mark bertolini is chairman and c.e.o.aetna, a health insurance company with more than $33 billion in revenue and a worldwide workforce of some 34,000 peopl he joins us from hartford, connecticut. mr. bertolini, thank you for being with us. and let me just start by saying, why is the fiscal cliff of such concern to you? i mean, do you -- what's the threat here? >> well, i think the big threat, judy, is that if we go off if fiscal cliff we will see negative g.d.p. in the first quarter. and when you get into a recession, american business, rldwe business, bins to make plans on how to reduce its operating costs. and that ultimately results in fewer jobs. so fewer jobs coupled with a negative g.d.p. ultimately put the economy in the wrong direction. and that's not good for anyone. >> woodruff: at the same time, i'm sure you know there's a body of thought out there that says some of the concern about the fiscal cliff is exaggerated. even if it didn't happen by january 1 that there would still be time to get things worked out th

joining me now is mark bertolini. he attended the meeting with the president. thanks for coming on this morning. >> good morning, chuck. >> let me ask you this, how much talk diagnose the ceos do and how much talking did the president do? >> i think the president did mostly listening. he did open with a few comments about why we were together. and then the ceos shared their point of view as to how we can move forward to fix this problem. >> and what is it exactly that the ceos blerpledged to the president in there, if he did x, y and z, they would support him up to a point? what was that line -- or was there a line that there was sort of a collective agreement in that room of what they could support from the president and what they couldn't do? >> this was not a negotiation. this was very much a constructive, practical dialogue of a very really problem that we've got to solve as a country. and the president was seeking our input in asking us what we could do to support him and the congress in coming to a very balanced solution, including both revenues and entit

mark bertolini, thank you for weighing in on the topic.for joining us on this special edition of the closing bell. i'll see you back in new york tomorrow. stay with cnbc. "fast money" picks up right now after this short break. i'll see you tomorrow. have a good night, everybody. [ male announcer ] this is joe woods' first day of work. and his new boss told him two things -- cook what you love, and save your money. joe doesn't know it yet, but he'll work his way up from busser to waiter to chef before opening a restaurant specializing in fish and game from the great northwest. he'll start investing early, he'll find some good people to help guide him, and he'll set money aside from his first day of work to his last, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. can i still ship a gift in time for christmas? yeah, sure you can. great. where's your gift? uh... whew. [ male announcer ] break from the holiday stress. ship fedex express by december 22nd for christmas delivery. by december 22nd sfx- "sounds of african dr

bertolini of aetna. >> -- this nation is one grand bargain away from leading the world out of ifts recessiong the world's economy for the next 50 years. so we had very comprehensive and frank conversations today with leaders of congress. the good news is that everybody understands the urgency about what needs to be done and how quickly it needs to be done. secondly, they have a good idea what the issues are. there aren't a whole lot. they're pretty much around what do we do about revenue and what do we do about entitlement reform. the bad news -- we are running out of time. my latest calculation, we're 802 hours away from having a big problem that will send the economy into recession and put people out of work. and we don't want to see that happen. so we encourage congress and the would you be -- >> all right. saying -- john carney, maybe you can comment on this -- he said there weren't a lot of issues and that everybody has a good grasp of what those issues are. >> but they're two big ones, right? taxes and spending. >> they are two big ones. we have two parties that are diametrically oppos

. >> yes, and bertolini did say "rise above" in than sound bite. >> yes, did he. >>> one of the ceos that was there, the ceo of home depot, joined by his number two cfo, carol tomei. s she's been named one of the 50 most powerful women in business. i'm honored to be here and thanks for joining us in your town. >> thank you. welcome to atlanta. >> home depot powered that. i should note. they were the best performer of any company. eck equifax was number two. is business that good? investors buy stocks based on what's going to happen, not what has happened. should we anticipate this good of a 2013? >> well, thank you for acknowledging our performance. really, our results are based on a number of things. great execution by our team. we're getting a little help from the housing market, too. as you think about what will happen into 2013 we're seeing signs of recovery. we're not fully recovered but we're seeing signs of recovery and that's a good thing. >> is it going to be a temporary bit of help from the housing market or are you projecting this will be a real long-term housing recovery?

joining us right now is aetna's chairman, president, and ceo mark bertolini.ent as far as it went for aetna. >> we just keep moving forward and implementing this act. i think the bigger issue we'll face is what happens with the fiscal cliff. that will have more to do with the the subsidies and the taxes associated with this bill and our ability to move forward with full implementation. i think that's where the bottom line's going to head as we go through the fiscal cliff discussions. >> are you worried based on what you've heard over the last couple of days? what you heard last night, what you maybe heard this morning when it comes to where we could or couldn't be on compromise here? >> yeah, i think, you know, what's different today? and, i think you can say the president's got a second term where he doesn't have to run for reelection. but in the end analysis what we need is leadership. i think the chief executive has two very important powers. one is they can convene. so when i call a meeting, everybody's got to show up. and the second is, you set the agenda

yesterday we did hear from aetna's chairman and ceo mark bertolini.assuming we don't go over the fiscal cliff. if we if over the fiscal cliff i have to react and so i know where i need to pull back. . >>> up next, senator kent conrad on what it will take to get a deal to avoid that cliff. "squawk" will be right back. when you take a closer look... ...at the best schools in the world... ...you see they all have something very interesting in common. they have teachers... ...with a deeper knowledge of their subjects. as a result, their students achieve at a higher level. let's develop more stars in education. let's invest in our teachers... ...so they can inspire our students. let's solve this. >>> welcome back to "squawk box." with the fiscal cliff looming the question now becomes can congress rise above partisan politics and come to an agreement? joining us now, senator kent conrad, he was a member of the president's fiscal commission. how long have you got, senator? i don't want you to cry or any tears or anything, but when is the last day? >> january

per se i would like the employee -- to invite mark bertolini, the ceo of aetna, inc.. >> thank you. good afternoon. i would first put forth the reason why we are here is that this nation is one grand bargain away from leading the world out of its recession and dominating the world economy for the next 50 years. so we had very comprehensive and frank conversations today with leaders of congress. the good news is that everybody understands the urgency of what needs to be done and how quickly it needs to be done. secondly, they have a good idea what the issues are. there are not a whole lot. pretty much around what do we do about revenue and entitlement reform? the bad news -- we are running out of time. by my latest calculation, we are 802 hours away from having a big problem that will send the economy into recession and put people out of work. we do not want to see that happen. we encourage congress and the white house to put aside the political rhetoric that still invades this conversation and rise above it to make sure we have revenue necessary in order to move this economy forward