so, i'll be a little counterintuitive here--- stronger economic data, and god forbid, higher inflation data will take the fed out of the game and that will spell trouble for bulls. so as long as you get economic data not too hot, not too cold, inflation data stays the same the fed's in the game and i think the market is going on that wave of liquidity and zero interest rates and i think that's really all we have to know. > > thanks for the information. that's tim mulholland. thank tim. this year's class of college graduates have a slightly better chance of landing jobs than their predecessors who found a deep recession waiting for them. our cover story found work for graduates not only picking up but also paying more, if--as always-- you've got a skill in demand. this year, nearly two million college graduates will enter a job market that's added an average of 190-thousand private sector jobs each month for more than a year. the best advice seems to be to network and be willing to accept less than the ideal job. "they're expectations of what they want should come down a little bit." ev

we'll have more economic data this week. in the u.s. close eye on the jobs numbers due out on friday. here in japan we're still in full swing for earnings season. after markets closed on tuesday we're going to have fuji film holdings and tokyo electron and soft bank. covering quite a lot of different sectors there. i'll have all of those numbers and reactions later in the day. back to you. >> thanks, ramin. in other business news italy's new prime minister has expressed his intention to pursue more growth oriented policies to rebuild the country's finances. italy has gone through political turmoil after the february election. the new coalition government was finally launched on sunday. he delivered his first speech to parliament on monday. >> translator: up to ten years without growth. growth policies cannot wait any longer. >> he said he will halt the collection of a property tax due in june. the coalition has been demanding the abolition of the tax. the new prime minister also stressed the importance of european unity. he said it will

economic data as the key driver. further signs of slowing growth do come around especially with the gdp numbers due out tomorrow that could keep pressure on the dollar. there's also concern about slowing growth in europe and china after data in those show as well. that may weigh on sentiment here in japan as well. key exporters rely on demand from the u.s. and china. news of the transpacific partnership being pushed through by the u.s. could be a bit of a positive. the u.s. gdp data will be watched. 99.47 to 48 yen. let's have a look at the euro now changing 129.43 to 46. all eyes meeting after germany's sentiment business figures fell short of market consensus. earnings in japan are under way as well with yahoo japan. they're all going to come out with earnings later today. that will be a big focus as well. back to you. >> thanks, ramin. that's it for me for now. i'll leave you with the market figures. >>> japanese prime minister abe defended visits by his cabinet ministers to a war related shrine. he says they shou

economic data was supportive. housing starts jumping 7% in march. industrial production also rose and consumer price index or inflationary numbers fell. gold also jumped 2% and earnings results from the likes of coca-cola and johnson & johnson also boosted sentiment. you would think all of that would result in a positive start to tokyo. let's have a look at the levels. both indexes are in this positive. almost up 1% for the nikkei and the topics is up 1% as well. the nikkei ended lower yesterday, to remind viewers but did rebound quite a bit towards the close as we saw the yen reversing earlier gains on the dollar and continue over its weakening course and boosted stocks and we're seeing continuation helped by the u.s. market. we will watch closely for further indications. investors may be wary making further moves ahead of that g-20 meeting later this week as the yen's weakness has been a concern and we touched on that several times. >> we actually saw some volatility in some currency pairs but the yen is weaker now than this time on monday. >> exa

so i'd say right now the bond market is doing quite well because of the soft economic data that we've seen. not only the retail sales but also in the employment markets as well as the ism non manufacturing numbers that came in so it's a poor string of data. > > historically money goes to the bond market as a safe haven. usually goes to gold as a safe haven as well but on friday, we saw a big move down. they were selling gold. what's going on with that story? > >that's right. gold was down about 5% or so. it actually went below 1500 per oz. we haven't seen those levels since the summer of 2011. i would say the fundamental drivers of gold include inflation and i think similar to the bond market the gold market is thinking that inflation really isn't going to be a problem, at least in the near future. in fact, in the u.s. and other developed nations it could be that deflation is actually the bigger problem. and that could be very bad news for the gold market and i think that's one of the major reasons that the gold market is selling off the way it has been. > > you mentioned that the bon

economic data over the past couple of weeks has been soft and we don't want to sugar coat that, but that's all it is, it's been soft. it's nothing more sinister. we still see economic growth this year to outperform what we saw last year. and in the first quarter, when you saw risk assets rally the amount they've rallied, it's expected you're going to see a bit of a breather. i think what's going on this week is just a lot of digestion. there's also going on around the world and investors are taking this opportunity to take some profits. >> could you see a bigger move lower, though, like 5% to 10%, as has often been discussed? >> i think generally speaking, you should always expect a 5% to 10% pullback. but if i am a long-term investor, i'm looking at where i am today, relative to where i'm going to be at year end, i think there's still some upside here. >> joe, what do you remember to somebody right now? what do you recommend to somebody who's really nervous because of volatility? >> i think the most important for nervous investors is to hang on to your seats there. but broadly, if i look

so across all 20 cities, and really, across housing, given a lot of the other economic data, we seem to be cranking on all cylinders. >> do you agree? is housing cranking on all cylinders right now? >> yes, bill. in fact, i would actually look at the core logic home price data. a little more timely than the s&p data. it actually shows more price appreciation. core logic also told us this week that home inventories are down in absolute terms almost 20% from a year ago. so i think, yes, housing is definitely firing on all cylinders. total economy-wide spending is worth about 20% of gdp. on average it's only been 17%. so the housing sector really can provide us with a tremendous lift this year and next and keep us largely immune i think from what is happening overseas. >> so we know what is right, right now, nathan. what could get in the way of the market? it's largely been ignoring the latest european issues, the banking crisis in cyprus. are there roadblocks that people are not thinking about right now? >> well, thing is a couple of roadblocks. one thing that is not being talked about

i don't think we have enough data to change the economic forecast for this year. hurt by weather, seasonal adjustments. >> you didn't say that last time? 3% to 5% last time you were on. >> i think i did. >> we're up another point. >> well, i still believe -- >> guess what the lead story. >> on? >> drudge. >> snails. >> no. >> dennis on cnbc. >> used to have the venezuelan guy. cnbc. >> this is a pretty small market. is cyprus going to be selling gold? will other european central banks selling gold? what they should do is sell gold-backed bonds which would give instant credibility. >> we don't have good inside like that more often. what do you think of the bank of japan. >> i think it is. i know there's an argument they have been dealing with inflation. they need to have this kind of a jolt. but to me this is -- i know that stan miller said he has gone from volcker to ben bernanke overnight. maybe it will all work out just fine. but i worry about it. i worry about the debt of 200% of gdp. i'm concerned. i don't think it's a layup here. >> don't other nations have to

when you take stronger economic data or higher inflation data that would be the enemy. news is bad news scenario. thank you. thank you very much. so big bank earnings. just talked about what earnings might spook the markets. picking of tomorrow, both reporting before the bell. the vessel sector is expected to post the highest earnings growth rate. ashley: what we want to know is what banks will beat expectations and maybe some of those could disappoint. joining us, managing director in equity research. listen. i have seen all sorts of predictions but earnings, buckle up, what do you see? what do you anticipate? >> on the whole expectations are muted. this seemed like a big topline number, but you have to decompose it and see where it is coming from. only 2% to that is revenue growth. credit leverage and cost control and the little bit from share repurchase, none of which we would argue are particularly sustainable. liz: the real growth. organic. real opportunity where you see they are growing businesses instead of just cost-cutting in trying to figure out ways to shine

and if economic data comes out strong and that's also positive. this whole win-win sweet spot is driving markets. but our concern is to do with the fundamentals and is to do with the shakiness and how far we've rallied already in terms of this economic headwind that we're going to see towards the second quarter and the second half of this year. >> gemma, simon here. quick question. you mentioned the headwind coming on, a little bit of risk in the marketplace. but you favor the small cap space. why would that be? >> if we look at where m&a has come in at, especially in the u.s. market, the first quarter has been the slowest start to m&a in a decade. and companies are cash-rich and have the implement back into these buying strategies. in the case of the small cap space, this is more so a reason to focus on this part of the markets. if you look at companies that have strong balance sheets, are in the sweet spot in terms of where they're selling their products to. they don't have that lending headwind in front of them as well, there could be a very bi

first and foremost needs to come from domestic economic data. k data from china has been a big driver of this market as well. so i think first and foremost the, from the economic data it where we need to see it in terms of a spike in yields. lori: in reading some of the analyst reports a lot of people see opportunities in fixed income and emerging market debt. i don't know what you think but we know emerging market debt come off extraordinarily weak quarter dealing with slower growth and central bank easing policies in the u.s. and japan just look at our u.s. treasury. this is where interest has been but do you see opportunity in the mds? >> actually i do. that is one. few opportunities that opened up for bond investors in the first quarter. there is not much opportunity in a low yield environment. we're looking low single-digit type returns. maybe mid single at best. i think emd is is one of those opportunities. central banks paused in the first quarter in most markets in emerging market countries. i think the bump in yield we saw in the first q

actually, the economic data this morning was pretty good.ers, durable goods, the auto sales up. we didn't even get to this. ford and chrysler said they had their best sales month since may to have 2007. six years! >> but the yen has been strengthening. i think this is an important story. we've got to start looking more at the yen, because the yen has been really going the way of the japanese automakers. we'll see what that turns up for the next quarter, for the u.s. automakers, but, yeah, detroit's been hot. >> and here's what we did today. the economic data pushed us higher. we were up more than 100 points for a time on the dow. we were in record territory. we still are for the dow. drifted the rest of the day. did a button hook. we only have to be five points on the dow for another all-time high. we're well in that area. by the way, united health, the strongest dow stock today, hewlett-packard is the weakest dow stock today. the s&p, this is going to be a squeaker here. we need to be up seven points to hit an all-time high. we're almost th

we've gotten the weak economic data, you add to that the tensions in north korea, what does that mean for energy demand? and also keep your eye on what has been happening in terms of the inventory levels we've within seeing, for oil inventories. that is something that has also pressured prices. so we're likely to see if the technical selling continues, more weakness in the session ahead. back to you. >> sharon, thank you. >>> pimco's bill gross says warren buffett, george souris, even himself, may not be that smart. instead, they just benefited if favorable market conditions. he's laying that out in his new report, "man in the mirror," and he spoke about this in the last hour on cnbc. listen to this. >> over a short period of time, luck plays a substantial part. you can flip a coin, you can get head two, three, four times in a row and all of a sudden you're a genius at coin flipping. i think it needs 10, 20, 30 years and perhaps even longer to prove that an investor has the ability to change with its environment. >> so is he right? is it less strategy and more luck here? >> joining us

that is when sequester is felt in the economic data. we're concerned there is a built after consumer pinch so we would expect --. david: hold on a second. even though every time we've seen the bad economic numbers we've seen a very quick comeback by the stock market? >> yeah, i don't doubt we will see a quick comeback. we're looking at, i could see the market dropping, the s&p dropping below 1500 but still coming back to finish off the year at 1600 which would be exceptional year in the s&p 500. that would be a great year. if you look back at 2012, almost all the gains in the s&p 500 came from multiple expansion, not from earnings growth. and we don't anticipate a stellar earnings year in 2013 either. so in order for the s&p to continue to advance we have to see more multiple expansion and with international growth looking fairly weak with us really not, what we are expecting some softing in the u.s. economic data in the summer months, it will be very tough to break through 1600. liz: okay, we just heard many people, smart like you say

we don't know what's real and what's not. >> today is about earnings, about economic data.so interesting how the market trades up, trades in the last hour here. i think it is going to trade higher. we've seen momentum there, balances on the bell, and s&p 500, there is stocks, and i think right now we're looking at how this focuses here, earnings after the bell, economic data tomorrow morning, and like we talked about earlier, financial earnings tomorrow morning, bank of america and american express, pnc so important just for the sentiment of the market, whether they trade is irrelevant, just a sentiment to get us back to feeling comfortable about the market to continue to move higher. >> you're right. >> it's about sentiments at the end of the day. thank you, sir. >> thank you for following gold, the rally is stalling. breaking news on american airlines commenting on the system-wide grounding, commenting on twitter saying, american's reservation system is experiencing intermitten outages. we're working to resolve the issue and apologize for any inconvenience. please yous aa

there has been a string of weak economic data. take a look at the sectors here.t can you conclude looking at this? you can't conclude much. >> stocks beaten up. >> that could be the international tensions, too. and pushing money towards safety. >> julia is at the event in menlo park, california. >> he said this is really about switching the experience in your mobile phone to being oriented towards people. here is what he had to say. >> some kind of phone or operating system that only some people are going to be able to use. we want to build the best experience for every person on every phone. >> facebook is creating a new series of apps that work so you can basically launch facebook apps as you home screen. they are using home very spec l specifically. they want it to be the way you experience everything on the web. something that is called chat heads. a way to interact with messaging. you can start off in an sms and switch between an sms to a group and fandango and all purchase tickets together without losing conversation of your chat heads. >> we are tracking t

despite the horrible economic data, we are down a little, but overall not bad. on the new york stock exchange. jpmorgan and wells fargo reporting, investors are not too impressed. nicole: that is right, we saw both of those names hold back. the big pictures are still doing okay. we could turn positive in the next 40 seconds. if we do, t could be another record close. liz: i hav i have to ask about jcpenney whether the news is good or bad, they got more good news than bad news. the stock responding in a positive way.

>> you have to look at the economic data, right?ek, it was kind of crumby, across the board. but it still supports about 2% gdp. if those numbers start to really decelerate, and mainly in the growth drivers of the economy, the housing that we've seen, we've seen a recovery, right? manufacturing, it's selective, but u.s. commercial construction still very much on the rise, and that's positive, too. and the consumer, consumer has held in, even though everyone's nervous about it. especially with oil prices coming down. so i think those are the underpinnings of the 2% gdp. so that changes, my thoughts start to change. >> now we get a report card starting next week. earnings start to come out. that's usually a volatile period, anyway. isn't the market vulnerable at these levels, as those reports start coming out? >> especially since it's not going to be great. >> i think certain sectors definitely are. you look at the retail sector, which guidance numbers last quarter were not good. they were taken down. we've seen estimates come down si

with crude it is all about china, that weaker-than-expected economic data.e world's second largest consumer of oil and when you get weak economic data there, you get a selloff in oil that is what is happening there. the trade, the selloff in commodities continues, guys. back to you. tracy: sandra smith, thank you. the selling begets selling. adam: talk about that. if you were listening to leland might be a great opportunity to get back in they're saying the chinese economy not down and out just yet. tracy: absolutely. adam: coming up with mortgages 10% down or less are on the rise. could we be looking at another housing crisis? gerri willis will explain why. tracy: as we head out to break let's look at some of the winners and losers on the s&p 500. there are winners. sprint-nextel no surprise on news of a deal. plus life technologies also thanks to merger monday up 7.4%. we'll be right back. tracy: a lot of red on the screen. wal-mart, microsoft, procter & gamble green. everything else very, very red. let's ha head down to the floorf the new york stock excha

we've seen china become the starling out of the economic data, right? we've talked about it. talked about positioning the portfolios -- our portfolio, more . . . . . . . . . . knee and obviously a bit of a rally. as the growth starts to disappoint, commodities fell way off. in this case, it's been a metal-driven sell-off. >> and the point before, the margins hitting the market. the reason for the huge two-day sell-off in gold, and if that's the case -- and i've said gold appears to be broken -- if that's the case, usually you get a capitulation. you will getting a trading bottom and a bounce. >> don't forget, the global central banks are easing around the world. so that hasn't changed overnight. that's going to be very positive for the long term. >> all right. thank you, as always. >> thank you. >> next up on "the half," cities bucking the trend and what's the slew of bank earnings this week mean? what's the best way to play it? glenn shore joins us with the top plays in banks. >>> and later, netflix having a tough day. stock up nearly 100% this year alone, so can the good ti

i think you've seen some weaker than expected economic data here in the u.s., and that's leading many investors to step in and say is the fed ever going to stop as quantitative easing, we've been hearing more and more discussion of the fed tapering off, but i think a lot of people are starting to think twice. >> bob, you're up to bat. >> stocks at newhighs, lousy global growth. number one, how do you reconcile that contraction, and dividend is number two. pitney-bowes, cut the dividend in half. what does that tell you about the dividend market? >> as far as the stock market hitting all-time highs, this is something we continue to hear from clients every single day, how is it the stock market keeping inching higher. what i think is important is for investors to understand, remember what is exactly they're buying. they're buying profits. if you look at how we're doing so far, with about 68%, it looks like the s&p 500 will let another record all-time high. about 70% of companies beating analyst estimates, and we continue to hit all-time high, so i think that's su

weak economic data out of china sparked monday's fall and later bombings in boston drove up investors fears. >>> expect to see police and military presence ramped up at travel hubs in major cities across the country. in boston the governor said the city is open but will not be business as usual. >>> thanks to marathon runners who ran straight to the city's hospitals to donate blood massachusetts general met all of its blood needs for yesterday but encouraging more donations beginning at 7:30 this morning. >> announcer: "early today" health is brought to you by vagisil. >> coming up after the break what can authorities do to keep the public safe at major gatherings. >>> plus the chilling 911 phone calls as they came into police moments after the first fireball erupted on the sidewalk in boston. this is "early today." >>> in the wake of the boston bombings federal investigators are on the ground combing through evidence to learn more about the explosive device and to learn who was behind take. terrorism experts have been warning of an attack like this. warning about a soft target. >> re

earnings and economic data there, a little bit of a focus as well. >> the g-20 is a meeting of international financial leaders. a lot of focus on currency moves. gives us an up dadate on where are now? >> let's have a look at it right now this friday morning as tokyo stocks kick off here. 98.24 to 25. it hasn't shifted that much but hasn't treatedoo much either. compared to monday when it dipped to 95 yen levels, if you remember. as you mentioned about the g-20, a lot of focus will be on a speech given by the bank of japan governor where he wants to explain in greater detail about the current monetary policy and that the bank of japan is not targeting rates. it's been a big concern in global markets despite most leading economies having agreed to the principals involved. dending on the cmentsnd reaction from g-20 leaders we may see the yen returning to a weakening trend. let's have a look at the euro/yen. 128.26 to 28. growth and unemployment remain a big concern for euro zone economy. they make everything from lightbulbs to jet engines covering a lot of different sectors. back to you. >> th

in the economic data front in the united states and certainly everybody is very, the bombings. liz: hold on. we will fix your microphone. let me throw it to you, phil. that same question. cell in may and go away at your own peril if. >> i think so. it is definitely in the cards. think we ran up too far in the s&p, on the verge of a breakdown. earnings are going to confirm that. the jobs market will start sliding, especially of the next few months. qe is not helping, so i could definitely see that come back later in the year. a consulting stabilize, and we will get bargain prices. liz: we like it or bargain. thank you. i want to bring in nicole petallides. you have been looking for bargain stocks. overall we have the situation with apple where it turned even more sour with the stock falling to a new low. i hate getting to apple centered because people get all glittery i'd. maybe the world is just saturated with the iphone and ipad products and that is it for now. >> more products coming down the pipeline. what i was just looking at, this chart from 2008. and then you have all th

earnings and economic data there, a little bit of a focus as well. >> the g-20 is a meeting of international financial leaders. a lot of focus on currency moves. gives us an up dadate on where are now? >> let's have a look at it right now this friday morning as tokyo stocks kick off here. 98.24 to 25. it hasn't shifted that much but hasn't retreated too much either. compared to monday when it dipped to 95 yen levels, if you remember. as you mentioned about the g-20, a lot of focus will be on a speech given by the bank of japan governor where he wants to explain in greater detail about the current monetary policy and that the bank of japan is not targeting rate it's been a big concern in global markets despite most leading economies having agreed to the principals involved. depending on the comments and reaction from g-20 leaders we may see the yen returning to a weakening trend. let's have a look at the euro/yen. 128.26 to 28. growth and unemployment remain a big concern for euro zone economy. they make everything from lightbulbs to jet engines covering a lot of different sectors. back to yo

and i think the street is correctly looking to steve's point at the economic data right now. and they are saying to themselves that there is actually a down side risk to inplace, which means the fed is staying way longer than you think. the trade-off of all that is, yes, you stay in equities, because the fed's going to stay. i go back to what i said yesterday. i actually believe the biggest opportunity -- you said this before -- 12 feet to the ceilr m ceiling. that's in the treasury market. you've got a yield at 1.66 right now. >> it strikes me, your down side is 2% or 2.1 or 2.25. and you're going to take that for ten basis points. if you're correctly protected, that's okay. that's your trade. to he, the town side looks lot more limited. >> our next guest says sell in may is a tried and true market strategy. he's mark holbert. he's live from duke university. welcome to the half. >> thanks you. >> why's it going to work when so many people at our desk say no way. >> i'm not saying it's guaranteed to work. what i have said is the statistical basis for the sell in may is surpri

where we need the next new catalyst either to drive the market higher, either through stronger economic data, but i think we may get the next moment, to come in first quarter earnings. our view is that the bar has been set pretty low going into earnings season, and we think corporations can surprise the upside. >> ron, to gene peroni's point, some of the leaders latelies are starting to faultlter. >> yeah, the financials, also, bill have given up their their leadership, as have key technology stocks. it's the kind of thing that can presage a correction. i might go out a little bit farther on a limb, 5 to 10% on a pullback. i'm a still a buy the dip type. but some of the data has softened up, both domesticicly and overseas, and commodities seem to be sending a slightly more ominous, although not in a huge way, message with copper breaking down of late. we're seeing commodities with the exception of lumber weaken. so that makes us a little nervous about this run to highs with some negative divergence starting to show up. >> when could you see that 5 to 10%? are we waiting for the month of may?

>> i think you have to watch economic data.tainly we have a big jobs number coming out this week. not expecting any big surprises. but that could derail things. you have some big macro potential risks on the nuclear side. things are heating up in north and south korea. and iran is always kind of somewhere in the back of the book that you've got to keep in mind. so there are a number of kind of outside risks that will derail the markets. but from a technical standpoint, this trend is firmly in place. >> what happens if the dollar continues to rise? can the stock market go up at the same time? >> well, it certainly has been recently. our models have been long the dollar now for a substantial period of time and people always ask me, what currency do you want to be short against the dollar? the answer for me, with the exception of the high yielders, we're short a number of currencies. economic data, it's all a relative game. it looks weaker in other g-7 and g-10 currencies. i think it's a good play to be long the dollar and the equ

the economic data slowing down, we're on a negative trajectory relating to expectations in the ons whye hhve goodhis earnings numbers relative to the estimates from the consumer staples companies. there's cracks appearing from the veneer of the companies here in the u.s.. the other thing we're concerned about is the intermarket trends, the bond market, where it's positioned now, and what we is not in the right step relating to where they think the economy is in relation to the equity markets, so we're a little cautious here. we think if we are above the 1561 to close is above, and interimmediate bull line, we'll be all right. liz: yesterday, we saw volatility in the wake of the marathon bombings jump 43%. that was a little destabilize due to a drop in gold, a precipitous drop yesterday, but, today, it is pulling back by 2 #%. there on the floor of the cme, what are traders talking about as it relates to what happened yesterday versus today in >> yesterday was unusual. before we came in, as you stated, it started with china, and the market was down for fears of growth in china. the bost

. >> the stocks suffered yesterday on disappointing economic data and worries on escalating tensions with north korea. meanwhile, heads rolling at lululemon, the company's chief officer is leaving after the company was forced to pull a line of black pants because they were a bit see-through. >>> facebook taking another leap into the mobile market. the site is expecting to unveil a smartphone today that will promptly feature users' home pages on it. 680 million people currently access facebook on their phones each month. richard back to you. >>> on the retail front, samsung announced its setting up mini shops inside best buy stores in the comes months. meanwhile, rumors are swirling that apple has its own tv in the works, 50 or 60-inch sets that you control with your hand movements costs between $1500 and $2,000. >>> hyundai and kia with air and brake switches. a new report finds 700 million federal dollars to help katrina victims is unaccounted for. according to the report more than 24,000 louisiana homeowners who received up to $30,000 had not carried out the necessary work or did n

markets went down after their has been the economic data and new corporate news coming from the u.s. >> we stay in frankfurt for a closer look at thursday's numbers. the dax giving up about 0.4%. slightly to the upside for the year of stoxx -- euro stoxx 50. across the atlantic, the dow also trading down into negative territory. the euro slightly higher against the greenback, trading at a value of $1.3051. the portuguese government has approved around 800 million euros of new spending cuts that will keep its eu imf bailout on track. the additional cuts were necessary after parts of its unpopularity austerity plan were thrown out by the country's constitutional court. >> the budget slashing and other measures will allow me to meet this year's budget target of 5.5% of gross domestic product. portugal, which is now in the grips of its worst recession since the 1970's, has already imposed the biggest tax hikes in living memory. stay with us. when we come back, we have plenty of news for you, including german soccer. >> and the formula one controversial race coming up. we will tell you al

economic data. surprisingly good news coming from deutsche bank, the largest german private bank, making a profit in the first quarter of almost 2.5 billion euros. the institute also did bolster its capital base with a huge and very successful capital increase. the euro was also recovering because italy finally has a new government and eurozone, one less problem. >> let's take a look now markets. up to buy a bit more than half a percent sign ending at 7913. eurostoxx slightly down. over in the united states, the dow jones is trading unchanged at 14,818. the euro up slightly at $1.3155. >> coming up after the break, no longer taboo in the united states, military grounds are now on the shopping list, but the resistance in germany to them is immense. >> a look at the high-profile trial of a spanish doctor accused of helping cyclists do. stay with us. >> combat. we are picking up again with the coronation of the dutch king. this time around, we're looking at the intricate network of remaining monarchs.

stocks got a big boost from a round of solid economic data reports and stronger than expected earnings from dell, dow components, coca-cola and john and jo johnson and johnson. and there was a 4% decline in prices at the gas pump. helping, industrial production was higher than forecast in march. with u.s. automakers churning out more new cars and trucks and utilities, combatting a nationwide cold snap that we suffered from last month. and good news in housing. construction of new homes shot up by 7% in march. enough to reach an adjusted annual rate of 1 million housing units for the last month. something we have not seen in five years. >> bill, that jump in new home building sent shares of the nation's biggest home builders higher. ryland up 3.5%. and others have all seen gain. much of the surge in construction was not single family homes however. but multi-family rental apartments. it's a sector that has been growing rapidly over the past few years and now there's concern about a backlash in all those rental units that are hitting the market all at once. diane explains. >> as the mark

futures higher this morning after stocks suffered their worst day in a month on disappointing economic dataating tensions with north korea. look today for unemployment. that will be significant. heads are rolling at lululemon. the chief officer is leaving after they were forced to pull a pair of black pants because they were too see through. face book is expected to unveil is smartphone today. 8 million people access facebook on their phones each month. >> great, there's so many already. >>> on the retail front, samsung is setting up minishops inside best buy stores. rumors are swirling that apple has its own tv in the works, a 50-inch set you control with hand movements. hyundai and kia are recalling almost the million vehicles to fix problems with air bags and brake light switches. a disturbing report finds $700 million federal dollars is unaccounted for to help people from the flood. louisiana homeowners have not carried out the necessary work or did not provide proof it was done. the nfl is giving ticket buyers a little more bang for their buck. they will install cameras in the locker r

think we'll see modest progress but i still think we have to brace for some disappointments in economic datathrough the summer. the fiscal sequestration, some of those impacts are starting to hit. job growth should be 45,000 jobs more strong per month. >> you come in contact with a lot of individual investors ativan guard. what's your reed on how they feel about spending money and investing it? >> well, i think broadly speaking, we are seeing investors -- and we do have millions of clients and shareholders, continuing to execute on a long-term plan. many remain fully vested in the market. that said, this is a level of concern both with respect to the low level of interest rates as well as open any questions such as is the recent recovery net market, is this sustainable? so i think they're legitimate questions, but at the end of the day we continue to see very strong demand from investors and they continue to place faith in the financial market. >> and there's more encouraging news about the economy, and something we haven't seen since president obama took office. the u.s. government will pay

investors look for economic data on retail sales and consumer sentiment.li lilly set to cut 1,000 jobs as the company faces competition from generic drugs. lilly's blockbuster cymbalta loses patent protection later this year. >>> facebook starts selling its new home app for htc smartphones today. your facebook home page will be the first thing you see when you turn on your phone. dara, back to you. >> thank you, seema. >>> good news if you're hitting the road. gas prices continue to fall. aaa says the national average is $3.56, down from $3.70 a month ago. >>> blackberry shares took a hit thursday after reports of an abnormally high return rate and dwindling sales for its new blackberry z-10. the company calls the allegations absolutely false. >>> if you're wondering what the winklefox twins are up to, wonder no more. famous for suing mark zuckerberg, they're now venture capitalists. and major big-coin investors. they say they own about $11 million worth of the currency. >>> mcdonald's has killed a regional subway ad that pokes fun at mental illness. it re

also, we had economic data. new home sales rose by 1.5% from last month. that also helped boost sentiment as well as stocks in the u.s. yuko. >> despite the positive housing news, we still haven't seen the dollar yen getting closer to 100. >> yes. that does seem to be an illusive level, doesn't it?e dollar ihold to upper 99.60-70 levels. the euro also falling a touch there. 129.5 129.53-58 after weaker than expected consensus and some think the central bank may be ready to cut interest rates to boost growth. we'll be watching all of that as well. positive start for the nikkei and component mers of the apples financials and some we're looking out for. back to you. >> that was ramin at the tokyo stock exchange. >>> japanese prime minister will meet russian president vladimir putin next sunday in russia. a japanese bank is taking the opportunity to meet with a russian bank to promote business in the country. the bank for international cooperation will go with abe and expected to sign an agreement with the bank's russian partner. the officials of the two banks

so -- six weeks, and you've seen the economic data stream, which has been significant, across a lot ofata points. and you mentioned most of them. and the q & a. i think that changes the statement. i think what we're going to get is a mention of current conditions. and current conditions -- >>ing soier. and inflation. they're going to put in the statement that inflation is coming in below their target. and i'm just saying, when everybody sees that, reads that, they're going to just say, no way the fed is slowing down their bond purchases. no way the fed is slowing down. and in a sense, in a -- in a sense, that's easier money. >> it is easier money. one of the trickier things that's going to happen next month with increase in tax receipts and is a cut in spending, the government actually has to issue less debt. and that's going to make the fed have to be a little more -- >> by ten minutes. because it's coming back in the third quarter. trust me. >> i agree. but in the next couple of months, you're going to have less supply, they're going to feel more aggressive with what they're buying.

the latest chinese economic data has triggered further selling of gold. >>> japanese finance minister aso says he will seek the understanding of his group of 20 counterparts and central bank chiefs for the country's economic policy. leaders of the g-20 industrialized and developing nations are getting together in washington later this week. japan's economic policy may be a subject of discussion. u.s. treasury officials last week called on japan not to deliberately devalue its currency. >> translator: japan's measures including those of the bank of japan are aimed at ending prolonged deflation. i will, again, clarify this at the g-20 meeting. so there is no misunderstanding about how true policy objectives. >>> japanese entrepreneurs have had the chance to hear how to be successful from some of the best in the i.t. business. global tech leaders have urged them to expand their businesses with an open mind. executives of japanese i.t. firms organized an event under the them innovation in tokyo on tuesday. their aim is to foster venture businesses in the country the group invited leading