bill ackman has made a big bet against herbalife. e fbi wants to know if ackman or people working for him try to manipulate herbalife's stock. we will ask bill ackman about all of that later this morning. he will be right here on bloomberg television at 10:00. a new biography says steve jobs refused an organ donation. they say he refused when cook said he would give him part of his liver. doctors had told tim cook that the transplant could extend tim jobs -- steve jobs' life. more followed for the fraternity at oklahoma university. some other fraternity chapters new about the racist video. research done for the fda says slowing teen smoking could be attributed by raising tobacco age to 21. the volcano in costa rica is acting up. a huge plume of smoke -and ash in costa rica. wow. tom: this is close. this is not like, over there. olivia: yes. tom: i flew by mount saint helens. just stunning. olivia: remember when the airspace in europe was closed because of the iceland volcano? tom: yes. happy volcanoes. rob: i am hoping i see lots of v

we care about bill ackman. how has he responded? he can once against are saying, i am transparent. they said in a statement after these reports they are proud of their work over the past two years, exposing what they call her is a food -- what they call pervasive victimization. they say they welcome any scrutiny of those efforts and they have been transparent about the position, the research, and they have acted lawfully. of course herbalife has come in saying, we deny ackman has been betting $1 billion against us to hurt our company. for more than two years, orchestrating a false and fabricated attack. the language surrounding this is huge. you've not only got bill ackman pushing the stock down, you got carl icahn buying up the stock. you've got george soros upping his stock. this is billionaires squabbling over nutritional values. it is quite phenomenal. this time, u.s. prosecutors investigating. as yet, we know that bill ackman doesn't have much to worry about. jonathan: high-stakes schoolyard playground games just got more serio

bill ackman is not a billionaire investor because he shies away from a fight. y he was denying a probing by the fbi. dierdre bolton standing by right now. you spoke to ackman personally during the program. very interesting interview. dierdre, what jumped out to you the most here? >> the range. as you've been discussing. this is a two-year fight as far as bill ackman and pershing square is concerned. there are other people on the other side of the trade. of course, ackman is betting against the future of herbalife. i was surprised by some of the language he used. i mean, he said essentially herbalife cannot function. there is no future for this company as a legal company. he even put a time frame on it. here's what he told me. >> i don't think we'll be here two years from now. i think this thing will be resolved. either the business will have imploded or the government will have shut it down. >> so you hear that there, liz. i mean, essentially he says that the company will not last for two years. a lot of moving parts to this. it's worth noting that the prosecuto

erik: billionaire bill ackman is under investigation. we will be speaking with bill in just a couple of minutes. stephanie: with friends like these, president obama does not need any enemies. it is democrats who stand in the way of a free-trade deal. erik: hot nights in havana. an onslaught of american tourist being prepared for on the sunny island of cuba. good morning, everybody. welcome to "market makers." stephanie: so much to cover this morning. in just a few moments, we are going to be speaking to bill ackman about the potential fbi investigation around the company herbalife. i am going to talk consumer confidence. that number is out. huge number. scarlet: this is a preliminary read of university of michigan consumer confidence. we have an unexpected decline. economists were looking for the rate to stay steady. the unexpected decline has been a big semen on it -- big theme in economic data this week. when you look at the effect on markets, the market is climbing through 100. it has passed the second day. treasury is where it was. in

we did "jeopardy" and whipped right back to bill ackman. >> because ackman cried once when he was talkingbout herbalife. melissa: i will cry myself. thanks, guys. >>> leaving money on the table, millions of americans are not getting the most out of their social security benefits. you could be getting more money. it doesn't have to be you. we'll reveal the secret earns up to tens of thousands of dollars more. you. you have got money in social security. you're not getting it. we'll tell you how to get it. plus the commander-in-chief tastes music. not even president obama can face a round of mean tweets on "jimmy kimmel" live. more "money" coming up. >> dirty -- 30 rack of coarse light is now $23 at fun stop. thanks, obama. [cheers and applause] how do you make obama's eyes light up? shine a flashlight in his ears. [laughter]. that's pretty good. there's nothing more romantic than a spontaneous moment. so why pause to take a pill? and why stop what you're doing to find a bathroom? with cialis for daily use, you don't have to plan around either. it's the only daily tablet approved to treat er

probed by the fbi, bill ackman's fund as investigated. we will speak to the billionaire investigator later today. welcome to "the pulse," live from london. just getting some figures from the iea the international energy agency with its oil market report. having bottomed out in the second quarter of 2014, global demand has steadily risen the record u.s. oil glut is continuing to cut prices. we'll keep an eye on oil. quite a lot of volatility and fluctuation. opec joining the conversation. brent at $57. tensions high in europe as greece's prime minister meets with the president of the european commission in brussels. greece formally complained about wolfgang schaeuble. let's bring in hans nichols in berlin. marcus is in athens. the spat between wolfgang schaeuble and varoufakis is very public. hans: we had a formal complaint tuesday night from the greek ambassador to germany lodging a complaint claiming that mr. yanis varoufakis called him "foolishly naive. here is what mr. wolfgang schaeuble said. he was commenting on mr. varoufakis' commu

erik: billionaire bill ackman is under investigation. l in just a couple of minutes. stephanie: with friends like these, president obama does not need any enemies. it is democrats who stand in the way of a free-trade deal. erik: hot nights in havana.

liz: bill ackman. >> that's what we like about bill, he's controversial, interesting. takes on good cases. liz: makes money. >> he doesn't talk to me. that's all right. small things like that. wharf happened is mary jo white, the sec chairman gave an interesting speech at tulane university at the law center. two issues, the deal that ackman did when he went after the company valiant. remember that whole deal? he was told by the ceo of allergan that allergan was going to buy, make a bid for valiant. he bought shares of valiant and joined allergan in the takeover attempt. the stock went up. a lot of people thought it was insider trading. mary jo white made interesting comments, didn't quite say it was insider trading, i don't believe it is. she talked about watch what you say, how you disclose and how you approach such dealings or else you're going to get the sec's enforcement staff on your back. that's what she said, there is one of the quotes that she said during the feature. i think it sums it up. in the quote, parties should take hard look at their actions and rhetor

bill ackman. andrew? >> bill, are you still with us for just one sec? thing on herbalife for one moment which is this. what is your policy at pershing around trading in herbalife both the head of presentations or after presentations that you make publicly either on tv or elsewhere and particularly the meetings you or your contractors have with the government? because i think that goes to the heart of the question that was raised in these stories this morning. >> i mean first of all, our position in herbalife, we haven't traded around the position. we've basically held a large short position in the company that we started in december of 2012. and we've held it up through the stock price rise. we changed the form of the position in the end of the fourth quarter of 2014 early part of the first quarter because we were getting squeezed by mr. icahn and others. so we covered a bunch of the short as i've said publicly. and we bought relatively long dated puts. whap we've done since then is rolled those puts and kept on the same side investment. we're not tryin

bill ackman has bet against the stock.hat charlie gasparino said at the top of the hour. >> controversial things involving the stock. he has basically paid off a whistleblower. trying to get a charge out. stuart: john layfield. come on in. this is why people do not trust wall street. what say you? >> i do not think that they should trust wall street. i think it makes perfect sense. to prove market manipulation will be next to impossible. when they short a stock to make money off of that, the small investor i have been on both sides of this. you also have billionaire investors that are along the stock spending billions of dollars also. whether it is called manipulation or not that is what it is. it causes you to lose money. the market is not favored to these guys. stuart: it is all about disney. cinderella out tonight. frozen to. would you buy disney's stock? >> no. only because it is near an all-time high. the ceo may be underpaid. since he has come in, it is all about content. he also got pixar. frozen came out with one p

authorities are investigating whether people hired by bill ackman may have been potentially trying to drive town the company's stock. >>> welcome to the show. after a couple of down days in wall street a rebound on wall street, the s&p 500 and the dow back in the black for the year. the bond market and currency market clearly reacting. we had some good days in europe and some bad. the same is true for the u.s. that's part of a broader sentiment but we had this long six year rally and it starts to lead to more meaningful correction. >> some say u.s. markets are looking more fully priced. the european stoxx 600 index up. u.s. futures interestingly enough a mixed picture. the s&p 500 with a higher open around 2 points. dow jones down and nasdaq up about 5. as we were telling you a couple of days on wall street. a strong rally for the s&p, the dow, and the nasdaq. we'll see if that continues in today's trade. here in europe the rally continues. the french markets down 2 points. italian market up about four points. when you look at the german dax it's on pace for the 9th straight week of g

stick right here because we will talk about bill ackman and herbalife. looking at a triple digit loss on the dow. the s&p off by 16 points. oil taking a hit their re and the dollar is where everybody wants to be. be right back. ♪ alix: billionaire activist bill ackman's for -- firm -- said no one from his office has been questioned. >> you do not need to make a false state about herbalife to be negative. the truth is what is powerful and the truth is the company is harming people. what is your take on that? fabio: he has not backed down an inch. he said this company is still a pyramid's game. look at the problems that existed before this story broke. they spent 12 months, 16 months deciding if they wanted to do an inquiry. in the last quarterly filings, herbalife is spending a million dollars a month on legal fees to defend themselves against this ftc inquiries. they're not going away. the problem is still going away. the allegations are there. the ftc is still there. all that means is -- that is an interesting choice to have hired. maybe they did someth

bill ackman was on cnbc on reports that they are being investigated by the fbi.ts sent shares highly sharper and sent off a flurry of options buying. what did you see, mike? >> yeah, we saw well above average options ak at this time today. seven times the average daily can call volume. a lot of it was the ones that expired today. we saw people going out and purchasing the 37 and a half calls that expire next friday. in a situation like this, it's important to note they're hoping for a sharp market reaction. this is not a bet, folks, that herbalife's problems are over. u it was an initial flurry. a burst higher. and it faed all day long. just a few people trying to speculate and catch a pop. >> does this tempt you at all in the trade sf. >> you know, ackman was as cool as a cucumber. he started at cnbc, he made the rounds. doesn't appear to be worried here. he's saying manipulation is on the other side. to their lobbyists are working other time. and then it closes the way you guys just mentioned and the conviction in the the options market, it was a lot of short d

on top of that you have bill ackman getting pushed back a little bit.ke it might be -- it's not yet -- federal investigators are, i guess, probing is the best way to look at it. it's what we first reported here on fox business whether the company's charges that bill has manipulated shares of herbalife. thatthat has also helped boost e company's stock a little bit. here's what we do know, amid all is the company is planning a major media buy to capitalize both on ackman's legal woes and on the fact that the stock is going up. from what i understand, they're going to spend right off the bat manager in the million dollar range. i don't know -- something in the million dollar range, i don't know how many millions, it's been described to me as a seven-figure buy. they may do something with the ncaas, it's going the initially focus on l.a. and miami. and then they're going to go from there, from what i understand. but what they're looking to do is change the narrative about the company, explain what the company is -- cheryl: defend themselves. being called, b

coming up next, bill ackman is back on the attack. why are options so big on herbal life?ell you when "options action" returns. hey mom, you want to live by the lake, right? yeah. there's here. ♪ did you just share a listing with me? look at this one. it's got a great view of the lake. it's really nice mom. ♪ your dad would've loved this place. you're not just looking for a house. you're looking for a place for your life to happen. zillow >>> welcome back to "options >>> welcome back to "options actions." we have breaking news. with regard to changes for the s&p 500 scheduled to take place next week. first of all, henry shine, currently the s&p 400 will go into the s&p 500. will replace care fusion corporation. that will happen after the close of business on tuesday. the 17th of march. three other changes will happen on friday. the 20th, and that is equinex. will replace danbury resources in the s&p 500. sl green realty will replace neighbors industries, two oil repla replaces. and two happenes brands will replace avon products. four changes happening. melissa. back on ove

. >> coming up next, bill ackman is back on the attack. why were options traders betting so big today on herbalife? we'll tell you when "options action" returns. in our house, we do just about everything online. and our old internet just wasn't cutting it. so i switched us from u-verse to xfinity. they have the fastest, most reliable internet. which is perfect for me, because i think everything should just work. works? works. works! works? works. works. >>> welcome back to "options action." we've got some breaking news here with regard to changes to the s&p 500 that are scheduled to take place next week, guys. first of all, henry schein, currently in the s & p 400, will go into the s&p 500. will replace care fusion corporation. that's going to happen after the close of business tuesday on the 17th of march. three other changes will happen on friday the 20th. and that is equinix will replace denbury resources in the s&p 500. sl green realty will replace neighbors industry. so two oriole place there. and haynes brands. four changes happening

that's coming, next, bill ackman's 3 billion-dollar debt.ing a huge stake in a company that might surprise you. the stock hitting an all-time high. we'll tell you what it is coming up. ♪ >> not only will today's agreement help protect consumers from unnecessary stress and hardship. it will help families all across america send their kids to college, buy homes, buy cars, pay for health care. it will help ensure that creditors and employers are getting accurate information. >> that was new york attorney general eric unveiling what he called the biggest overhaul to american credit in a decade. changing the way they handle credit errors and debt. >> it's a big one for the 2 million americans with credit reports. he's bank rate chief analyst greg mcbride. greg, 43 americans have medical debt. meaning, they're arguing a payment. these things take a long time to work through the system. it's been holding people back from buying homes. that apparently was viewed as not fair. who does this really help the most? >> yeah. unequivocally, liz, it helps c

kind of like shopping hungry equals overshopping. >>> the battle between bill ackman and herbalife continues getting involved. federal prosecutors investigating whether people including some ackman hires, have been manipulateing the stock price. ackman is sticking to his guns. >> we don't need to make false statements about herbalife. my statements couldn't be more clear. i don't need to gild the lily. this is a pyramid scheme. that's a violation of the law. they are intentionally deceiving people promising them herbalife is a wonderful business opportunity and then they take their money. >> scott wapner is joining us along with herb greenberg one of the first to investigate herbalife joining us as well. welcome to you both. scott, your thoughts? >> important to point out i think as well and herb i know you'd agree, ackman himself is not being investigated. pershing square, the firm is not being investigated in what we believe is a criminal investigation by the authorities. this is simply a matter of whether people hired by pershing square or bill ackman have made false and misleading statem

billionaire investor bill ackman whose firm is the target of a government investigation into possible manipulation of herbalife stocks that no one from his office has been questioned or subpoenaed as part of that probe. in an interview earlier he said that while a contractor has been questioned by the fbi or the department of justice no one -- no employee of his was involved. ackman and his hedge fund have ways to more than two-year campaign against herbal life saying it is a pyramid scheme. he said his statements have been backed up by research. >> we have not encouraged anyone to make false statements and it do not need to make a false statement about herbalife to be negative. the truth is what is powerful and the truth is the company's harming people. mark: peaceful protests resumed as the manhunt continues for the people who shot two police officers. they were wounded during a protest outside ferguson's police story wednesday night. the fallout of a shooting of a black teenager by a white officer last year. consumer sentiment index fell to a four-month low. americans are optimisti

this is so important a bill ackman.oing push that person have been making against herbalife shares, shorting the stock, betting that it would fall. there have been accusations that they've been misleading distributors. basically, you've got an illegal pyramid scheme. investigation has been going on. u.s. prosecutors and the fbi are looking at the marketing that her life has been doing. herbalife shares halved over the past year because of this. herbal life continues to deny this. they are saying look at the money pershing square is putting into this. the accusations continue. we've got billionaires on the other side. carl icahn and george soros buying shares in her life. anna: caroline, thank you. mark: how does a company all about pen and paper stay relevant in the digital age? find out next. ♪ anna: welcome back to "countdown ." let's get a check on the currency markets. we are talking about the danish krone. are the troubles over for the danish central bank? the governor was in london last night talking about his eff

said to have interviewed people hired by bill ackman's who had a long standing short on herbalife. rlier this morning on "squawk" ackman's been asked if he's been contacts by investigators. >> we have you know proactively and offensively been to see the sec and doj about herbalife but i haven't gotten subpoenas asking me to testify about market manipulation or anything else that's concerning our conduct with respect to herbalife. >> a lot of talk about what they would need to find in order to file a charge something deliberate, something intentional. >> i think that this story is the kind of story that you really -- it's very unfair. i mean if ackman is saying that he hasn't been contacted and there are no subpoenas, there's no fbi, it really is just a slur. it's a slur. now, i know that there could be -- in the end, the guy did come on tv made an interesting case about value. >> very long report so to speak, on valeant, which he owns 5% of and the overbid for salix by endo. but back to this my god, how many years will this continue this battle? >> until he -- >> it was the end of 2

probably putting bill ackman in a bad mood.harlie, this is your story. >> we should point out ackman the short seller who tried to drive this stock to zero had a pretty good year last year. had a good opening year this year. this stock has been making a comeback lately. it's above the level he shorted it. it's at a break-even point. it's rising on the markets. but also because bill ackman is facing some scrutiny for how he shorted this company. as you know we reported this a million times. the company herbalife has been progressed regulators and the fbi to open a stock manipulation case against him. i don't know if they've opened it officially. i won't call it an official case yet. but they're snooping around. talking to people. if you look, the stock is moving as that's going on. plus a couple of lawsuits -- i will say this, just for a retail investor, only roll the dice with this if you want to. >> the new york times poking another hole in hillary clinton's -- purporting the clinton aides used private accounts to communicate

what it was like to work with bill ackman. show you the markets again. the s&p 500, is down.re are the laggards. at least 5% at the top and almost thereabouts for avon and allegheny tech. more halftime up after this. 40% of the streetlights in detroit, at one point, did not work. you had some blocks and you had major thoroughfares and corridors that were just totally pitch black. those things had to change. we wanted to restore our lighting system in the city. you can have the greatest dreams in the world, but unless you can finance those dreams, it doesn't happen. at the time that the bankruptcy filing was done, the public lighting authority had a hard time of finding a bank. citi did not run away from the table like some other bankers did. citi had the strength to help us go to the credit markets and raise the money. it's a brighter day in detroit. people can see better when they're out doing their tasks, young people are moving back in town, the kids are feeling safer while they walk to school. and folks are making investments and the community is moving forward. 40% of th

but if they can have an investigation into herbalife and bill ackman, why can't you have similar?ause "60 minutes" episode. >> right. >> the stock gets whacked. management comes out and says wait a second. this story is not over yet. and typically, it doesn't end well for short sellers. >>> coming up next, why the options market says nike could be gearing up for a 4% move on earnings next week. we got the trade when we come back. ♪ i'm almost done. [ male announcer ] now you can pay your bill... ♪ ...manage your appointments... [ dog barks ] ...and check your connection status... ♪ ...anytime, anywhere. ♪ [ dog growls ] ♪ oh. so you're protesting? ♪ okay. [ male announcer ] introducing xfinity my account. available on any device. >>> great day for nike, but traders are betting the stock is about to run into trouble. dan's got today's action. dan? >> options volume ran about two times daily average with puts outnumbering calls there. there was one big trade there when the stock was about 95.5. the trader bought the april 10 weekly. i'm not going solve to go into the details, but ta

he lost money after bill ackman accused the company of being a pyramid's game. a big bet has been made against herbalife stocks. no time at all for the madness to start. 14 battles for two spots. a 17 point deficit and a team that of the tournament with a losing record. managed to get past manhattan. the reward was a date with unbeaten kentucky. i still have to fill out my bracket. back to the top story this morning the fed decision much more important at 2:00 p.m. eastern time this afternoon p likely to drop the language from its guidance or will they drop it? the bloomberg intelligence chief economics -- economist. >> this is broadly expected, so i think the fed will follow through on that delivery. just because they jot patients out of statement, does not mean this is not a patient fed. june remains in play if the patient languages dropped out. i find it highly unlikely janet yellen will deliver on rate increases that early. she will have a little more time moving into back here -- the back of the year. betty: for most of us under a rock i put together a nift

. >> there was talk yesterday at the fbi's investigating bill ackman about herbalife and price manipulation. he comes out today and says he has not been contacted by the fbi. i'm not sure if he would have been anyway. i don't think that matters. he stands by everything he says about herbalife. it obviously rallied on this. this is not a stock for the weak of heart. but in my pit of the stomach i still believe he's so steadfast in his view that where there's smoke there's fire in hlf. >> drop for united technology. >> this is a name i'm short a bit i guess about a year or so ago. and again, they have a lot of exposure overseas. dollar issues here. i don't think this is one that you try to pick up on this 2% drop. i actually think about 114 is where it's headed next. >> el pollo loco up 14%. >> fourth quarter sales were very good. strong numbers up 12%. this is a company now telling you we're going to expect to grow even more in 2015. that's the story. that's what you have to hope for because to buy this valuation you have to see growth. in this market i would not buy this. >> nxp up 6%. >> m

bill ackman says that no one from his office has been questioned over possible manipulation of herbalife stock. the feds are investigating global strategy group. it was one of the firms hired to handle government relations. he spoken market makers. course we have not encouraged anyone to make false statements. you don't need to make a false statement to be negative about the company. within the truth is what's powerful here. the truth is the company is harming people. corey: shares of the company are plummeting. herbalife insistence not a pyramid schema. ukraine's government has accused pro-russian rebels of breaching the treaty. this comes after the imf approves the program to bailout ukraine's struggling economy. general motors has settled a lawsuit that spurred a massive recall over faulty ignition switches. gm was sued by the family of brooke milton, who died in 2010 after the ignition switch failed in her chevy cobalt. her parents initially settled the suit for $5 million but filed a second suit alleging g.m. concealed evidence in the first case. settlement terms are confidential. t

in cash overall, 158 dollars a share after it failed to buy allergan even with assistance from bill ackman. sales did jump ahead of the halt. it was up 6.4%. i was just looking -- 11 billion shares changing hands, four times the full-day average over the last three months. and gave up its games before was halted from trading and valiant is lower right now. representatives could not be reached for comment but we know these companies, and oh and valiant, followed the strategy of acquiring smaller companies and then cutting r&d spending in the aftermath. i want to go to the bloomberg terminal to show you the enterprise value. that's the theoretical takeover value of a company when it is in takeover talks. a market cap of $10.8 billion. takeaway the cash of $422 million and add the that of $1.85 billion, you get an enterprise value of $12.2 billion. we will continue to keep an i on all of these discussions and let you know of any update. mark: scarlet, thank you. the 31 largest u.s. banks past the first round of the federal reserve pass stress tests this week. next week, we will get the more d

a group of investors claim they lost money after hedge fund manager bill ackman accused of company ofid scheme. a u.s. district judge in los angeles said the investors could not prove their losses were caused by herbalife misleading investors and that ackman's allegations are not evidence the company actually committed fraud. >>> you might have second thoughts about cooking up mac and cheese. kraft mac and cheese. recalling about 6 1/2 million boxes of kraft macaroni and cheese, i need to check the pantry, stat. the reason? some boxes contain small pieces of metal. best when used by dates of september 18 through october 11, 2015. >>> chanel, the purveyor of prestigious hand bags increasing prices on some hand bags and slash prices in china. chanel says it wants to eliminate the growing price gap between europe and asia, and hopes the price cut will curtail a growing market for travelers who buy hand bags in europe and resell in china. >>> let me get to the fucshia master, t-mobile shaking up the wireless business, announced uncarrier 9.0 wireless for business, taking on at&t and veriz

this is interesting only because valiant was partners with bill ackman trying to go after allergan.over to you. >> thanks. shocked if it was all of a sudden an active stake in valiant. i wonder if he thinks that valiant which has been called a rollup by some because of its string of acquisitions. >> they are a rollup. i'll be on board with that call. that's what they've been doing for years. >> see if they have another one up their sleeve. >>> gold man sax walking down its target for oil. the futures now through. hey there. >> hi there. the headline that came out this morning was goldman saying short terms going to 40. they're not really saying that if you read it carefully. they're saying there could be short term pressure. they're also saying the $65 range in 2016 could be too high. that's because a lot of people don't know what's happening with oil right now. based onnen the action we've seen here, what is the market telling you? >> i think goldman makes a good point. i think that's where we're settling in. oil behaves in integral parts. it makes very quick moves very quickly. on

the ownership of bill ackman in 20, 25%, let's say he decides that he doesn't want to own it becauses a hedge fund manager. he wants to sell it. is that something we should be thinking that could happen and that he's taking less than longer term approach to it? >> no, not at all. i think that bill and his partners at pershing are long term holders. if you look at canadian pacific they have been in that for a long time. this isn't a typical strategy of coming in to agitate management for change. he's a backer of martin. >> are you happy at all with -- some are more industrial right now. and i happen to love the ag business. i love what dupont has done. how about the more manufacturing oriented parts? >> well actually we like high cash flow businesses so we are agnostic as to where in the chemical space it plays. some of the industrial areas like water treatment are interesting to us. paints and codings might be interesting to us. but our core business at the old mcdermott was chemistry around electronic oil and gas products. and this sort of thing. >> okay. so you have managed to be a

and bill ackman, still beating the average with upside through march 24th about 4.6%. en though that seems low after his 40% returns in 2014. some stocks helping ackman bb hughes corps and fannie mae. all in all the s&p had a pretty block quarter despite lots of volatility in the hedge fund. they have done a little bit better for the first time in some time up about 20% through february. so we'll see. >> and they're not used to out-performing the broader index. >> they underperformed the broad index and defender of a hedge fund will say maybe some of you agree, the point is to hedge. maybe you do less badly than the market in a year like 2008. maybe not as well in a year like this year. maybe you're diversifying your portfolio. >> that's definitely worked. it's a case where look at the volatility in the first quarter. in a bull market, always going to out perform. in favor of hedge funds b, they are there to deliver more absolute returns. a market going straight up is always going to out perform unless the hedge fund is swaying for the fences. >> until yesterday we didn

bill ackman on herbalife says it's a zero dollar stock, it is trading at 30, way up, way down.aying this is a zero dollar stock? >> no, what we've been saying is business model is not sustainable. >> which means? >> they're going come in for a hard landing. >> you're talking about this thing is half the price? >> i think next year, it will be a mid 30 stock and slow grind down. >> let me play devil's advocate, when i put a hedge eye analyst on, they are all steak, no sizzle. last time you had one of the guys okinder morgan, he said some of the same stuff you are saying about how their metrics are. despite all the talk about manipulation, no sec investigation. there was nothing that happened. if this thing is manipulated so much, why isn't the sec coming in and saying they're doing the wrong thing? >> i think it's a couple of things. one, it's not so much that when we think about the manipulation, it's more about massaging metrics. >> and it's legal. >> to a certain degree. it really depends on really if the sec decided to go sniffing around whether they felt everything is okay.

the stock among the most volatile as the fbi continues to investigate contractors hired by bill ackman'sg square capital. he, of course, has been shorting the stock for a couple of years now, doesn't like it at all, says it's a pyramid scheme. and what the investigators are looking at is whether anybody made statements that could be an attempted stock manipulation, meaning to drive it down. this is a story fox business has been ahead and out front oranges charlie gasparino on the billionaires who are battling over it. >>> okay. can march madness -- this is an unbelievable question -- but can march madness really affect the stock market? a recent study shows stocks often produce below average returns during the popular sports tournament. this time last year despite an overall positive start for equities, the s&p 500 fell 1.5% between the opening round of the tournament to the final game. we should have highlighted that, right? because it's around this exact time. here now to discuss the money behind march madness plus winners and losers of the event -- because that's what we really want t

probing potential manipulation of herbalife stock and interviewed people hired by hedge fund activist bill ackman campaign claiming out right that the company is a pyramid scheme. our deirdre bolton spoke to mr. ackman today. he said he welcomes these investigation. >> is sunlight good for your investment, short in this case? >> for sure. the, first of all, i have a lot of confidence in the department of justice. they have to the very talented lawyers. i don't actually know whether the fbi has interviewed people. whether people from the department of justice have interviewed people but i know they have and i know they have interviewed consultant west work with. by the way the government should. if one party is accusing another of committing a crime, one you should investigate that, one if there is enough basis for those allegations. you two, should make the sure the person who is accuser, if other side claims we're doing something wrong you should look at them wrong. >> what if global strategies spread false information while working for pershing square? >> i think probability of that being true

mer ka da's mick gir is here with a campaign and will tell us what it's like to work with bill ackman the iwatch be a hit or a flop? former apple ceo john sculley will weigh in. tracking today's sell-off, of course, as well. all straight ahead on the half. we'll see you in about 15. >> all right. we'll be there. thanks, scott. meanwhile, iconic tech blog is closing down after 8 years as one of the industry's most prominent tech blogs. several staffers tweeted about the blog shutting down and the founder wrote on monday, quote, gigaom is winding down assets now controlled by the company's lenders. not how you want the story of a company you founded to end. i got to know om a little bit when i started at business 2 0i po magazine in 2006 after he left. we take the voice of tech blogs for granted. the snashg, the authoritative voice about complicated topics. this is one of the guys that made that happen. >> is this a victim due to the fact there are a lot of tech blogs or something different? >> the business model of tech blogs has relied lately on conferences more than putting advertisi

. >> if not bill ackman, dan loeb. he got his which, he got three board seats. ve until they find a replacement. mark caught up capital was knocking at their door, i would say in a more friendly activist position, asking the cfo to step down. do activist investors really work? >> dan just got in the building. rupert was asked to step down not long ago. it's going to take some time. if you ever read download's letters, he wants this company to fundamentally change the way he does business. it is going to take some time. >> isn't it unusual -- >> mark otto has been there before loeb was. it seems they may not be working together but they are on the same page. if you look at the way these companies run many people say they needed to change the way they fundamentally to business. >> is a ceo really going to be able to make that kind of difference? >> we are not going to see it happen in six months or nine months or a year. dan is looking to fundamentally change the way they do their business. >> they have a great digital platform as well. something that has not been

ferguson and mcguire come from bill ackman. but their style is more below the radar than ackman's. four-hour presentations or interviews coming out of them. i even had trouble finding a photo of scott ferguson because he's such a kind of below the radar guy. so it's interesting. they're certainly approaching these companies with a tough rhetoric, but their style's a little bit different. >> in terms of not going public is that because they think they can get more done if they don't go public at this point? >> i think ferguson is low key so more of an exception. they do go public with your letters. at the same time he put together this 100-page deck and distributed it on a website rather than ackman which is what i was referring to there. he'll sit people down for four hours, invite the whole media, take any question and flood the zone with information about a herbalive or something. mcguire is not adopting that. you argue he doesn't have that platform yet, doesn't have the track record. maybe that will come later. but to my experience these guys have different personality types. th

julie: bill ackman in particular put pressure on mcdonald.it is this idea of activists trying to a lot of the value and get bang for their buck by doing this. in the case of p&g they are looking at 100 different brands they can spinoff to try to refocus what they consider to be the core products. and they are also struggling with a lot of these brands that they consider to be more fringe. tenant shoulders, for example, oil of the leg, the overall -- head and shoulders, for example or oil of ole, the overall beauty brands are seeing sales down. scarlet: they are being paid every time they actively advise for a spinoff. and you can maximize your value by spinning off different businesses. jp: if we are wanting to blame the managers for spinning off and getting higher paychecks we can blame the bankers as well. in a space where we are not seeing as much of an m&a opportunity in this area, the bankers are focused on ways they can get involved in transactions and encourage the investors on the board of the companies themselves to pursue these oppo

bill ackman or harry wilson steps in and gets the company to correct itself, it is not good for privatey. politico the wants to buy you -- private equity wants to buy your cheap. stephanie:jason: let's go back to the history of private equity. some of the best deals have been carveouts. stephanie: ah. jason: they put pressure on the board and the board freaks out a little bit and they say we have got to do something to make this guy happy. maybe we will buy something. matt: the big takeaways that this business is evolving. that is not to use the getting on board for an activist investor what they would have done for private equity. jason: well it is an interesting mix of the old and the new. the new is the capital market business. the old is back to the future of working with boards and taking things they don't want anymore. stephanie: these guys take home in comp hundreds of millions of dollars and nobody blinks. jamie dimon buys a new couch and "the new york post" writes about it. they have a sweet deal, those guys. jason kelly's exclusive interview could matt: the five secrets to hel

they get too big, wealthy people like bill ackman and warren buffett who can do these deals with them. brendan: they cut the cost. but they don't sell it for parts. tom: i like that idea. what is the size of this deal? olivia: 37 billion dollars. i believe it is going to be a valuation of about $40 billion. tom: is this the biggest thing that war and has ever done? -- warren buffett has ever done? >> it signals to things. the market is in great shape. the cost of borrowing is very low. at the moment, we can say -- see that there are really great companies out there in terms of brand names that are not trading over the top under presenting good inflation hedges. tom: let's look at relative valuation. campbell soup is not on here. i'm sorry, folks. i did not do here -- i did not do that. this is mondo lays -- mandalay's , which is part of kraft. it is 20.6% margin. this is a company doing a little bit better than the other two. brendan: is it possible to put up a basket of american companies that are having long-term habits because habits are changing? people don't eat these things anym

the full day average share over the last three moss and just in the last hour hedge fund manager bill ackmane out responding to this saying there was not an exoneration of this court ruling. we'll watch herbal life shares as well. >> thank you, dom. >>> silicon valley business have so much trouble hanging on to cfos. there are somewhere the cfo has left recently nap story straight ahead. >>> plus a new bus service launching in san francisco this week, but a ride isn't all its offering. josh limitpton has that story from san francisco. >> tyler, here in san francisco, forget public buses. it's all about privately funded luxury buses. that's how you get to and from mork nap story work. that story next on "power lunch." and a lot helping you. technology that's with you always. this is our promise. it's never been better to wander because wherever you go, you'll find us doing everything we can, so you can. ♪ ♪ [ radio chatter ] ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] andrew. rita. sandy. ♪ ♪ meet chris jackie joe. minor damage or major disaster, when you need us most, we're there. state farm. we're a force of na

earlier today bill ackman was on "squawk box" and said paying more than $170 a share for salix mighte. back to you, sara. >> thank you, dom. we're going to head to a quick break with the dow down more than 200 points "power lunch" is back in just a minute. now with the xfinity tv go app, you can watch live tv anytime. it's never been easier with so many networks all in one place. get live tv whenever you want. the xfinity tv go app. now with live tv on the go. enjoy over wifi or on verizon wireless 4g lte. plus enjoy special savings when you purchase any new verizon wireless smartphone or tablet from comcast. visit comcast.com/wireless to learn more. >>> here are this hour's power points. the price of crude oil plunging after an international energy agency said u.s. oil production rose 115,000 barrels a day in february. swiss art dealer yves buovier was arrested into art fraud. he inflated the price of a painting allegedly by as much as $20 million. >>> and the european central bank starting its stimulus program. also the federal reserf getve getting ready to raise its rates. get use

. >>> coming up next investors like bill ackman carl icahn, nelson peltz, eliot singer. make money for themselves. but are these so-called activists really lacking out for your best interests? bethany mcclain herb greenberg on just that ahead. >>> plus details behind the coolest picture you will see all day. wow. "power lunch" back after this. you can't predict the market. but at t. rowe price we've helped guide our clients through good times and bad. our experienced investment professionals are one reason over 85% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper averages. so in a variety of markets we can help you feel confident. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing. call us or your advisor. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. 40% of the streetlights in detroit, at one point, did not work. you had some blocks and you had major thoroughfares and corridors that were just totally pitch black. those things had to change. we wanted to restore our lighting system in the

it raised some money, private investors $5 billion including people like bill ackman as part of the fund. kraft has struggled so the question is whether 3g will be able to do to kraft what it's able to do to heinz. >> pretty good brand name. >> kraft heinz will be the company. the company's ceo is the ceo of kraft, he will become the vice chairman of the panecompany. >> he's new. >> he's a deal guy so here he is doing the deal. this company will be run by alex at 3g who runs heinz. >> if he started some boring insurance company in the 60s and all along, look he owns things that you almost think of america and you think of names like. >> coca-cola, ibm, but owning them out right like heinz and kraft, he's going to own everything. >> so here's the question. >> also in the letter he said that he already has i think 9.5 of the companies that would be listed and i always mess this up, fortune 500 or s&p 500. there's 490 left. >> some day. >> he lived long enough he would. >> so when kraft spun off everyone wondered who was going to be the better deal. >> mondelez was the international brand.

and shares of zoetis rising on the fact bill ackman might go after the company. valeant which he aided in its unsuccessful attempt to try to buy allergan last year. >>> let's get back to our special guest for at least the half hour. harry wilson is chairman and ceo of the maeva group and senior adviser to the auto industry task force. just with a background, i think in general you could say and michelle would probably agree as a frequent person that what's in the best interest of shareholders many times is in the best interest of the company. and companies can do more with a rising share price than a falling share price. again, when we talk about actavis, we do bring up the notion that there's at least the impression they're still more short-term oriented sometimes. and maybe what's in the best interest of the company. and when i think about gm and we also talk about buybacks a lot. and there's two sides to that. i happen to agree that producing the outstanding shares is if it's cheap it's probably a good idea. then i remember kodak. and it's like the company doe

bill: we'll see if the story goes anywhere. we'll see what ackman has to say about it. eastern time. >> you will. bill: stuart varney. martha. martha: people in missouri say they have had enough after shooting of two police officers the other night. >> people of missouri are looking for law and order. they're looking for a governor who will lead us and enforce law and order. and they have had it with this tending toward violence protests in the street. they have had it with the holder justice department. >> that is peter kinder's take. president obama and attorney general eric holder both weighed in after the latest violence but has the response been on point? our panel will debate this. bill: there is a new documentary exploring the life of the last man ever to walk on the moon. >> really wanted to reach out bring it home and show it to everybody. this is what it feels like. ♪ ask. martha: back with fox news alert. we have brand new reaction from president obama about the letter sent by 47 letters -- snorts that was sent to iran. this is vice news. >> i'm embarrassed fo

both were mentored by bill abbingman, somebody we all know well, and ferg ton is even partnering with ackman'sal products maker. mcguire recently caused ripples on this very show by going public with a tough campaign at the bank of new york, his largest holding -- the largest company in his portfolio where he is calling for the replacement of the ceo, but perhaps unlike ackman at times, guys like ferguson and mcguire, are kind of picking their spots. they don't want to get over exposed. keith meister, another example, has launched over a dozen activism campaigns in the four years since starting his firm. he has run only one proxy contest, though, so he is trying to be a little more collaborative. of course, he has also been sued by one former target company, adt. he is adopting in general a more collaborative approach than perhaps his mentor carl icon is known for. we're in the idea business is something that meister likes to say, and he is all about partnering with management if possible to unlock value. now, we're sure to hear more about both the activism trend and the new guard at this year