skechers and herbalife are still closed.pening. in the meantime, europe is closing in a little more than a minute here. the cool inflation data from china for one. >> china was a major reason why the mining stocks rally. then presumably they can stimulate for longer. we also had copper make reversing the recent downtrend. the other thing that was notable is lee of hutchison won in congress how long, made by a 30 #% stake in telecome, so they have also done reasonably well. as you come to the close, you notice we are off the highs in europe. so we dipped down just a bit. the data from germany, retail experts were soft today. it looks as though france may have avoided a recession in the first quarter. the other thing that i should note is everybody is talking about this huge stimulus from the bank of japan and that washed into europe. you saw those risks. the netherlands, austria comes down to record lows. >> european markets are closing now. >> i waited for the bells. she is a tough cookie. >> those were just bells. telecom d

melissa: skechers. >> i'm not as focused on that. news item these days, but herbalife is particular. reason i focus on herbalife, skechers is not a big-time tradable stock lately. herbalife is. one of the biggest controversies in the market whether you buy or sell it. i'm telling you this if you could find out which way this guy was doing what he was doing in recent months based on this kpmg information, which clearly is, he is a senior auditor. he knows the books. that is a big story. that has not been reported yet. lori: i was going to come in, this isn't likely an accounting cook the books issue? into no. lori: this is information being passed on for insider trading. >> i will say this, based on what we know from kpmg's standpoint, that is what was interesting. they didn't know what was happening. the minute they found out about it they basically did certain things. they got rid of the guy. by the way they killed, some of the reports he was involved in. whatever the legal definition, accounting definition, null and void we'll say,

that would lessen nen penalty, and also, of course, mandy, whether herbalife or skechers decides to sue. >> kayla, you stick around. i'm going to bring in herb for reaction as well as sully. herb, you're the king of red flags. to what degree do resigning raise a. >> normally a lot of red flags. given the events with insider trading allegations, you know, you would sort of look at it a different way. accounting was never one of the big parts of the story, mohr about the underlying business model, but then the story gets the strangers twist of all, just a bit ago when tim rainey came out and downgraded it to a neutral. he cut his price target from $180 to $190, this is trading at $36 or so. so you sort of look and wonder -- >> he's been defending it for a long time. >> my good pal, tim ramie, we go bam and forth on this thing, has been defending this thing. if you look at his report, what he says, he assumes the company will get a delisting notice, assumes there will be violation of loan covenants, won't be able to buy back stocks. this has all sort of piled on top of something that is un

statements of skechers have been materially misstated.ng news to you. dennis: and small bis slowdown. national federation of independent businesses optimism index falling for march and it paints a grim picture for jobs. joining us to discuss that and more, we have restauranteur and a partner in vetri, a philadelphia italian eatery, jeff benjamin, thank you for being with us. as small businesses look for the outlook for the economy, which is bothering them more? there's more regulations i have to worry about? >> there's plenty of command. regulations are more than demand. dennis: we start seeing more pieces of obama care unfold. now, how is obama care affecting restaurants and what are they doing about it? >> i think it's affecting small business in general in a pretty big way. forget for a moment the financial impact the direct implementation is going to have. those of us in small business have to find guidance on it so i'm not hiring resourcing people. i have to find out what i have to do and there's the increased taxation we have starti

skechers. the company announcing the resignation of kpmg as its auditor as well. there's the connection. steve cohen will be watching that stock closely. he's got 5.1% of that country, and all the uggs he needs. i hope his feet are warm. >>> they are currently trading at 2103, almost 4% up, this on rumors that it has hired goldman sachs to explore strategic alternatives, the famous phrase. if you recall, carl icahn -- he disclosed a 9% stake in the speech recognition software development earlier this month, spurring speculation the company might well put itself up for sale. simon? >>> the full focus, tyler, is now the best-selling car in the world, boosted by sales in china. ford's stock up about 27% over the past six months, currently trading at 12.86. it's gain on the day as the market rises. phil lebeau is in chicago. phil, for years it was the toyota corolla that was number one. what happened? >> well, a couple things, first of all, you talk about how they've had strength in china for ford and the focus, that's been a determining factor over the last 12 months

buddy bryan shaw about non public information involving five kpmg clients, including herbalife and skechers. images of london making a deal in a parking lot have been splashed across the media - along with details of cash exchanges and expensive gifts. "i think that the prosecutors want a lot of media coverage because the public is really calling out - or crying out - for scalps in the wake of the financial crisis , and the high level of distrust yale professor jonathon macy adds, any damage to kmpg will likely be temporary. some notable drops and pops in ceo pay to report:a bankruptcy judge has denied a 20 million dollar severance payment for outgoing american airlines ceo tom horton.goldman sachs' llyod blankfein's paycheck drops 18% to 13.3 million. facebook's ipo drama will cut into nasdaq's ceo bonus by about a half million. however, pay is on the rise for exxon mobil's ceo, he's getting a 15% pay increase, to 40 million dollars. and earnings for mcdonald's don thompson will pay triple -- to 13.75 million. the supreme court is expected to hear arguments in a case over "human genes".the

and skechers moves in the opposite direction. you can't ignore those moves. moves, how about the move for the market overall? the dow jones industrial is up by more than 50 points. take a look at the move, 52 points. we came on the air looking at a flat market. we have had a little bit of a push here higher, materials, energy pushing stocks higher, the s&p is now at session highs. 1567 and change. that's the gain of nearly five points, but this is a pretty nice move midday for the major averages. we'll continue to follow that. materials and energy leading the way. >>> let's switch gears to talk about ron johnson and his exit from jcpenney. a blow to pershing square's bill ackman who picked the executive to turn the struggling retailer around. here's kate with more. >> reporter: no doubt jcpenney has been a huge disappointment to pershing square investors. it has been down nearly 30% year-to-date giving back more than that today in the ron johnson news. however, ackman's portfolio overall has been good. we'll get to that in a second, but i want to talk about a

look, this is not like a kpmg memo telling you what to do with skechers. it's not that good, but it's pretty darn good. >> do we have a chart of the s&p 500. >> an intraday yesterday will be interesting to see. >> steve liesman's on the phone, right? steve, have you had a chance to quickly look through these. what do you think? >> i think there's an interesting question in there. i'm cutting and pasting the most important parts as i see them, but there is a discussion in the policy statement that gets a little more support for early tapering of q ethan we originally thought and i'll read you the question who said a few members who felt the risk and costs of movement would likely make a reduction that's appropriate around mid-year. so all we know beforehand is that john williams had suggested for economic reasons that his economic outlook suggested a june beginning of the tapering. we now can add a few members to that saying you know what? because of the costs and the risks i'm onboard with the mid-year tapering and the outlook for labor market conditions i

kpmg then resigned from working with herblife which sold off 3% on the news,and from skechers which bounced up 2%,kpmg affirms there's no reason to believe financial statements for either company was materially misstated. president obama's budget -- out today - faces pushback from both sides of the aisle. some democrats held a rally outside the white house yesterday in protest of proposed budget cuts to entitlement programs. the budget reportedly proposes 305 billion dollars in cuts to medicare over ten years. the white house says the budget is not "ideal" but is part of a compromise. the washington post reports 235 million dollars is being proposed for new mental health programs....following the newtown, connecticut school shootings in december, mental health issues are in the national spotlight meanwhile on capitol hill -- the senate is preparing for a vote on new gun legislation scheduled for thursday. an immigration reform bill could also be introduced that day. millions of people will soon be getting checks in the mail. banks and mortgage service companies will start sending checks out

what do you think of skechers? >> i have liked the stocks.e to do more work. >> hi, jim, kerry from connecticut i'm thinking of vesting for the first time, i want to know your thoughts on amazon. >> i think amazon again, i'm a homework guy, i got to be on that conference call. i think amazon is a great stock. i did not put it at the opening, i am concerned about this particular quarter. but i do like the concept. >> hey, jim, colleen from pennsylvania. what do you think about nordic takers? >> i think dividend is okay. i think it's bottomed. but i don't think an oil tanker company is going to do very well when our continent becomes energy self sufficient. >> how is it going, jim, math few from -- matthew from louisiana. i want to know your opinion on gun stocks and the policy in washington. smith and wesson. >> no, i don't, look, i have been rejd cabella's. they are up huge today. i would like to take profit cabella's. i don't care much for smith an wesson. >> long time listener, john from philly, my question is, the poll is up, do you think

shaw made more than $1.2 million in illicit profits from confidential information from herbalife, skechersrs outdoor provided by mr. london. i spoke with brian shaw's attorney earlier today in a first on fox business interview. >> their relationship started on a golf course several years before in 2010. started casually enough but over time they became very good personal friends. in about 2010, mr. london shared with mr. shaw nonpublic material information on a number of stocks that mr. shaw traded on. soon thereafter, mr. shaw gave mr. london a portion of the, took profits that he made. liz: okay and then it went on and on and suddenly your client found that his trading account was frozen. was this a fidelity account as i have heard? >> yes, it was. in the summer of 2012, mr. shaw found out his fidelity account had been suspended. later that year, he got an sec subpoena. at that moment in time he faced a crossroads because he knew that he had engaged in insider trading with mr. london. so he either could have concealed and covered up at that time and revealed and have been responsible. mr

they were the auditor for both skechers and herbalife.ing forward. alleged insider trading at kpmg. liz: charlie gasparino just reported on fox business that herbalife could be delisted from the nyse because of some of these problems. we're watching that as well. let's broad the picture to see material stocks. they led the markets to new highs, seen on somewhat of a miss for alcoa. >> that's right. pretty amazing. cliffs natural has been a pretty big loser. people may be buying it up. market is movin

. >>> kpng resigning as auditor from skechers own herbalife, an executive accused of insider trading.bc. martin will be back in just a moment. [ male announcer ] at his current pace, bob will retire when he's 153, which would be fine if bob were a vampire. but he's not. ♪ he's an architect with two kids and a mortgage. luckily, he found someone who gave him a fresh perspective on his portfolio. and with some planning and effort, hopefully bob can retire at a more appropriate age. it's not rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. arrival. with hertz gold plus rewards, you skip the counters, the lines, and the paperwork. zap. it's our fastest and easiest way to get you into your car. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. but i wondered what a i tcustomer thought? is great, hi nia... nice to meet you nia, i'm mike. what do you drive? i have a ford explorer, i love my car. and you're treating it well? yes i am. there are a lot of places you could take your explorer for service, why do you bring it back to the ford dealership? they specifically

we know about herbalife and now about skechers. deckers and pacific bank corporation. do we believe the financials on these companies? mean, how does that affect? kpmg said we're okay, we're okay, but we're dropping out. do we believe the auditing returns they filed are valid? >> well, two of those companies don't exist anymore. kpmg was representing them as their attestation firm, and then they were acquired and what london has been accused of doing is tipping his guy at the golf course about those upcoming m & as so those two just are not existent companies anymore. >> you don't think -- let me get this right. arthur andersen put out of business over enron, am i right? >> absolutely. >> jim cramer and i started the show many times during that sure. kpmg, are they vulnerable to what i call a institutional criminal pursuit by the fbi or whoever? could kpmg actually go down over this? >> i don't think so unless, and let me give the big unless. the financials for those three companies, and herbalife is the most important of the three because there's somebody out there wh

for relaying private information about his client on companies like herbalife, skechers, deckers andane wells is live outside the country club where both london and his jeweler friend belong. jane, over to you. >> well, you know, simon it all started here innocently enough, two guys joined the north ranch country club, which is gorgeous. they become friends and buddies and his business takes a recession in 2009 and he starts asking his friend for inside frgz in, some tips all starting here right on the golf course. where is ittening? as we roll the video, you will see scott london on the left leaving court staying free on $150,000 bond. his attorney says london will plead guilty to criminal insider trading regarding at least five companies including herbalife and he being face up to five years in prison, but quote, there will be no trial. the hope is that his full admission will mitigate photos like this showing london allegedly accepting five grand in cash from shaw after shaw started working with the fbi. the feds say london reaped about a total of 50 grand in the venture. his atto

action actually resulted in his firing and the resignation of kpmg as auditor for herbal life and skechersondon emphasized he passed no documents to that third party and did not impact accounting audits of those two companies. yahoo reportedly wants a bigger role on apple's iphone and ipad. the two companies have been holding discussions. data from yahoo's weather and finance sites are preloaded on phones. and have a business reliance to share and coproduce editorial content. >>> let's do a currency check. the yen hitting a three-year low against the euro and edging closer to that 100 level. triggered by the bank of japan's radical monetary easing steps which were kicked into higher gear last week. gains against the yen helped push the euro to a one-month high against the dollar. supported in recent days by market speculation. the japanese investors are looking for higher returns, they pile into eurozone, assets, and the next focus will be the minutes from the federal reserve's latest policy meeting and that is due for release later today. >>> also, the bank of japan's aggressive monetary