hi, everybody. welcome to "the wall street journal report." i'm maria bartiromo. it's all about jobs. a closely watched sign of the health of the economy, the jobs report. what it says, what it means, and how it affects your investments and the market. summer driving season is upon us. how high will gasoline go now? and how can america stop the addict to foreign oil? i'll talk to the man with the plan, boone pickens. and what is cooking in the white house kitchen? my conversation with white house chef sam kass. why he has been named one of the most creative people in business today. "the wall street journal report" begins right now. >> this is america's number one financial news program, "the wall street journal report."

now maria bartiromo. >> and i'll be back with all of that coming up. but first let's get to bill griffeth with a look at headlines and stories right now. bill, over to you. >> thanks, maria. >> here is a look at what is making news as we head into a new week on wall street. the economy continued to add jobs last month, but at a much slower pace than economists had anticipated. non-farm payrolls grew by just 54,000, and the unemployment rate edged up to 9.1%. that by the way is the smallest monthly increase in job creation since september of 2010. the markets ended a weak month of may, started june with a swoon. on wednesday, the major averages had their worst one-day decline since last august after a slew of weak economic data. and the markets continued down later in the week. just when you thought the news about housing couldn't get much worse, think again. the case-shiller home price index fell below the recent lows of april of 2009 during the

financial crisis. that means that housing has now hit a double dip caused by a glut of houses on the market, foreclosures, and weak demand. meanwhile, auto sales for may were stuck in the mud. ford and gm were virtually flat. chrysler was up 10%, while toyota was down a whopping 33%, partially because of supply chain issues after the japanese earthquake. and another ipo is heading to wall street. online coupon company groupon has filed for an initial public offering that would bring in maybe revenues of $750 million. the company had revenues in the first quarter this year of over $640 million. 83 million subscribers, but it did show a loss of 95 cents a share last quarter. so what does the jobs report tell us about the economy and where we could be heading next? mark zandi is the chief economist at moody's analytics. he joins me now with his thoughts. mark, thank you for being with us here. just your first blush response

to the job numbers out on friday. they were of course much weaker than anticipated. >> yeah, they were, bill. they were disappointing. there is no other way to characterize it. very small job gain, increase in unemployment. really nothing redeeming in the report. >> what has to happen now? we're coming to a crossroads at this point where the fed's quantitative easing program is about to end. there is debate in congress about the debt ceiling, about cutting spending. all of these things are coming at a time when it is pretty clear that the economy is starting to soften here. what do you think will have to happen here? >> well, i think the most important thing is for policymakers to provide certainty. and the key debate now is the debt ceiling limit. the congress, the administration have to come together, and they have to agree to raise the debt ceiling. now i'm hopeful that in that process they will lay out a path for future deficit reduction and a mechanism for achieving that. that would be really good news.

but if they can't achieve that, still at the end of the day, they have to raise that debt ceiling, and they have to do it in a timely fashion. >> of course, the question is the softness we're seeing right now, is this a short-term soft patch, if you will, or are we in danger of a double-dip recession? what do you think? >> i'm optimistic. i think it is largely temporary. you know, i think it's due to higher -- the surge in oil prices, i think $4 for a gallon of regular unleaded is pretty scary for people. and i think they saw that in early may, and that makes them nervous. the japanese quake effects on the u.s. manufacturing sector, which has been very important to job creation in the last year i think have been important. and the recent house price declines. more foreclosed property or going to distressed sell, and that's pushing downward pressure on house prices. all those things have come together to weigh on growth. more or less, those are temporary factors, and i think

the economy will start to gain traction again as we make our way to the fall. >> housing numbers we got out this week still not pointing to any kind of a recovery to speak of here. i guess if you don't have job growth, you're not going to have a housing recovery, right? >> yeah. and the key problem at the moment the mountain of foreclosed property. by my data, there are roughly -- a little over three million first mortgage loans that are in foreclosure or are pretty close. they're now going to a sale, distressed sale, a foreclosure sale or a short sale. that's putting downward pressure on prices. >> the big question coming out of washington is what will the fed do with the quantitative easing programs. the current program known as qe2 is scheduled to end this month in june. do you think we will need to see another program, a qe3 as it's known? >> no. if i'm right and the economy sticks roughly to the script i just laid out for you, i don't think qe3 would make sense. and even if the economy

struggles more than i'm anticipating, i'm not sure qe3 would be the right thing to do. the efficacy of that kind of policy is diminishing. so i'm not sure that that would even be very effective to go down that path. i think more likely what all this means is the day when the federal reserve actually raises interest rates will be pushed further off into the future. so instead of early 2012, which is what most market participants expected, including myself, it now probably would be not until mid 2012 before we actually see a rate hike. >> but if this softness persists and you're not anticipate anything more monetary policy, is there anything the government can do to try and stimulate the economy? >> no. that's probably the problem. i don't think there is any easy solution here there is no near-term policy that will make a big difference. i mean there are some things you can do around the edges to help with regard to the housing market and the foreclosure price sis. i don't think even if you wanted to do another fiscal stimulus

package, even if you thought that would be helpful, i'm not sure it would happen politically. >> it was a pretty ugly month in may for equities here in the united states. and it's been a jumpy start for the beginning of june here. what is your expectation for the equity market, say for the rest of the year here? >> you know, i'm positive, bill. i think that the equity prices are going to do well. u.s. businesses, particularly those traded on stock exchanges, are in very good shape. profitability is very strong. margins are about as wide as they have ever been. balance sheets, i look at corporate balance sheets. i don't think i've ever seen balance sheets as strong as they are today. i think u.s. companies are very well poised. it's not a question of can they go out and invest and hire. it's a question of willingness. it's a question of confidence. if we get by the debt ceiling, if oil prices stay about where they are, i think business people are going to get their groove back and they're going to start hiring and investing, and

we're going to be in a measurably better place. and i think that's all going to be reflected in stock prices. so i'm a buyer of stocks. >> my thanks to economist mark zandi. now back to maria with the rest of the show. >> thank you so much, bill. up next on "the wall street journal report," ending america's dependence on foreign oil. one man who has a plan. my conversation with boone pickens. later, ranking the most creative minds in business today. real growth stories from silicon valley to china to the white house's backyard. as we take a break, take a look at the stock market and how it ended the week. back in a moment.

welcome back. boone pickens is a man with a plan. most everybody agrees america needs to cut its dependence on foreign oil. but boone pickens is one of the few people who actually has a road map on how to get there. boone joins me now with a lot

more. great to have you on the program, boone. welcome. >> thank you, maria. >> let me kick it off with sort of where we are in the calendar. we're about to enter the height of the summer driving season. where do you see gasoline prices going short-term and over the long-term? >> short-term we may be kind of stabilized. but we'll pick it up again. and it will be higher by the end of the year. >> boone, you've been talking about your plan, the pickens plan in which you want to end america's dependence on opec oil. it certainly is a tall order. and you want to start with getting america's trucks converted to liquid natural gas. how do you propose to do that? >> well, we've got the house bill, 1380. we have 186 co-sponsors, and it's about 50-50 democrats and republicans as co-sponsors. no question that we have to do something. we have no energy plan for this country, and the special interests have done a very good job of not having an energy

plan. we're the only country in the world without an energy plan. and so all i've done is target the 8 million 18 wheelers. >> let me ask you about the infrastructure end of this. part of your plan was to build gigantic wind turbines in texas, distribute the energy across the midwest. that was abandoned because the distribution system did not exist. so why is the current plan more realistic? won't the same issues exist? the infrastructure, it will be expensive and difficult. >> well, i'm going to bail the wind pharmacy. i've got a 500 megawatts of wind that i think i'll be under construction on with in the next six months. so i didn't abandon the wind. i couldn't do the job as big as i wanted to in gray county, texas, because we didn't have the -- we didn't have the transmission for it. we don't have the transmission for the natural gas. natural gas is the most widely distributed resource in america.

it's up every street and down every alley. so consequently, you just need to put a compressor and a pump and you're in business. i don't want the government building an infrastructure to fuel trucks that can be done because it's a business in and of itself. but in my plan, you'll create over 500,000 jobs. and that's what it's about. but natural gas will replace imported oil. we're going to import it with clean, 30% cleaner than oil. and we will be our own product. and really, you're using your clean abundant resource, cheap abundant resource and replacing dirty oil from the enemy. so i think i've got a very good hand. >> boone, you know, you make such a great point, that we just do not have an energy policy in this country. and another great point is the fact that natural gas is so plentiful here.

what are policymakers missing, if it's that obvious. are you in favor of additional drilling or oil? hydraulic fracturing or fracing for natural gas with its environmental issues? so what do policymakers need to understand to actually put forth an energy plan that would work? >> well, 800,000 wells have been fraced in texas, oklahoma, kansas, and new mexico. and there are no problems with fracing. the fracing issue comes up over in eastern pennsylvania. and i -- i just don't think that -- i've fraced over 3,000 wells myself. i just don't think it's an issue. do i want more drilling? of course i do. i want to get on america's resources and off the opec oil. if i can get that eight million trucks on natural gas, he will cut opec in half. that's 2.5 million barrels a day. so if we can just get to that

point. but maria, the natural gas is such a huge resource, developed by our industries here in the united states in the last five years. that it's equivalent to 700 billion barrels of oil, which is three times what the saudis have. we can get on our own resources. and if we go down in history as having passed up this opportunity, we're going to go down as the biggest clucks that ever came to town. >> unbelievable. what a great point. boone, it's good to have you on the program. thank you so much. >> thank you, maria. >> it's important issues, and you are getting them out. we appreciate your time today. boone pickens joining us in texas. up next on "the wall street journal report," creative solutions from the first family's kitchen. why the man making the obamas' dinner means business. and you

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[ thunder crashing ] and then, in one blinding blink of an eye, their tree had given its last. but with their raymond james financial advisor, they had prepared for even the unthinkable. ♪ and they danced. see what a raymond james advisor can do for you. sometimes outside the box thinking means business success can be found as far from the corner office as the kitchen. fast company magazine has released their annual list of the 100 most creative people in business. rick tetzeli is with me. he is executive editor. and on the list, sam kass, assistant white house chef and senior policy adviser for healthy food initiatives. great to have you both with us. thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you, maria. >> thanks for having me. >> so sam, i'm going to get to you in a moment. but rick, a lot of diverse names

on this list. >> yes. >> talk to us about what this list tells us about innovation today. the brands include al jazeera, chinese fashion designer. >> i think the idea is that you can learn innovation. you can learn about innovation from anywhere in the world. and so, you know, we try to give people a whole variety of people. we've got a lot of corporate ties. we've got a lot of tech ties. so we've also got the chief of a tribe in the amazon, whose done an incredibly interesting work with google. and we've got the white house chef who, you know, has no culinary -- no formal culinary training, and yet now is attacking obesity nationwide. >> i love that. so coming in at number 11, ahead of oprah winfrey, sam kass is the first white house chef to have a policy role. sam, talk to us about the scope of the work that you're doing as part of the first lady's focus on healthy food. >> well, the first lady has

really dedicated much of her time at the white house ensuring all kids grow up healthy and can live the vibrant lives that we know they deserve. a lot of that means, you know, we have to come together and everybody has a part to play in this effort. and no part is bigger than for the private sector. she knows that if the private sector doesn't step up and use their ingenuity and their creativity, we're not going to solve this problem. she has been really dedicated to trying to work closely with them. and we've made a lot of progress. but we have a long way to go. i'm fortunate enough to play a good part in all that work. >> how do you do it? tell us about your average day. >> the average day is pretty busy. we start with a little exercise in the morning, and then put on the suit and go to work. you know, we're talking with businesses and advocates and leaders from all over the country, trying to work together to come up with solutions. and then in the afternoon, i'll change into the whites and i put on the chef coat and off head down to the gardens to harvest a little food for dinner. and then cook for the family.

>> and you've worked with walmart, right? the country's biggest retailer and biggest grocer. what is the progress of walmart's nutrition chart announced with mrs. obama? has it opened up partnerships with other business players in the community? >> exactly. exactly what the first lady was looking for. they took a look at their business and identified some key levers they could pull to really help families put healthier food on the table for their kids. efforts around reducing the cost of fruits and vegetables and the healthier options and lowering sodium and sugar in products across the store is going to have a real impact. and yes, that stimulated a lot more interest across the community about what can we do to work together to move this needle. >> it is so important. so rick, health initiatives can sometimes be characterized as a nanny state idea. tell me about the connections that the most creative business people you have spoken with as you put this list together make to work past the political

divisions or status quo. >> i think one of the really interesting things that is happening is that people are connecting from all different genres of work. right now. so sam can reach out to walmart, our amazon chief can reach out to google. jack dorsey can come along and do something brand-new with square that is going to have an impact across all different kinds of economies. it's pretty fascinating. you look at ebay. they bought milo with jack abraham is at number 25 on the list. and that could have an impact on all of retailing. >> right. >> so there is all kinds of possibilities here. >> sam, americans are eating 31% more calories than 40 years ago. more children are obese than ever before. more americans are in need of food than ever before. >> that's right. >> these are real tough challenges. >> yep. >> most people don't realize

that the biggest killer is heart disease. and that comes as a result of obesity and behavior. so what solutions do we have? >> right. we have a lot of solutions. i think it's important to understand the stakes. the cdc predicts that one in three kids if the current trends will continue will have diabetes in their lifetime. and it's the number one disqualification for military service. so when four-star generals are telling us this is one of our greatest national security threats, we know we have to come up with solutions. i think the first lady has laid out a really broad comprehensive agenda around better education and better tools for families. the better choices. we need to improve access so all families have access to healthy affordable food is critical. and we have to make sure our kids are moving more. physical activity is absolutely key to solving this problem. creating a safe space where businesses and anybody who is serious about becoming part of the solution has a seat at the table is absolutely the starting block. and i think we've done that. and we're seeing really great progress. >> what are you harvesting from

the white house garden now, sam? >> we are harvesting all kinds of stuff. in fact, we just took out about 75 pounds of lettuce and spinach and kale, and we're picking peas. lots of herbs, rhubarb. it's just been -- already it's been amazing. >> that is so fantastic. sam, great to have you on the program. thank you so much. >> thank you so much. and thank you for having me on. >> rick, it was great to have you on the program. >> thank you. thanks a lot. the 100 most create i people in business. fast company magazine. pick it up. thank you so much for joining us. up next on the "wall street journal report," a look at the news this upcoming week that will have an impact on your money. and then spicing things up at home. you may be surprise how'd the recession has boosted the barbecue.

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because everyone deserves a lifetime. for more on our show and our guests, check out the website, wsjr.cnbc.com. i hope you'll follow me on twitter. look for @maria bartiromo. a look at the market that may impact and move your money. the latest beige book survey of the local economy in each of the 12 federal reserve districts. on thursday, we find out if the u.s. imported or exported more goods in the last month with the international trade balance coming out. also, the european central bank will make its latest announcement on interest rates. the ecb raised rates in april for the first time in nearly three years. and finally today, in time for summer barbecue season, the marinade market is seasoned with growth. a new study reports a 20% spike in the sales of cooking sauces and marinades in the five years

from 2005 to 2010. adding up to $3.7 billion in the united states. another 19% boost is expected by 2015. the soft economy led to a rise in at-home cooking with some three-quarters of the people preparing meals at home, kicking it up a notch with store-bought sauces. thank you so much for joining me. my guest next week global investor jim rogers. each week keep it right here where wall street meets main street. street. have a great week, everyone. [ man ] i got this new citi thankyou card and started earning loads of points. you got a weather balloon with points? yes i did. [ man ] points i could use for just about anything. ♪ ♪ there it is. [ man ] so i used mine to get a whole new perspective. ♪

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