wall part versus costco. >> costco in its new store. [ protesters ] >> all we're doing is speaking outetter wages affordable healthcare and better scheduling. >> cenk: who are the good guys, the bad guys, and we'll tell you all about it. >>> and then we're melting. >> the numbers are staggering. 344 billion metric tons are melting in antarctica and green land a year. >> cenk: that's amazing. we've got a lot more amazing facts about that, and it is not good news, unfortunately. what is going to be good news is the elbow of the day. that's nothing but fun. anybody know what time it is? jayar? oh right, it's go time. [ ♪ music ♪ ] [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> cenk: all right look at this crew that i've got here, including the guy who was just running off. [ laughing ] we've got everybody here, michael shure and lucy is back. >> and it's obvious when you look at cenk. >> cenk: and mark thompson will give us his expertise of climate change among other topics, the climate change a little bit later, but i want to start with budget proposal. president obama came up with a new proposal. it's the same

i went to costco this weekend. it was a two-cart weekend for costco.e were asking if i worked there. i move things like i'm one of the employees. leaving costco my truck was packed so tightly i couldn't see out of the windows. i could see out of the front and 1/18 out of the window in the back and the truck was almost completely packed with alcohol. it was. [ cheers and applause ] something -- if someone had rear ended me i wouldn't have been arrested for a dui. i would have drowned. and now i have to wrap -- you don't have to wrap alcohol, do you? i bought sweaters to put around the bottles. i'm a terrible gift wrappers. i'm good at a lot of things, sex obviously. i can cook. i draw. i know how to juggle. but i cannot do a decent job of wrapping a gift. most guys are bad at this. are you or aren't you supposed to use crazy glue on the corners of these things. i wind up with too much paper or not enough. sometimes i have a rectangle on the side of the box and i have another rectangle and taping it on the thing and it's embarrassing. i think this is why

as we saw in costco, is that correct?> forget after they announce. >> there has been so much demand for costco stock in general. to me, one other name we should throw out there is whole foods. they announced a special today. that stock didn't react well. costco has been up a heck of a lot since the announcement. it's curious activity. >> we saw oracle call buying in anticipation of oracle potentially offering some sort of special dividend. >> mike, the question, though, is this good for the market or are people going to buy the stocks to be a shareholder as of a certain date. >> i don't know that it is good for the market that you have company management making decisions based on vagaries out of washington but there is no question that a lot of these companies, i think notably apple in particular, that should be returning cash to shareholders and that is irrespective on the tax laws on dividends. although, clearly, if you think there is potential they will change they should be doing it now. >> we should note that scott h

i don't think i would go to costco, although i'm not one that trolls costco for the snacks.e it in me, and the optics of him being in costco is hilarious. it's the one middle class establishment that requires a membership. i think it's hilarious of all the places he goes is costco. god. >> cenk: here's a couple of other funny things about what he bought too. apparently he bought a toy camaro. an american-made camaro, but this one was made in china. and then talking about all the american cars he owns. >> i like the fact that the the cars that i see are american made. i drive a chevy pickup truck and ana drives an cadillac: >> cenk: and he was seen driving an audi. let's go back to petraeus, fox news we'll back you up. >> there was an edict sent out by president of the news network, who has said to all the producers of the shows you need explicit permission to book dick morris or karl rove. you cannot just put them on any more because they were so wrong and so off on the elections. that's what politico is reporting, that this is how fox is changing things. no more karl rove a

costco.t one point this week company calls were up more than 5.5 the average call volume. >> you just heard how costco calls were active. what other names are options traders looking at? >> potential for special dividend there are a couple at the top of the list. oracle and microsoft have a ton of cash and they might want to share some of that. those are three names that are likely to do well if you are a dividend investor. >> and in terms of option activity as a clue to special dividends is a little different from regular dividends but you can see a lot of call buying in advance. >> there has been so much demand for costco stock in general. one other name we should throw out there is whole foods. that stock didn't react well. costco has been up a heck of a lot. >> we saw oracle call buying in anticipation. >> the question, though, is this good for the market or are people going to buy the stocks to be a shareholder as of a certain date. >> i don't know that it is good for the market that you

and costco is just one of many companies making these one-time cash payouts in a move that will save stocks holders like senegal unless in dividend taxes. and so, mary, turns out maybe taxes do influence investor behavior. what's the meaning of the great cashout of 2012? >> well, don't tax you, don't tax me, tax the guy behind the tree. >> paul: russell long, former late senator. >> exactly. and what you see here are very wealthy people who can, you know, engineer ways to avoid taxes, meanwhile, what he's-- the medicine he's suggesting for people who are starting to do better, people who say, make $200,000, maybe working their whole life. they're the ones who are going to get hit with the obama taxes and really, i mean, you look at that and you think a normal human being with, you know, would be ashamed of that lack of intellectual honesty, should be. >> it's fascinating economic dri that costco is borrowing the money to pay this dividend. now, usually when companies pay dividends, it's out of earnings, right? >> yes, retained earnings, in this case, they're borrowing, taking on more

joe biden shopping at costco last week. did some holiday shopping, and posts pictures with jim senegal and warren buffett's right hnd man and bill gates' dad on the board, too, and receive early dividends and ay less tabs. several reports say the demand for microsoft's surface tablet is so weak that they cut the orders from the asian manufacturer in half. i own microsoft stock. lauren, where is it now? >> 1% and stuart, i feel bad for you, microsoft was the second worst performer in the dow jones for the month of november and needs all of the gains today. and you know, if you've ever walked past time square, i know it's kind of right by where we work. that surface pop-up store from microsoft is always jam packed, i guess it's in a busy area and it's surprising to see they're cutting back on orders. stuart: next time i go in there if i do. i'll press for an early dividend payout of microsoft's 50 billion dollars in cash so some of us can benefit before the end of the year, but i'm not holding my breath on that. all right, la

he's on the costco board.x rate on the dividend which will be paid this year because of what is going on at costco. it's flat out hypocrisy. basically these people are saying, hey, you pay the higher tax rate. you're rich. you pay. but we are no. we will manipulate. we will avoid this. we'll pay a less tax now to avoid the obama tax the rich tax next year. that is flat out hypocrisy, in my opinion. >> gretchen: i love stuart varney, emon a monday morning because he wakes me up with his analysis. >> hypocrisy will get you any time of day. >> gretchen: i gather you'll be talk being this on varney and company. it's 9:20 a.m. over an fbn. >> thanks. >> gretchen: i'll look forward to see you. coming up, the new plan to push american students ahead, longer school days. is that a good idea? should we keep our kids in school longer? then he's got one of the most popular shows on tv and one of the coolest jobs ever. the red neck rocket scientist blowing things up here, next hour. oh, my goodness, i think that's what's

hagman will be playing a costco worker handing out free samples. i had seen promotions for the show. i always feel, would i know if something were going phone a celebrity were serving me at costco. >> i see that, and i think, no, they can't be. >> it should be fun to watch. >>> and this comes to us from wdiv in detroit, michigan. nearby browns township, a good samaritan risks his life to save a stranded dog. the brave man leaps into action when he sees the dog stuck in lake erie. his rescue floundered when he was not able to rescue the dog. thank goodness rescuers were able to get a boat and get to the dog and the human. >> especially when a human is sitting in the frigid cold water to save the dog. >> i'm mara schiavocampo and this is "early today." just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. >> you're watching wbal-tv 11. live, local, late-breaking. this is 11 news today at 5:00 a.m. >> the wind is calming down as high pressure builds into the area. we are watching our next approaching storm system. that is going to be moving back

will costco get the apple tv? that's where i buy my tvs. >> but again, i think the key is that will they, can they reach some sort of agreement with the cable operators? >> you've got the bead on it. >> advice on how to handle your portfolio. more words of wisdom next in the "mad dash." meet the ceo of instagram at the center of it all. how we're setting up. we've been levitating higher in the market. there is no mass-produced human. every human being is unique. and there is one store that recognizes it. the sleep number store. the only place in the world you'll find the extraordinarily comfortable sleep number experience. an exclusive collection of innovations that totally individualize your sleep. perfectly comfortable pillows that adjust to your size and shape. temperature-balancing bedding. dual warmth comforters. all designed around the sleep number bed: a bed with dual-air technology that allows you to adjust to the support your body needs. each of your bodies. in the name of human individuality: the sleep n

for costco, here is the map. they were pay $7 per share to shareholders. company is going to borrow money to do that. look, dividends are typically taken out of earnings. i fully support executives offering to take dividends early, but the idea of shared sacrifice -- well, that's disingenuous at best. he will make 4 million more than he would have had he waited for the tax change. a plan being considered by congress, coming up next. gerri: objects, one of the gerri: investors are bracing themselves for three tax hikes. in particular, the top rate on long-term capital gains, set to skyrocket from 15% to as high as 44% from january 1. that includes a 3.8% tax for obamacare. taxes go on and on. so what are advisors telling their clients? the answer is maybe not so much. rick adelman joins me now. this is a letter you wrote your clients. when i thought was interesting about it is that you don't get a ton of direct advice here. at th end of the day come you don't know what's going to happen. >> that's right, i'm an advisor who can devise because we don't know w

costco.eman and carnival, also moody's saying look it, we're giving you a credit negative warning. you're borrowing money to pay out these special dividends. melissa: crazy. >> sounds like a great idea because of tax hikes are coming on dividends. the issue, a lot of companies have insiders who own a lot of shares in the company. look at costco. the ceo there is saving about, i think billion $4 million. he will get $14 million personally in dividends, accelerated into this year in advance of the gas hike. the issue with this gentleman, he has been out there, saying americans have to pay their fair share. all about tax fairness. banging the drum about that. board members are banging the drum. charlie monger is on the board of costco saying i'm for a vat. bill gates's father is for raising estate taxes. the father sits on the board of costco. the thing is, 1% shouldn't be clamoring about tax hikes when they're getting special dividends accelerated into this year. melissa: they're gaming it. >>

cash horde they have been sitting on and it thought to be a good thing they get it on system, but costco borrowed money to pay out dividends this year, before taxing go up next year, a lot of these people, as you mentioned supporters of the democratic party, saying that rich need it pay more, well, they borrow money instituture to pay today's -- in the future to pay today's taxes. neil: they will pay more anyway, i understand to take from peter that was planned for paul now. and everyone is going to get screwed. >> the debt will be for next year. neil: understood. >> they get cash, they can charge the cash. neil: but for investors, it is a zero sum game, you will pay more in dividend taxes. taxes. >> everyone is paying more. and that is, i just got off phone, i have been talking with a private wealth manager, his phone has been ringing off the hook. neil: you can talk to private wealth managers. >> i have access. neil: dave and i talk with the dell i gudeli guy down the bloc. >> it was fascinating, he says they are trim do you thin trimmr stock perspectives, taking them out of commodity.

it is also alde and also costco. melissa: they are more expensive.rb the cost or pass it onto the consumer. i was saying if you want people to not use -- >> that is not right. melissa: it is absolutely right. margins for a business that is very cheap. if a costco -- >> did you look at study i sent you. melissa: hang on. yes i did. if cost goes up you have to absorb the cost or pass it on to consumers. monedoesn't come out of thin air. >> first of all the study i sent you we're getting municipalities in california where their costs have not gone up in the stores where they put these in. that is fallacy. melissa: that is impossible. it costs more money. it costs more money to make a paper bag. so the money doesn't come out of thin air. let me ask you this too you talked about composeable, i hope i'm saying that right, bags. >> yeah. melissa: they only work i you have a place to do compost. and not everyone has that. how will you dealwith that problem? that is another cost. >> anything that can compost, whether paper orwhat not has to be compostable. th

for costco, here is the map. they were pay $7 per share to shareholders. company is going to borrow money to do that. look, dividends are typically ken out of earnings. i fully support executives offering to take dividends early, but the idea of shaed sacrifice -- well, that's disingenuous at best. he will make 4 million more than he would have had he waited for the tax change. a plan being considered by a plan being considered by congress, coming up next.c, afc offensive lineman, defensive tackles, quarterbacks and cornerbacks are all working with united way. for a million little reasons. the kids of our communities. to ensure their academic success, all the way to graduation day. it takes about 12 years to create a graduate. it takes the same time to create a dropout. and the difference between a kid becoming one or the other could be professional athlete. or it could be you. studies show, the earlier we get to kids, the better their chances. so become a united way volunteer reader, tutor or mentor. make a difference in the life of a child. for the life

is it true you ate costco food as to not draw any attention?help you lose one more by blocking some of the fat you eat. simple. effective. belt-friendly. let's fight fat with alli. have a healthier holiday at letsfightholidayfat.com. get $100 off any 4g lte tablet when you buy any smartphone. and get a tablet data plan starting at just $10/mo. no sharing required. hurry into a sprint store or visit sprint.com/tabletoffer today. >>> on sunday morning may 1st of last year at 11:00 a.m., members of national security team started arriving in the situation room for what they knew would be a long haul. the navy s.e.a.lau mistake would mean scrubbing the mission. so nothing, including the provisions for the situation room, was left to chance. is it true you ate costco food to not draw any attention and multiple were contacted to prevent any one large order to draw attention to the gathering? mr. mcdone noug can you confirm the food details. >> i can confirm that we did eat costco that night and throughout the day. >> did you classify that? >> we did n

. >>> mitt romney was spotted on a costco shopping spree.ght, romney ended up buying 14 costcos. >> that is good. fleet wood mac is band being a the rumors are flying. the band is heading back on tour with two new songs, but stevie nix says fans really just want to hear all the classics. the big tour kicks off with a 34 city north american tour in columbus, ohio on april 4th. my hometown. thought i'd throw that in there. no one cares. frankie muniz shocked his twitter followers when he revealed he was recovering from a mini voestroke. the 27-year-old wrote i have to start taking care of my body. that and playing the people's princess was, quote, the hardest thing i've ever done. wats went on to say the film focuses with her love affair with a surgeon. and finally, forbes has released its list of hollywood's most overpaid actors. top the spot went to eddie murphy who has had a string of recent flops. forbes estimated every dollar murphy was paid for his last three films, he returned $2.30 at the box office. number two, cath lynn katherine hei

for costco, here is the map. they were pay $7 per share to shareholders.pany is going to borrow money to do that. look, dividends are typically taken out of earnings. i fully support executives offering to take dividends early, but the idea of shared sacrifice -- well, that's disingenuous at best. he will make 4 million more than he would have had he waited for the tax change. a plan being considered by a plan being considered by congress, coming up next. look, if you have copd like me, you know it can be hard to breathe, and how that feels. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms by keeping my airways open for 24 hours. plus, it redes copd flare-ups. spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that does both. spiriva handihaler tiotropium bromide inhalation powder does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. tell your doctor if u have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. these may worsen with spiriva. discuss all medicines you take, even ey

look at costco, for instance, announcing a one-time $7 per share dividend. the stock hit new high, even borrowing the money to pay these shareholders. >> well, you have to ask yourself if costco is still more of a growth company. they pay 27.5 cents per share each quarter per dividend. this $7 dividend is six plus years of them making dividend payments and they have to access the capital markets to create this special cash dividend. they could have maybe done over things. maybe they didn't have to increase their debt position on the balance sheet. there are other things they could have done such as maybe investing in key areas with growth within the group that they're-- . >> tom: money is about a lot of things and it is about choice, certainly. you make that point here. there is lot ofs speculation about how apple may choose to use its $30 billion in cash in short-term investment it already pays a dividend. could it go the route of auricle and speed up dividend payment or another special dividend, what do you think? >> i think what is interesting with oracle

costco downgraded by fitch. brown foreman was slapped around by s&p with a downgrade.it with a credit negative rating from moody's so on and on and on. here's the deal. we're seeing 173 companies issuing dividends. this is and indicator taxes could be go up. 2 1/2 times the rate we saw of companies issuing special dividends in 2010 when bush rates were threatened to be revoked back then including dividends. interesting part of the story executives who championed fair share, americans should sacrifice like the cofounder of costco, jim senegal is getting a special dividend and saving $4 million in taxes along with the rest of the board. the board overall is saving eight million bucks on early $29 million payout. the 1%, corporate insiders who see the cash on the balance sheet, see the tax hikes coming are saying you know what? give me the special dividend now so we don't have to pay increased tax. >> costco hitting a all-time, 52-week high today. >> that's right. sandra: thanks very much, liz macdonald. david: today is the anniversary of the first text. find out just how

costco sells product to consumers that are reasonably affluent.nel will be auk sayssu when they try to go up against name brands. >> they may be conscious about buying 4,000 rolls of -- >> and you cannot go out without ten tubs of mayonnaise. >> can't go without mayonnaise. >> wall street squarely focused on the fiscal cliff but is main street ignoring it? jane wells at a mall in canoga pa park, california. hi, jane. >> tyler, this fiscal cliff is as ugly as this sweater. we're making a noise about it. but do consumers know what it is and is it impacting their shopping? we are live after the break. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 gives me tools that help me find opportunities more easily. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 i can even access it from the cloud and trade on any computer. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 and with schwab mobile, tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 i can focus on trading anyplace, anytime. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 until i choose to focus on something else. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 all this with no trade minimums. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 and only $8.95 a trade. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550

stuart: costco. >> some of the ceo's are torn, whether to pay it, not pay. jim sigler is his name-- jim senegal. >> a big obama supporter and his company sped up the dividend payout. stuart: and they borrowed the money, 3 1/2 billion dollars in order to make the $7 per share dividend payout. and somebody downgraded their debt because of that. >> oh, see, now the plot thickens, that doesn't sound good. stuart: it's called hipocracy, that's just mine coming out there. and and dead flat at the opening. the head of the cheesecake factory he says that obamacare will be very costly for small businesses. they will either have to pass the costs along to their customers or cheapen the product, heaven forbid and david overton, i'm quoting now, for those businesses that do not cover their employees, they will be in for a very expensive situation. the price of cheesecake factory up so far this year, down almost 3%, back to 33. the irs is about to release 159 pages of new tax rules, tax rules that will help pay for obamacare. they include, a 3.8% sur tax on investment in

i bought costco and bought it for -- i bought it with a kicker of the special dividend.ut i'm tired of riding this thing out because as dan said, usually when you see the special dividends play out, they get sold off, they sell them off and then they hit a bottom here and you could always buy it back. for me, i locked in my profit, i didn't wait for that quote unquote special dividend and now i'm still in the money, i made my money and i don't have to be a hoper. >> what's going to happen to the rest of the market? what's going to happen when they go x? >> whole foods is one that just has bad news. this is one i want to pick on again. >> yeah, but really quick, wynn did the same thing, bottomed out and back up. you can make some money there. i'm still holding that one. i'm holding that one. i bought that. >> different segment. >> sorry. i apologize. >> all right. well, we mentioned the flood of special dividends, costco is one of 163 companies issuing a special accelerated dividend, special or accelerated dividend. earlier today we asked you to tell us whether you're buy

>> companies like macy's have done very well, tjx, costco, wal-mart.t sells everything, feed the family, put the deal on the table and get gifts. michael kors was a winner this holiday season. there are definitely some winners out there. ashley: jcpenney tried to rebrand itself, is that working? >> the rebranding, it looks better. our studies indicate they may have lost some of their core customers and as a result of this. they are trying, they said they weren't going to do that, so they're trying a lot of different things to get the customer traffic and people back to the stars. ashley: joe feldman, thank you for sticking with us, managing director. thank you so much. chicago mayor rahman manual trying to privatize the midway airport. no success, but this time will be different? jeff flock live at midway airport with this story. jeff: it is funny. some guy wal walked up to me and said what are you doing, what is your story? to the top of the privatization of midway airport. another way for the city to lose money. the city just privatize the parking me

>> that is the thing to doo avoid taxes, you c use costco, outrageous, they were a big fan of democratict w need to share the prlem. but here, here is how we'll share the problem, we'll tak a special divend, before the end of the year, and avoid these taxes we' not going to pay our fair share. acally borrowed that money, a lotf companies had this cash horde they hav been sitting on and it thoughto b a good thing they get it on system, but costco borrowe mey to pay out dividends thi year, before taxing go up next year, lot of the peopl as you menoned supportersf the democratic party, saying at ricneed it pay re, well, they borrow y instituture to pay today's -- in the future to p today's taxes. neil: they will pay more anyway, i understand to take from peter that was planned for paul now. and veryon is going to get screwed. >> the debt will be for next year. neil: understood. >> they get cash, they can char the cash. neil: but fornvestors, it is a zero sum game, you will pay more in dividend taxes. taxes. >> everyone is paying more. and that i i just got off phe, i have been talkingith a

food storage, and then the second question is water bottles, say for instance i have a case of like costco water in my trunk that i just keep, is it the heat that's leeching stuff into the water or is the sun breaking down the plastic, what is getting leaked into the water, is it the bpa or other toxins? >> these are great questions and they're kind of the same answer in a way. heat and light can both make plastic break down, either alone or in connection, i lived for a long time in arizona that if you leave your water in the car, it's cooking and getting exposed to light, but either one of those can lead chemicals to leak into the plastic, with bpa, we know, for instance, that it's hundreds of times more is leaked in with high heat than with low heat, it's just the nature of plastics. but the chemicals in most food contacts like that and your water bottles are usually a number 1, the main chemical in most of those is usually relatively safe in the scheme of things, but then different companies will put different additives to give that plastic the property they want and so a study that cam

. >>> get this, earlier today mitt romney was spotted on a costco shopping spree. that's right.e ended up buying 14 costcos. ♪ [ male announcer ] jill and her mouth have lived a great life. but she has some dental issues she's not happy about. so i introduced jill to crest pro-health for life. selected for people over 50. pro-health for life is a toothpaste that defends against tender, inflamed gums, sensitivity and weak enamel. conditions people over 50 experience. crest pro-health for life. so jill can keep living the good life. crest. life opens up when you do. >>> have you joined the "politicsnation" on facebook yet? we hope you will. today everyone was talking about the diverse drem democratic house leadership and says this looks like the house i live in. karl says, and they wonder why they lost the election. we have more on this and what republicans should be learning. comi coming up, but, first, head over to "politicsnation" on facebook and "like" us to join the conversation that keeps going long after the show ends. so, i'm happy. sales go up... i'm happy. it went out to

costco and best buy until 5. target and toys "r" us until 10 p.m..if you think that you have that last minute luck, walgreens is open all day tomorrow. speaking of procrastinating, turns out we west coasters are the biggest in the nation. 79% of us are shopping at the last minute. >> i don't think that reflects well on us. >> i'm shock, shocked! >>> just ahead, why 49ers kicker acres is being targeted. >>> san francisco children in need,;ç drive underway now and how you can help. >>> a tragedy unfolding in upstate new york where four volunteer firefighters were shot responding to a house fire, two confirm firm dead. investigators still on the scene in webster, new york a suburb of rochester. the police chief says the shooter set a trap early this morning and when crews arrived to the house fire he shot them. >> the threat has been eliminated. the shooter is believed to be deceased at the scene. we have yet to identify who the shooter is but the threat has been eliminated. the neighborhood is safe at this time. >> investigators are trying to figure ou

you should have costco, target, walmart in there.ow let's go to another name that you say is a great u.s. play, on china stabilizing and growing. >> yes, and that's starbucks. starbucks a great american company. everybody needs a good cup of coffee. in china there is only one starbucks for every 1.9 inhabitants, can you believe that when we have one basically on every corner? [laughter] so there's tremendous opportunity there. you've got the tea growers in china, a lot of them are now switching to coffee because of starbucks, so that's a double play for you. liz: wait until they find out what a frappucino tastes like. >> oh, look out, china. liz: two pharma companies, what do you think are the big names here because we're all getting older, and we all need new medicine. >> we're going to be buying a lot of pfizer especially and bristol-myers. those are the two picks we have. pfizer is around 24, $25 a share, bristol-myers about 31. and they have in common a new blood-clotting drug, and everyone's very, very excited about that. bristo

earlier today, mitt romney was spotted on a costco shopping spree. that's right.ostcos. [ laughter ] amazing. [ cheers and applause ] >> steve: come on. he's -- >> jimmy: hey, ooh! listen to this, applebee's -- we all love applebee's, right? is that blooming onion? >> steve: no. >> jimmy: is that the blooming onion? >> steve: that's outback steakhouse. >> jimmy: i love outback. [ laughter ] what does applebee's have? >> steve: sandwiches. >> jimmy: hot wings? [ laughter ] >> steve: apples and bees. >> jimmy: apples and bees. that's not true. what does applebee's have? they have something, right? >> they have two for 20! >> jimmy: two for 20. [ laughter ] >> steve: two for 20. >> jimmy: slow down. i'm not treating you to applebee's. >> steve: all-american two for 20. >> jimmy: you know what? i'm going to get you after the show. i'm going to give you a gift certificate to applebee's. all right? yeah. [ cheers and applause ] i love applebee's. [ applause ] but anyway, it's two for 20, i will give you 20 bucks. [ laughter ] we'll split it. >> steve: i don't got any on

ann romney mentioned their trips to costco.lled two carts worth of goodies, paper plate -- vice president biden is a card carrying member. he went shopping at a new store in washington, d.c. >>> if the 2016 presidential election were held today, secretary of state hillary clinton would be a shoo-in. according to a new "washington post"/abc news poll 57% would support clinton to succeed president obama. 37% would not. ted nugent weighs in on the fiscal cliff fiasco something he said we drove off a long time ago. he writes in "the washington times" social security, medicaid and medicare spending needs to be slaughtered and let's stop the insanity of the right to vote of any american on welfare. once they get off well taer and are self-sustaining they get their right restored. no american on welfare should have the right to vote for tax increases on those americans working and paying taxes to support them. >>> and "the daily show's" jon stewart says maybe we should go off the fiscal cliff. >> back and forth of offers. it's pretty

watch out, costco cut by fitch, its credit rating downgraded. jack daniels and vodka, you know, allen hamilton in the third quarter, cairn vol, all borrowed to issue special dividends, and really interesting story is costco, the ceo has been out there saying americans have to pay their fair share and sacrifice. you know, a big supporter of the president. he's saving $4 million on the special dividends costco has advance of the tax hikes. the board saving about $8 million on a $29 million dividend they get early. this is the companies on the radar screen. not, you know, just for that, if you are out there saying, yes, america should pay the fair share, and you get an accelerated dividend, but the credit rating agency saying, wait a second, a hard look at this in terms of your credit rating. interesting stuff. we'll stay op top of the story. they are not aware of it. tracy: red flag should be waved. dennis: rates have never been lower to borrow, and i'd rather borrow, more return, and i give money to the shareholders, in favor of that, especially

>> in addition to costco and amazon, i like some of the late cycle discretionary plays especially when we see the housing market improve, names like william sonoma and home depot, names that did a great job investing in the supply change, a name like american eagle stands out in that regard. those are probably our top picks heading into 2013. >> jay, what would you avoid? >> anything that's a commoditized retailer. you'll get killed by amazon and other low-cost providers, names like best buy, barnes & noble, any of the office guys. i think most of those names are dead in the water right now and definitely names to avoid at this point. >> dana, any names we missed from you? >> i think you got the names. the key thing for 2013, we need the stability, and we need some decisive actions in order to get the consumer comfortable again. >> absolutely. dana, r.j., thanks so much for joining us. >> thank you. >> heading towards close. just joined us, the market was down sharply early on, and just in the last hour we got word that the house will come back to reconvene sunday evening. read into th

companies like costco for example with an economic tail wind. in other words, we all have less money so maybe we are shop awning a discounted basis. and a company like qualcomm. capitalize on what is happening with tablets and smart phones. >> what is your assumption about where capital gains tax rates will end up in 2013 and dividend tax rates and what are you doing between now and year end to take advantage of that presumed gap? >> our assumption is capital gains rates will go up. they probably will go up 5%. >> to 20%? >> correct. here is what happened is the market sold off dividend stocks on the assumption that will happen. so you sell off dividend stocks then you buy what? ten-year treasuries at 1.5%. buy money market at .01 percent? >> right. it doesn't make sense. >> what you have to do is position your strategy, not just for what is happening on the short term from the cliff standpoint but you look from a global basis what is happening. china is starting it recover. >> are you going to back the 15% rate or not? >> depends on the client.

. >> the big one there, scott, is costco. last week when costco made the announcement, it was up 5%, almost 7% on the news. oracle moves their dividends up and the stock is flat to down on the day. coach announces a special dividend. they are down. i think the market is pricing in. it's been so overtalked about. i think the market is pricing this in a lot and special dividends will not have the same impact they had. >> good point, tok. what do you think about that? once the luster of these dividends wears off, so to speak, what happens to some of these companies? are you watching some more than others, one specifically over the rest? >> well, sure i am, scott. i still think that google and 0/or microsoft could declare a dividend bigger than all declared so far because, as you said, it's about $22 billion. both of them could easily do it that if they wanted to. but i go back to what murphy was talking about as far as going forward, a lot of the demand when you did that cash for clunkers, that pulled demand forward, demand that

costco and best buy until 5. target and toys "r" us until 10 p.m..if you think that you have that last minute luck, walgreens is open all day tomorrow. speaking of procrastinating, turns out we west coasters are the biggest in the nation. 79% of us are shopping at the last minute. >> i don't think that reflects well on us. >> i'm shock, shocked! >>> just ahead, why 49ers kicker acres is being targeted. >>> san francisco children in need,;ç drive underway now and how you [ female announcer ] this is a special message from at&t. [ male announcer ] it's no secret that the price of things just keeps going up. [ female announcer ] but we have some good news. it's our bundle price promise. [ male announcer ] a price you can definitely count on, for two whole years. from at&t. [ female announcer ] a great price for a great triple-play bundle. [ male announcer ] call now. bundles with u-verse tv, internet and home phone start at $89 a month. now get the same great price for two years. [ female announcer ] switch today and get a total home dvr included, free