as collector's items, we wouldn't have used them in our bicycles and guess what in the irony is they probably wouldn't be worth something today, right? plus, here's the element, the fun that we had back in those days, riding your bike with your friends, to helmets, the wind many your hair and the sound of those baseball cards, you had a friend on the handlebars every now and then. just irreplaceable really. and so with that in mind, you know, there have been efforts the grade valuable collectibles and other things, and i don't know, listen, beanie babies for a moment, those animated movie -- '80s movie posters, they didn't really work. and some things just never took off. believe it or not, the beatles chewing gum cards from 1963 never took off, neither did the andy warhol cookie jar. so, liz claman, the andy warhol cookie jar, you're just going of to keep mitt your kitchen.

liz: i already have dogs playing pocker -- poker in vel velvet in the kitchen. charles: that's your retirement fundsome if. liz: that is and my dad's fake spring shaw. thank you very much. breaking news, we need you to the take a look at the intraday chart of first republic ahead of it earnings report after the bell this afternoon. look at shares, they are popping 8%, not even the highs of the session which we hit earlier this morning. investor s, perhaps, bidding up the stock in the hopes that deposit flight, meaning bank customers pulling their funds during the quarter, was not as bad as anticipated. but, you know, that was not the case for zions bank in its earnings report last week. the salt headache-based financial said goes fits plummeted during the quarter by 16% but that the bank's balance sheet is fundamentally stable. investors, though, continuing to sell and at about $28 a share, zions is back to the low. it hit merely three years ago.

coming up, a live report on how hard it's becoming to get even a bank loan, a small bun -- one, big one, very off. the issue for the regional banks and, of course, the stock market overall is a that the problem began last year well before the silicon valley bank collapse when the federal reserve began aggressively raising interest rates. stocks right now, you could argue they're reflecting that uncertainty at the moment. we've got a mixed picture with the dow up 39, s&p flat, the nasdaq down 38 points and the russell down 3. now, after a week where the dow basically flutteredded down about two-enths of a percent, i mean, this much, the s&p's loss was even harder to the discern. it fell just one-tenth of a percent. the nasdaq lost four-tenths of a percent as investors wait to the assess how lenders are holding up after that march bank panic. the focus though may shift this week to big tech earnings. the heavyweights open the books starting tomorrow with microsoft and google. here's your earnings calendar. then wednesday meta reports.

thursday, amazon and intel with the big reveals. but the one calendar entry that may have more power than anything else, you actually have to wait til friday for that. it's the fed's favorite inflation indicator, the core pce or personal consumption expendtures. let's get right to the floor show, kenny polcari and john corpina live from the floor of the new york stock exchange. kenny, the fed's lockdown and its cone of silence ahead of the may 3rd meeting, but is it earnings or friday's numbers that you think will make the difference between a moving market or one that's on the edge of its seat? >> listen, i've got to tell you i do think it's both because i think we're going to get a lot of excitement this week. it's a big, big week. we're going to get those big tech or earnings. i actually suspect you could see an upside surprise in system of those numbers. but friday, like you said, the fed's favorite inflation gauge, and that's going to be the full-all about where the -- tell-all about where the fed is going in may and possibly june

and july. this is not the week to fall asleep at all. liz: yeah, i know that. [laughter] john corpina, when you look at the market action, you've got to believe the not just the pce. we can put up the economic calendar, totally different from the earnings calendar. and there are a huge number of important pieces of data that are coming out, not just the home sales numbers and things like that. we're getting the case shiller home price index, not to mention, to me, i'm watching the march durable goods. these are big ticket items that last from 3-5 years. are people really spending or either repairing their washing machineses or cars instead of trying to get new ones. and then jobless claims, first quarter gdp, the first read comes thursday. is there any one of these in particular where you feel that's more important hand what a first are republic reports after the bell, for example? >> hey, liz. you know, i love to disagree with kenny, but i have to be on the same side of him on this one here. [laughter] it's a combination of everything.

look at the market activity today, really benign, not a lot going on. everyone's sitting back and waiting for what's to come. you put this all together, earnings, the economic calendar that we have, all the chatter that we talk about the fed, this is all going to lead us up to what the fed does next week. we obviously wait for this date on our calendar. as we've seen before in the past and how the market activity the relates to the it, it seems like we're getting towards the end of the tunnel as far as interest rate hikes are concerned. this is a very important meeting. the fed has always said they're going to remain data-dependent. they're going to get a ton this week. all that economic day that that's going to had into that, they are going to have exactly what they need. and to go along kenny's lines, they're going to have the all the ingredients for their recipe to come out with their product on next week. and i think we're going to see a quick raise, and then that's going to be the end of it. liz: well, okay. if you're talking about recipes and talking about inflation, coca-cola reported this morning, and they did pretty well because they are able to have pricing

power. again, when you have pricing power, that means inflation is still hanging around. stock had been positive in the beginning, kenny. it has dipped into negative territory just by about a half a percent, but won't the fed look at something like coca-cola and say this confirms our fears, that companies are able to continue hiking prices and so inflation remains sticky? >> well, so and that -- exactly, and that goes to your point about are we really -- i was in the camp that we were going to get may and then a pause, but i'm starting to waver a little bit exactly to your point, is that could they say may and june and then a pause, right? but look, coca-cola also did say that there were supply prices that were coming down, he was seeing some relief in the cost of goods yet not enough, right, to that allow him to continue to have that pricing pressure. so i think that was, you know, service kind of a mixed message coming out of coke. i thought it was actually a positive message, but they took the stock up, and now they've

taken a little bit of profit out of it. yes, to your point, that's going to be the ongoing narrative that the fed's going to have to listen to. liz: well, john with, forget the fact that raw sugar futures are also spiking pretty dramatically. go back to the banks. we've got credit suisse numbers, and there was some scary stuff in there, obviously, before it had to be rescued by with ubs. we're waiting on first republic numbers after the bell. why do you think as a trader this stock is popping 8% at the moment for first are republic? i mean, i think that are investors getting a little ahead of their skis? is. >> yeah, liz. i think we know what we know, and i think that's the good news that's there. the dust has settled in this. you and i spoke about this. when we were going through the regional bank issues that were there, it was the contagion effect, what's going to to happen next, is the going to roll into other regional banks. it seems like it was contained many in that certain area, a certain spectrum, and it hasn't oregon anywhere further. and i think -- gone anywhere

further. they were able to stabilize, and when we see the way the stock has been trading recently, once again, we mow what we know. that that's the good news that's here. with we mow the outflow is going to be painful, but how painful, how substantial it's going to be, i don't thinkst the irrelevant. we know it's going to be there. i think what investors are looking at is get this earnings report out, digest this negative news that's probably going to be attached to it, and then the stock will rebound from there. as you said, yes, they are getting ahead of this. liz: well, let's talk about the fed again because -- [laughter] you can get ahead of anything that you want, but the fed, we're already ahead of because we know what they're going to do, kenny, don't we? i mean, we're looking at fed funds futures now, something like a 90% odds probability that we will see a 25 basis point hike. mark may 3rd, that's where we are right now. actually, we updated it, 91.4% probability -- >> right. liz: okay. so everybody should stop crying and accept it, right? the stages of grief.

>> right. liz: but then june, the june fed funds futures -- >> yeah. liz: -- indicate more of a pause, more than 65% odds of a pause there. and now 67.9%. and even a 26% chance of a quarter basis point hike. what do you think? i mean, the fed is not bluffing, are they, kenny? >> no, no, the fed is not -- no, no. i don't think the fed's bluffing at all. and like i said, i started, i'm on the fence a little bit thinking that we're going to get two more rate hikes, a may and a june. i was very much in the camp of may and stop and get us to 5, 5.25 on the terminal rate. but the fact that they go in june again, that'll get us to 5.5 the-5.5, which is more where we're hearing some of the most recent fomc member commentary, jimmy bullard, neel kashkari, all pushing for a little bit higher. so we may be in that camp. and by the way, the cta just reported that there's a huge bet, right, a 1.29 million

contract bet that the ped is going to continue to -- the fed is going to continue to raise rates into june and possibly july, and that means if that's true, that that's e a bet that's going to pay off because treasury prices will decline. they're betting that that treasury prices will decline because yields will go up because the fed continues to raise. liz: we need to give that bet a name. is that the t-bill whale? what should we call that? [laughter] quite a whale of -- i. >> i put it in my note this morning. [laughter] liz: yes. and i wake up to that note every morning -- [laughter] because that's my life, john, kenny, great to' -- to see you. of john, no more agreeing with kenny polcari. can't have that on this show. >> love it. thank you. >> ceo. -- ceja. liz: the parent company of mow. -- moet has surpassed. [laughter] a trillion in market value. perhaps the penchant to pop the

champagne at weddings fueling the growth, but that jubilation not extending to other parts of the matrimony industry. in fact, just weeks before the spring wedding season kicks off, the country's largest bridal retailer, david's bridal, has filed for bankruptcy. up next, we've got the ceo of david's bridal, he is here in a business network exclusive on how the company that 90% of america's brides depend on plans to survive this crisis. yeah, he's going to the explain it. 49 minutes away from the if closing bell. "claman count idown "'s coming right back. dow jones industrials up 51 points. don't move. ♪ ♪

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liz: bed bath and bankrupt. after months of investors asking they or won't they, yes, bed bath & beyond finally took the plunge and yesterday filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but it plans to keep its 480 store locations including bye-bye -- bayh baby -- buy buy baby and home goods. many have turned to the home goods chain for their wedding registries, but it's david's bridal where millions of brides

have said yes to the dress, but the nation's largest wedding retailer has also filed for bankruptcy protection. it's at risk of closing nearly 300 stores. it's the second bankruptcy in five years, and the company says it will have to close all its locations if it cannot find a buyer. but enter my next guest. joining me now for his first business network interview is david's bridal ceo jim markham. i say enter because you want to the save this thing, correct? >> absolutely, 100%. liz: what is your plan to do that? >> number one, it's truly an iconic retailer. one out of four dresses in america are sold, it's got a 70-year legacy on the brands, it's truly experiential and has a reason on. e believe that vehemently, passionately, and we've got a lot of people in due diligence that have signed ndas, and is we are looking forward to it. of. liz: okay. when you say due diligence and signed ndas that means they're

sniffing around the company and might want to help rescue it in. >> can yes, absolutely. liz: okay. so in what form? you want to make sure this is an investor that will come through and save david's bridal all the way. >> i want to the see david's bridal come out on the other side. and, by the way, there's 9,000 other employees that are very focused on executing every day to do the same, right? so it's -- there's a lot of passion here, as i said before. it's amazing when you look at the touch and the legacy, you know, when a bride comes in a sore on an appointment, 70% of those brides will transact and e engage, right? and it's the them, their bridal parties, the mothers of the brides, the guests of the weddings, the flower girls. it's a pretty, you know, expensive operation. liz: well, this is how iconic and widespread the touch actually is, 90% of american brides at some point are either on the web site or walking into a david's bridal store. now, that's a great stat. with but you used to be at apolo

hoe in private equity. i mean, you've also done a lot of retail the, marshall's, etc., but put on your private equity hat, if you will. what would you need to hear from a jim marcus before you're willing to take the dive and say, okay, i'm in, i'll take this company and bring it out to the other sidesome. >> yeah. so, number one, when i was at apollo, i was an operating executive, a senior operating partner, so, you know, really it's about, to your point, the touch. 90% of unaided brand awareness, 90% of all brides will come into the funnel, right in and then it's how can you position yourselves, right, in the industry as a leader to really, or you know, execute a strategy around that. we've recently done a lot of things that i think down the road in the future will pay off enormously. we've launched a complete suite of wedding planning tools and a marketplace called pearl. and i think it's been out there

for 12 weeks. we've already had 20,000 vendors, you know, come in and set up their own web sites and hose the kind of things because we have -- those kind of things because we have the brides in the funnel. they're early in their journey, they're in that planning and inspiration stage, and we want to help them. liz: if david's bridal is so very much the place where brides go, how did the company get into this position? how do you have all that this business where one out of every four brides walks out and wears a david's bridal dress on her wedding day, how did it come to this, jim? >> it rah really was led by covid, right? so coming out of the last bankruptcy, you know -- liz: which was before covid though. >> before covid have. company deleveraged, new growth capital, partners 100% aligned in the strategy, right? and that was '19, enter '20 in march, the entire chain shutters down, right? not only that, think about all

the legislative restrictions that were out there in the country. state by state, you know, you couldn't even have events, right? and so weddings were postponedded -- liz: well, the national wedding rate fell to 12 the 1-year low. >> it did. liz: nobody was doing it. >> and, by the way, if you looked at those venues, right, money of the venues at the time would give cash back. rightfully so, cash was king. so you literally had this rolling effect of weddings, right, which made the venue capacity strained. so you had these new cohorses coming in at the end of '20 -- liz: all right. so as you work to get this company back on its teat and to exist in the future, what do you say to brides who have orders in for david's dresses? i'm sure some of their mothers and parents and friends are watching at this moment. [laughter] >> that is the most important question. we will deliver on every dress that we have a commitment to deliver on that's been with sold with a deposit or whatever.

we control our own supply chain. 100% of those dresses that you see many in our assortments whether it be bridal, bridesmaids, 80% of all occasion dresses are inspired, designed, curated and manufactured by us and our partner. so we have total visibility, total transparency in the supply chain. we have dresses many production right now. if you looked at those first day motions in court, the number one issue that we focused on with the judge and she agreed and approved and so so has our lenders, right, we must fulfill those commitments. and so that's, that's where we're focused. liz: jim, i want you to come back with the new partner once you're able to the make this deal happen, we hope. >> loved to do it. liz: okay. good to see you. >> you too. liz: david's bridal ceo jim marcus. get to to it, jim. [laughter] a picture perfect moment for get i deimages stock on word of an activist investor buyout proposal if. we've got the details next. plus, with the closing bell ringing in 38 minutes, dow up

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to watch. now, it's up 10% right now, really ramping up. analysts are expecting earnings per share of 85 cents on revenue of $1.15 billion. the stock has been a real mess, it's lost close to 90% of its value since mid march, when it got swamped by contagion fears in the wake of the silicon valley bank collapse. has the contagion squeezed off first republic's loan books, and has the chill effect spread if across the banking industry, tightening credit conditions? kelly o'grady has exclusive insight from some analysts here. tell us. >> reporter: yeah, absolutely. and those questions you just asked, liz, are key because, or you know, the key focus, lending, right now. i mean, the big banks, particularly regionals, they're seeing -- becoming a lot more stingy about what people, what businesses they're willing to give loans to. there was a recent study from bank of america that said the credit crisis is the number one concern for the markets, not inflation. i mean, that's wild.

i do want to give you some numbers. big banks approved 14.2% of business loan applications in february. that dropped to 13.8% in march during the regional bank fallout. now, looking at the small banks, they felt that impact more dramatically. so approval rates dipping two percentage points in march going from 21.3% to 19.1%. part of that tonighting is because of the deposit outflow to big banks. we spoke to the head of loan trading at raymond james, and he shares liquidity is the driving issue. >> it's not so much credit as much as it is liquidity. they want to make sure they have the funding solutions to be able to do this and rising cost of funds is an issue for most all of our clients right now. they're definitely feeling more of a liquidity crunch when it comes to, you know, what are going to be those sources of funds to make the loans. >> reporter: now, small businesses that rely on those regional banks will be the ones to feel the brunt. these aren't companies that can

turn to flashy vc funding. we're talking the innovation that drives small town america, construction, hospitality. many are taking on the financing themselves, second mortgages, increased spend spending on. >> credit cards, but with rates rising, that obviously becomes risky. first republic is reporting after the bell, and we're going to be the looking for numbers on those deposit outflows as well as loan demand -- liz: see, that's where it gets scary, people turn to other options at higher rates that aren't well organized, and it makes you wonder what's going to the happen to that vibrant small business backbone of this nation. >> reporter: yeah, absolutely. i mean, imagine having something you've worked your entire life for, of course you put it on your credit card, right? but then what happens when you just can't meet that? it goes under. liz: and the fed is raising rates. kelly, thank you very much. fox business market alert here. all right, look at the s&p, it has a tiny bit more wiggle room, still up just barely a point at moment but still in the green here. it's the nasdaq that's flagging,

here, down 41 points. the dow jones industrials up 53. getty images looking practically picture perfect after an activist investor offered to buy the remaining shares it does not own in an all-cash deal. valuing the supplier at nearly $4 billion or $10 a share in cash. getty at the moment, you know, when you're looking at this right now, you've got it at $6.88 or so at the moment. up about 35% intraday. the stock closed on friday at $5.06. so it is getting quite the surge here. today the it's been as high as nearly $7. getty images went public via spac merger, reverse merger, last july at $10 a share. may be picture perfect right now, the rearview mirror picture not as pretty. trillion yum capital said the --

trillion -- trillion yam capital is also urging getty to sign a nondisclosure agreement as soon as possible so they can begin due diligence. trilliing am also said it reserves the right to withdraw its nonbinding proposal at anytime without notice. let's look at c3ai, it is getting hit by a downgrade, down 11.6% in the wake of that. shareses standing at $17.73 after wolf research cut the software provider from if pure perform to underperform and set it price target at 14 per share. currently, as i said, the stock's around $17.75 a share. important to note the stock is still up 60% year to date. it's been a real momentum play with all the a.i. and chatgpt discussion. but wolf research said the company's transition to the a consumption model is going to be a drag on revenue growth. first solar covered in clouds at this hour. it is down about 3% at the

moment after citigroup downgraded the sock from neutral to sell -- the stock from neutral to sell and lowered its price target to $194 a share. currently shares are at $2 the 10.19. citi says declining prices of silicon half-concern silicone-based modules could negatively impact their margins. tesla shares, those are slipping right now. down about 1.33% after the ev maker raised its 2023 spending forecast amid plans to increase production. in a recent filing, the automaker -- which also owns solar city -- the said it expects to spend between $7-9 billion this year versus the previous outlook of $6-8 billion. stock right now, $162.85. al albemarle, one of the largest providers of lithium for ev batteries is jumping agained today, up 5.6%. it is the second biggest winner on the s&p 500. this bounce actually comes after

last week's 15% loss on news -- and we told you this on friday -- that chile is going to nationalize its lithium industry. and when you nationalize something, the government starts scoop ising away a lot of the profit and some of the revenue. so that's why that was that selloff but today coming back a bit. and besides lithium, electric vehicles use a ton of copper or e. the metal known for having its finger on the pulse of the economy is hitting up next, we've got the ceo of copper mining giant freeport-mcmoran about the progress know first for -- prognosis for his company. dow continues to climb, up 62 points at the moment. high of the session, 82 points to the upside. not quite there yet. stay tuned, we're coming right back with freeport-mcmoran's ceo. ♪

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liz: well, copper prices losing a bit of their shine. the commodity is down 3%, china's sluggish economic recovery post-reopening from the covid lockdowns has dinged the price of the industrial metal. the country imports 54% of global refined copper, making it the world's biggest consumer. copper miner freeport-mcmoran is a bellwether of the industry and did report a crop in first quarter profits citing slower production and right the labor market conditions. the ceo of the world's largest publicly-traded copper producer richard adkerson joining me now to open up a little bit of a window into the world of copper at the moment because it is such a bellwether, right? i mean, when you think about it, the reason we call it dr. copper is that sort of market bling for the base metal because it's reputed to have a ph.d. in economics due to its incredible ability to predict turning points in the global economy. what is dr. copper telling you

ant the economy -- about the economy globally right now i? >> copper world has changed a lot, liz. for years it was thed commodity that most closely correlated to industrial production in the industrialized countries. twenty years ago china emerged, and as you noted, has become the dominant consumer in copper. but that is the changing now. we're in a new era of copper demand. the world is becoming increasing ly electrical-oriented with carbon reduction initiatives and artificial intelligence and connectivity, and so the future for copper is beyond china. china will remain important. it's beyond just the general economy. these new elements of demand really point to a very positive outlook for copper longer term. liz: okay. so here is the question, because when people look and say, oh,

freeport-mcmoran, they are the biggest in the big of the business here, copper prices right now at least at the cme are about $3.97 a pound. looking ahead, when -- you've been in this business a long time the, richard. do us a favor and give us a prediction. i see everything from $4 to the maybe $4.70 in sort of the mid to longer-term picture here for it? >> well, there are analysts who have actually much higher prices looking beyond the near term. you're right, i've been around for a long time the, had a lot of experience early in my career in the oil and gas business, and i learned that predicting near-term prices when you're not a trader, and we're not, we're a mine developer and operator, is a dead man's game. so we plan the near term on scenarios. we have a very optimistic view

and an increasingly confident longer term view about our commodity. the value proposition for freeport's very straight straightforward. we've had the same strategy, i'm in my 20th year as ceo. we adopted a strategy of focusing on copper then, and we continue to do that. we've built up a great portfolio of assets. execution by our organization is our backbone. we've got a great track record of developing mines and operating them. and we believe with that position of our assets, our reserves and resources, our high level of production from our mines, this team's ability to operate consistently and fairly to get along with communities, to manage environmental issues right, i couldn't be more pleased about where we are. it's easy to understand our company. and it is all tied around this

positive long-term view of copper as it's mined. liz: well, richard, long term, i get it, if i were a ceo, i'd be longing -- looking long term too. but you have short-term issues, labor shortages, wage inflation. what do you see as the biggest headwind for you running this company in the near term? >> well, those are challenges. it's a tough business, liz. we had a 1 in 1,000-year flood event in our big mine in indonesia in february, and it caused us to have to recover from that. we have a very large mine in we peru where they've had political turmoil that had some impact on our business. those are things that occur all around this industry. as i said, it's a off business. so -- a tough business. so there's not any -- i guess if you had to say what is the near term headwind, it's the uncertainty surrounding the global economy. what's going to the happen with inflation, what's going to the

happen -- going to the happen with political events and so forth. the things you talk about on your show every day. and that's what we'll have to live with. liz: right. >> but we've got a very strong balance sheet. we have ability to flex our business to meet near-term conditions. but we're always, always focused on establishing ourselves for the long run. and that's the right way for a business like ours. liz: you must looked at mass electrification and the push to the get more evs out on the road as a boon for copper, because so much of it is needed for electric vehicles. you know, give us your sense of that but also as it is superimposed over things like real world problems that we can't control at the moment, and that would be floods in indonesia which affected some of your mines the time around. -- this time around. >> correct. you know, it's electric vehicles, but it's also alternative energy from solar and wind.

it's the infrastructure that's needed to the take that electricity where it can be used. the world is talking today so much about artificial intelligence. we use it in our business, applications of that require wiring to measure things. and do things. so the world, 70%, roughly 70% of copper goes into electricity in some form or fashion. the world's becoming electrified to a much greater extent, and then at the same time the ability to develop new resources is very challenged. there is a real absence of actionable mine development opportunities in the world today. liz: right. >> and then the you have political events, community challenges to new mines, regulations, all of these things are barriers to supply development. and that's why i couldn't be more pleased.

here we are with the commodity has a great demand outlook, the supply challenge and our company's sitting here with this great set of assets that's unparalleled. liz: yeah. >> we strive to be the foremost copper company in the world. that's why i say we're really easy to understand. liz: all right. well, may there be 20 more years for you, richard. [laughter] you're just getting started, it feels like, and now sudden by you get the boon of the green energy push and the electrification. we'll be watching all of it. >> exactly the way i feel and, god willing, you know, we'll seo anywhere else. liz: please, please, the only place you need to come is right here to "the claman countdown." thank you so much. [laughter] richard adkerson of freeport-mcmoran. in the hunt for yields? i mean, who isn't, right? investors bit last week after apple launched the apple card savings account with a 4.15% interest rate. but our countdown closer says

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♪. liz: shares of anheuser-busch are up a quarter of a percent at this hour despite new data detailing a 17% drop in sales last week and volume down 21%. the brouhaha comes after its controversial partnership over the past couple weeks with tiktok influencer. charlie gasparino has been following the story. he has more right now. charlie? >> liz, talk from wall street types, investment banking sources, anheuser-busch is ripe for activist play, ripe for a board seat, sale to another company will likely heat up. i wouldn't be obsessed with the short term stock movements either up or down on this thing. anheuser-busch has been down 30% over the last five years. the company is still grappling

with plenty of props internally. now you have the dylan mulvaney controversy, controversial ad with a trans woman in a bubble bath sipping one of its marquee products bud light. this company attraction more conservative clientele. you have people talking about this thing being ripe for an activist particularly in light of these numbers and i'm getting these numbers, liz, from an industry source known as beer markets insight. there is a lot of, there are third parties that cover the beer market sales and industry trends. this is one of them. they do a pretty good job. here is what they're showing, following mulvaney episode even as the stock recovered sales have come down. it appears the sales decline is accelerating down 21% in the week of april 14th. that's, some of the stuff is

lagging liz, maybe recovered last week. that shows an acceleration from the prior week and we do know that this whole thing began in late march. this thing looks to be getting worse. it also looks like the bud light is losing out to its other brands. coors light is up 10%, miller lite is up 11.5%. as you know two people in the marketing department seem to be taking the fall for this. they have been put on leave are latest reports. we asked budweiser, anheuser-busch parent company, they have not gotten back to us. i will say this, liz, bud and parent company anheuser-busch was bought by inbev, a brazilian belgian company, owned in part by 3g. private equity firm known for wicked cost cutting. from what i understand they put almost know money into brand

development, getting new types of brands to appeal to younger audiences. they make their numbers, particularly their ebidta numbers through cost cuts. the cost cutting, one thing to cut fat and one thing when you get missile and bone. liz: 3g came in slashed and burned and didn't really read the customer at all. >> what i'm saying liz, what people are telling me, not me making this up, people following the stock, they cut a lot of places, cut a lot of checks and balances in management. i think it's joke to blame two people for this thing obviously more than two people working in management for this company. again, i think, anheiser busch as this thing develops, if sales keep trailing off, if you talk to wall street guys they're right for an activist place because the stock will start reflecting even more what we're seeing in the sales data, liz.

liz: charlie gasparino, my thanks. bring back zima, all i have to say. >> i loved that stuff back in the day. liz: all right. runaway pen. apand goldman sachs last week launched the spotlight with savings account which offers 4.15% yield with no minimum deposit. our "countdown" closer say why are you bothering with that when you can park your money in another instrument with a higher yield? he is the chief strategist at egon asset management. frank, what is it? i know what it is but tell our viewers? >> sure, liz, thank you so much for having me back. because of what the fed is doing, you looking at treasury bills which we haven't thought of as an attractive investment for a while but i mean today the three month bill auctioned off north of 5%. so you're getting substantial

yield for not much risk. you don't have to take much credit risk compared to have it at a bank. so it is, yeah, it is very attractive instrument, just to hold cash. liz: look at this, this is the three month picture. now you will see the six month picture. all the three month yield has done except for the moment, in mid-march when all the problems happened, people got nervous did a flight to quality which brought yields down has climbed up that slope. i got to tell you, it is not just the three month. why are you picking the three month when you can pick the four-month or six month, those have higher yields, do they not, frank? >> the three has the highest right now slightly because there is the credit, the treasury credit default window somewhere in that july to september, but even if you go with the two month, go to the fourth month, six month, you know, anywhere that fills space you will get a decent return. remember two years ago those

returns were zero. so now, you know, for cash investment, you can choose the date, you're still going to get you know, somewhere around 4.8, 5.1, somewhere in that ballpark which again this has been engineered by the fed, right? they brought rates up and, like the bills are the closest thing to cash at what the fed funds, they follow fed funds very closely unlike the two-year where you get discounting inflation rate. >> let's be very clear. >> the bills will keep going higher. liz: people say how do i buy a bond? there are people, we don't get snobby like the other business networks. you can go on treasury direct.gov. >> yes. liz: fill out all the stuff. go to your broker, they may ask for a little bit after fee, correct? >> a lot of brokers don't. charles schwab does not. you get the non-competitive bidder yield. liz: which is still up above,

still good? >> right, right. you're not paying big trades action cost to participate in the treasury auctions. >> so, frank, let's put a fine point on this, if your mom asked and said, i see apple is offering 4.15% deposit yield on this deposit account, should i do that? or should i buy a t-bill, your answer is t-bills? >> we like it. bills. i mean i would tell my mom, have your money at a bank you want to do business with. if you're looking to get return i definitely look at t-bills that will be one of the lowest risks and right now one of the highest yields. liz: frank habinski. great to have you here. closing bell rings] industrials were up. that will do it -- larry: hello, folks, welcome t