economy. get one-on-one help from america's retirement leader. >>> worries about the economy sent the dow down 15 points, the sfive and change, and the nasdaq down 23. microsoft's million-dollar investment in the e-reader. consumer spending rose just not'sackto "hardball." >>> tonight we're kicking off a new series, "dirty, angry money," looking at superpac money just this year. someday we'll look back on this race where people with hpa. omaaai risoue athe rnecaaign has ised, t the superpac crossroads dwarfed what priorities u.s. took in. and that's only part of the story. when you combine it with its sister, the non-profit arm, they eresed an astounding veer klei wte a perl coum he amsnbc contributor. i read your column the other day. let me just read from your column because i think it makes a point no one else has thought about. it's about the influence of superpacs on the local congressional race. just as youth is wasted on the young, money is wasted on the rich. money yo obotma. towan pplo u ow th atrg onithr reesentaven congss or on his or her challanger? do you even have a strong opinion on your represe

economy. get one-on-one help from america's retirement leader. >>> worries about the economy sent the dow down 15 points, the sg five and change, and the nasdaq down 23. microsoft's million-dollar investment in the e-reader. consumer spending rose just 0.3% in march while. now it's back to "hardball." >>> tonight we're kicking off a new series, "dirty, angry money," looking at superpac money just this year. someday we'll look back on this race where people with billions of dollars were able to just throw it at the campaign. a lot it have has come from pers can keep their fingertips off the pacs. the obama campaign raised double what the romney campaign has raised, but the superpac crossroads dwarfed what priorities u.s. took in. and that's only part of the story. when you combine it with its sister, the non-profit arm, they raised an astounding $100 million, and they're expected to raise $240 billion before november. klein writes a powerful column. he's an msnbc contributor. i read your column the other day. let me just read from your column because i think it makes a point no one else has thought about. it's

s. and p. as double a plus and now this new on their own agencies says is double a so which one is right. well you know in america is the largest economy and the most successful economy historically in the world it has the world's reserve currency. is facing enormous structural difficulties right now. cvs to find very difficult to to solve. you know i think until they find some way to move forward on those problems it doesn't deserve to have the highest possible rights and so i think the double a right to use more go right now speaking of these structural difficulties is there any indication that washington is doing anything to resolve its debt situation. they're certainly trying there's a lot of conversation going on they are trying to find ways to cut expenditure they're trying to buy a grace to raise revenue but you know you see it's political deadlock there until they can find some way to agree on needs to be done to solve these enormous just situational issues that could place america until they can find some sort of consensus the actual practical steps that have been psycho so far relative to the scale of the problem pretty small

s & p up 21, dow up 194. and america heading for a 5$5.3 trillion tax-mageddon, that will sink the economy, unless congress solves it right now. >>> we begin with breaking news. warren buffett says he has prostate cancer in a letter to shareholders. he found out a week ago there was a problem and he received an mri today to confirm the test results. we have full coverage of the story. "squawk box" anchors becky quick and andrew ross sorkin and chief science correspondent bob bazell. thank you. you spoke to mr. buffett today, is that right? >> that's correct. he reiterated a lot of things he put out in the release. he feels great, is he not worried. this is survivable and doesn't change any day-to-day activities at this point. he said that the succession plan, one of the huge questions. the succession plans are not changed at all, and, larry, we talked with him, a cnbc interview with him back at the end of february, and at that point, he told us that the board has had chosen a successor, but that successor did not know they were the chosen one. that has not changed. that successor is the same person and that perso

s&p, and the nasdaq all trending down. sfwlirchlgt the middle east has oil. africa has diamonds. america has bourbon. in a sluggish economybrag about. jobs that will never be outsourced. a product that is wildly popular around the world. here's poppy harlow. >> reporter: it's almost as old as this country. >> nectar of the gods. >> reporter: perhaps not since prohibition has this many people wanted to drink it. what has happened to bourbon in the last few years? >> we're going through the renaissance. the development of super premium bourbons. i have peek looking at bourbon. exporting bourbon around the world. you know, people from australia and germany and the u.k. and the far east, they're discovering bourbon and liking it. >> reporter: the great grandson of jim beam took us on a tour of their distillery on kentucky's bourbon trail. >> this is bourbon country. >> yes, ma'am. right where we're standing within 65 miles of where we are 95% of the world's bourbon is produced. >> reporter: there are more than barrels of bourbon in kentucky right now than there are people. 4.7 million barrels aging in the bluegrass state. >>

economy. get one-on-one help from america's retirement leader. >>> i'm sue herera. worries over europe send the dow down 124 points. the se nasdaq sinking about 45 points. employers added 209,000 jobs to payrolls in march according to the private firm adp. yahoo is cutting 2,000 jobs, about 14% of its workforce. the move is expected to save about $375 million annually. and demand for mortgages bounced back, reversing seven weeks of declines as interest rates fell once again. that's it from cnbc. we are first in business worldwide. now back to "hardball." >>> welcome back to "hardball." mitt romney has. won enough delegates yet to secure the delegation, but talk of his vp selection is beginning. john hidelman wrote that the search for the ticket's number two is always a big deal. but for romney, it may be especially significant given the severity of the damage that he suffered in the past months with key segments of the electorate. among them, latino and female voters. who will it be? does he need to choose someone bold and interesting, a game changer, someone who can improve his image with the conservative base, or someo

economy. get one-on-one help from america's retirement leader. >>> i'm sue herera with your cnbc market wrap. the dow fell two points today, the s.8% in march, and economists expect a gain of only 3.8%. investors also had city earnings. meanwhile, apple shares slid for the fifth straight day, dragging down the nasdaq. that stock is still up, though, about 45% this year. that's it for cnbc. we are first in business worldwide and now back to "hardball" and chris. >>> welcome back to "hardball." we're going to take a look at the worldwide look at drugs right now. i asked columbian president santos and president obama about the future of the so-called drug war in this country, specifically should drugs be legalized here in this country in an attempt to put an end to the narco terrorism in the south. you have a chance to sit next to president obama now. do you want to ask him about ways the united states could help your country in the drug war? >> chris -- >> don't you have a simpler question? >> how can we improve north-south relations, generally speaking? >> we have the obligation to see we're doing the best that we can do. if ther

america for the last 71 years. >>> a good day for markets and the economy. the dow closed 53 points higher while the nasdaq finished in positive territory and the s&p 500 reached a new 52-week high. all ten s&p sectors logged gains led by materials and technology, two cyclical pro growth. now for economic sunshine, higher manufacturing numbers this morning from the ism, last week's surprising consumer spending data, all appearing to prompt economists to raise growth forecasts for at least the first quarter gdp. fill says the early word out on march auto sales out tomorrow is very strong. several economists thinks growth may be strong enough to stop doing the twist and take qe3 off the table. mark olson, is chubby checker leaving the building? >> are we going to quit doing the twist? i think so. >> it ends in june, ends in june. >> it's completed in june. i suspect we may go through to the completion but at that point i don't think we're going to see any more adjustments. i never thought qe3 was on the table but i think there will be a focus first on the balance sheet and then on any other element of monetary policy. the first thing that's going to happen is it

s distortions. they may have worked at another place and in a different time but not here and not here. it's still about the economy. we're not stupid. [ applause ] >> people are hurting in america. we know that something is wrong, terribly wrong with the direction of the country. we know that this election is about the kind of america we will live in and the kind of america we're going to leave to future generations. when it comes to the character of america, president obama and i have very different visions. government is at the center of his vision. it dispenses the benefits, borrows what it can't take, consumes a greater and greater share of the economy. you know with obama care fully installed, government would have control of almost half of the economy, and we would have effectively cease to be a free enterprise society. this president is putting us on path where our lives will be ruled by bureaucrats and boards, commissions and czars. he's asking us to accept that washington knows best and can provide all. we have already seen where that path leads. it erodes freedom. it deadens the entrepreneurial spirit and deadens the people it's supposed to help. those who promise to

critical to the success of our economy, and it's critical to the rebuilding of the middle class in america. so in sort of broad strokes, that is my rebuild america act, s. 2522. mr. president, over the last few years the american people have heard from too many of us politicians and talking heads that our country's broken, that we can no longer afford the investments that make for a strong middle class. you know, that's sort of the premise of the ryan budget in the house. cut and slash. the premise is one that has been in favor around this town for far too long, and here's the premise. the premise is that we're broke. the united states of america is broke, and we can't afford to do these things. this is false. the united states of america remains a wealthy nation. we are the wealthiest nation in the history of the world. we have the highest per capita income of any major country. so one might reasonably ask if we're so rich, how come we're so broke? think about that. if we're the richest nation in the history of the world, if we have the highest per capita income of any major country, then why can we not afford to invest in our infrastructure, invest i

tell you, if anything will kill america's economy, if it were not our deficit and the massive debts this president is amassing, it is his o'bodyence to the union c.e.o.'s. i believe in the right for people to join unions if they to, but i also believe that we have to have a president that will stand up for the american people at large, not just a segment of the american people. if i'm. of the united states, one of the things i will do to reign in the excesses is to link the pay of government workers with a pay in benefits that exists in the private sector. [applause] you know the road we're on with regards to health care. it's a road that says that federal bureaucrats can do a better job than you can deciding what kind of health insurance you ought to have. and ultimately i'm convinced those federal bureaucrats will tell you what kind of treatments you can receive. that's where we're headed. if i become president we will repeal obama care and return to the individuals in america the responsibility and the right for their own health care. [applause] you know the road we're on with regards to energy. this is a president who says he likes all of the above

s&p is up 65%. apple has soared 48 percent and home depot um almost 20% and ford up 16% and bank of america up a whopping 72%. the economyore gains ahead. april could get off to a slow start. shareholderened by good friday holiday but here is where the brakes could be put on the rally. if the data shows a stalling data, if interest rates rise and energy prices continue to go up and incredible quarter for stocks, people with made made a lot of money in stocks over the quarter but most middle class families are in housing, not stocks. housing at a ten-year low. >> thank you. >>> critical development to tell but in egypt has many in the world watching how last year's arab spring will turn out. but they promised they wouldn't put forth a presidential candidate in next month's elections. this weekend they announced 62-year-old multimillionaire businessman al shatara would be their pick. he guided the organization from biven back when mubarak was in power. some are calling it a power grab and members of the group quit saying it's an unprecedented crisis. the u.s. isn't praising nor condemning the mood likely because the brothe