oil spill in the gulf, i asked aubrey mcclendon about the safety of fracking. what would happen if you go down to dig for shale, and you have an explosion, and you destroy a whole part of the country? >> it cannot happen, okay? >> it cannot happen? why do you say that? >> well, because we're not a mile underneath the surface of the ocean, and if something were to get away-- and there are incidents where wells have loss of control-- you can go--you can go fix it. >> an underground explosion is impossible because there's no oxygen or anything to ignite a blast, but as you can see from these pictures chesapeake took of their operations, drilling is now a fact of life near homes and farms, and the industry has racked up thousands of accidents and safety violations above ground. this really is your backyard. oh, look at this. what happened in tim and christine ruggiero's backyard is happening more and more. they moved to this pastoral 10-acre ranch in decatur, texas, in 2004 to raise their horses and their daughter, reilly. but in 2009, a company called aruba petrol

does aubrey mcclendon survive as ceo here? >> well, that's the big question here. i hope that he does because he think he has the vision and the person that's executed the relationships to drive the company as it is today. does he survive here? depends on what further is uncovered and what's determined and now with regard to this hedge fund. i think the move to remove him as chairman and bring in non-executive outside person to look over his shoulder and to look at this company was a very positive move. whether he survives it is a big question. >> you have a neutral rating on the stock so if that question is answered, is it better for chesapeake if mcclendon is or isn't ceo? >> i think it's better that he is ceo. again, he knows how this company operates. it is a very different company. he has relationships with the joint venture partners that they have or may have in the future. he's been the driving vision behind this company. i think it is like saying that you're going to replace the driver in a race car that's going 200 miles an hour around a curve. you don't w

aubrey mcclendon out as chairman, but how should you trade the stock ahead of its earnings report? and hot money. is latin america your best investment bet right now? we're talking with blackrock's will landers about his favorite stock picks. welcome to "the fast money halftime report." lots of trade. let's talk to the traders now. i sure hope they didn't sell on this first day of may, pete najarian, because when the ism report came out and it was better than expected, the market started to move higher. >> absolutely exploded to the high side. look at the volatility index. the latter part of april, we started to slip underneath the 50-day. we're back there again. just for a number look-up, 1710 on the volatility index. we're wl below that now, trading in the 16s. but look at big-cap tech, look at coal, look at the copper names, the steel names, the participation. even yesterday on a down tape, look at some of those coal and steel names, some of that participation from names like peabody energy. take a look at southern copper, walter energy. a lot of these names have been performing

chesapeake's aubrey mcclendon. kate? >> aubrey mcclendon, you're right, is in the hot seat again. this morning his board of chesapeake energy announced plans to replace him as chairman with a new chairman they will find who has no previous ties to the company. they're hoping to have that person in place for a vote by the shareholder meeting, which is in early june. but that process is under way. there's no guarantee as to how fast it will happen. meantime, aubrey mcclendon remains chairman and ceo. the other thing they announced this morning, interesting development, the founder's well participation program which has been in existence for a number of years was disclosed to the sec. nonetheless, caught the public scrutiny and a lot of criticism about two weeks ago when a reuters story revealed some details of the program showing mcclendon had invested in the company's wells at an early stage of the drilling process. using, among other things, a loan from a private equity company for more than $1 billion. they are terminating that program in 2014. ceo mcclendon will receive no compe

aubrey mcclendon was pushed out as chairman. you said there was something notice noticeable in there, correct? >> correct. they basically said that we are pleased that chesapeake has taken our suggestions and we're glad that aubrey knows that as well as separation and ceo. i called southeastern and they've declined to comment beyond what is in that press release but it's very clear that there were some tough behind the scenes discussions with them and i know other shareholders were supportive of the company as it was but clearly there's been drama in oklahoma city. >> indeed. and the stock trading lower. >> that's right. it's clearly a disappointing quarter. natural gas, you know, at $2 or less clearly doesn't help them. so that may explain some of it. but, you know, they also disappointed even with that expectation baked in. >> kate kelly, thanks. as always. >>> president obama made a surprise trip to afghanistan on this, the one-year anniversary of osama bin laden. mr. obama will meet with president karzai to sign a strategic

the persons "outfront" tonight is billionaire aubrey mcclendon. he's the outspoken, charzmatic scion of one of america's founders and a founder of chesapeake. chesapeake could be the next enron, or worldcom. chesapeake energy is second only to exxonmobil in drilling for natural gas in this country. more than 13,000 americans work for mcclendon, enjoying perks, which according to reuters includes on-site botox treatments. chesapeake also boasts a campus with three restaurants and a 70,000-square foot facility with a rock climbing wall. it may have been among the first signs that something doesn't end up. mcclendon has often made grandiose promises that aren't backed by reality. >> at a minimum, i think they can create a million jobs over the next few years. >> the "they" he's referring to is a fund chesapeake was launching. now, mcclendon is not a household name, but what he's fighting for is. even as natural gas prices have plunged by 50% over the past year, he's been a believer in gas as the fuel of america's future. and some people love him for

also, chesapeake back in the headlines as the company announces it will strip ceo aubrey mcclendon of enough to get shareholders back on knwhoord plus, mark andreasen going on the record to talk everything social media. we'll talk start-ups, mobile and new technology in a moment. >>> first, rick santelli with an interesting day on the santelli exchange. i see treasury yields close to their highs for the day, rick. >> yes, they are. i never thought 194 yield would ever be called a high yield, but nonetheless, everything is relative. i've really enjoyed, and so did many on the floor, steve liesman's interview with a pair of fed officials, dennis lockhart, atlanta, of course, and charles evans, chicago. so let's highlight some of the comments, very unscientific, that i heard around me as we discussed while we were listening. the first is the employment rate. the employment rate was mentioned a lot. it was mentioned as a trigger, as a target, where they think it's going to be. but one thing i never heard mentioned at all, i never heard anything about the labor force participation rate. an

aubrey mcclendon will step down as chairman of chesapeake energy, but he remains as c.e.o., despite questions over his personal stakes in thousands of the company's drilling wells. mcclendon courted controversy through a program at chesapeake allowing him to invest in oil and natural gas wells developed by the company. he received up to a 2.5% interest in the wells. mcclendon used those stakes as collateral to borrow more than $1 billion to buy more. adding to the controversy, mcclendon borrowed some of that money from banks and private equity firms doing business with chesapeake. mcclendon has agreed to end the program early. the deals have caught the eye of the i.r.s., which is "reviewing certain issues" in connection to the program, according to the company. chesapeake has been among the energy leaders using fracking to free oil and natural gas from shale rock. the practice has helped increase natural gas supplies to record levels, pushing prices to near ten-year lows. low gas prices and worries about corporate leadership have pushed chesapeake stock down 40% over the past year. shares ral

aubrey mcclendon today called the controversy surrounding his personal stakes in energy wells. he apologized to investors. the latest issue is a report from reuters that mcclendon ran a $200 million hedge fund trading the same energy commodities produced by chesapeake, while he also was running the company. this adds to worries about conflicts of interest inside the chief executive's office at cheasapeake. mcclendon has come under fire for financial arrangements giving him ownership stakes in cheasapeake energy projects. he used those stakes to borrow more than $1 billion from banks and private equity firms doing business with chesapeake. questions about mcclendon's financial dealings have fueled big swings in chesapeake's share price. the stock sank more than 14% today. fadel gheit has followed chesapeake for several years as an analyst with oppenheimer. you have known mr. mcclendon for a long time r. you surprised by his reaction to these concerns about his financial dealings? >> i actually had a meeting with him a couple weeks ago when the newest head caved and he said that

reason why ceo aubrey mcclendon apologizing for the controversy over his personal finances. looks like he's got more problems ahead. kate kelly has the latest. >> hey, tyler, amid revelations ceo aubrey mcclendon ran a hedge fund for four years. in an investor call that helped drive shares down 13%, the cost of insuring against a default on a company's debt has leapfrogged today to close to $700 for each $10 million in a 5-year note. it's the latest indication of bearishness on the company's positi position, which in a word issin debt and had struggling with rock bottom gas prices. mcclendon was put on the defensive about the asset sales, how it plans to lower spending and why it isn't repurchasing shares right now. everything essentially except for his personal controversy, to address that he apologized during his opening remarks for the "distractions" but also cautioned the group your mother told you not to believe everything you read or hear for good reason. we'll see, sue, if he can weather this particular fire storm. i don't think he's been under this kind of heat in a

aubrey mcclendon came to light earlier this month. icahn is the company's third largest shareholder. >> tom: june 7 is circled on jamie dimon's calendar. the j.p. morgan chase c.e.o. has been invited to testify before the senate banking panel that day. he's been called to washington to explain how a trading unit at his company lost over $2 billion on complex financial derivatives tied to corporate bonds. so far, dimon's office is not commenting about what he might say. last week, a spokesperson said dimon had agreed to testify, but had yet to be formally invited. >> susie: meanwhile apple's c.e.o. is mastering the art of employee relations. apple says tim cook will forgo $75 million dividend payout. that comes as the maker of iphones, and ipads says it will allow employees the same dividend as other apple investors. in an unusual move, apple is awarding them a $2.65 a share quarterly dividend on their restricted stock units. tom, you surely remember that apple announced the dividend payout back in april. the stock at that time was aro

aubrey mcclendon continues under fire for personally owned portions of wells owned by the company. the stock fell almost 14% on heavy volume. the selling takes shares to a new three year low. in our exchange traded fund market flash, you can see the impact of j.p. morgan with the financial sector fund falling more than 1%. the emerging markets fund also shed more than 1%. and that's tonight's market focus. >> susie: all week we've been looking at the summer job market for america's youngest workers: teenagers. tonight, we ratchet up the age and pay grade and focus on m.b.a. students. the summer between the two years it takes to earn a graduate business degree is critical. suzanne pratt tells us why. >> reporter: at columbia business school, summer break is just days away. but, first year m.b.a. students are gearing up for summer internships, not summer fun. and, even though more firms are employing future m.b.a.s, this year than in the recent past, finding that job is no easy "a." julia werb says her search took six months from start to offer. >> i think it was a little bit more ti

aubrey mcclendon. >> natural gas is probably our best bet. >> reporter: mcclendon is now under scrutiny by the securities and exchange commission for taking out more than a billion dollars in loans for chesapeake's creditors for his own personal investments-- a move that could affect the terms chesapeake gets from those lenders. when stockholders found out last month they sued. mark gross is their attorney. >> this is not a matter of how he manages his company, it's how he manages his personal assets and creates a conflict with those of his investors. >> reporter: stockholders were already furious about another venture of mcclendon's: his $200 million investment fund which traded oil and gas, a potential conflict of interest because it allowed him to bet against chesapeake. >> it's clearly a fraud on the investors. >> reporter: mcclendon declined our repeated requests for an interview this week, but back in april he said that his personal transactions created no conflict of interest with the companies he helped to start, scott. >> pelley: nancy, thank you very much. a lot of americans a

bars there's a lot of other people that are taking advantage we've been writing a lot about aubrey mcclendonover a chesapeake there's a lot of people with their heads a think that they can get away with stuff and they're right they're getting away with stuff right now hedge funds of course sense blood in the water there's a bit of a conflict with the hedge fund community because they rely on morgan for the cheap credit to fuel their speculative bets but at some point one of them is going to break ranks and just go whole hawg in and start to dismantle this take at some point they're all going to follow suit according to game theory isn't that correct i would agree and i think that it's not necessarily true that we should look at some of the other banks and ceiling to see if they're taking advantage of these holes in the regulatory infrastructure to their taking advantage of cheap money from the fed and they're making big bets because they're all in a race to take advantage of it while the window still open a lot of people make a comparison to george soros that is bet against the british pound

active and icahn has disclosed a letter to the company that is an out and out assault on ceo aubrey mcclendonhe current director. he said that the board is to oversee management and hold them accountable. it's led the company through a high highly publicized spate. he believes this is beating down the shares. in the past he bought an opportunistic stake in chesapeake and ended up getting a stock out and now he's extremely disappointed in what happened and recently had dinner with mcclendon. he was essentially laughed off, maria. more to come. this is looking to be a bruising fight. >> it really is. last time he came on the show i asked about the situation in chesapeake. he was very coy anticipate wouldn't go there. good stuff, as always. $3 billion and counting, sheila bair is counting on dimon to break up his bank in order to protect banks and shareholders. she joins me in an exclusive to talk more about that. is breaking up chase and other banks the real solution here? has it really become a case too big to manage? >> i think it is. it certainly is suggested by their share prices. traded at

aubrey mcclendon came on here and explained what he did. as he did when he got blown out by that margin trading. he stood right here. stand over right here again. maybe over here because he was over here this time. give him better luck which matters when you're a gambler. with natural gas so low, chesapeake needs rely on the kindness of other bidders coming in to buy acreage at premium prices and the kindness of bankers who will charge exorbitant rates to refinance debts. right now it feels like an oil and gas jpmorgan. then there's yahoo!. remember one time this was a play on search and display advertising. but facebook and google have crushed it. the company has no mobile strategy, social or cloud strategy. using market shares. what is it? now it's a breakup story. i don't a breakup story where i need others to come in and buying a declining asset. i don't want to fool people. i want a proprietary business. yahoo! is a revolving door company. who the heck knows how to value this company? i certainly can't. the bottom line, at a difficult

. >> and aubrey mcclendon getting hit with another conflict of interest claim.hat's coming your way, next. >>> also, steve wynn. courtney reagan with us back again that. story coming up. >>> wynn is rolling the dice in macau and so should you. i'll round them out and you place the bets. that's coming up on the "closing bell." bell." what happens when classroom teachers get the training... ...and support they need? schools flourish and students blossom. that's why programs like... ...the mickelson exxonmobil teachers academy... ...and astronaut sally ride's science academy are helping our educators improve student success in math and science. let's shoot for the stars. let's invest in our teachers and inspire our students. let's solve this. you won't just find us online, you'll also find us in person, with dedicated support teams at over 500 branches nationwide. so when you call or visit, you can ask for a name you know. because personal service starts with a real person. [ rodger ] at scottrade, seven dollar trades are just the start. our support teams are nearb

also, "the wall street journal" reported that aubrey mcclendon made $8 million on the shares that were that stock is down sharply. radio shack, we're talking 26 years in terms of lows for rsh. pretty unbelievable. 4.67. >> we just spoke with sheila bair renewing her call to break up the big banks. we talked to her because of jpmorgan's $2 billion trading blunder. >> and now we're talking to someone who has taken an object sit stance. he says breaking up the big banks will not fix that problem. mark, thanks for joining us. >> nice to be here. >> when i started at krns cnbc e 1990s, i was covering the fdic crisis. >> i would say so many of our financial crisises, whether you look at the s&l or 1930s, small banks get into trouble. of course we need to be concerned about the big banks but it's not a lot better than having a huge large banks. what we need to do is to the extent that subsidies are distorting the marketplace, we need to roll back that safety net. even in this crisis, you have over 300 small banks that have failed so far. that's had a knock-off effect on the economy. so, again

bob stiller was essentially sanksed yesterday for doing exactly the same thing that aubrey mcclendonad to do back in 2008. sold upwards of 90% at the worst possible time for the economy. >> and just an absolutely incredible point by kate. what happened at green mountain coffee is the same thing that happened at chesapeake and it goes to show the difference. what happened is given the exact same thing, it took place at chesapeake. >> people are seeming very fed up, it feels that way, any way. >> people fed up for investors, that's a good thing. you want those activists to create change. it's a good thing. >> absolutely. you're seeing passive investors and dan loeb, who hadn't been active in more than five years getting extremely active. one more thing, they said we are seeking permanent capital because we need control of our invest noticements. it's a problem for us. >> yes, definitely needs control for sure. thank you very much sha, kate. thank you. >>> is it time for uncle sam to close the door on aid to the housing market? fannie mae is saying that they don't need more help. is it

we are learning more details about the well participation program and just how much money ceo aubrey mcclendon received from it. according to the filing, $108 million for minority stakes in wells. the company has sold. the board is reviewing his financial transactions and the sec itself has launched an inquiry. pete, are you in chesapeake here? >> i am. i'm exhausted from the negativity coming from all the missteps and mistakes and obviously just the complete oversight right now of what's been going on at that high of a level of the company. but even with all of that, i still view this as a company. when i look at the assets at these levels, i'm more comfortable holding on knowing what they own presently as long as that's not going to be something that gets tapped into later on the this continues to build into something worse. >> pete, there's something seemingly new out every day. >> almost every day, judge. i'm telling you, it is incredible, but i think it is one of these story that is we know about. >> what's incredible that you are giving people the benefit of the doubt and potentially som

aubrey mcclendon under pressure over his personal borrowings around the company. scott thompson. remember, he got canned over his resume. ron johnson? some people saying maybe he doesn't have the magic to turn around jcp. or is it you? the ceo of your own life. the individual investor. we've got six choices. we want you to vote. streetsigns.cnbc.com. or go to cnbc.com. i'm sure there's a link. we will read your answers and get it all done coming up. >>> okay. investors can breathe easier, at least according to your next guest who remains cautious, but does not see armageddon for these markets. here's stewart schweitzer. if i'm not wrong, i think you're still advising your clients to be underweight equity. but you still think it's important to own them given how cheap they are? >> that's right, mandy. good to be here, by the way. yak bogle said a few minutes ago that investors are their own worst enemies. that's true in so many dimensions. take the trading pattern of the last few years. the beginning of every year investors have said, oh, finally, it's over. we're finally back to

we saw it with aubrey mcclendon at chesapeake energy. he used, it seems, company wells to leverage and get personal loans for $1 billion. what would you do if you could borrow $1 billion, brian? >> john, stupidity is not a crime, right? i do wonder, do you agree with this investigation? i'm trying to think what laws may have been broken. why the department of justice is sniffing around. they lost a bunch of money. i just can't think what laws might have been broken from a bad trade. >> we leave it up to the regulators and investigation tors to look into that. as shareholders, this is what i do, represent the 700,000 pensioners in new york city. therefore the taxpayers as well. there is a tremendous loss that has taken place here. yet some of -- all too often we have seen executives walk away with huge pay packages and suffer no consequences. what we're trying to do with this claw back provision, we're asking the board to act on these provisions, is not only to hold these individuals financially accountable, but also to send the message t

he is not a captive to aubrey mcclendon. >> what do you think icahn really wants in return for his support he wanted to be able to offer advice to the ceo directly, take a meeting, let me give you or n orientation about what to do. i think he can be constructive but the problem is the balance sheet. >> but you don't chase icahn at $15? >> no, i'd be a seller rather than a buyer. traders tell me, and i don't agree with this, this is enron. when you use the term enron, that's a frightening term. i do not believe it is enron. but that is the chatter. >> thank you, jim. melissa, over to you. >>> very big open here on wall street to kick off this new trading week. does jpmorgan weigh on the financials? avon as well as homebuilders. we have all the bases covered for you and the opening bell straight ahead. ith the best mat. ...the united states would be on that list. in 25th place. let's raise academic standards across the nation. let's get back to the head of the class. let's solve this. [ creaking ] [ male announcer ] trophies and awards lift you up. but they can also hold you back. unless you