talk about the fiscal cliff and politicians talk about the fiscal cliff. we're wondering whether mom and pops at home talk about the fiscal cliff. is a lack of a budget deal actually spooking shoppers out on main street? >> it is. walmart told us 75% of their customers have cite that had they are worried about the fiscal cliff. mandy, you and i were on last week talking about the luxury retailers and we called out saks saying business pre-holiday was particularly weak. what are the people in the stores telling me all week, saying that this is the worst pre-christmas they had seen in over a decade, and part of that was because their consumers are worried about the fiscal cliff, so note to the government. it does matter. >> yeah, but that's, as you say, part of it. laura, what else is going on? it just felt like we were going into a lackluster season here. what happened? >> i mean, there's been some discussion about weather trends as well, but whether or not we go over the fiscal cliff, consumers think next year we'll see higher taxes and lower entitlements.

over the cliff.hris and steven next. the next scott walker? michigan's republican governor ready to do plitical battle with organized labor in his state. what about a right to work law? straight ahead. [beep] [indistinct chatter] [kids talking at once] [speaking reign language] [heart beating] [heartbeat continues] [faint singing] [heartbeat, music playing louder] ♪ i'm feeling better since you know me ♪ ♪ i was a lonely soul, but that's the old me... ♪ announcer: this song was created with heartbeats of children in need. find out how it can help frontline health workers bring hope to millions of children at everybeatmatters.org. lou: the staffs of both president obama and house speaker boehner are talking, but there is still no word of progress on the so-called fiscal cliff or the president's ultimatum. silence indicate a deal in the works or something too ugly for them to contemplate?@ we'll have the latest for you from the white house. white house correspondent ed henry here in just moments, but,

>> it's interesting, if we do go over the cliff, and some say let's go over the cliff. all these complaints about government spending too much, so let's just take it for what it's worth, go over the cliff and cut out that government spending, and i find it interesting that a lot of the same people that want the government to cut back on spending kind of don't want it because of the markets, so you can't really have your cake and eat it, too. if we do go over the cliff there will be pullback in the market. >> what's the strategy though? what's the strategy? let's put aside speculation of going over or not going over. what's the strategy going into year end? where do you want exposure in terms of equities? >> definitely want to be long. i certainly wouldn't want to go short because you don't want to go into this uncertainty making decisions on something you don't know is going to happen. you just don't know what the taxes are or what's going to come about, so i really wouldn't make my decisions based on an unknown. i would pick steady solid names and stick with them and g

in addition to the fiscal cliff, milk cliff, and wind farm cliff, what other cliff are you worried abouts. we have a new handle @squawkstreet and junior responses throughout the morning. >> some people on twitter have criticized how we just called it the container cliff. saying not everything is a cliff. >> but everything is a cliff. there is a deadline. >> containers will come in tor they won't. it's binary. >> we were chatting during the break, we're not allowed to own stocks, individual names, but if there was a name you wish you'd bought in the face of bad news last year? >> jpmorgan. it seemed that everyone wanted to sell off the stock, and this would be a huge impact on jpm. it had some perception impact, but when it came to the performance of the bank, it really did not. the stock sold off to about $32 a share, it's around $43 right now. that one, when you think about the trades i should have made, if i could have, that would have been one of them. that one seemed clear and easy. >> some of the contrarian price actions that we saw this year, rimm, late in the year. walmart after "

this is going to be not to put too fine of a point on it a cliff hanger with regard to the fiscal cliff. i think there will be some movement. in other words, they would not go on vacation unless there is some agreement about what a framework will be or some way they are going to avoid basically seeing tax rates go up on january 1st and major spending cuts go in to effect. there will be some delay if they don't reach a tentative agreement by december 21st when they head home. >> i would hope so. because i think america will be really upset. at this point in time we all recognize what the implications of going over the cliff are. >> if i can just say, i think capital markets will be upset. that will upset the rest of america but most consumers, they say fiscal cliff. >> what's the fiscal cliff. >> i don't know what that is. >> you are right. the business community is sitting on its cash, wall street waiting on every word and consumer as if nothing. but you know it comes home to roost. good to have you on the program. thank you so much. >> nice to see you. >>> american cars zooming along.

more now on the fiscal cliff.f the industries with the most at stake in the budget debate is the defense industry. in a meeting today in washington, northrop grumman ceo wes bush with a dire warning. >> it would result in across the board cuts to both defense and nondefense accounts. and the interesting thing about this is the cuts are not tied to any military strategy whatsoever. it is completely disconnected from a perspective of strategy. in essence these would be meat axe taken to our national defense budgets. >> let's go straight to the front lines of the issue. task specializes in systems, engineering and integrate. president and ceo david langstaff is with us, among the defense contractors speaking out today in washington. he joins me now on the telephone. sir, good to have on you the program. thanks for joining us. >> thank you. glad to be with you. >> what's the potential fallout for task if we go over the fiscal cliff. how would you navigate this? >> first, it's just terrible policy to go over the fiscal

after cliff after cliff, that maybe we're into a whole year of cliff diving, your expectation, let'say we get through the cliff with a baby deal. we've had still a number of economists come on this set and talk about how we could still be -- maybe not in a recession, but continue to see a slowdown. >> well, the other way i've been trying to think about the past 24 hours, you look at the private sector, there are two sources of great encouragement for the u.s. economy, it seems to me. one is the domestic housing story. and the second is, of course, the remarkable thing going on with energy based around shale, gas and oil. if these two sources of strength persist, you know, is the disappointment about the cliff enough to negate those two things? i suspect the answer is probably not. what it might mean is the difference between an economy that's going in the 2% vicinity of one that could, if a credible deal unleached from the korcht sector and beyond, one that could get back to what most people were -- if not normal, think of the old one in the 3% vicinity. >> jim, to the extent a clien

would your party have more leverage if we went over the cliff? leader pelosi and i said going over the cliff ought not to be an option. it will be an indication of failure of the congress to work as it should. this has been the least effective, most confrontational congress in which i have served. i came here in 1981. so i think going over the cliff is not our preferred choice at all. we think we need to get to a compromise, which as i said, will procollude taxes from going up on middle income americans, provide for the unemployment insurance. i they we also provide for the reimbursement of doctors giving services to medicare patients. butt fact of the matter is it's been very difficult to reach compromise. i think the president of the united states and is now through vice president biden trying to reach a compromise. a compromise by its very definition means that neither side gets exactly what it wants. the difficulty from the house of representatives last week the republicans indicate d that the wouldn't even be for any kind of a tax increase o

ashley: cliff hanger, i'm tired of saying "fiscal cliff. i'll use "cliff hanger."hank you so much for being here. >> you're welcome. ashley: i said it would be fun; right? >> yeah. ashley: very optimistic. the closing bell rings in 37 minutes. by the way, it is the endless search for yield. money flowing into corporate bonds like there is no tomorrow, especially junk bonds. the question is is it too late for investors to get in on the action. lance robert, the ceo of street talk advisers, find out why he thinks stocks are better with consistent returns and pay healthy diff denldz. makes sense. his top picks coming up next in a fox business exclusive. ♪ ashley: face call cliff, fiscal cliff, fiscal cliff, that's three more times, holding stocks hostage, down fifth day in a row. energy stocks notably weak again today. six down days in a row so check out the energy select spider exchange traded fund. it's xle, and it's basically a proxy for the energy complex, oil producers, service providers, pipeline operators, and xle, as you see, up 1.25%. in terms of the individu

>>> the clock is running out on the fiscal cliff. i'll talk to the former cabinet secretary who says going over the cliff is better than getting a bad deal. >>> the auto industry is back. what it's doing right in a soft economy? we'll find out what's driving profitability. >>> curtain's up on the billion dollar woman who made the lion roar, julie taymor. >> we never had a complaint about it. >> "the wall street journal report" begins right now. now, maria bartiromo. >> here's a look at what's making news. some surprisingly good news about america's economy. the labor department says 146,000 new jobs were created in the month of november. much better than economist's expectations. the unemployment rate dropped two tenth of a% at 7.7%. the labor department also says superstorm sandy had little effect on those numbers. >>> the markets continued their familiar pattern of following the latest word or words or hopes on fiscal cliff. no major moves during the week but several times the market ran out of steam to the end of the trading sessi

over the cliff.hris and steven next. the next scott walker? michigan's republican governor ready to do political battle with organized labor in his state. what about a right to work law? straight ahead. the boys use capital one venture miles for thr annual football trip. that's double miles you can actually use. tragically, their ddy got sacked by blackouts. but it's our tradition! that's roughing the card holder. buwith the capital one venture card you get double miles you can actually use. [ cheering ] any flight, anytime. the scoreboard doesn't lie. what's in your wallet? hut! i have me on my fantasy team. if you're a man with low testosterone, you should know that axiron is here. the only underarm treatment for low t. that's right, the one you apply to the underarm. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18. axiron can transfer to others through direct contact. women, espially those who are or who may become pregnant, and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as une

a key democrat talks about medicare cuts that could be part of a fiscal cliff deal. we talk with maryland congressman chris van hollen. >> tom: i'm tom hudson. two hurricanes in two years for the northeast-- a region not used to big storms comes to terms with the cleanup and cost. >> susie: and it's green monday, one of the most popular days for online shoppers. we've got details. >> tom: that and more tonight on nbr! >> susie: president obama was in michigan today, campaigning on his plan to avert the fiscal cliff. speaking to union workers at the daimler detroit diesel engine plant, the president said he is willing to compromise "a little bit" with republicans on getting a plan for economic growth, job creation, and reducing the deficit. but he said he would not compromise on raising tax rates for high-income earners. >> and that's a principle i won't compromise on because i'm not going to have a situation where the wealthiest among us, including folks like me, get to keep all our tax breaks, and then we're asking students to pay higher student loans, or suddenly,

on the fiscal cliff at this point.. >> five days. >> you're not inclined to -- >> well, you know how i feel, though. i think it's crazy that here we are. they had 13 13 months to do this. now they have five days. these are all very important issues to america. >> ben, what do you make of this market? you're the hot handed trader right now. >> i'm still a buyer. you buy the dipts. if you want a protection, you had a great chance to buy the vix. >> because you think we're going to get a resolution? >> absolutely. >> what do you expect in terms of volume, in terms of this market? earlier, art cashin told us there were some stocks still to buy. >> it's a net imbalance to buy, but it's about $5 million in money rotation either side. but it's going to have an effect on every listed stock down here. expect a huge pop in volume that should add slightly to the bid on lifting this market late into the close. i would expect to see that. but, again, this is one of the days traders may live for. this is what traders live to see. >>

fiscal cliff and all of the other stuff. great story on the front page of wall street journal today talking about portfolio pumping. another example of investors thinking they're not getting a fair shake out of the stock market. >> larry, you call that complacency, don't you? >> that's right. i'm actually shocked that these investors appear to be asleep at the switch in light of the fiscal fiasco looming in less than a month. you would think investors saying their concerns would be running for the hills or at least buying portfolio protection to protect themselves against potential disaster. we see the vix very low. they're not taking the type of defensive, decisive action. if we get a downgrade and if this happens, it will be terrible for the market. that's what's potentially on the market, if we don't make a deal in washington. >> scott, let me ask you again how you want to allocate capital then in that environment. i know george young is with us again, joining the conversation. i want to ask you the same question. go ahea

cliff will not be a doomsday event. we'll get them to make their case coming up. >> and also later on. facebook making an about face on using user photos for advertising. >> and winter storm euclid is pummeling the east coast. the latest storm and storm track coming up in the next hour of the program. you're watching cnbc, first in business worldwide. plus, in-branch seminars at over 500 locations, where our dedicated support teams help you know more so your money can do more. [ rodger ] at scottrade, seven dollar trades are just the start. our teams have the information you want when you need it. it's another reason more investors are saying... [ all ] i'm with scottrade. you won't take our future. aids affects us all. even babies. chevron is working to stop mother-to-child transmission. our employees and their families are part of the fight. and we're winning. at chevron nigeria, we haven't had a reported case in 12 years. aids is strong. aids is strong. but we are stronger. and aids... ♪ aids is going to lose. aids i

-- the fiscal cliff issue.deast, we don't know what's going to happen with the iranian card. north korea feels like they don't have a lot of attention paid to them, so every once in a while they do something crazy to get back in the news certainly euro is still a wild card. and i think we just have to be aware of the fact that the markets react to the unexpect, not the expected. so we have to be looking at some of this risk. we hedged our portfolio a little bit, in my portfolio i run at the firm. if the market goes we'll make lesand if it pulls back we'll take the risk off. >> susie: any disclosurees, rich? do you own any of them? >> we own all of them at the firm, and i own them personally because the managers tend to eat their own cooking. susie: tha y so much, ich. have a nice holiday. rich steinberg of globe.

which would mean technically we'd go over the cliff. but he still thinks a deal will be struck but just not tonight. 2012, check. it's in the books at least for the markets, that is. and while the clock keeps on ticking, no deal yet. what is an investor to do in the new year? >> edward pangin with us, james buckingham, rick santelli. everybody on board to pick apart what has just happened and what may happen going into the new year. what do you think? are you hopeful to get a deal? do you want to buy stocks at this point what do you think? >> thanks for having me on. i think we're getting some closure on the fiscal cliff. but we want to look behind the scenes. earning estimates for the s&p 500 and the broader market. over the last tlie months you see negative pressure on earnings. that's led by energy sector and stocks. ex-financials. and what's also giving us a bit of pause heading into 2013 is the fact that these expectations are calling for about a 7% increase in earnings for next year which may not seem heroic on the surface, but it

if we went over the cliff, the demographic to show you, this if we went over the cliff, you'll see an estate tax of 55% on the part of the estate that is larger than a million dollars. the compromise here is a 40% estate tax with 5 -- the first $5 million of the estate exempt. so a real win here for republicans who were worried about the estate tax reverting to the $1 million exemption at 55% rate. >> now, can you just sort of explain -- can you sort of explain to people what the estate tax is, why it has been called the death tax and why republicans over years have just fought tooth and nail to try to reduce this thing. >> because republicans say it rewards success. this is something we have heard again and again about the capital gains taxes, and other taxes on investments, they say it rewards success. people like warren buffett and others who are on the left side of the argument, they say, look, living in this country is -- the -- this country has given them the ingredients to be successful, and, you know, should have to give back for that. there are two very different philosophies

is now going over that so-called fiscal cliff. that so-called fiscal cliff.re on that as well. with so much noise abt health care... i tuned it all out. with unitedhealthcare, i get information that matters... my individual health profile. not random statistics. they even reward me for addressing my health risks. so i'm doing fine... but she's still going to give me a heart attack. we're more than 78,000 people looking out for more than 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. [ male announcer ] when diarrhea hits, kaopectate stops it fast. powerful liquid relief speeds to the source. fast! [ male announcer ] stop the uh-oh fast with kaopectate. >>> you're in "the situation room." two breaking news stories we're following. secretary of state hillary clinton is hospitalized with potentially serious blood clot in her head. doctors have just revealed the location. also, america is just hours away from a massive tax hike and spending cuts, heading over the dreaded fiscal cliff. president obama says an agreement, though, is within sight. r

economy fall off a cliff? we've got a panel of washington insiders to give you the real story. >>> plus, a closer look at the markets including a best emerging market performer this year. if you invested in this index, you'di inbe up 50%. we'll tell you what it is and what could see a pop next year. >>> we'll bring you retail numbers as they trickle in. much coming up. [ male announcer ] it's that time of year again. time for citi price rewind. because your daughter really wants that pink castle thing. and you really don't want to pay more than you have to. only citi price rewind automatically searches for the lowest price. and if it finds one, you get refunded the difference. just use your citi card and register your purchase online. have a super sparkly day! ok. [ male announcer ] now all you need is a magic carriage. citi price rewind. start saving at citi.com/pricerewind. you can stay in and share something... or you can get out there and actually share something. ♪ the lexus december to remember sales eve

especially the fiscal cliff. in this grim environment you can find sectors that are holding up better than you might think. poncy says the pull back in retail might be just the moment that you want to pull the trigger to this key sector index. wouldn't that be something? stay with cramer and we will be right back. >> coming up. something is brewing. starbucks has been serving up solid returns. but could concerns about its moving to tea mean it is time to layoff the caffeine or is this your chance to fill up your cup before the shares really get percolating? cramer is grinding through the facts next. >>> tomorrow we are going to hear from one of my favorite companies and it is starbucks. having its biennial analyst day. right now it is more than ten points off its high for the year. i think it could mark the beginning of the stock's next big rally. you can follow along at actionalertsplus.com. a service that i do with the street. tomorrow i expect a terrific story. i'll give you a preview. lots of people ask me ho

david: teetering on the edge of the cliff. speaking of the fiscal cliff, talks on hold until after christmas and president obama and house speaker john boehner have not spoken since friday. lori: is there any hope for a deal? are you the last man there? >> a staff is here. the staff is in this but all eyes are on the senate when it returns this thursday to try and get a deal to avoid getting off a cliff the past friday before the president left for the holiday, he proposed a limited measure to avoid all of the cliff when speaker john boehner plan b. got scuttled. the president wants to extend the bush tax cuts and avoid some of the deep spending cuts. white house spokesperson says discussions continue between the administration and capitol hill. in july you may recall senate democrats passed an extension of the middle-class tax codes for the year. those folks making less than $250,000 per year at a cost of 157 billion. also passing the alternative minimum tax for $92 billion. mitch mcconnell is critical to hammering out a deal

the fiscal cliff. >>> the dow erases a 150 point decline on news that the house will be back in session on sunday evening. and time is rubbing out to avoid a strike at 14 major east coast ports. a work stoppage to cost the economy $1 billion a day. it's friday, december 28th, 2012. and "squawk box" begins right now. >>> good morning and welcome to "squawk box" here on cnbc. and it does feel like we're living a bit on the edge of the fiscal cliff, at least. i'm andrew ross sorkin along with joe kernen and becky quick is off today. our guest host this hour, ed kehone. he's the management associate portfolio manager and we are thrilled to have ed aboard for -- i think you'll be here for longer than an hour. you'll be here for the whole broadcast. >> as long as you need me. >> you're like -- how long were you at -- you were at prudential. >> it's owned by prudential, so i've been at peru don'tal for almost 15 years now. >> widely quoted. you know who has made a comeback is ralph -- >> akampora. >> i've see

all fiscal cliff related or what? fz fiscal cliff relate end again, bernanke, not

with more. >> fiscal cliff edge missile cliff says the man i'm about to talk to, this is the antennay make wireless antennas for wireless communication, marty singer is the ceo, and a lot of your fellow ceos are on pins and needles worried what is going to happen. that is not you. >> i am not and the tragedy of the fiscal cliff is the distraction from issues that influence the economy such as cost of health care, we are facing a 17% increase. >> walk with me so i can show you the plan. you have a huge plant outside chicago making things here. you think that has been overshadowed in the fiscal cliff debate. we have forgotten obamacare and rising costs of health care. >> absolutely. bloated cost of the chinese factory worker is $2,500 a year. my cost of health care in this country for someone who had a family is $10,000 a year so health care four times the cost of labor. that is what costs. >> i want to put on your customers because you do business with a lot of companies..o cf1 o arr any of them telling you to retrench, we are worried? >> some have told us there is uncertainty but tha

take your pick of cliffs. we have a cornucopia of cliffs to face as we head into this new year. >> one at a time. brian sullivan, thank you, sir. >>> just after firefighters were shot in webster, new york. there's another deadly shooting. three police officers from camden, new jersey are in the hospital off being shot in a police state officials say one was shot below his bulletproof vest. the other two officers are being treated for graze wounds. police say the suspect was being processed for a domestic incident when he grabbed a gun and started firing. meanwhile, proposals over the debate about arming teachers in school is picking up steam in the wake of the massacre in sandy hook. several states are proposing gun legislation to allow teachers or other schoolworkers to carry firearms. utah where they have held training for teachers in ten years is seeing a major uptick in firearms training. just yesterday 150 teachers took advantage of the free training, and how to respond to mass violence at school. meantim

, biden joked cliff? what cliff? this has been operated with a dictatorship of the speaker. not allowing the vast majority of the representatives to get what they want. they want them to return in case a deal is in the final hours. today, the u.s. is heading over the cliff. >> what goes away next week is the bush tax cut that they loathed since they went in place a secon decade ago. don't assume the president wants to cut a deal. he wants to see if he'll be blamed for it before they negotiate. they talk about the meeting tomorrow with the president and key congressional leaders. >> thank you. if the fiscal cliff can be avoided there is another gigantic hurdle awaiting the lawmakers. >> they will hit the credit limit of $16.4 trillion on december 31. the nation thereafter can't pay the bills unless congress raises the limit. >> with a new congress in january we need to revisit an finally give ourselves the determination to solve not only our short-term debt but the long-term debt. >> they raised the debt l

. >>> first, our top story, cliff diving. the dow down in a fourth straight day in the so-called fear gauge and the vix is spiking and the leaders appear no closer to a deal. our traders are taking note and making stunning moves as a result. dr. j., it was your note this morning that shocked us. what are you doing in the market right now? >> well, for the first time in 31 years in the market, i am completely out of everything. closed the last of my a "gq" this morning, the double etf with short puts and long calls. had a nice pop today, got out of that. i see no reason to stick with this thing. no reason to get short either. on the short side, i think we could see 20-50 handles on the upside if they found a way to get around this. i think we assured ourselves we will get very small deals done and getting our debt downgraded february or march depending when we get to that debt ceiling increase. >> josh, what are you doing? >> we raised a little bit of cash. we're certainly nowhere near fully out of this market. we continue to

but when we talk about the fiscal cliff, in france it's much higher than a cliff.hen it comes to france, the only solution that has been put on the table, it's tax raises, nothing about cutting expenses. >> some people don't realize money is mobile. so people will pick up and they will leave if they're faced with these very, very significant tax rates. that's what we're seeing from some of your colleagues in the industry. would you leave france because of the 75% tax? >> well, i don't know. in my case, i will see. the 75% will last two years. it's not a big point. the big point, again, will be about capital gains dividends. until when? to what extent? my deep belief is that no country in the world, and in particular small countries like france, will be capable of maintaining such a discrepancy in their tax system compared with other attractive countries of the world in an open economy as we are today. >> let me ask you about your brands and what's going on. what are you expecting for the holiday season? i'm talking about gucci, puma, across the board. talk to us ab

can they avoid the cliff?ome are saying no, the president wants to go off of the cliff because some republicans are saying it strengthened his negotiating hand, some others think perhaps if the senate bill for extending cuts under 250,000 comes over to the house there could be house democrats vote for that and need 25 republican votes to pass that and make that the law so -- cheryl: is that reasonable? could that really happen? i am so silly, when i was listening to the last to speeches, are they proposing actual things that could happen? was that posturing or were either of the things we heard the senators say in the past 15 minutes real possibilities? >> good for you. you don't have to live in washington to see posturing, that is what is happening. people are trying to cobble something together to put a patch on this to avoid the fiscal cliff, i can't tell you with any certainty if they can pull that off. cheryl: maybe you can work something out. stick the next -- work something out. i wouldn't give you that

that's not even part of the fiscal cliff. that's in addition to the fiscal cliff. at an avalanche of regulations that were drawn up in the first four years of the obama administration, but then conveniently only beginning to be made public after the president's job was secure. his job is secure. now yours may not be, because hundreds of billions of dollars in regulatory costs are hitting the economy. look at what epa and others are doing. >> right. but grover, speaking of magicianship, you appear to be doing that right now. it looks like rates will increase. that technically is not a good thing for you and your pledge. >> it's a very bad thing for the economy, because what they're talking about is some -- allowing the rates to go back up, not just back up. remember, we go back -- the bush tax cuts disappear and you add the obama care tax increases. so they're taking the top rate not to 39.6, but to 43.4 for half of all small business income in the country. and people at high income earners of the united states. add to that the 35% corporate income tax and the incre

so i hope that we can avoid going over the cliff.ut the republicans in the senate have dominated the negotiations in 2010, 2011, right now we are in a standoff for the middle class. >> senator, always good to see you and thank you for talking with us tonight. >>> american's frustration with congress may well be summarized in this simple statement. in terms of output, the 112th congress has been the least effective in decades. in part, because of the rising influence of the tea party. that's ahead when our special coverage continues, in a moment. [ male announcer ] it's that time of year again. time for citi price rewind. because your daughter really wants that pink castle thing. and you really don't want to pay more than you have to. only citi price rewind automatically searches for the lowest price. and if it finds one, you get refunded the difference. just use your citi card and register your purchase online. have a super sparkly day! ok. [ male announcer ] now all you need is a magic carriage. citi price rewind. start saving at ci

fiscal cliff buoyant because the fiscal cliff buoyant because the fiscal cliff is not that big of an issue. maybe that's why the averages once again refuse to drop dramatically, the dow falling 60 points. despite the obvious impasse i saw firsthand when i appeared on "meet the press" with david gregory this weekend, i know i've been interpreting the market's relative success through a difficult period. success is defined by no huge hammering like we had during the debt ceiling crisis as a sign that either perhaps people didn't understand what awaits them -- no no! or that there might be a deal on the horizon to avoid the fiscal cliff, the fact that the republicans put out an offer, like their old offer before the president won re-election, it does feel like the two sides are talking, but they appear to be talking past each other. the clock is really ticking in washington. ticking against a deal. i think the two sides seem to hate each other more than ever. i don't now, it seems like the last 72 hours i was hoping it was going to get better and it seems like it got worse. i spent a to

the fiscal cliff is a c

you go over a smaller cliff this year or a bigger cliff two or three years from now. if yo all you do is raise taxes, you get bigger government, the cliff is going to be even bigger. the quote from the president about his attitude on the debt ceiling. he has no interest in negotiating, and i think that the country would be much better to set as you just did a standard about our children and our grandchildren. i look at my two grandchildren who are 11 and 13, and i ask myself what would be better for their future? there's no question in my mind that going over the fiscal cliff which is frankly not nearly as big a deal as the washington media says it is, and confronting head on that we are not going to continue this pattern of deficit spending is far better for them than to raise taxes, slow the economy, and grow government. if you give the democrats -- the president's budget proposal said give me higher taxes so i can spend even more. >> sean: as i said, the big disappointment to me today was kind of shocking to hear that speaker boehner adopted the language of the pre

difference between no cliff and going over the cliff is more than 750,000 millionaires or $1.3 trillion in wealth. that's about the gdp of canada. i'm just looking at the impact of economic growth on millionaires. i'm not looking at taxes which of course could temper some of that growth. but a cliff deal alone could be worth $1 trillion in new millionaire wealth and that's better than any powerball jackpot i've ever seen. >> if all these millionaires disappear, who will buy all those corporate jets? >> people talk about the economic growth. the number of new millionaires is what people need to focus on when you talk about getting a deal. >> look at oregon in 2010. oregon raised taxes on the top end. saying they'd raise an extra $180 million from this tax. of course it was widely passed and it just passed easily. they raised $130 million. $50 million less than they expected because one-third of their millionaires vanished. they didn't sell anything. now if there's nowhere to go throw, if -- this is the federal government. it is not like a state where you can move. >> it's also -- >> i gu

. >> coming up, and look at the so-called fiscal cliff. weekly addresses from president obama and with republican senator roy blunt. >> hi, . i have been working to come together around a plant to grow the economy and shrink our efforts -- deficit. it is a balanced plan, one that would cut spending in a responsible way and ask the wealthiest americans to pay a little more. i will keep working with anybody serious about getting a comprehensive plan like this done because it is the right thing to do for our economic growth. we are not at the point where in a couple of days, the losses at the americans' tax rates are going up. the americans paycheck will get a lot smaller. that would be the wrong thing to do for our economy. it would hurt middle-class families and it would hurt the businesses that depend on your spending. and congress can prevent it from happening, if they act now. leaders in congress are working on a way to prevent this tax hike on the middle class and i believe we may be able to reach an agreement that can pass both houses

>> susie: president obama was in michigan today, campaigning on his plan to avert the fiscal cliff. speaking to union workers at the daimler detroit diesel engine plant, the president said he is willing to compromise "a little bit" with republicans on getting a plan for economic growth, job creation, and reducing the deficit. but he said he would not compromise on raising tax rates for high-income earners. >> and that's a principle i won't compromise on because i'm not going to have a situation where the wealthiest among us, including folks like me, get to keep all our tax breaks, and then we're asking students to pay higher student loans, or suddenly, a school doesn't have school books because the school district couldn't afford it. >> susie: meanwhile, a ranking democrat on the house budget committee tells "nightly business report" he is optimistic about getting a fiscal cliff deal by the end of they year. maryland congressman chris van hollen talked with our darren gersh, and began with an update on the status of the talks. >> well, the good news is that the president and the spe

. >> barrasso said president obama is eager to go over the fiscal cliff. senator barrasso joins us. well, why do you say that? >> well, i think the president sees political victory at the bottom of the cliff in term of the increased tax money coming in that he can spend for other programs. i think he sees a lot the military which the democrats have been after for a long time and then he gets to do what he loves to do, is to blame republicans. my concern is that i actually see financial problems for our nation at the bottom of the cliff and that's why i want to get a solution. >> tomorrow do you think it's going to be the beginning of the emergency meeting at the white house, is it the beginning of a deal or is it a political drama? >> my concern is it may be a political charade by the president and harry reid and nancy pelosi. i hope it actually is the beginning of a deal because if we don't get it done now, we need to go and make sure that things get done so we don't raise taxes and taxes aren't raised for all these americans that are looking at it come j

goes over the fiscal cliff. speaker john boehner has called the house back into session sunday evening. house majority leader eric cantor is telling his members to be prepared to work through january 2nd. both sides are still far apart on taxes and spending cuts. harry reid says prospect deals by monday are unlikely. minority leader mitch mcconnell says there's still time for an agreement. >> republicans aren't likely to sign a blank check just because we find ourselves at the edge of the cliff. that wouldn't be fair to the american people. >> now, a new reuters poll shows americans blame republicans more than democrats or president obama for the fiscal crisis. and when asked who they held more response, 27% said the gop, 6% pointed to the dems and 30% said all of the above. for more on this, we're joined by christian schultz from barronberg bank. welcome. so we're going over the fiscal cliff. >> well, the consumer confidenc already be over the cliff in terms of confidence already. that might already be the firs

, we can't go over the cliff.e are all the things that will happen to individual americans if we go over the cliff. there's a lot of anxiety out there. we've been hearing about that, we've seen the markets up and down. to some degree, i understand the political arguments but in terms of the argument of the stability of the country and our economy, do you agree with governor dean that maybe the best thing is to go over the cliff? >> again, i think howard's sentiment is right and i'm co-chair of the organization campaign to fix the debt, and we want a big deal. certainly going over the cliff gets us a big deal. but i don't think we need to do it that way, karen. whether -- we can't do a big deal before december 31st, so let's go -- if we have to go over the cliff, go over the cliff, but then in the next two weeks or so or three weeks, let's put together a real deal, and a real deal means everybody doesn't like it. and that means that we democrats are going to have some things in there that we don't like. too much --

cliffs, car wrecks, closers. just, you know, send me your analogies and metaphors and none of them good. we'll get republican reaction from jason chaffetz. >> bitter cold stacan't stop th party. >> they can freeze it out. >> about 1 million people expected to brave the subfreezing temperatures in new york times square tonight. countdown, 2013. new zealand, saying hello to 2013. happy new year, auckland welcomed the new year with fireworks at the famous sky tower. >>> up ahead on "starting point," house speaker john boehner couldn't get republicans to back his plan, even though my next guest said it was okay. can the gop rally his party before we go over the cliff? fwroefer norquist president of americans for tax reform. up next. >>fr progressives don't like grover norquist. now a message to washington. >> this shows how incredibly out of touch you are, are you off in la la land and everybody is saying you are acting like a bunch of spoil brats who are more interested in being wririg than doing the right thing for

we're calling this a fiscal cliff.lly, if there is a deal, it's not going to avert a much bigger one later because any deal that we're talking about here is not going to include -- it's going to include almost nothing on getting spending under control. it's going to have tax hikes and maybe a little bit here or there, but it's not going to address the big issue. any last minute deal is really fw goi is going to kick the can down the road and the democrats with spending. something has to be done. >> forget the fiscal cliff stuff and forget the debt ceiling stuff. the fact is that tomorrow morning, the tax rate, the social security tax rate on every american who works is going up. the medicare tax rate on high income people is going up. the tax on medical devices tomorrow morning, is going up. forget fiscal cliff. taxes are going up almost across the board. give me a quick comment on that. >> well, you know what? this has got to be the first time ever that it's december 31st and i have no idea what i'm going to be making

the fiscal cliff could throw all its gains next year. the lauren fix, known as the car coach is here to explain why and one of my favorite topics, cars. do you think lauren can name this beautiful automobile? we'll giver her a test. what kind of car is that and test her automobile chops next. and test her's as well. is now the time to put your house on the market. top real estate expert says, yes. she is here with details. we'll challenger. we awaiting president obama. he will take the podium in a matter of minutes and will bring you a statement on the fiscal cliff live. "piles of money" is on the way. ♪ she keeps you guessing. it's part of what you love about her. but your erectile dysfunction - you know, that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment's right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is the only daily ed tablet approved to treat ed and symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your

cal cliff.ind out why we are standing right now. >> and will 2013 be an even better year for the housing market? we will fire up the crystal ball and see where housing may take us. that's coming up with the doc fix can cliff. >> now you're just showing off. >> yes. >>> we with like to introduce to you street talk with our stock number one being cal-maine foods, big egg supplier, in the tank. >> laying an egg in the market today. >> egg on their face today. >> negative outweighed benefits from selling higher priced eggs. gross margin. you name it, a tough time for america's biggest egg company. >> yeah. what about magelin health services? >> they are tanking after one of their biggest customers decided not to renew their con trablgt. contract /* /- i know it doesn't sound like a lot, but they won't renew their contract with magellan on that news. >> there is a latest twist in this, a good one, bristol meyers squib and pfizer. >> the clot drug we have told you about, with approvals in japan and ot

a dramatic cliff-hanger today between washington and wall street about the fiscal cliff. stocks initially sold off after senate majority leader harry reid predicted the economy would go over the cliff. speaking from the senate floor he said there's not enough time between now and the end of the year to reach a deal. but stocks erased their losses ithe final hour of trading on news that the house of representatives will reconvene on sunday night to resume talks. by the closing bell, the dow was down only 18 points, bouncing back from a triple digit loss, the nasdaq lost four, and the s&p slipped almost two points. so what happens next? and can lawmakers prevent an economic crisis by agreeing on a fiscal cliff deal? darren gersh reports. >> reporter: here is a measure of how bad things are now in washington. markets rallied on news the house will come back to work on sunday, even though there is no solution ready for lawmakers when they return. and in the senate, which is back at work, republican leader mitch mcconnell warned he would not write a blank check to the white ho