 6 is still fresh on everybody's mind and it was a terrible thing that happened so right now it be tough but three and a half, four years from now, the time will have gone by, and if he is the nominee, president trump is the nominee and then the economy is not doing well and biden isn't doing well, i think he has a real shot at winning again, so, no i wouldn't discount his ability to win the

presidency. neil: all right, george, the markets are doing quite well here, do you think this continues? are you a bull on this market and economy? >> i am, neil. i'm a bull. i think the resurgence post- pandemic is going to be spec tack spec tack you you harry reed: i think it's going to be very good for our country and something to celebrate but i do think the biden administration has put way too much sugar high on top of all of that and that the let-down or hangover after the sugar high wears off in about a year, year and a half is going to be telling as to whether we can continue to grow or whether we fall back in a recession but in the meantime people should enjoy it while it lasts. neil: i'm that way with sugar highs, gentlemen thank you both very very much. the dow up 274 we'll have more after this.

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neil: stocks up. charles payne right now. hey, charles. charles: thank you very much, neil. good afternoon. i'm charles payne this is "making money." breaking right now we have a rally on hands. manufacturing is simply exploding and fewer people are losing their jobs. corporate profits getting a major boost as well. there is a new investing dilemma, however, do you chase the winners or bottom fish among the losers? we have a panel of experts that help us sort it all out. retail sales crush -- who will be winners once the stimmie checks are