darden now claims that their actions were misinterpreted. but this isn't the first time the company has tried to shortchange its workers. a restaurant workers organization found that darden pays as little as $2.13 an hour. by the way, that is the federal subminimum wage for tipped employees. that number hasn't changed since 1991. and darden has lobbied against minimum wage increases over the years. in the meantime, the ceo pay has increased 23% per year on average since 2005 to $8.5 million in 2011. 539 times the average annual compensation of restaurant workers. in other words, darden could have its very own vulture chart. we might have to make that one up. i don't know about you, but a never-ending pasta bowl isn't worth supporting a selfish, low-wage, low-benefit company. >>> tonight in our survey, i asked you do republicans want the country to go over the fiscal cliff? 95% of you say yes. 5% of you say no. >>> coming up, while congress heads home for the holidays, millions of americans are wondering hey, what is going to happen to me? my

>> well, look, i've got to tell you, darden -- the only people i know didn't like darden were the guysm the deadliest catch. darden doesn't give them enough for their crabs. and i've got to tell you, isn't that interesting? they get the stuff cheaply. i happen to love red lobster, love going to olive garden, long horn steak house is a favorite of our staff. capital grill, i was there last monday. these literally are the best brand names. the question, sir, is why isn't the company doing better? i think management's the issue. i'm disappointed in the way the company's been delivering, their ads have been missing, numbers going down. if it weren't for the dividend, the stock would be lower and i even question the dividend. i don't like darden on a bounce. exit. bob in connecticut, please, bob? >> caller: yes, jim. first of all, let me say boo-yah from connecticut. and, you know, a few months ago i bought a keurig coffee machine. i was so impressed, i bought the stock, which was green mountain, i paid $57 for it. my question to you is, since it's gone down so much, started to come back up

at darden, income fell by 37%. last month darden, which runs olive garden and red lobster, faced pushback after its ceo said it would hire more part- time employees due to the expense of health care reform. superstorm sandy and failed promotions also hurt profits. meanwhile, at publisher scholastic, profits are down 25% after disappointing sales of the book turned movie "the hunger games." the company said it will freeze hiring as part of an overall effort to save 20 to 30 million dollars. a picture perfect problem for popular instagram. the photo sharing tool recently revealed a change in its privacy policy allowing it to use the public's photos for financial gain in ads. kardashian is among a slew of celebrities who say they will drop the service if instagram doesn't change that policy stat. a new bump in the road for toyota. two different 2013 models, the flagship camry sedan and the prius v wagon, failed an important crash test adminstered by the insurance institute for highway safety. it's one more setback for

. >>> darden restaurants is backing away from its plans to limit health care costs. darden who owns olive garden and remember lobster was planning to bump full-time workers down to part-time status to avoid costs associated with president obama's health care law, citing a publicity backlash and a down graded profit outlook. darden announced that none of its full time employees will have their hours cut as a result of the new regulations. >>> well, believe it or not you'll be seeing more starbucks cafes popping up. the coffee chain is planning to add 1,500 locations in the next five years. more are planned for canada and south america as well. >>> and having the most watched youtube video in u.s. history sure can pay the bills. south korean pop star psi is set to make at least get this $8.1 million this year off of his hit song "gangnam style." that just is from the ads on his youtube video and sales of the song on itunes. terrell, we've got to get some itune singing/dancing thing going on. >> you sing i'll dance. >> i'll dance, you sing. >> you daenlt want me to danc

jamie, what do you think about that. >> darden has great brands. it's a great company with great people. in the restaurant business you have to be resilient. we're all dealing with uncertainty. we thought it would be resolved by the election. we found out there is lot waiting to understand. fiscal cliff and everything else we're trying to face. so i think it is important we all continue to advocate we share what issues matter to our people and that we're part of that. melissa: but, jim, you know, he got punished for speaking out and he is still facing a really tough economic climate. it seems you can't win for losing. should you just keep your mouth shut at this point? >> no, i don't ever think that it's wise to keep your mouth shut because i think truth is a defense and it's unfortunate if in fact the case he has been punished either by the consumer or investors for that matter for speaking out personally or politically but here's the reality of the battlefield. noing's changed post-election. as opposed to pre-election. the uncertainty of the tax

darden restaurants, owners of course of the olive garden chain. i was wrong, maybe charles payne was right. darden says it will hold off on cutting employee hours to save on obamacare costs. charles said they were doing it under pressure from the media. i said that i didn't agree with that, but nicole, the stock is-- >> the stock is lower. it's slightly lower this morning, but as you noted, they did a test in october to see whether or not putting some workers on pardon time status. this is a test to try to limit the costs they would face with the new u.s. health care law. based on this test they decided not to change any of their full-time staffing plans for 2014. stocks are slightly lower, don't forget they had terrible numbers, too. >> but they say it was based on their tests. >> right. stuart: some people say they're backing off because they got bad publicity when they started talking about putting people on part-time work instead of full-time because of obamacare. >> you know what? some people would say that, stuart. stuart: charles said that,

darden restaurants down sharply after cutting profit fx for the year.iled promotions generated by its tests to limit health care costs for workers. to the road map this morning. president obama meeting with governors from around the country on capitol hill right now to discuss how to keep the economy growing. we'll talk to two former governors. jim gilmore of havevirginia, gr davis of california, about the states and what they need from the government and how states might be affected by the fiscal cliff. plus, gamestop revamping its shopping strategy. the new game plan and what it will mean for the bottom line. then a special dividend parade on wall street. while they're good for shareholders, those dividends might be even benter for company executives. just how much ceos are set to collect thanks to those divs. and ink magazine has named its top company of 2012. how the business rocked its way to the top. but we'll start in washington. the president meeting with six governors around the country to discuss the fiscal cliff. our be john harwood is live t

darden, obamacare later in the hour.aking news from citigroup, too, it's cutting 11,000 jobs, it calls it part of its repositioning. it says it will save a billion dollars a year and the stock is going to be up at the opening bell. hope for the best, but plan for the worst. that's what companies are doing. more than 200 of them are getting ready for the expected dividend tax like next year by paying dividends now. we'll talk about it, call it the tax dodge. talk about it after the opening bell next. [ male announcer ] this is steve. he loves risk. but whether he's climbing everest, scuba diving the great barrier reef with sharks, or jumping into the marke he goes with people he trusts, which is why he trades with a company that doesn't nickel and dime him with hidden fees. so he can worry about other things, like what the market is doing and being ready, no matter what happens, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense, from td ameritrade. [ engine revs ] ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] the mercedes-benz winter event is

i want to start with news from clarence otis, ceo of darden restaurants. obviously he came out of and said the forecast for his company going forward is looking very bleak. the negative media coverage focused on darden and how they might accommodate health care reform. he said they would have to go ahead and use many more part-time workers because obamacare was simply too expensive. there was a big backlash against that. so he is going to have to go ahead and, as a result, they are going to keep full-time workers on. they're stuck with the cost of obamacare. he also said, they're having a tough time, people aren't coming into the restaurants because the economy is bad. so in my mind he spoke out. he got punished for it. at the same time the economy is terrible. he is really struggling. at the end of the day he will not hire more people. this is sort of the position a lot of business owners are in. jamie, what do you think about that? >> well, you know, darden has great brands. it is a great company with great people. in the restaurant business you have to

they want service treated right and darden's anti-health care crab fest hurt the bottom line. the company's ceo lowered expectation next year based, in part, on the recent media coverage that focused on darden and how we might accommodate health care reform. fallen revenues linked to the rhetoric. it now says no current workers will lose full-time status and in 2014, hourly employees will be able to get the same insurance as executives. the tide is turning on the health care law. 49% of the country want to keep or expand the law while only 33% support repeal. that's the lowest support for repeal since the law was passed in march of 2010. did red lobster think that they could deny that this is the claw of the land? nice try, but we've got you. [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus presents the cold truth. i have a cold... i took dayquil, but i still have a runny nose. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil doesn't work on runny noses. what? [ male announcer ] it doesn't have an antihistamine. really? [ male announcer ] really. alka-seltzer plus cold and cough fights your worst col

charles: we are looking at this darden chart right now. the pickings are very slim.tainly, it was important enough. one of the few black fortune 500 companies out there. he has to make these movements3 of the economic survival and the bottom line. the greater picture out there is that there should be a limit to what companies can make and beyond that it is a notion of greed. if you go past that limit, we will not support you. this is just the very beginning. it will be serious. lori: more evidence to add to the discussion of how big of a role government should be flying and businesses. charles: it is the arbitrary of what is greed. what is enough? they have a say in it and it will get louder and louder and louder. melissa: what is greed for clock what is enough? insane. as we do every 15 minutes, let's check the markets. nicole petallides. nicole: we will focus on one that has gained in popularity. we have watched gold, the commodity itself, pulling back recently. it is down over $26 at 60.93. you have seen, lately, a net of $1.6 billion added into the etf since earl

darden shares were down 10% yesterday. the founder of software company autonomy is on the defense.his week, autonomy founder mike lynch launched a website addressing allegations of accounting fraud by hewlett- packard. hewllet recently accused autonomy executives of inflating revenues prior to hp aqcuring the company last year. a statement on the website reads "the former management team of autonomy strongly rejects the accusations made by h-p." general motors is putting the brakes on the production of some cars and trucks. according to the wall street journal, the automaker has an overload of unsold cars and trucks. over the holidays, gm plans a 3-week shutdown at its lordstown, ohio, plant, where the chevy cruze is built. shutdowns may happen at another factory as well. meanwhile, ford is increasing production by 11% next year. disney fans will soon have new choices to add to their netflix queue. disney plans to sell the rights to some of its new movies to netflix. starting next year, netflix users will be able to watch disney releases at home shortly after the movies hit theater

after what it calls "negative media coverage," darden has reversed course and says it will not do so. it's not just santa working around the clock in the days before christmas. now, so are macy's employees. the nation's largest department store chain has announced that most of its stores will remain open for 48 hours straight the weekend before christmas. a note to procrastinators: after closing at midnight on december 23rd, some stores will be open on christmas eve until 6pm. the hardcore push by retailers to get holiday shoppers in the door won't be going away anytime soon. the latest data shows thanksiving was a bigger shopping day than black friday. according to a new reuters poll, 30% of respondents said they shopped on thanksgiving, compared to 29% who said they shopped on black friday. while not a significant difference, it does point to changing attitudes about holiday shopping. still to come, friday fun with traders unplugged. this time around, traders tell you if oracle is a buy. and will this week's bonus round question be a piece of cake? but first, are unions the answer f

thus began darden restaurants in trying to dodge obama care. the schemes are kind of unpopular in america. this week the company to lower its earning estimate for next year in part because of the bad press they got for health reform shenanigans. people aren't going for dinner special. 2 for $25 olive garden dinners are not a good enough deal in post-recession america. today was the end of the line in health reform dodging. their test in using fewer employees, providing them with health insurance, it was a fail. according to the ap's reporting it received a flood of feedback from customers. both employee and customers. turns out everyone is happier when you have healthy full time workers who are not sneezing on your food. the story of the restaurants is a funny story. there is a reason that employers give them health insurance. it is because they need them to be happy and to be healthy and they need people to want to work there. one of the big policy arguments is that once it is fully implemented they will drop the coverage and pay the fine. but

heard about a weakened consumers today from not only than darden. a particular favorite to the "mad money" stf. stock pummeled and finished down. a stable operation. it yields an astounding 4.22%. scoop it up. but, may not be the protection. it doubles the tax on dividends. can't be in there saying -- darden. one of the biggest retail juggernauts. the gap. sales have become sloppy to surrender $3.57 or 10%. although that doesn't spell the death of retailers, we go off the charts tonight. sectors are really doing -- how are they doing? we just witnessed -- relentless pressure in the oil sector. the department doesn't believe going over the cliff will stifle energy command. today is the first day when the group got any lift at all. so what do we do? people are worried the economy is slowing because of the cliff. so what do we do? is it game over for equities should i take my -- hall of fame today and just go home? no, no, no. let me first say absolutely not. we simply have to get eveninger to a cliff resolution or to a situation where no one expects r

mandy, along the consumer lines, did you see what darden restaurant also to say, quite surprise, they are very good at managing their company and they came out, said they were disappointed by the recent promotions they had seen and were basically down. >> how dare you question the power of the american consumer. thank you very much. >>> the market does remain laser focused on the fiscal cliff, with just 27 days to go and less for the official congressional session. president obama and john boehner making comments on the issue a short time ago and according to our deal meter, there it is, still only a quarter of the way there. we have got all sides of this story covered. john harwood live at the white house. eamon javers on capitol hill and the president's comments. >> the president gave an interview to our colleagues at bloomberg and said a couple of things. first of all, his priorities now trying to break republicans in their resistance to raising the top rate by some amount, a stance republicans have been consistent on. more revenue, question, not higher rates, he is insisting on th

darden is added to that list.e reasons the company cited was coming cost of health care reform through the affordable health care act. darden is one that has complained the new health care law will hurt their razor thin margins because it requires companies to offer basic health insurance for full time employees or you could pay a fine. >> there are two stories parents will love this morning, about entertaining their kids, netflix and amazon with new deals. >> there's a new sheriff in town and it's netflix as you said. the company acquired the rights to disney movies starting in 2016. this is really significant because it's an outright blow to stars which previously held the rights to the disney movie collection and other pay channels that have shown movies first when they're out of the theaters. netflix's chief content officer called this a bold leave forward for television. it was good for a 12% bump in the stock yesterday. >> jackie good to see you, thank you. >>> the life of a hollywood movie star, learn your

darden gives us results. it's on thursday. the bar's been set very low here. but not lower than the company itself. and as far as i'm concerned, maybe it's time to think about a new transitional management team at darden if they fail to get it together soon. almost every other restaurant chain in this period has been having a good run, while the parent of olive garden and red lobster has been endlessly disappointing. and the recent preannouncement tells me not to expect any imminent changes. amazingly bad same-store sales. periodic blip up, sucks people in, and then more bad same-store sales. a couple more disappointments and people will start worrying about that bountiful dividend which currently gives you a 3.4% yield. that will be the ultimate red flag. we also get results from discover financial. the credit card company's been the cheapest of the big three. mastercard. my charitable trust owns nap and visa. discover's been consistently beating expectations of late, which is why it is up 65% for the year. all that said, believe it or not, the stock might ha

olive garden and red lobster owner darden restaurants fell 9.6% after warning earnings will be disappointing, thanks to sales declines. as the competition for top films has increased between online streaming providers, netflix will get exclusive pay-tv access for first-run disney movies, beginning with 2016 releases. it is a three-year deal that puts netflix in direct competition with traditional cable channel's like time warner's hbo, cbs' showtime, and the starz channels owned by liberty media. netflix boosts its content offerings with disney films online at netflix seven to nine months after they're in theaters. as for disney, there's speculation this could be the start of a bigger deal. >> tom: while there was no price tag on what the disney movies will cost netflix, netflix stock shot up on the deal, jumping 14 points to an eight-month high. the deal did not move disney shares, though. they were up just one penny. the news wasn't so optimistic for another new media company, online radio operator pandora. after the close, pandora reported it earned a nickel per share in the latest quarte

meanwhile darden is blaming a lackluster quarter on poor promotions and backlash over its stance against obamacare. the federal administration aviation is requiring boeing 787 have their fuel line connectors inspected over possible fuel leaks or fire. >>> john mcafee has turned up in guatemala city seeking political asylum. he's wanted as a person of interest about the murder of a fellow american. back on the street, keep an eye on pandora. it plunged 23% after the bell. and does it sometimes feel like you spend your whole life on line? according to a report, the united states spends 121 billion minutes on social media sites. this was just in july. that is more than 230,000 years. as you can imagine, it's facebook, twitter, linked in and pinterest that were among the biggest. >>> bob costas talked about the firestorm over his comments following the murder-suicide by jovan belcher. >> what i was talking about here, and i'm sorry if that wasn't clear to everybody, was a gun culture. i never mentioned the second amendment. i never used the words gun control. people inferred that. now, do i

we heard about a weakening consumer today from the owner of darden. which happens to be part of the "mad money" staff. finished down 8.9%. it yields 42%. but, that yield might not be the protection it used to be. that more than doubles the tax on dividends. we saw one of the biggest retail jugger nauts, the gap. sales have become sloppy to surrender $3.57 or 10%. although that doesn't spell the death of retailers, we go off the charts tonight. and we witnessed downward pressure in the oil sector. today is the first day when the group got any lift at all. so what do we do? is it game over for equities should i go home? no, no, no. let me first say absolutely not. we have to get either to a cliff resolution, or so the situation where no one expects the resolution. going with the latter, hey, that is new. let me walk you through here. today last week. if you recall, we heard from a host of executives. they felt like compromise was in the air. it was real and eminent. we heard from the ceo of goldman sachs. it could be hammered out without real difficulty

shares of darden restaurants, they're down today and they're the company that runs olive garden, red, and they're down a lot. why is that, nicole? >> this is not good news here, they did a ton of promotions and now they're saying the promotions didn't work and in turn they're expecting numbers for the earnings season that will be below the analyst expectations and they're expecting sales at the olive garden to be down 3.2%. and at red lobster, 2.7% so sales are weakening, the earnings per share below what they anticipated and so, now, the ceo, so interesting, we need to come up with a new plan and we are going to work on different promotion because the current quarter is disappointing. do you think? >> well, nicole, hold on a second. the promotions i'm not sure which restaurant chain did it, but they promoted 2 for 20. two people-- oh, that was applebee's apparently. >> all right. stuart: my chains-- >> and let me ask you a question, general petraeus and broadwell, do you think they were texting? i know they actually set up a g-mail account and write notes to each other in the draft

on thursday the company issued this statement "none of darden's current full-time employees, hourly orull-time status changed as a result of health care reform." >> if you're planning to follow up that saturday night dinner with a movie, perhaps. netflix is back in the news and the issue is raising a very interesting subject. here's the background reed hastings posted a comment on his facebook page. netflix customers were viewing more than 1 billion hours a month. >> the company never issued a press release nor did they tell security and the security and exchange commission. so, therein lies the problem. they have to make public announcements when it is considered material to shareholders. they notified facy eied ceo for information on his facebook page. >> what about when you go out for dinner and a movie and you want to put on cologne and some perfume, this one got our attention. if you love the smell of a pizza box being opened, that fresh pizza dough. >> the pizza dough smell. >> i love it. well, this is the scent for you. it's, in fact, pizza hut is making this. it's not the first

when you see same-store sales up in mcdonald and darden decreasing, i think investors are buying down on food. you look at the average ticket is below 10 bucks, people have to eat. in europe, it got weak and sa same-store sales weak a come dot feature and if they get an increasing dividend, that's an attractive option going forward. >> i'm curious about intel and all the prognostications about the death of the pc. and even in tech land, why intel? >> it's trading nine times earnings, seeking $12.5 billion in capital expenditures every year. has a newnan nometer chip and the only problem it doesn't have association with apple. you look at samsung's price increases with apple, if they find a way to associate with apple, positive. margin ways, specifically india and china. you have large dividend yield, low debt, very cheap and will hold up better because expectations, there's not many of them. the stock is, i think, a very good opportunity because expectations are so low. >> mack, good to see you. >>> time now for what you might have missed in pops and drops. arcos dorados. >> it's play

. >> drop for darden. >> if you miss sales your stock gets hammered.is a big theme. >> drop for gap down 10%. >> their comps the last month weren't great. that is sahuge move for this. that is a monster move for a stock that has been a monster this year. i am inclined to buy at some point tomorrow. another day of selloff. >> drop for diana shipping down 1%. >> got problems in the shipping business. we are building huge new ships that carry 18,000 teus and we are wrecking the ships that carry 5,000 and 6,000. we are destroying three and four ships and bringing on one. a lot of supply. >> big pop for big lots. >> this after better than expected earnings in the form of a smaller than expected loss which is what the street was looking for and this after a couple of consecutive bad earnings results and also the ceo announced that he will be retiring. the stock does look cheap but i think they have real problems. >> and we get a pop for love. playboy magnet hefnerer is proving love knows no age. they are engaged to be married for the second time. last year h

papa john's and darden restaurants which operates olive garden and lobster. misdirected. ought tlor of the revenge of brand x. how to build a big-time brand on the web or anywhere else. rob, thanks for joining us. why is it these brand are taking a hit right now? what is it about the message that the ceos put out that the public doesn't like? >> well, first of all, it's great to meet you, gerri. gerri: thanks for coming on. we appreciate it. >> yes. first of all you've got to realize this is comedy of errors. it is a confluence of branding mistakes and i must tell you that overall, what this really is a lack of brand strategy on all the brands you mentioned. they are actually incredibly inept at handling their own brands. gerri: well, if so, what do you think the ceo's did wrong? >> well, it is really interesting. we have a joke how do you know the agency is, you know, in danger of losing an account? that is they put the ceo in the commercials. that is guarrnteed to keep it for a year. they're terrible. gerri: chief executives that they actually spoke out, am

with everyone from mcdonald's and darden, cracker barrel and chipotle disappointing the street, only panera has remained strong. my takeaway please don't draw conclusion that china's back sliding. we have way too much evidence to the contrary. just conclude that something's awry right now in china for yum, for the colonel. and just specific to him. and that not too long from now chairman ceo david novak will fix it so ultimately there will be better times ahead for yum. stay with cramer. >>> stay connected to cramer on madmoney.cnbc.com. >>> make sure to catch me this weekend on "meet the press" with david gregory,

thing out of their statement was that the ceo came out and said he is worried about the backlash from dardenvisible and cutting back their full-time workers less than 30 hours week so they don't have to pay for obama carism would say that is very, very interesting. watch for other companies to do it. otherwise the cost goes up for these food restaurant chains. >> a pop for puppies. many college students are looking for twice ease stress during final exams. one canadian university has gone to the dogs. starting today, dalhousie university in halifax, nova scotia, is throwing students a bone by providing a puppy room where students can destress among four-legged friends. although the idea may seem barking mad, organizers promise that simply pekt the dogs will help relieve anxiety. >> we need one for the "fast money" guys, petting, with dogs. >> move on. >> no comment. >> let's go somewhere else. >> seem marks help us. >> i'm here, guys have no fear. here's what's coming up next on the cnbc "fast money" show at 5 p.m. eastern. she was the most closely watched analyst at the height of the 1990s

whether it be the dardens of the world. a lot of consumer sentiment stuff.e is the one i'm worried about. china, i'm worried about inventory there, slowing north american running shoes. footlocker positive today. nike is one of those stocks, carl, that rips people -- we talk about apple all the time. people like to talk nike. >> not to mention these tax issues in oregon. >> 40-year deal they're looking for. >> we'll see you tonight. >> okay, buddy. >> discovery communications striking an overseas tv deal. the ceo will tell us what it means for his company. and apple 5 arriving in china today. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro. monarch of marketing analysis. with the ability to improve roi through seo all by cob. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. i'm going b-i-g. [ male announcer ] good choice business pro. good choice. go national. go like a pro. welcome back to "squawk on the street." let's get the road map for

here's darden, can they turn around red lobster. think one of the problems is, there's an article today about what cliff. and that's because when the individual stocks, unless they reference the cliff, you just don't feel that it plays a role. >> you've got the journal and the "times" with both stories about how next year might be okay in terms of cap x. tepper on squawk today, using a phrase, i'm not sure if we can repeat, in terms of putting your assets toward stocks when the fed is printing so much -- >> do you want to say it? >> i'll let david say it. >> no. >> when you are -- saying you're driving fast, another way of saying pedal to the medal -- >> to the wall. >> to the wall, all right. >> he also made a mention of carried interest, saying get rid of it. >> that's the conversion, by the way, people during the '80s, ronald reagan hated the conversion of ordinary income to capital gains. it was a scourge for him. they've so discredited it, now reagan seems like a radical democrat. >> fedex also on tap this week. they're actuall

goldman is downgrading darden restaurants.nd at olive guaarden is slow. it is down. boston beer makes sam adams beer, it expects to make more money next year, simple reason it is selling more beer. the stock hit all-time high today. introducing the ishares core, building blocks for the heart of your portfolio. find out why 9 out of 10 large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefully before investing. risk includes possible loss of principal. stuart: the federal reserve is going to start tying interest rates to the unemployment rate. ben bernanke says he will not raise interest rates until unemployment is down to 6 1/2%. there's the link. all rise, judge andrew napolitano. i haven't even got his name out and he is shaking his head. what's so wrong with the federal reserve saying look we need 6 1/2% unemployment and we're going to move heaven and earth to get there

dennis: darden restaurants that we may bumps employees below 40 hours to avoid obamacare requirementssh in the media. do you think employers are going to be basically cowed politically from not doing that or do you think we will see a lot of employers cutting people back to get out from under the requirement? >> what we learned is it is a multifaceted decision. you can't have a knee-jerk reaction. take the number into regulations this many hours, this many employees and start cutting time and cutting employment numbers. it has to be multifaceted decision. you have to think about how is this going to look in the media but you have to look real terms what it will do for more all if we all of a sudden become 49 full time employees overnight it is obvious what the motivation is and there's a difference between full time employees and part-time employees and for a small business who don't have a big marketing budget, they're marketing is direct customer experience. if you have a new type of employee that might affect that but after you think through all of those issues you sit down and mak

the head of darden says part of the blame is the negative coverage on the company's position on obama-care. we are just beginning on this wednesday morning. dock workers getting back on the job after a crippling 8-day strike at the port of los angeles and long beach. we'll look at the toll that the work stoppage has taken on the u.s. economy. bill: a questionable cartoon featuring the rich stealing from the middle class. martha: two rising stars in the republican party laid out their vision for the future last night and for their party. >> we need to carry on and keep fighting for the american idea. the belief that everyone should have the opportunity to rise. to escape from poverty. to achieve whatever your god-given talents and hard work enable you to achieve. wow. it's the honey, it makes it taste so... well, would you look at the time... what's the rush? be happy. be healthy. [ male announcer ] with free package pickup from the u.s. postal service the holidays are easy. visit usps.com. pay, print, and have it picked up for free before december 20h for delivery in time for the holidays.