carl icahn trying to merge american rail car. there's american rail car down 8-1/4 prison with larger rival green briar down 12%. a huge move for these two companies but as i noted now he has been forced to sweeten his proposal because now target has made a counteroffer so it is a back-and-forth who is going to win this one, it is not for sale. and this cash by $2, $22 a share. this is subject to the green byre shareholders' approval. it is a back-and-forth, i am taking you out, this is like a poker game. in the meantime stocks are losing big time. liz: we have a lot of people picked that stock. we're watching that closely. let's talk to jeff flock, huge midwestern storm. do you see it yet? what is it going to prices? >> raining like heck out there. why do traders love a snowstorm? look at the map? there is volatility in the markets. all through the midwest, a foot or more portions of the upper midwest and look at what that has done, if you bought natural-gas futures and getting beaten down last couple weeks you can pay off 3% fo

david: hewlett-packard, carl icahn, definitely the rumors are affecting the stock, what is going on? hewlett-packard goo a big pop because we saw after the investor carl icahn was buying options or getting in there some way shape or form in hewlett-packard became a top performer on the dow jones industrial. liz: let's talk about other a cap tech names. this is a company that has actually found a little bit more firm footing lately. >> right. he noted they had a firmer footing these days, but also getting an upgrade didn't help because at a price target of a $24 with a buy rating helping it along. the tech did really well. but what hewlett-packard, cisco systems. an apple from negative to positive to negative really giving it a shot. david: always look about what stock really parallels the economy in general. one stock i always look at is a federal express because people are shipping things the more people shop online the more they ship things. they are expanding into

. >> the other term we can throw in is carl icahn, an activist investor. >> i think if you had to take a look at the fundamentals of this company it will be hard to make a bullish choice here. forecasting to go about 12% year to year. hoping as he often does could be an amazon. amazon stock -- you can use your valuation and buying netflix. i talked to people and a lot of people think it is going to fill the gap to 100. if you are going to play along with that then that is fine. valuation is probably the most compelling reason. >> mike is selling a put. usually we buy puts on the show. when you sell a put you want the stock to stay above the strike of the put that you sold before expiration. because you are short the put you could be forced to buy the stock at that put stock price even if it falls below that level and that could mean losses. some people think of the strategy of a limit order for which you get paid. >> i'm looking at selling the january 80 puts for 4.10. the stock falls i could be compelled to purchase the stock at $80 net of the $4 i collect. i am going to own it around

carl icahn, this is the second bite at the apple. follow them to blockbuster, you'd have gone broke because they went belly up. the content costs are the principal consideration and you're in an arms race with much better funded companies such as the cable companies so you're making this essentially a battle that netflix can't win and i don't think you ever own stock just for a take. >> we go to the market flash desk now, pretty active market, mary thompson what do you see? >> we're watching yum brands, scott, up about 1.7%. basically today there was an annual investor meeting and the company's ceo david novak giving guidance on china saying same-store sales there should be in the mid single digits in 2013, this comes after the company's forecast of a 4% drop in china same-store sales fourth quarter. china is the biggest market, company saying it plans to open more higher margin pizza hut stores in smaller cities where the competition is less and the costs are less as well. >> joe, news like this coming out from the ceo making what a

. >>> on the street, hp, the dow's worst performer shot up on rumors that activist investor carl icahns building a stake in the pc maker. meanwhile mcdonald's gave blue chips a boost in better than expected sales. apple and google have reportedly combined their competing bids for a bundle of kodak patents. former imf chief dominique strauss-kahn and a maid have agreed to settle a suit. the dollar amount will remain confidential. >>> retailers hired 465,000 seasonal workers land month. up 25% from last year. >>> they say apple's map is life-threatening, this after several drivers headed for a town in australia where it ended at a dirt road miles away from food and water. >>> finally, serbian tennis champ novak djokovic ruined the world's christmas after he bought up the entire year's supply for his new restaurant. it, by the way, is made from a milk of serbian donkeys. i'm sure a lot of disappointed folks out there. >>> well, coming up, dramatic video of a foiled robbery attempt. and a massive funnel cloud in florida. >>> plus, dogs usually have to chase car, right? not these guys. they

the report says activist investor carl icahn plans to put a stake in hp which helped the stock, down5% in the year. icahn is said to be worth more than $14 billion and his hedge fund was one of the top performers last year. >>> it's been a record holiday season for seasonal workers. job placement firm challenger, grey and christmas says retailers hired 465,000 seasonal workers last month up 21% from a year ago. and it's the most ever hired in november. challenger says holiday hiring could reach 760,000 by the end of the month. >>> it looks like the new university of california's logo is here to stay. that despite over 42,000 petition signatures against it. let's take a look. the new more modern uc logo came out six months ago and is appearing on more and more uc websites and publications. i'm not too crazy about it either but critics say it doesn't match the prestige and elegance of the old mark and doesn't make sensing. >> now it's just? a rubber stamped nothing. it doesn't mean anything. >> you know, i would agree. >> what is it?! the regents say the new logo is more versatile and

>> the other term we can throw this potpourri of buzz words in is carl icahn, an activist investor. >> i think if you had to take a look at the fundamentals of this company it will be hard to make bullish case here. we're talking about a company trading at 100 times earnings, a bullish choice here. forecasting to go about 12% year to year. what does carl see in the company's future. he's obviously, hoping as he often does could be an amazon. i love the company service. i don't like it's valuation. but amazon stock is a currency where they can acquire netflix. there's one or two companies in the world that could be true, that you can use your stock. that combined with the disney deal that they've forged here, i think that obviously created a little buoyancy in the stock. i talked to people and a lot of people think it is going to fill the gap to 100. if you are going to play along with that then that is fine. valuation is probably not the most compelling reason. >> mike is selling a put. usually we buy puts on the show. when you sell a put you want the stock to stay above the strike of

so the question is, this beleaguered tech giant, right, that has the backing of carl icahn and what willpen soon? so what will happen? that is why everybody is jumping on board. that is the action. you're seeing it up 33 cents at the moment. don't forget hp sunk to 10-year lows not long ago. last month as they, they made an acquisition. remember the acquisition of autonomy they had to relook at and turned out those numbers weren't what they thought they were. at least that's what they said. autonomy battled that. anyhow, there you go, winning day. lori: thanks, nicole. shibani joshi on the very latest on the outages plaguing google. melissa: is the solar power honeymoon over? empty promises from the solar industry as california counties asking where are the jobs and revenue went? ♪ amecans are always ready to worhard for a better future. since ameriprise financial was founded back in 1894, they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations throu tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need the heping millions of america over the centuries. the st

hewlett-packard settin the tone, leading the sector, not commenting on speculation that carl icahn hasing a position in the stock -- amassing position in the stock. cisco systems -- mcdonald's, also a dowstock rising on news that sales rose 2.5% last month. that stock up just abou 1 today. piper jaffray calling ale a $900 stock based on fundamentals. it may be, but it's got a ways to go after today, appl losing $3.43 on the day, $8 above its low of the session and trading slightly higher in after hours. crude oil prices down othe day for a fif straight session closing at 85.56, the decline in crude also showing up at the pump. the average price of a gallon of gasoline dropping1 cents, and we're looking at an average price of $3.34 a gallon. in the bo market, the yield on theen-year note stands at 1.61%. well, foreign buyers hping at the margin at least to boost our improved housing market. those buyers accounting for some $8billion in home sales over the pastea $9 billionf those dollars coming from the chinese, they're second only to those canadians as the largest foreign home buyers i

. >> well, this is all about carl icahn. >> we don't talk about that often. >> and carl has a 10% steak in green briar. he offers for gbx and tried this in february '08. this time around, his only obstacle is going to be a regulatory antitrust hurdle. >> this time it was a pony on a german subway that had people galloping to get their pictures online. don't expect to see another one on a subway any time soon. according to authorities there, the horse violated german train laws. go figure. >> because it wasn't sitting or because it was standing? >> coming up on "halftime," is the s&p on the verge of another breakout? we have the technical take ahead. we're hours away from oracle's results with the stock on track to outperform apple. is it a must-own tech? one big debate is just ahead. sfloo we have some breaking news on the fiscal cliff talks. tim geithner was involved with a conversation this morning with top ceos on the fiscal cliff. it was a briefing, we understand, in which he made a strong case against the gop plan for the tax-only deal which speaker boehner called the plan b, which

i think carl icahn's position is similar and i do believe they're in acquisition target potentially,hether it be for microsoft or comcast or google or potentially an app. >> weiss, what about the risk factors? >> they're meaningless in terms of the fundamentals of the company. all it's going to be is a fine. it's not like there's fraud or anything like that. there's no restatement of earnings or neanything else comg in. balance sheet. just ignore that nuisance. it gets your names in the headlines a little bit more. in terms of the company and the fundamentals, my concern is they're overpaying for content. they're going to have to raise capital next year and i don't think somebody can come in and buy them. >> we'll move on and talk about the market. ross kosterich joins us live from san francisco. ros russ, nice to see you. >> thanks for having me. >> if there's coal in apple's market can santa claus have a rally? >> the stock can move higher without apple but to state the obvious, it's a big chunk. it's certainly going to help if apple participates but i think the reality is apple al

. >>> hewlett-packard stocks soared yesterday amid unconfirmed reports that activist investor carl icahnput a stake in the company. the jump helped hp stock down 45% of the year. icahn is said to be worth more than $14 billion and his hedge fund was one of the biggest performers of last year. >> there could be snow on mount diablo by tomorrow. >> tomorrow afternoon if you look up to the mountains you might see a little snow up there. wouldn't be that be neat? by the way, we have the king tide coming. those are the biggest tides of the years over the next couple of days. 6 to 7-foot tides in the morning hours of course. very low in toward the afternoon. but very interesting as we'll see those tides on the increase. no flooding expected but should be neat to see. out the door today? >> clear skies, patchy fog in the north bay. chilly temperatures. we have 30s in the interior valleys. 39 concord, 37 degrees now with some fog in santa rosa, 45 in san jose and 47 degrees in san francisco. changes in the weather coming our way. high pressure starting to break down. we have a cold front and a v

rumors are swirling that the billionaire investor carl icahn is buying shares in that company.watching apple shares up about a quarter of a percent. the apple stock is about off about a hundred $70 per share. >> taking a look at this weekend's numbers at the box office sky fall is back on top in its fifth weekend. the latest on movie took in $11 million. its north american ticket sales total more than two much as $60 million. rise of the guardians came in second place bringing in 10 and have million dollars this weekend. a final twilight will be breaking don part to routes out the top three taking in $9.2 million. >> i know that is your favorite mark. >> no comment. >> still ahead on the kron 4 morning news we are following a story of a san leandro where to man the dodged serious injury after a tractor-trailer iran called fire. we will bring you updates coming up. and one person has died after being bound and gagged and left it is a physical street. details on the victim conditions coming up. plus we're watching the weather we will be checking in with erica less a look at your

highs at the moment but jumping more than 4% earlier on unconfirmed reports that activist investor carl icahn may have an interest in the company. mr. icahn, of course, hasn't responded to our requests for comment on this. shares are trading a little bit higher right now, 3.5% at 14.30. >> simon? >> what do you do with hp? >> it's a nice little pop if you're in it but a good excuse to get out of it. we had a conversation, i feel it's a value trap. >>> sticking with dell. loving the fact that hpq is getting inflows of capital. that's a good thing, i like the story. i like the potential turn in 2013. not selling any. >> doc, h.p.? >> i like hp and dell both. in particular this one is up about 8% in the last three weeks. you look at juniper, it's up 18%. so you talked about technology stocks. those are two that are just hitting it hard, even as apple was being hit hard. i think that time for apple being hit is nearing an end. as we near the capital gains tax selling that has driven it basically for these levels. you're going to see a nice pop in tech in 2013. >> you say you like hp, does that me

hewlett-packard is a winner on the dow jones industrials with the talk of carl icahn getting involvedsurface doing well, so there's a lot of different stories within tech. and even apple, which started off in the red and move today the green. so tech is one of the areas that is helping to keep all three of the major averages afloat. that's the latest a at the new york stock exchange. jeff flock, what's going on at the cme? >> reporter: i am in the ag room where most all the agriculture futures are down except for coffee. take a look at the arab ca bean, 80% of the world's supply. there is a huge coffee glut, bean glut in brazil which produces about 40% of the world's supply. that is, of course, the bean used mostly by starbucks, dunkin doughnuts and others, and because of this glut in what's called a low-crop year, every other year it has a low year because of growing cyclings. they've had a record low crop year. you take a look at the prices, this was up as high as $3 a pound back in august of 2011. it is now closer to a dollar and a half a pound and headed south. that's the latest o

multiple sports put carl icahn, the american real car industry purchasing greenbrier company for $540primary investor in american rail cars which is not the first time to merge the two rail companies, doing so in 2008. the companies are trading a little bit of boards of $11and that is 6% on this. seattle startup says 15% of a typical office worker's day is spent on e-mail with 5% dealing with the reply at all e-mails. listen to this story. responding to these is hurting productivity and could cost larger companies potentially tens of millions of dollars and that is your west coast minute. dennis: i can't figure out which is worse? 30% of the entire e-mail time is spent on copies where you are just copied or when you click on reply to wall and only meant to tell one person something and you tell 20 people your trashing one of them. cheryl: that is never good but that urge to hit reply all, think twice. dennis: i don't read that stuff anymore. i just delete it. stocking up, two about week-long series ahead, how you can prosper from video games this holiday season. cheryl: it could be th

as rumors purcolated that activist investor carl icahn was buying up shares in the company. up 2.55 percent yesterday. and up another three quarters of a percent this morning. >> and apple shares continue to slide down to 529.82 but shares are up the premarket >>hsbc will pay $1.9 billion to settle a u.s. money-laundering probe. the investigation into hsbc has focused on the transfer of billions of dollars on behalf of nations such as iran and the transfer of money from mexican drug cartels. the british bank said in statement tuesday that the settlement involves a deferred prosecution agreement with the u.s. department of justice. the bank won't be prosecuted if it meets certain conditions, such as strengthening internal controls to prevent money laundering. >> we will get you started with weather and traffic and everything went you need to head out the door. let us take a look at our roof cam. we are looking at a pretty the day today. will get cold. we have changes on the way to tell you about. we will be right back. 5:14 is the type. >> california experience the highest ti

greenbriar brought for $20 a share and both companies make railroad cars and carl icahn has a stake in the merger. arbitron, radio ratings company bought by nielsen, the tv ratings company and paying $48 a share, so, arbitron is chose to 48 right now. in total, that's 1.3 billion dollars from nielsen, which also has a deal with twitter to come up with a new kind of tv rating based on what people are tweeting about. got it. steel dynamics says its customers are not buying as much steel because of political and economic uncertainty. up goes the stock just a little. star scientific. it will stop making and selling tobacco products, instead is focusing on dietary supplements and a product to actually help people stop smoking, no change in the stock. wal-mart, new york times article says that wal-mart used bribes to open 19 stores in mexico and wal-mart responds saying investigation into corruption at its mexican unit is ongoing, no conclusions have yet been made. the dow is up 19 as we said, a flat market. record gun sales over the weekend. following events on friday in connecticut. here i

careful investments in companies that you think are doing the right thing and you never know when a carl icahn is going to show up and upset the apple cart and cause a corporation to get that one time share price bump up. but in the long run, it is hard to make your long-term returns. if you have an questions about whether that is happening, i have a new piece of macro economic evidence for you. number one, our public corporations are disappearing. the number of public companies listed on the u.s. exchanges has declined by more than 40% in the last 15 years. if it were a species, we would call it in danger. number two, the life span of a fortune 500 company was about 75 years in the 1920's. it is down to 15 years today. so if you have any doubt that short-termism is harming our corporations, that should be some evidence you think about. you might wonder if there is more going on than you have realized. what are we to do? the good news is, i do see this problem is very fixable, or at least improve global. -- improveable. in 1960, the holding period for a share of stocks was eight years. today i

careful investments in companies that you think are doing the right thing and you never know when a carl icahn is going to show up and upset the apple cart and cause a corporation to get that one time share price bump up. but in the long run, it is hard to make your long-term returns. if you have an questions about whether that is happening, i have a new piece of macro economic evidence for you. number one, our public corporations are disappearing. the number of public companies listed on the u.s. exchanges has declined by more than 40% in the last 15 years. if it were a species, we would call it in danger. -- endangered. number two, the life span of a fortune 500 company was about 75 years in the 1920's. it is down to 15 years today. so if you have any doubt that short-termism is harming our corporations, that should be some evidence you think about. you might wonder if there is more going on than you have realized. what are we to do? the good news is, i do see this problem is very fixable, or at least improveable. we know what we need to do. of the first thing we need to do is try to reduce

carl icon may have an interest in the company. are shares are down 44%. so, could this be a turn around for the stock? now, david reported earlier today that the company is not aware, if icahn is in the stock. they have no knowledge. it sounds like perhaps this could be just a trading rumor that is sort of out there. these rumors have been out there for a long time. an activist, like maybe a ralph whitworth woucould push for cha. >> we've gotten to know carl over the years, this seems to be right up his alley. i would say, where there's smoke, there's fire. is it a katkatalyst? potentially one of the many we've spoken about. the biggest is that november 20th. two back to me, that was a bottom. we talked about it in the ensuing days. the stock has traded really well sense on what's been a flat take. i think that's interesting. there are other reasons to own it. the company might be broken. the stock is actually interesting. >> there you see the marker where the autonomy alleged fraud story came out. i hate to say it's a win-win situation, but could it be seventhing up as win-win, given the stock is pummeled, basically, so far this year? and either meg whitman accomplishes ch