>> my partner in the morning, david faber, is america's best reporter when it comes to business.e do not believe the hype about the roche bid for illumina. roche walked away, illumina is still too high. i would wait until 45 to pull the trigger. not before then. it's time to turn off the risk on/risk off babble. i'm focusing on themes that could help you in 2013. the rise of the regional banks and the return of the autos are excellent places to start. "mad money" will be right back. >>> coming up, drug dollars. the biggest names in biotech are breaking news at the largest health care conference of the year. cramer's going straight to the source to get you the inside scoop. tonight, jim's got two exclusives. the ceos of nps pharma and exact sciences just ahead. >>> and later, king of the hill. they're the two top performers in the dow last year. but 2013 isn't big enough for both of them. with the big mortgage settlement behind them, could bank of america deposit returns for you this year, or should the housing rebound keep home depot in your sights? cramer decides. all coming up

david faber with the story. >> reporter: thanks very much, maria.ng you on the phone from mid-town. want to fill in some gaps we have in terms of understanding what exactly is going on with the potential leveraged buyout of dell, and i think i can do that this afternoon. one key question we've had, of course, since we first heard this news yesterday is how do they do it on the size of the equity check? but my understanding is as follow. the equity checks are from silver lake and potentially at least one other investor, would only be around $2 billion. why is that? well, that is because dell is going to bring back cash from overseas, essentially repatriate a bit of it for a decent amount, cash is my understanding. it is seen as something that is possible to be done despite having to pay those taxes. that, of course, will lower the overall price and lower the debt, but more importantly lower the equity check that would be need needed. the price point that i'm hearing is between 13.50 and might go as high as $14 a share for dell, and the deal itself ma

mike khouw, i'm curious in the options markets because david faber is reporting $13.50 to $14.tions pan out? >> it's interesting, the most active options were the february 14 calls though the 13s followed closely. very bullish. over 140,000 calls traded versus just about 56,000 puts. we have been seeing an increase in the amount of bullish activity in dell generally and we have been seeing institutional players taking big bets, looking at selling longer dated premium, trying to use that to take advantage of a deal near term. >> pete, time to get off this dell train if you are been riding this thing? >> i think so. i think you've got what you were looking for out of this. this has been an absolutely incredible run to the upside, once you've got through this level, there's not a lot of meat left on the bone. time to exit. and to mike's point, a lot of calls trading today but those are against monstrous open interests to the upside. that could be some of the covering, as well. i think this trade's over. >> let's talk energy. energy independence. one company is leading the charge.

that ca case, but whatever his motivation by 2009 mcafee had re-settled in belize and he wanted david faberthe world he was back in business. >> i'm an impatient sort of person when it comes to business, and i'm able to do things, you know, very quickly, very freely and without incumbrance. so this is the place. >> to make his point, mcafee set out to show the cnbc crew just what a creative capitalist could achieve in belize. >> this water taxi service, up and running in just two months. these ultra lights, that fatal crash back in the states was no deterrent here. >> with the new river research project -- >> the crown jewel of mcafee's new start-ups was to be the new river research project. >> when we began this, what you're seeing on this side looked like the other side impenetrable jungle. >> this patch of jungle was being cleared to make medicine from native plants. >> and hopefully we'll be production of fairly unique pharmaceuticals. >> he'd already hired a microbiologist to do the research and he set up a temporary lab in the home of an absentee neighbor who lived in florida at the t

back to you, carl. >>> david faber has made his way on the set.ng news here regarding that dell leverage buyout. what we can tell you at this point an unexpected strategic investor in the form of microsoft has shown up at the table and in talks in fact with silver lake, the main sponsor behind this leverage buyout. and michael dell as well, of course, being again one of the engines behind it. to invest between 1 and $3 billion in what i am being told by people close to the situation would essentially be a mezzanine financing. most likely taking the form of a preferred of some kind. doesn't necessarily mean that it would be convertible into a significant equity stake in dell. but it is of course a sizable potential investment again between $1 billion and $3 billion is what i'm hearing at this point. and of course you understand it in some ways, given microsoft is very closely linked with dell. certainly the sale of its product is very closely linked with the sale of dell's main product that being the personal computer. now, as for the talks overall

david faber joined us from post nine.ike to try to do speaking of people behind this deal, i think they are quite surprised that the department of justice has chosen to act here, if you want to go back, of course, the last time we saw a major opposition to a deal would have been at&t's purchase of t mobile, which was opposed by the doj. constellation brands, remember, entered into a long-term distribution deal with anheuser-busch for group poe modell low products seen as a great deal for constellation.up products seen as a great deal for constellation. by the way, it owns 50% of grupo modelo, what it doesn't own to not go through, constellation would not have that incredible distribution deal that its stock rose dramatically on when it was announced when this original deal was announced. judging at least from some of the conversations i've been able to have, this deal may go to trial. again, the people involved in putting this deal together tell me it was wholly unexpected that the doj would step in to try to oppose it. b

i joke with my friend david faber that coming out here every day, it is nice to hear from someone whos thank you. >> i appreciate you, i know that you have a lot of information in your head. i know that, sir, my big question is about magnum hunter resources. is it a well run company? do you think that it is a growth story with the possibility that the chart trajectory might be positive over the next three to five years? >> it is actually a coal option on oil. if oil goes up a lot the stock doubles. if oil doesn't do anything the stock goes down. if you think oil is going higher, it is a terrific play. if you don't, don't touch it. the charts show that natural gas can go even lower but that is not a bad thing. remember, i want natural gas low, not because i believe in the natural gas stocks, but because the chemical plays do so well in a low environment. don't move, the lightning round is next. ♪ [ male announcer ] how do you turn an entrepreneur's dream... ♪ into a scooter that talks to the cloud? ♪ or turn 30-million artifacts... ♪ into a high-tech masterpiece? ♪ whatever your busine

after the break, david faber's exclusive with mel karmazin.s very first interview since stepping down as the ceo of sirius xm. we're back in a couple of minutes. mine was earned in djibouti, africa, 2004. the battle of bataan, 1942. [ all ] fort benning, georgia, in 1999. [ male announcer ] usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto-insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. that your mouth is under attack, from food particles and bacteria. try fixodent. it helps create a food seal defense for a clean mouth and kills bacteria for fresh breath. ♪ fixodent, and forget it. sven gets great rewards for his small business! how does this thing work? oh, i like it! [ garth ] sven's small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! woo-hoo!!! so that's ten security gators, right? put them on my spark card! why settle for l

this after david faber reported that the company was in negotiations to invest between 1 billion and n a buyout of dell, in the form of mezzanine financing. dell had a run up on david's reporting last week. it's still up better than 2%, almost 2.5% now at $13.15. to the nasdaq, where the focus is on tech. we have the big movers there this week with seema mody. >> research in motion shares are rallying, trading at $17.50. within social media facebook shares are outperforming. a lot of positive commentary out of a couple of analysts. topega capital saying we tested the graph search for facebook. other tech movers we're watching, google getting set to report earnings tonight. apple on tap for tomorrow, trading flat at the moment, and amgen reporting earnings tomorrow. shares higher lightly ahead of that report. and medivation is higher. johnson and johnson showed an increase in sales, and the market is taking this as a bullish signal for medivation to gain share from j & j in the prostate cancer market. >>> bertha bertha coomb is back more on apple. >> apple say they think that samsung h

i'm melissa lee, along with carl quintanilla, jim cramer and david faber at the new york stock exchange. the new home price reports were just released. s&p's david blitzer will join us to break these numbers down moments from now. let's get a check on futures. and how we are setting up, this after the s&p ended its eight-day rally. it managed to hold above the 1,500 mark in yesterday's session. the dow looking to lose about nine. confidence numbers are on tap at 10:00. italian field auction, selling bills at the lowest yields since march 2010. we have mostly red arrows across the board in europe. asia, big day for shanghai which officially enters bull market territory. road map here starts with apple. the pressure mounts for the company to launch a new omg product. app announces that its fourth generation ipad is on its way with 128 gigs, with a starting price of $799. >> surge revenue topping expectations. honeymoon continues for mersa myer. we look ahead to amazon tonight. >> the f series pickups in north america, the losses will be deeper in europe this year. the conference is gettin

i'm melissa lee, with carl quintanilla, jim cramer and david faber. dow looking to add about 16. the s&p 500 looking to add about a third of a point here. yesterday, of course, the s&p closed at five-year highs in what is notable, transports, airlines, housing and cyclicals all at 52-week highs. in europe, juiced by china data which we'll talk about. a mixed wag over there. signs of the rally here could continue. china's gdp topped estimates, general electric beats by a penny, caterpillar catches an upgrade from piper. >> morgan stanley showed improvement in investment banking. >>> the latest decline of the pc, intel trading lower on its earnings with a pop in cap x spending. >> reuters says sharp has nearly halted production of the ipad screen. r.i.m. gets an upgrade from jeffries. that is sending shares soaring. >> the morning after the s&p 500 hit another five-year high, the dow ended the day short of a similar milestone. fourth quarter gdp came in above expectations. general electric seeing growth in china. revenues beating forecasts. the link here between ge and china, jim,

i want the private equity side of these things first up david faber.ink they would be interested? what are the pros and cons. >> the pros are you would get in a low multiple for a company that could contribute significant amounts of cash flow and a strong return that would return to a growth pattern. in doing the numbers, mandy, which i think is important for our viewers to do. i can't tell you whether the story is completely true or give you some sense into it. what i can do is look at the numbers. assume it was a $15 a share buyout. a bit above where we are right now of course with this nice run-up. that gets you to $25.5 billion total purchase price. equity checks these days running about 36% of the total. that gets you a $9 billion equity check. let's assume michael dell would roll in his shares. that leaves you with a $5 billion equity check. there is still cash. we don't know if that's trapped overseas. perhaps the analyst knows more about that. there's $11 million cash. but you're talking about a huge check for equity to write. it's a career bet

we know that david faber has been breaking news on dell. seeing upside. there facebook up more than 3%. can't say that every day. back to you. >> we'll talk more about big tech firms later on in the show. thank you. in the world of politics and the debt squabbles that go with it, the white house said president obama would sign a short-term debt extension if passed by congress but he would favor a longer extension, right, john howard? >> exactly right. we've been talking for the last 24 hours about the aggressiveness and assertiveness of the president's inaugural speech, some in your face lines going after republicans. jay carney in his briefing did indicate the white house is prepared to take yes for an answer on some issues, even if it can't get its entire way. debt ceiling as an example, they wanted a year or more on the debt limit, republicans are saying now through mid-may they will suspend the application of the debt ceiling. jay carney saying if that happens, the president will not stand in the way. here's jay. the bill still has to overcome some co

. >> well, i talked about this with my friend buddy pal david faber today.a can come back, if clearwire can come back, if sprint can come back, maybe i'm being too negative. and i said i don't want to sell hewlett-packard anymore, but best buy i think that every time you get a takeover chatter, you should go because cash flow is what makes a deal get done. nate, i want to wish you best of luck. i wish you guys will have a long and happy life together, but i don't think best buy should be included. not if you want to have a real nice honeymoon. >>> it's game over for gamestop here. the company's facing too many obstacles and i think it could be headed lower. maybe sell some and hope for a bounce, i don't know. i don't like it. don't move, "lightning round's" coming up. >>> it is time, it is time for the "lightning round" on cramer's "mad money." i tell you whether to buy or sell. play until this sound and then the "lightning round" is over. time for the "lightning round" on cramer's "mad money." aaron in washington. aaron? >> caller: hey there, i'm looking at

. >> david faber confirming that dell is in talks for a leverage buyout, that would value dell shares between $13 and $14 a share. sources telling david that the equity investments from potential investors would be roughly $2 billion. debt financing seen as oversubscribed. the deal would contemplate repatriation of some of its cash from overseas. michael dell would also have some skin in the game. he could be seen investing some fresh money in the deal. he has a 4.5 billion take in terms of shares in the company. the dell deal, he says, could be final iltzed within a couple of weeks. dell, he says, has been talking about an lbo since this past summer. melissa? >> all right, thank you, bertha. we want to go to mike in the options desk. mike, what's striking about this number is that it is significantly lower compared to what the street was anticipating. jeffries, $15 to $17. where were the options traders playing? >> i think they were probably more in line with david's numbers, actually. we saw a lot of calls trading today. some of the 12 1/2 and 13 1/2 strike calls and the 15s. but wh

after david faber broke the news that microsoft is now in talks to help finance that buyout of dell. ow with more details. they are getting a party together, aren't they? >> yes, they may very well indeed do that. there are still talks, bill. it's not a done deal, that is, until the terms of the lbl itself or microsoft's investor. we reported microsoft is cont contemplating between a $1 billion and $3 billion investment. not in exyou but considered a mezzanine financing similar between debt and equity having the name of a preferred, unclear whether it's ever convertible into a equity stake, but people might understand why microsoft would at least have interest. of course, it has $66 billion worth of cash. much of that is overseas and there might be a possibility using the overseas cash without paying significant penalties on the use of it. of course, it has an interest in one of its biggest customers continuing to do well. all of this, of course, would add to the overall financing for this huge lbo of dell which, again, as we reported earlier and can tell you now continues to be movin

reported dell buyout with microsoft possibly investing up to $3 billion according to our very own david faber. the stock's up 29% so far this year, but what does the speculation mean going forward? gentlemen, we'll debate it. joe, first. >> well, i'll say that i have said that i believe dell is a turn around story in 2013. in essence, it's the technology of yahoo!. i still think right now i am long, i'm staying long even with the price at 13.25. i think the lbo deal will be presented and i think there will be a go shop provision within that deal that'll allow for shareholders to get an even higher price than what people are talking about. >> if you're in dell, i think that's a great trade, but seeing the stock up here today, 13.25. when we're hearing 13.50 on a deal that may or may not get done, i think that's a terrible place to go in and buy the stock here today. if this deal is scrapped, i think the stock pulls back 15 to 20% quickly. >> i don't disagree with you if the deal is scrapped. there will be significant downside. >> of course. right, stocks run up exclusively on the fact. >> howe

thought maybe this stock is good to jump on -- >> well, i talked about this with my friend buddy pal david faberif nokia can come back, if clearwire can come back, if sprint can come back, maybe i'm being too negative. and i said i don't want to sell hewlett-packard anymore, but best buy i think every time you get a takeover chatter, you should go because cash flow is what makes a deal get done. nate, i want to wish you best of luck. i wish you guys will have a long and happy life together, but i don't think best buy should be included. not if you want to have a real nice honeymoon. >>> it's gameover for gamestop here. the company's facing too many obstacles and i think it could be headed lower. could be headed for a bounce, i don't know. i don't like it. don't move, "lightning round's" coming up. ♪ [ male announcer ] how do you turn an entrepreneur's dream... ♪ into a scooter that talks to the cloud? ♪ or turn 30-million artifacts... ♪ into a high-tech masterpiece? ♪ whatever your business challenge, dell has the technology and services to help you solve it. >>> it is time, it is time for the "

kyle bass is on today with david faber and everybody loves kyle bass. >> right. >> he talked about thest black swan with all the central banking activity probably turns out to be japan. we don't know when. i would fully agree and i think these two charts give you some clues that there is a possibility. >> andres, what do you think? is japan back? >> well, i think to a certain extent the unintended consequences is what we're actually going to see in the couple of months to come which is i don't think japan has the ability to get to 2% inflation which is their target any time soon, but that inflation might present itself in places like commodities. another way to look at it is look at carry trade and countries like mexico that have tame inflation. still, you can get 4.5%, 5% on a coupon there, so countries like mexico could be one of the beneficiaries of what's happening in japan and what they are attempting to do. >> are you investing over there? do you like that market right now? >> we like the emerging markets overall, but i think mexico is one of the places that i particularly like?

did i ever put my colleague david faber on the spot today -- what do you think of hewlett-packard?what i want to say about hewlett-packard. i like dell more. how's that? that's about all i'll say right now. >>> in the battle between bank of america and home depot, the big bank moves on to the super bowl in new orleans. hey, listen, we're not ready to crown a winner. we don't know yet who is going to win the s&p. and that's what is going to determine who eventually gets into friday's super bowl. don't move. lightning round's coming up next. >>> keep up with cramer all day long. follow @jimcramer and follow mad tweets. ♪ [ male announcer ] how do you turn an entrepreneur's dream... ♪ into a scooter that talks to the cloud? ♪ or turn 30-million artifacts... ♪ into a high-tech masterpiece? ♪ whatever your business challenge, dell has the technology and services to help you solve it. lightning round. [ indiscernible ] the lightning round is over. are you ready? mike in new york, mike? >> caller: hey, jim, calling from rochester, new york. >> man, i love it. >> caller: my stock is acn, a

>> david faber has been working the story and has confirm some of the details out there in terms of jpmorgan silver like partners appears to be the driving force in terms of private equity firms looking to make an investment in dell and perhaps take it private. another factor, a canadian pension fund also looking perhaps to take a major stake there. dell at the highs of the day, monster volume today on dell, bill. over 131 million shares. that's well over four times the average daily volume over the last ten days and it's spiked in volume with all the speculation. >> and a tremendous amount of skepticism that they would even be able to figure out a leveraged buyout. >> shares of a seven and a half month high. >> all right, bertha. thank you very much. as we head towards the close here, we've got the dow up 32 points at highs of the session. is the stock market set up for a fall though with fitch warning on america's credit rating due to the debt ceiling fight? our market pros will weigh in on that, plus other things coming up. and also ahead, a million jobs, that's what our failing infrastru

. >> breaking news right now an hewlett-packard and let's go to david faber. >> reporter: we reportedn some of these headlines from dow jones saying there were offers incoming for the likes of hewlett-packard's autonomy oeds units. sources close to the company indicating to me that, in fact, there's no plan to sell any core assets at hewlett-packard, that they are not entertaining any offers to buy any of those core assets, and that, by the way, autonomy and eds are considered amongst company's core assets. a company in the midst of a significant turnaround in transition. my sources close to the company and close to the board of directors indicate that these kinds of conversations perhaps will resonate much more strongly, much later this year, if in fact there are no signs that the turnaround undertaken by ceo meg whitman is finding success but at this point they are not interested in trying to break up this company in any way, shape or form. no surprise that bankers got to do their job and make incoming or outgoing phone calls to companies and see if there's any interest. that's how

cote, david faber here.love to get your take on where we stand these days, given you were such an important player in it, in the big talk about a grand bargain. sequestration, where you see things going. it doesn't appear we've made great progress, it would at least seem to an outsider. >> yeah. well, i would say if macro economics and markets are tough to forecast what government is going to do, puts itself in a whole new category. i would say they have a proclivity for doing nothing. and if you look at it that way, and say, okay, that's kind of what their leaning is going to be, i would say there's a good chance we could have the sequester actually ku lly occur. i'm not one of the guys who becomes paralyzed by the idea that the sequester will happen. it's about $100 billion a year on about a $3.5 trillion spend. so at 3% reduction overall, even though, yeah, you could say it's not done thoughtfully and proactively, it's not, it's using a hatchet rather than a scalpel, but right now they show no propensity

i'm melissa wlee wilee with jim and david faber. let's get a check on u.s. futures and how we're setting up. positive data out of china. china exports came in much stronger than expected. jobless claims coming in 9,000 above consensus estimates. a higher open at this point, dow about 52 1/2, s&p looking to open up 8. as for the picture in europe, of course all eyes are on the esc presser, ecb and bank of england leaving rates unchanged. the question is will draghi open the door for the possibility of a cut. so that's on our radar. italy biggest gainer there up more than 1%. our road map this morning starts in washington. jack lew officially nominated as treasury chief. lew is known for his role in the being acrimonious talks in 2011. what could it mean this time. >> tiffany disappoints again with weaker holiday sales. there was weakness in the americas, strength in asia. so how much of a read through to the rest of retail is this earnings report? >>> nokia shares soaring this morning after a bullish outlook for the first quarter. >>> and herbal life's big da

i'm melissa lee with carl quintanilla, and jim cramer and david faber at the new york stock exchange. stocks had a pretty nice day yesterday. the s&p closed at five-year highs. we are looking to the down decide this morning. the dow looking to lose about 62 at the open. the picture in europe, a couple of downgrades for gdp forecasts from both the german government and world bank. italy is down by 1.5%. road map this morning starts off with the banks and earnings. jpmorgan higher. goldman sachs at 18-month highs. >> japan airlines grounding their entire dreamliner fleet. >>> dell shares falling this morning after david faber reports that a deal could be announced within two weeks, but at a price of 13.50 or 14 a share, he's got the details. >>> rising food costs taking a bite out of fourth-quarter earnings. shares down there. >>> goldman sachs blowing past street estimates with 560 a share. beating wall street frachts. jpmorgan posting better than expected earnings of 53%. jpmorgan's board cutting ceo jamie dimon's compensation in half to $11.5 million. this following an investigation

david faber has the details on this story. sending sprint lower in pre-market trade. >>> results from alcoa last night, rising in the pre-market after reporting fourth-quarter profits in line with estimates. revenues above forecasts. alcoa says it sees aluminum demand growth ul 7% this year. the previous forecast, jim, 6 to 6.50. not bad if you're looking for something global out of 2013. >> what europe taketh away china giveth. the ceo has really spent a huge amount in china. whether it be for autos, aerospace, whether it be for trucks, are so bullish, that they can offset whatever's happening around the world globally. remember, there's two components to alcoa. there's also the raw stuff which he said inventory is getting in balance. that's very important. and you've got the packaging, industrial, construction, you have trucks and turbines. i'll tell you, this was a very bullish call. the one thing i do want to point out, klaus kleinfeld was unhappy about the fact that moody's put this company on review. there's a lot of tal

. >> i think david faber was weighing in -- it was -- i thought he was getting the credit. ott, thank you. lou green. thank you. faber, not faber. >>> how long did boeing know about the 787 battery problems? how will this impact the bottom line at the aerospace giant? aviation expert michael boyd will give us his review after this. >>> and find "squawk box" on line and find us on mobile, too. follow us on twitter twitter, @squawkcnbc. like us on facebook and visit our show page, squawk.cnbc.com. [ wind howls ] [ dog barks ] ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] something powerful is coming. ♪ see it on february 3rd. ♪ omnipotent of opportunity. you know how to mix business... with business. 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 could get used to this. [ male announcer ] yes, you could business pro. yes, you could. go national. go like a pro. >>> welcome back. dow futures up 16.5 points. remember yesterday up 17 points. we're about 46 points away from dow 1

and david faber reporting talks between 13.50 and $14 a share. investments from silver lake and other potential investors roughly $2 billion, and the debt financing, people want to do it. seen as oversubscribed. michael dell is expected to invest fresh money in the transaction, and faber says an announcement could come within two weeks, which is less than six weeks, which is what people were saying yesterday. >> all right. >>> other technology news, apple's vice president of retail has left the company. jerry mcdougal was a potential candidate for the company's now-vacant senior vice president of retail position. shares of apple falling below $500 this week. look at that -- $487 a share. premarket higher by a buck. you see ever since the foen 5 actually came out -- the iphone 5 actually came out, people are selling on the news, reports of whether or not they've cut the number of orders for parts internally has pressured the stock. >>> facebook shares also coming under pressure this week. investors appear to be less than thrilled by the company's

i'm melissa lee, along with jim cramer, david faber at the new york stock exchange. carl quintanilla is live where research in motion is holding their blackberry 10 launch today. let's look at futures and how we're setting up for the day. we saw a bit of a reversal on the gdp numbers, the first contraction since 2009. now we're in negative territory. as for europe, confidence coming in stronger in the real star here. the euro topping 135 for the first time since april 2010. and strengthening even more after the gdp release. overnight in iasia, the nikkei p from 2010. the road map starts with the markets. today may be the day some milestones are hit. we're just about 2% away from dow 14,000. a level we have not traded above since october 17th, 2007. the s&p 500 less than 4% below its october '07 record high. can the bulls overcome the news of the surprise contraction in gdp. >> anticipation building, at least certainly here for research in motion. that being the blackberry 10, will it be enough to sustain the run. we'll take a look. >> amazon shares rocketing higher t

i'm carl with melissa lee, jim cramer, david faber at the new york stock exchange. let's look at futures on a friday morning. mild action here. we are paying attention to the mutual fund inflows. as for europe, disappointing industrial production numbers in spain and the uk. but the euro is at a nine-month high this morning. we begin with the s&p, a five-year high. a lot riding on bank earnings. the report's not perfect. american express joining the list of financials that are cutting jobs. >>> best buy's troubles continue. they're not the only retailer under pressure this morning. jcpenney capping a bad week. >>> boeing under official view as a probe is taken on the plane. a cracked inshield and oil leak. >>> remember a cheaper iphone? a top apple executive said forget it. the company continues to focus on china. >>> we'll kick off with wells fargo, kicking off q4 results. the lending business came in a little bit lower than many analysts expecting. the numbers coming out after american express announced plans to cut 5,400 jobs and the s&p closed at fresh five-year

i'm melissa lee, with jim cramer and carl quintanilla and david faber. how are we poised to start the friday morning session. right at the open, the s&p 500 looking to add to five-year highs at this point. looking at about six points. as for europe, gdp figures in the uk nearing a triple-dip recession. capping off a big week for the nikkei, up almost 3% for the week. our road map this morning, dow taking aim at a new record high on track for the best january since 1997. the s&p also poised for its longest winning streak since november 5th, 2004, as it sits at five-year highs. >>> microsoft confirming unspectacular launch for windows 8 and declines in office software. will microsoft go the way of the dying pc. >>> starbucks shares get a jolt this morning on earns. >>> samsung posted record profits but show signs that maybe the smartphone slowdown is not an apple problem. apple slightly higher after closing down 12% yesterday. >>> futures moving higher as the dow looks at a march toward record territory. posted gains for the tenth time in the last 11 sessi

. >> where does faber say it's not a wig deal and it's not important. just kidding, david, i love you. >> he just had to drop out of his hula lesson because you said that. >> i thought he was in zumba. look, there are very few players left in this game. rates are going up dramatically for rental cars. it's a fabulous business. i have liked hertz. don't forget, sandy wiped out a lot of cars. this sa remarkable deal, only because one more time another player gets taken out. this business is too consolidated. and the pricing is ogolopistic. >> it's a nice premium. if you're a hertz holder, you have to why hold the stock that's down 39% last year. these are just things to consider. >> the bigger question, too, is, and i'll play the role of david faber, although i'm not as toned and fit as he is, and i'm much taller, what is -- >> that's a bit of a dig there. >> no, it's not. he's more fit than i. what kind of m & a is it going to be this year? >> i don't think budget, that ceiling is going to put a lid on buys. one of the reasons is because exactly what you talked about with e

we'll also get into tech with david faber. is the long-term downtrend of the dollar doing good?ds, give or take a few. >> hess is really important. number one break-up play. they separate refining and marketing from oil. $65 instantly. >> at morgan stanley, upgrading pbh. >> this was a tremendous acquisition, house of brands, calvin klein, i like this call. one day we'll cut back the subsidies for farmers. everyone wants to upgrade every single year. it tends to be a great sale after they do it. >> wells downgrades inger sol. >> ingersoll-rand, europe turning around. i don't like this call at all. >> walgreens, we were looking for news. the fourth biggest gainer on the s&p. >> analysts meeting. they've got this big acquisition. flu season, flu season is huge this year. and by the way, that's how walgreens and perigo gets their numbers. >> did you get your flu shot? >> i got the shot, and then i got the flu from one of our on-air personalities. hi no voice and i'm back and bigger than ever now. like gandhi 2. >> this time it's personal, that kind of thing. what's on mad tonight?

and i wonder if, and if david faber were here, is there a takeover coming? >> i think that's why they're betting the stock up? >> if the company were ever to stabilize, it's darn cheap. avon, herbalife, tubber wear. herb, where are you when i need you? i talked about credit markets doing better. they're talking about raising targets to 20. are you kidding me? i don't know anything that's better. but it's cheap. i'm a buyer. >> all right. that's the word on the "mad dash" from mr. cramer. the first reaction to today's jobs report from the white house. when labor secretary hilda solis joins us live. that's about ten minutes from now. opening bell is just a few minutes away. getting ready for another big day of trading. and of course, much more on "squawk on the street." there are a lot of warning lights and sounds vying for your attention. so we invented a warning you can feel. introducing the all-new cadillac xts. available with a patented safety alert seat. when there's danger you might not see, you're warned by a pulse in the seat. it's technology you won't

i'm melissa lee, with carl quintanilla, jim cramer and david faber here at the new york stock exchange. take a look at u.s. futures. we should note the dow is posting its bst january in 17 years. we are looking to go higher on the dow here. investors are awaiting the house vote this afternoon on postponing the debt ceiling. news in europe, david cameron vowing a referendum on whether britain remains in the eu. in japan, longest losing streak in two months. china awaits data, that's out tonight. the road map in the u.s. starts off at the golden arches. u.s. same-store sales up 9% for mcdonald's, helped by the dollar menu and mcrib. >> ibm and google surging premarket. google gets its price target raised by six firms this morning on better than expected earnings. >> coach getting pummeled this morning, blaming its big earnings miss on weakness in north america during the holidays. it says it is transforming itself into a lifestyle brand. >> apple's results tonight after the bell. could this be the quarter that marks the bottom on the stock. will tim cook talk about the next omg product i

. >> i am with david faber on this and he was telling the world. >> i think there are very serious globalwhat's driving the stock market is what the fed does. if it keeps printing money, it's got to go somewhere. until we have some really bigger negative consequences or dramatic thing around the debt thing, the market will probably keep going up. although it shouldn't. certain long-term economic sense but i think the market is driven by traders right now and traders say, well, if the fed keeps printing money it's going somewhere, and stocks is one place it will probably go for awhile. >> and for people who are looking towards retirement after just saving and trying to save some money up, i know, senator, you've been looking at where that money would have gone if it wasn't going into social security. >> right now, i do spread sheets. i do the spread sheet and just made the assumption, if you took the payroll tax from an individual that's retiring today, they put that into just an index fund in the dow jones, not even counting the dividends and pay the maximum payroll tax amount they'd have

jim cramer and david faber join us right now.els since 2007. and you have the big game tonight. what's coming up on your radar screen? >> bank of america continues to astound, every time you think it's run out of ammo, dave and i have been working on this all morning, there are positives here. >> there are. of course, we're talking fannie today. there are still more to come potentially. but each one incrementally helps lower the risk profile. >> right. >> so we've got that. and coupled with basil, and the liquidity coverage ratios, changing favorably for the banks not implemented until 2019. >> nation star, they come in and buy what's a lot of bad loans. the surfacing business. when you look at this nation star, you realize the countrywide may get behind. we may be putting that behind. the stock goes higher. >> you mention the basil, the changeses to basel that are out there this morning. we did talk to dick about that earlier this morning, too. he thinks this is definitely a good thing. what does it mean longer term? >> i think