>> because bill ackman can't get out of the way of bill ackman.kes to mettle in corporate affairs. he has the distinct vision of what he wants to do. unfortunately, it's not a business vision. there's no strategic plan for this company. they have lost the opportunity to break through the online segment in a bigger way, which is what they really need to do. so i think somebody needs to be an adult in this situation and do something that's actually in the best interest of the company. >> jeff, if the board decides ultimately that's what they want to do, they want ackman out of their hair, what are their options here? >> well, let me just say that jason began, kelly, by playing off the me lit racials of the faberable words that begin with b. there are plenty of other words that begin with b and that's baloney and bullying. that's what he's full of. you could come up with worst words. this board's definitely had a shattered breach of confidence of trust with one another when you take confidential strategic staffing positioning information and take it

which is i would say to ackman, here's the deal, we will put this other person on the board -- >> ackman is director, they're saying here is someone that ackman wants on the board? >> or someone in the retail business. >> somebody with experience. >> right. >> that he would be happy with. we say, fine, we'll put this fellow on the board. however, you have to sign on the dotted line that you will not speak ever to the public, do anything outside of the bounds of the role not just of what you think a board member is, but i would write rules and if you are to -- if you were to contractually somehow get kicked off the board. that's the structure of whatever transaction here i would be setting up with that. i don't know if it is possible. but i was thinking this -- last night, what i would do if i was a boardmember. i had a strange dream last night. >> what is interesting about this whole episode, i think, and was, you know, laid out in all of the letters, whether from ackman's side or from the jcpenney board side is that nowhere did the jcpenney board push back and say, no, mike ullman is go

ackman is. bill ackman's next big call.chairman of the board of the out and wants to replace the ceo i guess. really turning up the heat in that

ackman, it is absurdity to listen to ackman sayyng these people are ganging up.hello hags he done? when he has the position he fill as room with 300 people and badmouths herbalife over and over again and still does. how can he now, almost laughable. now he is talking about a few hedge fund guys meeting to discuss the company? i wasn't at those meetings i have to say. but, it is not, i wed to go to them. it is not that i would have, i might have gone. it is not that, i don't think there is anything wrong with it but the irony ackman is saying it. that is what is really strange. liz: you're saying it's hypocritical? >> i think it is amazing he would do that after he has a meeting with 300 people telling them how bad the company is. now he is mad they're talking about the company in meetings and skiing it. liz: he safes donating any profits he makes to charity. >> yeah, right. to me, look, i said this publicly, having meeting telling people you're short 20 million shares anyway, is a little bit absurd. why would you do that? liz: at what point do you break ackman's

ackman is. bill ackman's next big call. he wants jc penney's chairman of the board of the out and wants to replace the ceo i guess. really turning up the heat in that ceo search. scott wapner has been all over this one, and he'll join us in a minute. >>> terrible flooding out in the middle west. this is a ferrari. what a terrible waste, ladies and gentlemen. a ferrari is a terrible thing to waste. unfortunately, though, the damage goes far beyond that car, and that is just ahead. the rains have been coming down there. meantime, to sue at the nyse. >> thank you very much, ty. well, ty showed you the dow. this week has been a rough week for the bulls. right now the dow is down 89 parents, but it was down better than 150 at one point in the trading session, and we've had a significant percentage loss on the dow. right now the s&p and the nasdaq both fighting against the bulls in today's trading session. the s&p is down about a quarter of a percent and the nasdaq is down just a fraction. looks like it's trying to tick positive.

saying he was saying ackman -- that -- it was sourcing ackman's letter saying questrom was coming back to jcpenney. i've known him for a long time, i used to cover retail. i picked up the phone and called questrom. i call his cell phone. i've known him for over a decade. i said, you're going back to jcpenney, i said what's going on? he said, whoa, back it down a second. he said he would consider it under the right conditions but the right conditions include it not being a hostile situation. and questrom supported ullman going back as the ceo and part of this is ackman kind of knocking ullman, which now you have everybody from the board of jcpenney to howard -- >> howard schultz. >> starbucks defending ullman. >> i don't want to trample on bill ackman. i don't know the guy. >> i think it is a hazy story. >> it seems like two -- i mean, let me know what you think, it seems like, a, ackman maybe jumped the gun in his letter suggesting that questrom all but agreed to come back. >> but questrom had talks with him. they started out about four or five months ago. >> but conditionally agreed t

bill ackman calling for the replacement of the retailer's chairman and calling for a new ceo.he board struck back one of the largest shareholders, perry capital through its support of ackman and howard schultz took the other side on cnbc and scolded the hedge fund manager. how will this play out, and can the company survive? let's get in the money right now and any way you slice it it's an extraordinary story being aired on tv in the media, in the public spotlight for all to see. >> and it's not a good thing, not good for the shareholders who are not big hedge fund titans. yesterday with the news they put a time frame on it. should have a new ceo in 30 to 45 days. that's also not good. if you get close to that time line, and there's no real names bandied about. that's a problem for investors. the stock can continue to sink. we've seen what's going on in the credit markets, not good. i mean, the story is becoming very distressed kind of quickly, and you don't really want to be an individual investor trying to get in the middle of these big guys. >> anything that ackman is invol

i have never met bill ackman. but what i think we all witnessed over the last 24 hours is such a predictable act, something so irresponsible that a board member of an existing public company would release and leak an e-mail without sharing it with the board or the ceo is beyond comprehension. but the story is worse than that. here's the situation, and this is the truth. this is not fiction. bill ackman was the primary engineer and architect of recruiting ron johnson to the company, and he and ron johnson -- strategy that strapped the company and ruined the lives of thousands of jcpenney employees and fractured shareholder value. [ audio difficulty ] -- came back to save the company, worked tirelessly, and given the time and the support from the board, i'm very confident he will do just that. and there's one other thing. bill ackman released an e-mail today that said that mike ullman is not communicating with him or the board. when mike decided to come back, i shared with him verbatim all of the things that i did d

what do we know about this complaint of ackman's and whether people are ganging up on him? >> we know that bill acshan and pershing square have formally asked the s.e.c. to take a look into the soros investment to see if it violated insider trading laws. the way that the investment was made, who was spoken to, whether there was a conversation with a large number of hedge funds before the investment was made. mr. ackman clearly wants to know how all of this went down. again, when we broke the news that mr. soros' firm had taken a long position into herbalife. >> and, of course, icahn is the largest single holder of herbalife and famously argued with ackman on your air some months ago about this. how much of herbalife does soros now have, do we know? >> we don't know, but we can surmise because we haven't seen a filing yet that it's under 5%, but i had reported it's one of his top three positions, so we know it's large. we don't know how large, but we do know that it most likely, if we haven't seen a filing yet, is below the 5% threshold that would cause such a filing to be m

one of the largest shareholders threw its support behind ackman. moments ago, howard schultz scolded the hedge fund manager. can the company survive. let's get in the mope right now. any way you slice it, a story aired on tv, in the media, in the public spotlight for all to see. >> it's not a good thing. when you think about it, yesterday with the news, they put a time frame on it. they should have a new ceo in 30 to 45 days. that's also not good. if you get close to that timeline, and there's no real names bantied about, that's going to be a problem for investors. the stock would continue to sink. we've seen what's going on in the credit market. not good. the story is becoming very distressed kind of quickly. you don't really want to be an individual investor trying to get in the middle of these big guys. >> is there anything ackman that is involved in right now that isn't playing itself out in a very ugly way in the media? every story is a bad one. but for him to start looking for any kind of a management change right now, he kind of lost credibi

ackman with this news, and mr.man is now paying for his lawyers in infectively indemnifying them because this whistle-blower said he was unwilling to come forward because he was nervous and anxious about the retribution that the company and others might seek monetarily and otherwise. he's a former employee that resigned from the company. that is the latest. >> the latest -- and the reaction from the company to all of this as of now, andrew, is what? >> the company says that everything was aboveboard, the product never got out, that they followed all of the proper protocols. however, there is some evidence in some of the documentation that has been reviewed that suggests there were serious questions by a number of very senior people inside the company about how the issue was being handled. >> the other, i guess, important thing to point out here as we discuss bill ackman and his well-known short position on herbalife, it all sort of emanated at this conference where he gave a big presentation and called the company

ackman? he's now off the board, off cameras, and now he can say whatever the hell he wants. >> and i'm sure he will. >> and he can did whatever he wants with his stock. he's got a negative position. under water on this stock. >> right now. i want to say something. i take issue with you, marcus. one guy is running a business but you're a public company, and, hey, if it's not -- if if the stock isn't doing well and the business isn't doing well, what do you do? who is going to look out for the shareholders in that case or even the employes? >> and the last ceo, whose call was that? >> but whose call was it before that? he was trying to correct something before that where the company was sort of going nowhere. >> let's bring stacey into the conversation. why don't you just react here. a, b, c, stays. >> you know, let's remind to reality here is that j.c. penney to begin with was in trouble and what really brought is into a sinkhole was ackman bringing in ron johnson and letting him run over the

many names now are jumping on the anti-ackman bandwagon and why? we'll take a closer look at the list and what it all means later on when we come back. free rese, customizable charts, powerful screening tools, and guaranteed 1-second trades. and at the center of it all is a surprisingly low price -- just $7.95. in fact, fidelity gives you lower trade commissions than schwab, td ameritrade, and etrade. i'm monica santiago of fidelity investments, and low fees and commissions are another reason serious investors are choosing fidelity. now get 200 free trades when you open an account. >>> welcome back to the halftime report. i'm josh lipton. we are watching those insurance stocks. many of these names trading at new 52-week highs. metlife which just reported after the bell yesterday operating earnings besting estimates. financi aflac, which reported this week, beat on the bottom and the top. now up nearly 20% in 2013. scott, back to you. >> josh, thanks so much. stephanie link, what's the trade on the insurers? >> met had a good number, hartford had a

ackman's claim here?i think this is -- seems to be like a desperation move and the kettle calling the pot black. when mr. ackman went short, he had a huge public announcement and urged people that the stock was way overvalued. now, there are people buying the stock, and it's cutting into his profits, so he's trying to retaliate. >> right. but, i mean, he did what he did in a public forum, in a room of several hundred people, covered by various business journalists, cnbc, and others. if what mr. ackman is alleging is true, what was done there was in a private forum, among other hedge fund people, not open to the public. isn't there a tremendous difference between the two? >> there is a difference, and it's a fair point. but it's a far cry from necessarily establishing insider trading. in order for there to be insider trading, there has to be a misappropriation of information. and here, soros is the owner of the information. it's proprietary to soros. so even if there was a disclosure of an interest in the

bill ackman is out. the activist investor is leaving the board of j-c penney. the stock initially spiked then --closed down 3%. in a statement, ackman says : "i believe that the addition of two new directors and my stepping down from the board is the most constructive way forward for j.c. penney and all other parties involved." it follows ackman's string of public criticism regarding jcpenney, including calling for its chairman to leave the board.sapna ma-hesh-wari, a reporter for buzzfeed business says her sources predict ackman's departure may stabilize the stock. "when bill ackman decided to take matters into his own hands, release this letter, two letters... to the media, go behind the board's back, it was this external force that really moved the stock one way or the other, and when you take away the risk of that, this analyst says maybe it could be a more stable investment." ma-hesh-wari adds investors will be watching closely for progress. the company reports earnings next tuesday. investors could get a better look at the books of publicly- traded compan

i think he has no credibility on ackman, i think they're in this position because of ackman, my questiondo you do now? what is the next step? >> if you were advising that board what do you tell them? >> i think the board has to take steps to protect the company in the board meeting. they got to take steps to control the information. >> that means control the information, could they run a board and effectively exclude him? that's what the krooet "wall street journal" is talking about this morning. >> he's a board member, he's on the board, so he's going to get, you know, what board members are entitled to. but there are committees that can be formed, it was in can be controlled, certainly, he's got to get all the information he needs to make a vote. but that doesn't mean that every deliberation has to include him. >> you know, jim, i understand your point entirely. i agree with it. i'm not trying to defend what's happening in this particular case, but it is not a sacred place where people don't have leaks come out of it. it is not. that's the way it works. i think i know about a lot of in

>> well, that's a question you have to ask bill ackman. you know? i think clearly we had in the last weeks there was a pretty significant dispute on the board when he was -- obviously failed this -- as a result of this. why he's selling now, i don't know. you know? he clearly given the commentary he made in the recent letter to the investors he's moving beyond. >> is jc penney going to survive? it's a harsh question. it's speculation. is it going to survive? >> well, with -- >> okay. we seem to be having technical problems with the sound of brian. i don't know whether we can get him back but seems like the technical issue is causing some disruptions so i do apologize. we'll try to talk to him later. >>> who's the next ceo to go? coming up next, in the wake of microsoft shares climbing from steve balmer's resignation on friday, what would happen if the ge ceo would leave? >> he would come up to my office, tell me terrible things about obama, tell me terrible things of governor cuomo will ch will come out ultimately in the lawsuit. >> donald trump rag

canadian pacific, big winner for bill ackman., general growth properties, big winner. >> proctor and gamble too. >> and proctor and gamble as well. >> i'm glad you brought that up. that is important to bring that up. thanks, guys. we will keep watching. >>> up next, ceo of aig, robert benmosche. a lot more, company resuming the dividend and announcing a buy back. we'll get into it. then two regional bank names you may want to add to your portfolio. a top banking analyst makes his case. back in a moment. mber? scottrade. ron: i'm never alone with scottrade. i can always call or stop by my local office. they're nearby and ready to help. so when i have questions, i can talk to someone who knows exactly how i trade. because i don't trade like everybody. i trade like me. that's why i'm with scottrade. announcer: scottrade- proud to be ranked "best overall client experience." >>> welcome back. aig releasing second quarter earnings p.m. take a look, stock traysing as can you see at, trading higher in the extended hours at better than 5%

a couple letters from bill ackman to the board. there's been a response from the board and official statement from the current chairman of the board who says if mr. ackman's statements in the letters that we've seen criticizing a number of issues with the board, the board saying that mr. ackman's statements are misleading, inaccurate and counterproductive. i spoke with bill ackman a short time ago who said our letter is entirely accurate in all respects. we look forward to meeting with the full board to discuss the future of this company. what you have right now is a mess. it is a full fledged mess. >> is there a school of thought that maybe ackman is meddling too much? pushing for the changes fast and wanting things done fast is what got ron johnson into a lot of trouble in the first place. >> i think at this point it's a case of desperate times call for desperate measures. he's sat there and watched the value of jc penney's stock price go down clearly from the letters today, you have had a situation where behind the scenes bill a

ackman is also saying the retailer is "flying blind." ackman manages the pershing square capital hedge fund, which owns nearly 18% of jc penney. jcp stock closed friday at its lowest price in a decade: $12.87. blackberry's board may be changing its tone about going private. reuters reports the wireless company is "warming up" to selling to a private buyer. the report sparked a more-than-7% rally in the stock. analysts warn it could be difficult to find a buyer for the troubled company. the launch of its blackberry 10 operating system didn't go as well as hoped. the company reportedly is looking into other options, such as licensing blackberry 10 software or finding a partner. president obama is vacationing this week in martha's vinyard, but before taking off friday, he held a news conference and talked a bit about the process of finding the next federal reserve chairman. mr. obama says he has a range of outstanding candidates, and confirmed that janet yellen and larry summers are both in the mix. "a critical part of the job is making sur

ackman's letter according to this person.de in the letter here is that either the chairman of the board has gone rogue or a very small number of board members, a small group of directors have gotten together to make some of the decisions that have been made. i'm told from a source, again, saying that that is simply untrue, that the directors have thoroughly discussed the topics laid out in the letter, and that the board's release yesterday reflects that decision. that's what i have now. i expect to keep reporting this and hopefully have some more and when i do, you guys will be the first to know. >> a busy morning for you, scott. thanks very much for that. jcpenney shares slipping further on that report down almost 6%. they basically come full circle since yesterday's rally on the news there might be a new ceo. brian, back to you. what do you make of what scott has just told us? >> well, look, i think what it shows is -- i think -- let me put it this way. i think the biggest risk for jcpenney is the view their vendors may hav

ackman had sent to the board. mr.r the board, what was best for the board. ron tysoe is this new board member in has been named. formerly the vice chairman of fed rated. mr. questrom saying ron tysoe will be good for the board, that the company needs to get the business back on track, also thinks the company will have to get more equity into the business sooner rather than later. also saying if the board is happy with mike ullman, they should get behind him telling me, and this is significant as well, that he's really not interested in coming back to the board of directors. remember, there was that conversation in ackman's letter how questrom had agreed to return as chairman of the board if he agreed with whoever the new ceo was going to be. questrom saying he's not really interested coming back but he would consider it if he was asked and if only he was asked by the board and he agreed with whoever this new ceo eventually is going to be. but he really stressed the fact that this is not something he was looking to do.

ackman resigned two weeks ago.re, well above where they are at barely $13. andrew. >> a check on the markets. we have red arrows. dow jones looks leak it opened off 80 points, s&p 500 off 11 points. the nasdaq offant 25 points. if you flip that board off over to europe the dak is off about 1.6%. the kak is off 5.6%. maybe jack lew's comments will turn things around. >> are you joking? >> i was trying to be somewhat sarcastic. >> you need to sounds more sarcastic. you are very ernest. almost all the time. >> the interest did get slightly worse, before the interview they were down 64 points. down 80 points. >> anyway. hopefully you saw secretary jack lew telling the cnbc the president won't negotiate. john harwood joins us now with more. most of the stuff, john, some of the stuff is to be expected. we heard it the last time the debt ceiling was an issue. and that is, you know the stuff we hear over and over again. we already spent the money. this is about spending the bills. was there anything out of the ordinary or

it seems carl icahn couldn't let bill ackman be the most talked-about activist this week. in the last hour, the 77-year-old billionaire tweeting that he has taken a large position in apple and that he told ceo tim cook he wants a big share buyback now. and would you look at apple's stock? take a look at what it's doing right now. it's up nearly 5%. of course, it already has a big buyback and the thought of it being bigger is something the investors like. >> arguably the most successful of all of the activist investors going after one of the largest companies in the world and pushing it up 4%. even apple responded. they said that, quote, we appreciate the interest and investment of all of our shareholders. tim had a very positive conversation with mr. icahn today. i tweeted out a little while ago that the translation of that is, simply, "gulp." >> and to think this was one time a target of shorts. you had david einhorn in there last year. >> exactly. >> shorting the stock. and now to think carl icahn is calling it undervalued. certainly one to watch today. >> much more comi

go ackman.don't know whether you're right or wrong but i love a good debate. >> how much is this about the fact they're just mad he released the letter to cnbc at the same time he gave it to the board? they just must be so furious he didn't follow protocol. >> exactly. talking about like moving away from the group. and they said it in the statement that is attributed to the current chairman, but again he wants to be disruptive, that's what he's doing. >> if his letter had been agreeing with them, they'd be thanking him. >> making waves is one thing, it's the size of the waves and the forum you choose to unleash them in. this is all about him grabbing headlines. perhaps it's to take away from the ridiculous lawsuit against george soros. he's done it too loudly, it's a distraction and it shows dysfunction. my life is somewhat boring. i love every minute of this and i plan on looking at it every day. >> but do you love the shares? what do do you this? when ackerman did this, the shares fell. he mad

>> the board cannot kick bill ackman off. what they would have to do is call a special meeting of hair holders. in order to do that before the annual meeting of shareholders which isn't until may 14, they need 6 out of 11 board of directors to do it. right now it seems like the favor is against ackman. you need the majority of board members to call a special meeting. i don't know that it's going to happen. i'm not sure that's what jc penney needs right now. he's life-threatening to get it off? if he's trying to agitate for changes and these changes are unpopular, is he going to get the way? >> i think the interesting thing perry capital, another hedge fund last week, report that had they also have a stake so ackman actually has a little bit of help on his side but you're right. it's a total mess and i think the longer they fight it out the harder it is going to be find a number. >> is this going to happen while the infighting is going on? >> they have another earnings report. in a few weeks they have the martha stewart case t

and the author of a 2011 profile on bill ackman.ll with me is abigail doolittle. >> i didn't. >> i like it, i like it. >> this is toned down, actually. >> you did a profile of bill ackman. one thing that struck me success when he was playing tennis with his daughter. i thought it was very insightful into how competitive he is. please retell the audience that story. >> right. so when i was reporting on the profile, bill took me out to randall's island here in the city where he was -- had a two-hour tennis match with two of his traders. meanwhile, his daughter, she was taking lessons. and at the very end, well first off, bill was complaining about being a little rusty. he had been on vacation, so don't hold any of the plays against him even though he certainly seemed to dominate the match. >> against his traders. >> he's often talked about helping warm up andre agassi. so his daughter comes over. she's across the court from him. every ball goes whizzing right at her. probably because she was the easiest mark on the court. but also i'd

people like ackman think the company can be turn around. liz: joe fresh? adam, thank you very much. s&p futures are closing. let's head back to lincoln ellis in the pits of the cme to find out what they're telling us. lincoln. >> this is not a joe fresh suit here but i will tell that you things have been meandering around the even line all day both in stocks and in bonds. that is really, liz, we talked about this last week.% meandering around the 1700 level, plus or minus 15 handles on s&p. really should be the theme for the month of august. tomorrow we get a key piece of data on retail sales. later on in the week for interest rate piece of the puzzle we get cpi and ppi inflation date. they didn't have much of a range to trade around. i suppose tomorrow at 7:30, the range will be a bit bigger. ashley: fine looking suit, lincoln. liz: chicago, they know how to dress. as investors embrace for tighter fed monetary policy. we need you to be proactive about the portfolio. one thing investors need to watch are dividend-paying stocks. why is that? which stocks may be best for you not to bu

what he cares about is he's being bullied by ackman and soros. it seems that pride is winning out for a reason. >> there's a lot of talk in the news obviously about insider trading with steve cohen and what not. as it's been described, maybe i'm wrong, but as it's been described, soros' people have these idea meetings, quote unquote, idea meetings. they have them with other hedge funds. now, is that not a collusion? is that not some form of insider trading? could it be stretched to that? i never really heard of idea meetings where tprincipals are telling the other guy what is to do. >> in chicago we call that grabbing a beer after the bell and collaborating. it's not strategically saying you are going to corner the market -- >> how do you know that? how do you know that? >> i don't. >> people are saying he did the same thing in 1980 with the bank of england. how do you know that? i'm just playing devil's advocate. >> go ahead, jimmy. >> he knows exactly what to say at these meetings, it's solidly in the gray area. they talk in nuance but they all

who just told fox business that ackman forced the board to rethink what they were doing.hat's the good part of it. it went on to say it would take the company one and a half years to get back on track. more on the activist investor who departure from jcpenney and what was said in a moment. we have both stocks moving at the moment. we've been covering the breaking news since it broke. the department of justice, another big story you need to know, trying to block the megamerger between american airlines and u.s. airways, and rich edson is following this from the moment it broke. rich, the latest. >> well, liz, here we are at the national airport where the government says there's an effect citing 69% of takeoff and landings to be controlled by one airline, 63% of non-stops leaving here all to be controlled by the one merged airline. the government and you mentioned it, liz, six attorneys generals saying we could look at higher prices, reduce service, hike fees as a result of this merger if it goes through. the government adding that absent the merger, u.s. airlines and ameri

ackman cleaned up on procter & gamble. don't think you can challenge colgate effectively in emerging markets. the records show a position in burger king. if ackman is right, herbalife is recruiting methods. the analog is a new skin, if the government is going to investigate direct selling practice, that would affect new skin. of course, the sharks who fought me, you might not profit, however, you want to challenge the man who howard schultz called the destroyer of companies at least now, you have your hedge buy and sell list. may the best man win. when we made our commitment to the gulf, bp had two big goals: help the gulf recover and learn from what happened so we could be a better, safer energy company. i can tell you - safety is at the heart of everything we do. we've added cutting-edge technology, like a new deepwater well cap and a state-of-the-art monitoring center, where experts watch over all drilling activity twenty-four-seven. and we're sharing what we've learned, so we can all produce energy more safely. our com

bill ackman and carl icahn have something else to fight about. has granted a license to operate in the hunan province. they're in the green today by about 1.1%. the notorious pink panthers allegedly striking once again just two weeks ago in fact in france. andrea day has more with that story. >> they have kept investigators on their toes for years. the latest hit allegedly tied to the gang of thieves is the biggest heist in france's history. take a look incredible robberies, untouchable thieves. bags of diamonds gone in seconds. the notorious pink panthers, suspected of pulling off some of the most brazen diamond heists in industry. in dubai, driving cars straight through a jewelry store wind. in london storming a mall on motorcycles, and more than 100 million stolen in just the past month. fbi special agent dan mccaffery is a diamond specialist. he tracks panther heists around the world. >> it's the allure of the great diamond, and making your millions in one heist. >>> along the french riviera, a wild heist that left police stunned. a lone stro

ackman cleaned up on procter & gamble.nk you can challenge colgate effectively in emerging market. they show a position in burger king. if ackman is right, herbal life is recruiting methods. the analog is a new skin, if the government is going to investigate direct selling price, that would affect new skin. of course, the sharks who not me, you might not profit, however, you want to challenge the man who howard schultes called the destroyer of companies at least now, you have your head e hedge buy and sell list. may the best man win. >> . >> here's my take. profits are the mother's milk of stocks. you got to grow the pie larger for everybody. >>> free market capitalism is the best path to prosperity. this is "the kudlow report." itiw requires challenging your business inside and out today. at cognizant, we help forward-looking companies run better and run different - to give your customers every reason to keep looking for you. so if you're ready to see opportunities and see them through, we say: let's get to work. because

is ackman guilty of hip hypocriy here?what i think, we'll hear from carl icahn because he will address this he will probably say this, listen if you want to know why herb a leif imploded when it did when ackman first came out he basically leaked the story out about him going short. he did not put out like an all points bulletin. he manipulated the stock in his own way before the company had a chance to respond and shares cratered. when the company did respond and got some support, white knights so to speak like carl icahn and maybe george soros's fund, that is by the way, george soros now runs, not a major public hedge fund, he run as family office, that the stock has bounced back and basically erased all of its losses. now ackman's position is in the red. the interesting thing is here, here's this. is turning out to be a short squeeze. i'm not saying take out manipulation. why is that? here is what we know about herbalife, it is basically held among just a few players, okay? you know, at some reason if the stock keeps goi

we begin this evening with corporate intrigue, the story of bill ackman and the fight for control of j.c. penny. .>> we collectively decided on ron johnson as the c.e.o. of the business. we put him in place. i'm not the c.e.o. of j.c. penny. i haven't made day-to-day decisions in the company. my job is to make decisions about hiergs and firing c.e.o. and long-term strategic direction of the business. the media, because we are probably the highest visibility person on the board, when j.c. penny was-- you know, when the stock went two 20 to 42 on ron being hired, we got too much credit for that. while i actually helped the company recruit ron johnson, it was really the collective decision of the board to bring him on, when when the business failed i probably got too much of the blame for recruiting ron. but that's okay. that's the risk of my business. >> rose: we conclude this evening with golf and the story of jason dufner who won the p.g.a. championship this past weekend. >> people don't realize it's the best in the world, it's the best of the best. it's not the best in your region o

it wasn't this stuff of icahn versus ackman on cnbc. it wasn't this kind of stuff, a guy goes on charlie rose. there is a different kind of activism out there. >> much more public, yes. >> it may be more public, but i think it is -- like, pulling strings quietly from, you know, if you're oz behind the curtain, i don't know if that's any different. it may be a different appeal. in terms of -- if -- i don't think it changes what they were doing before or now, just in terms of having a goal and trying to achieve that goal. man a different way of doing it. i don't think it changes what they're doing one way or the other. everybody has an interest. everybody has something -- >> we have a second piece on bill ackman we should talk about this morning. this one is the short bet. >> more ackman news. >> doesn't end. yesterday, i first reported that a former herbal life employee has been subpoenaed by the attorney general to produce documents regarding a 2011 safety concern about the company's nutritional shakes. the ex-employee now seeking whist

i guess you can make the case ackman is being classically disrupted and companies like j.c. penney need a disruptor to come and shake things up. >> you can be a disrupter all you want within the confines of the bored room while you're on that bored but this is not like municipal city counsel meeting or frankly this is a problem of somebody in congress that thinks they are representing a narrow constituent and not their full base. as a bored member in the western governance you have to represent not just bill's of the moment but the full base of investors and you can't have broad-side attacks. if he wants to do it from the inside fast but you can't sort of have these confidential information. that's the break down trust. he likes the rosey o'donald slap down trusts and that doesn't work here and preference of all things, it's a wonderful retailer and has food locker as a bored member and men's warehouse to deal with. >> thanks, jeff. have a good weekend. >> thank you. >>> a potential settlement between jp morgan and the securities commission would require the firm to admit wr

now, ackman gets the blame for that. he was replaced this spring. now, some board members think it should be ackman's turn to leave or at least shut up. now, late word this afternoon, that jcpenney and ackman are in talks to resolve the dispute. >>> whether it's jcpenney, blackberry or dell. a company that was once the darling of wall street falls from grace. why does that happen and what are the warning signs for investors. we turn to bill george, the former ceo of metronix and professor of management at harvard business school. >> i'm sure this is a situation you've seen a lot, where investors don't spot the signs. that a company was a superstar, a company of stock gets into trouble. what are the warning signs, what slu investors look out for. and how can they guard against their investments. >> i think the first thing you have to look for is leadership. leadership on the cutting edge of technology and market changes. blackberry's a tragedy in the making. i've seen it coming for a couple years, the management was very parochial. i love canada, but

ackman began buying shares in jcpenney exactly three years ago today. stock is down 34%. >>> meantime, another high-profile hedge fund manager is making a new bet as well. dan loeb who runs third point has disclosed in an s.e.c. filing that he's taking a 5.7% stake in sotheby's. third point intends to open a dialogue with sotheby's board and management. the auction house says that it welcomes loeb's investment. taking a look at sotheby's shares in frankfurt, they are up 2.6% on this news. back to you, ross. >> all right, jackie. good stuff. thanks for that. have a great day. phil warber is a correspondent for reuters and joins us now. good to see you. jcpenney's stock down 34% in the last year in a broadly rising market with some underperformance. ackman's throwing the towel in, as jackie says. what's going to happen to jcpenney? >> well, for now, jcpenney is going to get a bit of peace and quiet. last week they put in a poison pill so nobody could own more than 10% of shares and i think they were exhausted by the last three years with ackman's activism