but for the market because paul volcker came in. these days everyone's kind of wondering, will the fed just kind of stop, will they go to the different playbook, not be accommodative long term. you know, i don't think so. i really believe that when the coast is clear, the fed is going to come back to being a more accommodative fed. i know a lot of brilliant people don't believe me, but here's the thing, the bet is just -- debt is just too high. $800 billion a year for the government to spend on interest, i just don't think we can do it. i think we've gone too far in this sort of new paradigm, and i don't think the federal reserve can do it. it's tough right now, you're not alone. in the has happened before, but very few people have seen it. stick to the fundamentals and ride it out. right, liz? liz: oh, yes. and by the i way, liz ann saunders is about to weigh in -- charles: she's one of the best. liz: by far, one of the best over at charles schwab, chief investment strategist. we wouldn't quite say march is coming in like a lie -- lion,

but stocks falling to kick off this first trading day of the month in a continuation of february. we do have the dow jones industrials down 74 points, the s&p lower by 24. the nasdaq's a loser too, down 87 points. russell 2000, small and mid caps, down about 5 points. what is driving these declines? it's not the worst we've ever seen, but you've got to the look at the rising bond yield withs, for one. the 2-year treasury yield hitting its highest level in 16 years. earlier it touched 5 -- getting very close to 5%, 4.899%. and look at the 10-year yield. the 10-year yield earlier topped 4%, its highest since november 9th. right now we are just below thata resilient economy is leadg many to believe, okay, here comes the fed talk, the fed will keep raising rates and keeping

them higher for longer. the odds of a 50 basis point hike at the march federal reserve meeting now stand at 30.6%. again, just in the past 48 hours they were more like 27%. atlanta fed president rafael bostick today saying policy rates will need to remain at the 5-5.25% level, quote, well into 2024. you guys have to understand, everyone looks at each and every word, right? yes. pronouns, consonants, everything as to what the fed says and the well into is kind of feeling new. well into 2024, that's what bostick says. right now the current target rate 4.5-4.75%, at least that's what the market anticipates. but cracks in the facade starting to show. factory activity losing further momentum in february. ism manufacturing up slightly from january, but it did come in below estimates. so when we say cracks, i'm

talking grain stick fractures, tiny. construction spending unexpectedly falling one-tenth of a percent month over month in january. the expectation was to see a build of .2%. and while employment no doubt remains very robust, today general motors announced that it is slashing hundreds of white collar jobs. representatives for the company said it was related though to performance and not cost issues. corporatino showing a weakening picture. let's take you to lowe's. looking at lowe's stock after fourth quarter sales fell short, we've got shares down about 6.8%. it remains under pressure from what it calls a shift many consumer spending. flip it over kohl's, kss, kohl's is down 6.8 -- actually, down 2.25% after posting a surprise loss as it faces ongoing inflation. tried to make a go of the green early in the session, couldn't quite get there. the retailer has, quote, lost

some ground this in key categories. outside beauty. so beauty's still strong, but the ceo called 2023 a, quote, transitional year and said efforts to drive more consistent sales and earnings are going to take some time. dollar tree, that stock is moving in the opposite direction. it's up 1.6% after an earnings beat. however, management did note that shoppers -- this goes back to to the target yesterday, right? -- they are curbing their intending as they issue a -- spend spending as they issue a weak 2023 profit forecast. that whole they're not putting as much discretionary stuff in the cart appears to be happening at dollar tree too. while we may not officially be in a recession, there are pockets of a recession, at least that's what liz ann sonders says. for more exactly on where those pockets are and how to invest around them and through them, let's get to our floor show. she's charles schwab managing director and chief investment strategist. liz ann, where do you see the pockets of recession?

>> so to think about the nature of this cycle and the rolling recession idea, you have to go back to the middle part of 2020 when we saw all the still are plus and massive pent-up demand kick in. it was highly concentrated on the goods side of the economy because we had no access to services not just here in the united states, but globally. that launched us out of the recession but, again, it was concentrated on the goods side. that became the breeding ground for the inflation problem we're still dealing with. but fast forward to the present, you have goods disinflation if not outright deflation, and many segments of the economy either goods-related or directly tied to interest rates like housing, housing-related, the factories sector, many consumer goods categories very much in recession. we just had the offset of strength in services because of the later access to them and the pent-up demand, and that's also where the stickiness and the inflation components reside.

it also helps to explain the resilience of the labor market because services is a larger employer in the united states on the goods side. so the weakness is sort of rolling through as opposed to the bottom falling out all at once, very unique in this cycle. liz: yeah, if we can show some of the housing stocks here because it's not necessarily that the stocks themselves are dropping we siptously at the moment -- precipitously at the moment, but look at everyone from lennar, d.r 2.25% here. some of these names are flagging. we've known that mortgage rates have beeng, but beyond that you just mentioned goods. what i find really perplexing especially considering that people have become much more savvy shoppers and frugal shoppers, it's the discount retailers that are now saying, hold on, we're seeing a much more fastidious consumer? target, dollar tree, what do you make of that in. >> so i think you're seeing it

up and down the wage spectrum in a slower demand environment in reaction to very elevated levels of inflation. you're either -- it's becoming an affordability problem for lower income folks that are just really pulling back. but there's also kind of a shift down from higher income investors especially because where we are seeing weakness in the labor market, significant increase in high profile layoff announcements also making this cycle unique sort of top down. it's managerial level, it's supervisory level, it's the white collar workers. and normally in a recession, the weakness starts bottom up and ultimately moves completely the opposite this time. but even the kiss count retailers -- discount retailers are seeing that reflected in maybe a pick-up in shopping from some of those higher income people. but we also see the retail is still trying to work down what was a massive inventory overhang

particularly in the middle part of last year. it's starting to get worked off, but that was a huge problem that led to the necessity of discounting. liz: where would it make sense, liz ann, to avoid investing? if people have a little bit of dry powder, cash to invest at the moment, knowing where you see these pockets of recession where would it make sense to just say, you know what? i'll leave that for now, and instead i will go, where? >> so we've been focusing more on factors, meaning characteristics. liz: yep. >> and than things like making a blanket sector call. i think the factors that really actually did well in the early part of this year's rally were kind of down the quality spectrum, higher beta, higher volatility, weaker underlying fundamentals, you know? some of the nonprofitable areas did well. i would definitively kind of use trader language, fade the

rallies there and and focus more on the combination of quality but also you want to invest based on factors that are, represent something that's dear or missing. so we're in a rising interest rate environment. a higher inflation environment. you want to look for companies that can maintain pricing power in that environment. strength of balance sheet, that have low debt levels, high cash. you want to, in a declining or deteriorating earnings environment, you want to look for sockses that have positive earnings revisions or surprises. in a more competitive environment for short-term fixed income, look not just for decent dividend yield, but dividend growers. so there's kind of a quality wrapper around those factors, and we think that's the way to approach a market like this. liz: yeah. and i know you don't talk individual stocks. we've got mike worth of chevron coming up in just a second. they're a dividend aristocrat, right? when you look at dividend

stocks, what other characteristics should there be in companies that are offering a dividend? because it can't be just, oh, they've got a big dividend. they've got of to have a quality business. >> right. in fact, be really careful. don't doing? like just -- do something just like screen for the dividend yield, rank them in descending order and pick the highest dividend yielder. often if it's well beyond the average dividend of the s&p or well beyond what it's been in the past or yields you can get in fixed income, sometimes it's a sign of weaker quality in terms of the fundamentals and higher likelihood that that dividend gets cut or goes awayal altogether -- away altogether. so you want to look at factors other than just the dave end yield to make sure it's a high quality company. you want to do additional screening, never just pick a stock simply based on the amount of the yield.

liz: that'll end in tears. [laughter] before we go, charles payne and i were talking about it just as he tossed to me and the show, the fed. >> they're not done. liz: people are still hoping they will cut rates sometime this year, now you've got bostick saying, huh-uh -- >> there's no way. mine, there's not no way they won't cut rates, there's no way they will cut rates unless -- not just with inflation comes down, but there's much more deterioration in the economy broadly or more specifically the labor with market. this idea that all the fed needs to go from the most aggressive tightening campaign to easing policy is inflation, you know, having a 2 handle on it? there's no way. they will cut if the economy moves into recession, if the labor market deteriorates significantly. otherwise i think pause, they'll stay in pause mode for a more ebbs tended period of time if not tighten more aggressively in order to weaken the economy to break the back of inflation. liz: there are are two big ifs,

so we're going to put that up on the web site. make sure everybody listens, because it's no, only if there are two issues, the inflation and a meaningful deterioration, liz ann, great to see you. >> you too, thanks. liz: u.s. politicians and china hawks may not want it, but u.s. stock investors are hoping for it. a full-blown recovery of the world's second largest economy. can china's new factory activity number which just hit levels not seen in a decade be trusted? next, the one u.s. company that could have a better indicator of china's reopening success might just be chevron. we're drilling down on china's true energy demand with chevron's ceo mike worth live in studio. we'll also ask mike about how he plans to reach new production and share buyback targets. president biden's attacks on those buybacks and how many drilling permits the administration is really granting. there's mike. he's coming into the studio right now. closing bell ringing in 38 -- 48

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and allowing me to focus on losing weight. for anyone struggling with weight and stress-related weight gain, i recommend golo to you. this is a real thing. this is not a hoax. you follow the plan, you'll lose weight. liz: economists say it's the dirty little not-so-secret reality. much of the u.s. stock market strength things on whether china achieves a robust post-covid are recovery, because china's demand for u.s. goods plays heavily into companies here that make those goods. the latest sign, chinese factory activity, or pmi, purchasing managers' index, rose in february to 5 2. 6, comfortably above the 50-point mark that delineates growth from contraction. by the way, folks, that's the highest rating since april of 2012. and to keep those factories

humming, china needs more and more oil. u.s. oil giant and dow component chevron is considered a proxy, at least one of them, for how strong china's rebound is. last year the oil giant producessed -- produced on average 10,000 barrels a day of oil for china alone. chairman and ceo mike wirth joins us live right here in studio on "the claman countdown." how because china's demand look for your energy and products in. >> bell, we certainly -- well, we certainly see leading indicators that activity in china is picking up. congestion, flights being added to flight schedules, travel picking up. i spoke to chinese ceos ebb when i was in europe -- when i was in europe earlier this year, and they expressed that they see employees back at work, they see factory production picking up. so all the indicators would suggest that their economy has found traction and beginning to grow again. liz: forgive me, do you get the call, hey, we'd like to buy more oil or make more investments?

you guys can make stateside at least in asia in. >> these are global mod ifty markets, so we have a trading organization that interacts with chinese customers and customers around the world with s. and we're in constant contact with them, and we do start to see that activity from our counterparts with some of of the companies in china. liz: china's one of the world east largest consumers of energy, plus they're smart. hay buy a lot oil on the open market to fill their reserves, do the they not? should we be doing that much more here in the united states? >> we have a large strategic reserve which has been drawn down over the last year as prices surged in response to the conflict in ukraine, and it's at levels that it hasn't been now in many decades. liz: that's not good. >> i think that reserve should be refilled at some point. it will need to be refilled over time in order to serve the purpose which it was the designed for which is to provide a secure source of supply in case of a real shortage.

liz: let's bring back the top conversation stateside, you're announcing that you will raise global output by 3% annually through 2027. much of that will come from the perm if january basin here. -- permian basin here, obviously, southwest texas. and southwest -- well, south, yeah, that would be southeast new mexico. [laughter] new mexico. don't you need a freer ability for permitting to go through in order to do that? >> permitting's one part of the regulatory process. we need, we also need drilling rigs and crews. so, you know, things shut down pretty tight during covid. the world didn't need more energy production, and so our entire industry all the way back through the supply chain that supports us really pulled act death levels down. we've seen -- activity levels down. we've seen that coming back up, and production has grown in response. so supply chains need to continue to improve. we need to be able to get permits. we're working were the got --

with the government in order to do that. we've had to reorder some work in order to have the permits in hand to do the work. so, yeah, we're making progress. but, look, our permian production last year was the highest every. our permian -- u.s. oil production was the highest in our 43-year history concern 143-year history. we expect the permian to grow nearly 10% more, so we're investing in this country. liz: and how hard is it, or is it getting any easier? there is the perception that the biden administration has been somewhat stingy when it comes to permitting. although if you compare how many permits the biden administration issued in its first two years to the number that president trump issued in his first two years, actually the biden administration issued more permits. the question then becomes where are we at now? is it slowing? >> growth is continuing, and so -- liz: with the permitting, i'm talking about. >> you know, the permitting, i'm

not that close to the details of individual permits. we're getting the permits we need to pursue the activity that we want to pursue onshore. in many places, in texas we're on private land, so we're dealing with the state of texas for certain types of permits. in new mexico on federal land, the process has been a little bit more difficult. offshore leasing is an important component in the longer time frame. and so we're continuing to work with relevant agencies to try to get aligned on what it takes to continue to grow the energy economy in this country. liz: well, things have been rather good in many cases for the energy industry. there have been record profits. that, of course, puts you at a target. it makes you guys a target certainly when it comes to, say, the president of the united states who has said that he wants to tax shareholder -- share buybacks at quadruple the rate that we're at now. we're at 1% right now. every time a company buys back shares, he wants it, or obviously, to be ramped up a bit

here. warren buffett just in his annual shareholder letter took d swipe at the president, calling people who think they're somehow if nefarious or bad silver-tongued demagogues. you guys are doing a lot more share buybacks, in fact, you made a new announcement. can you talk about that? you're raising the share buyback possibilities, right? >> sure. it fits within a very consistent set of financial priorities we've long held, the first of which is to grow our dividend. we've increased our dividend for 36 years in a row, increased it by 6% earlier this year, and t had a 6% compound annual growth rate over the last 15 years. we're generating more cash because we're investing to grow. i talked about growth, our free cash flow will grow by 10% per year to support that dividend growth, and we're growing production. our third priority is to maintain a very strong balance sheet9 in a suckly concern cyclical commodity business, and

the fourth priority the after the cash has been allocated is it to return it to shareholders through share repurchases which we've done for 15 of the last 19 years through the cycle. we tend not to try to buy only when prices are high and we have stronger earnings and then be out of the market when prices are lower, and our earnings reflect that. we try to stay steady through the cycle. we raised our guidance yesterday and raised the rate at which we're doing share repurchases. the owners of the firm deserve to share in the success of the firm. liz and i would say that the people who are on the other side of this would say, well, the employees should be getting some of that money, you know? raise the salaries. i think that may by the criticism here? >> we gave annual raises this year of 8%. we gave large bonuses this year, so our work force is, has shared in that as well. and so, look, we have to maintain a competitive wage culture for our people, we've got to maintain the dividend for our shareholders, we've got to

maintain the investment and the balance sheet strength. there's a balance in this. our company is stronger today than it was just a few years ago, so the numbers are larger. our earnings and cash flow are much stronger than they were which means we can return more of it to shareholders, and that a's what we're doing. liz: i know warren buffett likes your stock, you should have a steak together -- >> you know, we had a bacon, lettuce, tomato sandwich for lunch not too long ago. liz: he's getting a little healthier. no more t-bones. good to see you, mike. mike wirth of chevron. when we come back, we're going to be watching the markets. charlie gasparino's coming up charlie gasparino's coming up and the imax ceo. ♪ade ♪ it's an entire trading experience. with innovation that lets you customize interfaces, charts and orders to your style of trading. personalized education to expand your perspective. and a dedicated trade desk of expert-level support.

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minutes, nasa is going to try for the second time to launch a spacex crew to the iss. the 4-man crew which includes 2 u.s. astronauts, a cosmonaut and the first if united arab emirates astronaut, is going to fly out of spacex's falcon 9 rocket, but elon musk is zero focused on his day job. focusing on his day job hosting a tesla investor day after the closing bell. tesla investors still concerned over musk's other high profile jobs running spacex, twitter,

the boring company and neurolink as tesla's stock is still down about 30% over the last year. kelly o'grady is on the west coast watching the action closely. kelly, what are investors expecting to hear from elon at the top of the hour? >> reporter: well, liz, i think investors are looking for more on that master plan he's been teasing. i mean, traditionallingly investor days, they're about hype, they're about vision, and this is the very first one held in austin, so we can expect elon to share a growth story, right? the stock, as you said, took a massive hit in 2022, but it is up close to 90% on the year, so invest terse will be looking for assurance that the company can continue that. three things we can expect out of the investor presentation, the first is that third master plan. elon tweeted that it will be are, quote, the path to a fully sustainable energy future for earth. many predict this may be linked to the company's foray into solar, but it could touch on his portfolio of companies. a few months ago he teased, quote: that the main subjects will be scaling to extreme size which is needed to shift

humanity away from fossil assumes -- fuels but also include sections about spacex, tesla and the boring company. second, look for musk to address expansion plans, last year predicting the company would sell 20 million cars by 2030, but he said he needed 12 gig factoriallies to do so. tesla will be building a manufacturing plant in mexico, we could hear more about that today. and i'm hearing we could get an update the on if gen-3 platform. musk could reveal the cheaper model he's been teasing, something in that 25-30,000 price range would do a lot to reach that 20 million volume role. musk is known for lofty goals, but he's also known to miss some of the most aggressive deadlines. we will likely see some positive movement in the stock after hours. liz: it's always a show. a little hollywood. [laughter] >> reporter: it's elon. [laughter] liz: it's worth watching. we will, of course, be covering

that. in the meantime the, tesla shares aside, investors or have no appetite for ev stocks at this hour. just take rivian, for example. a take a look at shares, they are cropping 19.25% right now after the ev maker reported disappointing fourth quarter results. while the company did post a smaller than expected adjusted loss per share, its revenue orb $663 million far the $742 the million analysts were looking for. what's hurting the investor sentiment the most? delivery guidance for this year, citing risks and uncertainties in the supply chain. rivian forecasts it will produce 50,000 vehicles this year versus the 60,000 the company had previously promised. let's look at first solar. this has been a really nice stock today, up 13% at the moment. still shining at this hour a although not as brightly as it was sign -- shining just around 1 p.m. eastern when it hit a record high of $196.85.

we've got the stock at $199 2.83 at the moment. the move coming after the solar panel maker beat estimates and projected sales for 2023 to be better than previously expected. first solar has been a major beneficiary of the inflation reduction act and expects to receive anywhere from $660 million to $710 million in tax credits. covid vaccine maker novavax plummeting 26.9 5% right now as it raises doubts about its ability to remain in business. a pretty dramatic statement there. the company reporting a loss of clash 182 million in the fourth quarter on the back of weaker than expected sales of $357 million. this is a company that also makes the ebola vaccine, said there's significant uncertainty in its business regarding 2023 revenue. funding from the u.s. government that ends in december and pending arbitration. now, depending on the outcome of its arbitration with global vaccine alliance gavi, novavax

could be required concern here's the real crux of this -- could be required to refund all or part of the roughly $700 million it received that was meant to pay for doses of the vaccine sent to lower and middle income countries. abercrombie & fitch shares are fraying a bit at the hem, down about two-thirds of a percent at the moment but recovering some earlier losses. anf issued a revenue beat but also pared that with a profit miss during the all-important holiday quarter. you've got rivals urban outfitters and american eagle on the screen here. both those the companies also posted results, urban holding up pretty well on its revenue beat. more than eagle, though, down nearly 2% after warning that cotton prices will be a headwind for the company next year. you heard it here last quarter right here on this set, avatar: way of the water would

open pan doer a rah's box office for imax. ceo rich gelfond predicted its opening weekend back then and now he is back on the set on the film's rise to now number three of all time and the cascade of profits it's brought to the large screen tech company. rich gelfond next in a fox business exclusive. and also what movies are coming up to beat that. from movies to the small screen, kid to you know the founder of mtv was the son of a small town minister who started his media career as an announcer at a tiny radio station? yep. and after disrupting music television, how did bob pittman then turn around and disrupt good old radio? today he's the chairman and ceo of iheart media, the biggest name in podcasting right now. hear bob's one of the kind stories of success. he's my guest my brand new episode of everyone talks to liz. available on apple, google,

spotify and, yes, iheart media. dow jones industrials down can about 34 points, although at the low of the session it was losing 155. we are coming right back with imax next. ♪ors ♪ your dedicated fidelity advisor can help you open those doors. by helping you create a comprehensive wealth plan, with the right balance of risk and reward. doors were meant to be opened. for businesses of all sizes, there are a lot of choices when it comes to your internet and technology needs. when you choose comcast business internet, you choose the largest, fastest reliable network. you choose advanced security for total peace of mind. and you choose a next generation 10g network that's always improving, getting faster; more reliable; and more intelligent to keep you ready for today and tomorrow. the choice is clear: make your business future ready with the network from the most innovative company. comcast business. powering possibilities™.

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quarter of 2022. the world with's largest movie theater chain said it expects to see a slower recovery at the box office and it will not make a full pre-pandemic recovery until 2024 or 2025. how is it that imax, the big screen technology company, has a different story? imax has a case of big flick energy for this year. the silver screen tech company says it's on pace for its best first quarter ever at the global box office with expectations 2023 will deliver a return to pre-pandemic levels over $1.1 billion. shares up two-thirds of a percent right now. let's bring in the ceo, rich rich gelfond, here in a fox business exclusive. last quarter you were sitting in that chair, and you said all these people -- you didn't call them idiots, but there were a lot of people in the media saying, oh, this avatar part two is a disappointment already. and we kind of saw it differently, didn't we? you made a prediction, and that prediction is right.

it has been a massive blockbuster. >> so, liz, i'll share the credit with you because you started -- [laughter] by saying, you know, i have sort of a contrary take to it. so we shared the contrarian take. i think it was right after the first weekend, and the first weekend wasn't huge. but cameron movies never play that way. they have staying power. they're marathoners. they're not sprinters. and the movie was amazing. it's, i think, over $2.2 billion. imax did $253 million so far. we did 11% of the box office on way less than 1% of the screens, and it's -- of after the first avatar, we a had what we call the avatar effect. so we've ott got the avatar effect all over again. more box office at imax, more signings, more installations. so we feel really good about our business. liz: one of the biggest criticisms about the movie was, oh, my god, it's so long.

what because its success say about movies that that go down that path of more than, what, close to 3 hours? >> 3 hours, 15 minutes. liz: 3 hours, 15 minutes. >> i think it says, unfortunately, because i like them shorter -- [laughter] we can get more shows in, it's better. but i think it says if the move i have's good enough, they will come -- movie's good enough, they will come. titanic was around 3 hours, avatar even longer, so if it's good enough, that's great. but i still think hopefully, especially older people like me -- the not you, certainly, liz -- [laughter] you know, get a little bored after a period of time. so, yeah, i'd like to see shorter movies. but if they're good, you can't keep the people away. liz: it's got to be the quality. i need to know how you square with what analysts are saying what's expected at the box office. web bush expects it down 24% from pre-pandemic levels.

what are you seeing that helps you complete9ly do the opposite -- completely do the opposite when it comes to first quarter and you're expecting this record? >> let's even go back to we just reported last week, and our fourth quarter was equal to 2019 in box office. i mean, the year, the whole year of 2022 was without china because china, the remember last year with covid, trailed behind. and how i would say it's squared is i imax is mostly in the block buster business, and that's where the movie industry's going, towards blockbusters. also we're a global company. we're in almost 90 companies, so only one-third of our box office is from north america, and a lot of those other territories are growing and booming. and then finally, we pivoted during the pandemic to much more local language film. so in china we played chinese movies. shaft, in the first quarter we just had a record chinese new

year box office. we budgeted in the low 40s, and we came in over 60 -- liz: what was the biggest movie in china? >> wandering earth ii which became our biggest global movie ever, over $50 million in that. and in india, we're doing indian movies, we're even doing japanese anime which has become a very good business. we're releasing that around the world and other countries including in the u.s. so i think the tradition traditional execs think about to haves, they're -- exhibitors, they're north american doing north american box office, but we're a global company in a very different business hand them. liz: creed 3, it's coming out. how will that that add to what you predict for thiswater? if -- this quarter? >> you know, that is not a traditional kind of marvel movie that's going to do a billion dollars. but i think it is the best of the three, and i think it's really special. it was filmed with imax cameras by michael b. jordan, and i think when you see those punches

and you see the sweat and you see the people, the fighters falling back, it's amazing. i mean, i think it's just a very unique experience, and i think it'll help the box office, but it's not going to be a game-changer. liz: well, it's great to have you. wandering earth 2? >> you waiting for wandering earth 3? liz: wandering pittsburgh, that's what i'm waiting for. [laughter] good to see you, rich. thank you very much. >> great to see you. liz: rich gelfond of imax. a high profile legal conference called sec speaks has been canceled after the securities and exchange commission decided it doesn't want to speak this year. charlie's going to break thig in 12 minutes? yep, 12 minutes. the doh rich. it's all rich gelfond and imax. you've got the dow up 32 the points right now. we're coming right back with charlie gasparino. ♪ ♪

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♪. liz: an annual event well-attended by securities lawyers and the press called sec speaks, off the books this year. no invites sent out because the sec has decided not to speak. charlie gasparino has the latest. what is going on?

>> this is definitely ruffling feathers within the sort of sec commune. if you know anything the way securities lawsuits work, people at sec often two into the courts business. every year the people in the securities business, defending peel, what the sec is doing, what is on the agenda, what they expect out of firms, out of regulates entities, wall street banks, brokerages, they appear, they go to this thing where sec speaks where sec commissioners, officials at the sec, even the chairman often go and speak, say here is our agenda. this is very well-attended. should points always invited so you can go there and cover it. this year for some reason it has been canceler gary gensler for first time. liz: not rescheduled but canceled. >> canceled. i'm getting emails from former high-ranking sec officials saying this is bizarre he is doing it. what are, give you what the

gensler people are saying, second give you the other people that used to work at the sec even current sec people are saying. they're saying gary gensler is canceling this is agenda is very, very controversial, we all know that. he is going into areas that has not been, the sec never went into, esg disclosures. he is looking to upend market structure, very controversial. a lot of negative comment letters from the industry on both of those. he doesn't want himself or his people to withstand that sort of criticism which he is likely to get at this thing so he canceled it. it would have been done before the press and heightening that controversy. gensler's people say this, listen, we spoke with an sec, senior sec official about this, not gary, someone spoke for him, the event costed $800. people are paying access to the get to the sec. liz: okay. >> even though these people can

afford $800. these are securities lawyers. we don't have a lot of time, we're doing god's work so we don't have a lot of time. liz: couldn't get the caterer? >> literally, discuss so you know the event is down the street from the sec. it is not like you're going to bethesda, right? which could take a car ride from d.c. or new york. they are, it is down the street. you walk out of your office. you're the sec -- liz: what is this really about? they don't want to be subject to questions? >> give gary gensler the benefit of the doubt a little bit. liz: of course. >> it is time consuming. we have a lot on our plate including the stuff that is very controversial that they will bust our nuts about, excuse the language. sorry about that. but i'm telling you, this has been done every year. you do want the securities industry to know where you're going with stuff, right? you kind of want jpmorgan to know what -- liz: transparency. >> you want brokers to know what is high on the agenda, so they

can prepare for it. you know, if you're going to crack down on crypto even more what type of crypto you cracking down on. nice to know if you can comply with sec rules. this is something everybody wanted to know that. it has been canceled. it will continue to heighten the controversy surrounding gensler's agenda, particularly the controversial parts. there is two big controversy eel parts before i denned. this is where the comment letters are pretty caustic. market structure, people are worried it will actually increase fees and increase costs to small investors upending that whole auction involving retail trading, big thing. liz: yeah. >> this whole esg disclosure which is riling congress right now. definitely will be hearings on it whether the sec even has the authority to wade into something that congress should be doing on esg and things of that nature, virtual stuff. liz: i just wanted to go for the

free food. >> you know, i can't imagine the food was that great. just so you know. coffee. but you can go. maybe they do have muffins. liz: okay. charlie, thank you. >> by the way, i went to a conference once that had chik-fil-a. that was delicious. liz: that is very alluring. >> what is the other one? the other one i went to excellent, cinnabon. liz: i need to be invited. charlie, thank you very much. closing bell, we're 2 1/2 minutes away. markets a mixed picture. we don't see the russell. russell turned positive. russell up just a fraction. the dow holding on to gains of nine points, s&p down 18, nasdaq down 75. as we watch this very closely how to pick winners in what we were talking about with liz ann sonders, rising rate, high inflationary environment can be like searching for a needle in a haystack but today's "countdown closer" says there is method to his madness. sean o'hara. 2.6 billion assets under

management. you have two names you feel are the ones to pick but they have also got low p-e ratios, right? >> yes, that's correct. thanks for having me, liz. in this environment we have higher interest rates, higher inflation, you need to lower your overall portfolio's pe. focus on companies high quality, profitable charge generate a lot of cash. so the two names we gave dow, inc. i hope you put up on the screen it is up. multinational chemical company, very, very attractive dividend at 4.8%. trades at nine times earnings. very high quality company that can with stand downward pressure we're destined to see in the market as interest rates remain persistently tough to deal with as the fed continues to balance inflation. nucor steel. 200 quarters paying dividends. best year in 2022. they manufacture a specialty kind of steel that is used in

these offshore windmills. you just can't put any kind of steel in those type of structures. you need a much higher density and higher quality steel. they sort of have their arms around that market. i think that name also is up again for the day. not quite as high of a dividend but again trading under 10 times earnings. liz: forget up for the day. nucor is up 30% year-to-date. you have dow chemical up significantly, 15% year-to-date. sean, we always love having you on. [closing bell rings] sean o'hara. this is squeaker. too close to call. what are you going to do? s&p, nasdaq opened march down for the second day in a row. that will do it for us. mr. kudlow is next. ♪. larry: hello, folks, welcome to "kudlow," i'm larry kudlow. so yesterday we talked about joe biden's regulatory war against america's economy.

big hat tip to