trish reagan has more on the markdowns and tax breaks that could be a win-win for stores and shoppers>> reporter: in 90 degree morning heat, hundreds of shoppers, some with umbrellas to shield the morning sun wait outside an apple store to save money. >> i'm always about saving a buck, especially in this economy. >> reporter: she'll save 4.2% on her purchase thanks total weekend tax holiday on back-to-school items including commuters. this weekend, ten states from north carolina to new mexico are offering early back-to-school tax breaks on everything from clothing to backpacks to electronics. retailers hope the incentives will create a surge in consumer spending. >> our research shows an uptick in sales affected stores sometimes as high as 40%. >> reporter: but with the economy struggling to emerge from its deepest recession from the 1930s, some analysts say it won't be easy getting americans to loosen their purse strings. july sales numbers, down 5.1% overall. that's weaker than the 4.5% decline since february. department store jcpenney got hit, off 12% and saks saw a 13.3% decline.

trish reagan joins us from cnbcs global headquarters. trish? >> there are growing numbers of positive signals. the economy grew more last quarter, pace of job loss is slowing, and productivity is increasing. still you can't have a full economic recovery without the consumer. and new data today points to an american consumer who is still struggling. while the cash for clunkers program gave the auto industry a much-needed boost, there are new concerns today for the rest of the economy. >> people are buying automobiles, and notanalysts wo even weaker in part because those new cars come with new car payments. >> it leveraged up the consumer for future months. they have now got debt they didn't have before because these were clunkers they were trading in. >> reporter: home foreclosures shot up 7% last month, a 32% increase from this time last year. as more americans lose their jobs. >> since there is typically, three to six month lag time between when somebody loses a job and goes into foreclosure we can expect to see activity unemployment related g

i'm trish reagan along with melissa francis and larry kudlow.e want to get you caught up on the markets. right now 17 points, just barely crossed into positive territory. meanwhile the s&p, you can see off a quarter of a percent there, 1,007. latest level. ho hormel, mcdonald's, nasdaq off 5 points, 1994 the latest trade. a strong quarter for price line.com. they say its quarterly profit in revenue rose on strong bookings. stock up 100%. right now stock trading up almost 13 points, 16.9 -- almost 17 points. $8 a share. price line.com president and ceo jeff boyd joins us right now for a first on cnbc interview. great to see you. congratulations on your quarter. >> thank you very much. >> jeff, what's really this all about here? we're in the midst of what has been the worst recession since the great depression. how is it that an online travel site can actually be seeing such an increase in bookings at a time like this? >> for some time things helping online travel in our business going forward have tended to overshadow some of the negatives of the

i'm trish reagan. >> i'm larry kudlow. now, "power lunch" is up next. >>> this is cnbc.com news now. >>> new york attorney general is issuing cease and desist to auto dealers for running ads on the cash for clunkers program. gm in 45 states, after a year of cutting back on leasing. financial times says u.s. banks will make $38.5 billion in overdrafts this year. that's mostly from financially stretched consumers. cnn.com news now. >>> welcome to spam day on -- never has so much been discussed about spam and poi. >> a whole new yorker article. >> when i was five years old i auditioned for spam commercial. >> did you really? >> i ended up trying the spam.. they wanted me to try it and make a face about it. that's what ended up not making things work out. >> you didn't give it a good face. >> they came to my school, , brought all the kids in a room, had us try it. >> that worked well. >> great info. >> joining us once again, this summer rally has taken a bit of a breather.. energy and health care the big winners at the moment.

i'm trish reagan. we are lower despite the positive jobless data.will talk about that coming up. plus, we will look at retailers. all about retail today. what is the back-to-school play? we have an interview with the head of the home shopping network. larry? >> thanks, trish. i'm larry kudlow. yes, the benign weekly jobs data could be an omen for tomorrow's monthly employment number. it certainly is a bull market recovery signal. we're going to be all over it tomorrow. we're also going to preview it for you today. >> and i'm melissa francis. in a cnbc exclusive. we will talk live with goldman sachs abby coleman. her big picture on the market and the economy. you don't want to miss that. this is "the call" on cnbc. >>> all right, stocks down just slightly now. getting the boost out of the gate from a sharp drop in weekly jobless claims. there's also a glimmer of hope in retail sales. more on that in a few minutes. but the rally sizzled, .2 on the dow, 9260 the last trade there. take a look at the s&p now. it is down about .4 of 1% below the nasdaq is

reagan. >>> welcome to the call, i'm melissa francis. trish regan is off today. 90 minutes into the trading day, world shares hit a ten-month high, we will discuss whether the stock rally can continue. larry? >> my word, i'm larry kudlow, hi, everybody. ben bernanke says the worst behind us, nouri el rabinny says the chances of a double-dip recession are increasing. we will discuss who is right and who is wrong. >> another 150 to 200 banks will fail because of the current credit crisis and will be joining us live with details. this is the call on cnbc. >>> stocks moving higher in continuation of friday's rally on optimism that the worst of the optimism is behind us, not everyone agrees, including nuriel roub beanie. we will be bringing you more on that later. right now the dow up by .7 of a percent, five straight days in a row we are in the black. as for the s & p 500 up. and the nasdaq in the back. black. >> all big three talking about earnings improving in the next years. cash for clunkers expiring today but other programs traders are starti

reagan. >>> good morning, and welcome to "the call." i'm trish regan. market off 18 128 on the dow on mixed economic news. right now it's looking like it could be an uneven economic recovery. just exactly what is in store for this recovery, and how can you profit from it? hey larry. >> all right, i'm larry kudlow. thanks, trish. the obama administration wants to charge large banks higher fees than its smaller rivals to pay for financial reform. in the "call of the wild" we're going to discuss whether it's a good idea and how you might be affected. hello, melissa. >> hey, larry. i'm melissa francis. michael vick is back in the nfl, signing with the philadelphia eagles. we'll look at what this means for the team's image and the nfl. this is "the call" on cnbc. >>> all right. stocks are at a loss this morning, on weaker than expected economic data. i don't know, consumer sentiment was light, industrial production up for the first time in eight or nine months. the dow, however, off about 1.5%, down 132 points. the s&p following dutifully behind, down 14.90.

reagan. >>> welcome to "the call of." i'm melissa francis. trish regan is off. stocks are higher, fueled by another term for ben bernanke and good news on the housing front and consumer confidence. larry. >> hi, everybody, i'm larry kudlow. now that bernanke is here to stay for a while, we'll discuss what it means for the economy, and the stock market going forward. >> and i'm mandy drury. in our "call of the wild" can the s.e.c. institute tighten regulations on the stock market, as one is calling for? this is "the call" on cnbc. >> a lot of positive news for investors to digest today. first up, president obama renominated ben bernanke as fed chief. home prices posted their first quarterly increase in three years, and consumer confidence rose in august. more on that one later. right now, though, the going above 9 600 for the first time since october. the s&p 500 is sitting at 1031 with a gain of just over half a percent. the nasdaq is also moving higher by about the same quantum at 2028. now, we do have john powell at the white house on the bernanke renomination

reagan is right, when it is bad, just say this too shall pass. and what do we make of woodstock, is the spirit alive and at stake in obama. trish regan covers wall street. and richard stengel, the editor of "time" magazine. kathleen parker is a columnist. and then we have john heilemann. the president seems stalled. he doesn't like gettinged blame. >> when i walked in, we had a $1.3 trillion deficit. >> ronald reagan dealt with almost the same thing trying to get going in the midst of a recession. reagan's downturn started in july of his first year and it took 14 months to get to morning in america. here's reagan at the same point obama is at now. >> we're starting down a rd that i believe will lead us out of the economic swamp we've been in. it'll take time for the effective tax rate reductions to be felt in increased savings, and productivity and new jobs. it'll take time for the budget cuts to reduce deficits. the thing to do is to hold to a firm steady course. >> here's what is left over from george bush. first the bailouts last fall. the housing bubble. the spending on iraq. but critics say obama's problems are partly his

reagan. >>> welcome to "the call." i'm melissa francis. trish regan is off today. a surprising and better than expected jobs number coming up stocks. the recovery is on. it's the new bull market, larry. >> indeed it is, melissa. i'm larry kudlow. we're going to talk live with the ceo of blue nile. the stock has more than doubled in the past year. we'll talk about where she sees the economy headed. this is "the call." we are cnbc. >>> it is all about the jobs report on wall street this morning. it was the 19th consecutive month of job losses, we know that. with 247,000 positions eliminated, it was the best showing since august, fueling hope that an economic recovery is beginning. take a look at the dow right now. it's back above 9400 right now. this is the first time since november we've seen this level, up almost 150 points on the day. that's about 1.6%. the s&p right now solidly above 1000, 1013, to be exact, that's about 1.66%. and we're up 1.5% on the nasdaq, above 2000. let's check in with bob on the floor of the stock exchange. nice way to end the day, huh, bo

reagan. >>> good morning. and welcome to "the call," everyone, i'm trish regan. we're 920 minutes into the trading day. yesterday's losses. they are boosted by a couple things with results out of retailers like home depot and target certainly looking more positive than the retailers in the past. we're going to discuss whether or not a correction could potentially be in the offering. >> larry kudlow is off today. senator charles grassley hosting dignitaries in iowa to drum up business for its home state. we'll talk to him live and get his take on where health care reform stands right now. this is "the call" on cnbc. >>> stocks moving higher this morning as home depot and target gave investors some hope for an economic recovery, but limited gains expected for a housing report. right now, how the dow is trading on the morning, up of after yesterday, yesterday up 43 points, about half a percentage point, 917 9 the last trade. the s&p up better than 4 points. the nasdaq trading higher by about 10 points. trish, what's happening down on the floor? >> i'll pick it up. >> oh, sorry, rebecca. >> we'll break it

reagan. >>> good morning, and welcome to "the call" everyone, i am trish regan on this thursday morning, we're that is up 41 appointments. there is a big question here, it's happening as the chinese markets rebound. of so the question being, who is responsible? is it china? or is it the u.s.? we're going to hash it out in debate. hey, mandy. >> yeah, who is wagging who? i'm mandy drury, legislation goes into effect today, and you will be affected. of course, the question remains, will it do more harm than good for you? we're going to sort it all out. this is "the call" on cnbc. >>> well, earlier on in the day, stocks were pressured by a rise in weekly jobless claims, as investors spread over uncertainty with the economic recovery, not helping a terrible earnings report from sears. more on that later. right now, though, the dow has roared somewhat, up by 4/10 of a percent, the s&p 500 gaining by 8/10 of a percent, 1004, and the nasdaq in positive territory, up by 7/10 of a percent, 1982 is the score. trish, what is happening on your end? >> hey, mandy, a lot of people talking about china, and t

reagan. >>> all right. welcome to the call, i'm melissa francis, and trish regan at the new york stock exchange on a strong market day so far. ford now releasing auto sales figures for july. they're expected to be very strong, we're waiting for those numbers any second now. phil, what do we think we're going to see here? >> we're going to see the first monthly sales increase in two years by ford. melissa, these numbers from ford are strong, largely because the retail numbers are positive. interestingly enough, ford's fleet sales, the ones that go out to the rental car companies, corporations, those are going to be negative year-over-year, but because of so much demand with cash for clunkers, we're going to see positive numbers. >> phil, i've got to interrupt you for a second. we are getting that number. it's up 2.3%. that is the number for july for ford sales up 2.3%. what's your reaction to that? >> reporter: that's about what we would expect. keep in mind these guys were down what? 24% three months ago? to make that much progress in three months, that's astounding. so this increase here, people are going

reagan. >>> welcome to the call, everyone, 90 minutes into trading on the floor of the new york stock exchange, i'm trishight now on the dow. quite a selloff based on disappointing earnings out of the likes of lowe's. live reports from none other than the nyse, the bomb pits and oil pit, big day, melissa. >> thanks, trish. i'm melissa francis. larry kudlow is off today. account airlines overcome the recession? have you noticed there aren't any empty seats on the planes? should you invest in the stock? in our "call of the wild," " should the government rescind andrew hall's $ 00 million pay package? stay tuned. this is "the call" on cnbc. >>> buckle up, stocks pressure from the get-go. look at the dow, down almost 200 point opts session, 190 points, better than 2%, 9130. the s & p the downside, dow down 23 points, about 2.75 percentage points, nasdaq trading lower as well. it is really getting slammed, down about 2 1/2%. look at oil. sinking as well today, slider low, down 2 bucks. we are starting to head toward the lower end of that range, down about 65, 3%. trish, what's going on down there? >> big day.