david faber has the ceo from charter communications. interview from taking the top spot. >> we are here at the ubs media conference. with a guest in the media industry whom i have never interviewed on camera. tom rutledge, ceo of charter communications. 5 million subscribers spread across the country but certainly st. louis still the hub. nice to have you. >> thank you, david. glad to be here. >> you've been ceo of this company for most of this year, let's call it. ten months or so. it's different than cablevision which i ran as coo, the cable part of it, for many years. much more spread out. much lower average revenue per user. how confident are you that you can tackle something that even geographically is very different than what you did at cablevision, not to mention get people to spend more for their broadband and for the cable? >> it is a cable company and has the same physical assets. they're just in a lot more places. charter has 200,000 miles of street service, meaning physical infrastructure in front of that many miles of stree

david faber broke the story. >> thanks, andrew.urse, we started to get word that we might very well get a deal this morning. this morning we may be, who knows, as little as not too many minutes away from an official announcement based on what i'm hearing. again, to go over the terms, it would appear that ice is going to acquire the new york stock exchange in a cash and stock deal. about two-thirds of it will be shares of ice. one-third of it will be cash, if you back in to the map you more or less get something like a ratio of 0.17 or so shares of ice, throw in about 11.25 or so of cash, again, not exact science here, and that will get you to right around that $33 level that my sources indicate is the price that has been agreed to. unclear whether both boards have officially signed off on the deal. but, again, as of last night, it was very, very close to being inked and being approved by those boards of directors. then we move into questions that we don't have the full answers to as yet, until we actually see a press release, shoul

for that would, we go to david faber. >> news on best buy, in the news yesterday. the stock up sharply. what we can tell you right now is the board of directors of best buy, and its founder, richard schultz, has been trying to put together a group to essentially buy the company in a go private transaction, have extended the deadline in which he would need to come with a bid for best buy and created a window in fact that will begin on february 1st next year and end with the end of that month on february the 28th. giving schultz the opportunity to look at not just christmas sales, but the end of their fiscal year, which will end at best buy on the 31st of january. and that window, again, will be 28 days long giving him an opportunity to continue to try to cobble together a bid with private equity firms and those who might finance a potential bid for the company at whatever price that might come at, if it were in fact to come at all. no word in terms of if he doesn't, whether he'll still be able to try to nominate directors in terms of the board of directors post at t

. >> my colleague david faber this morning on "squawk on the street" was wondering about the economicsi said, look, you guys can ship it after you can liquefy it and there isn't a country in the world, basically very few countries in the world could beat your price even after shipment. isn't that true? >> that is true. that is true. >> and number of people -- >> natural gas -- >> number of people you put to work. >> this job -- our site alone, jim, there's, you know, there's others looking at doing it. our site will create 7,000 jobs at the location while it's being built and another 15,000, at least, permanent jobs in the region. so it's great for the state of maryland, it's great for calvert county where it's located. the taxes from the project will pay for over 650 teachers' annual salaries. it will be a great economic boom to the region and we hope we get it done. >> do you think the president would ever come to cove and just say, look, this is the future for our country? do you think that could happen? >> well, we'll -- that's a great idea. we'll invite him. >> okay. last question

me, i think if they did what my friend david faber wants them to do, which is to close international,l go through the roof. but if they keep losing cash over there, it's time to -- ca-ching. apple just the latest victim of the fiscal cliff. eventually it's too cheap to ignore and then it's time to take a bite, the apple dog, the market tail, it won't always stay that way. don't move, "lightning round" coming up. bp has paid over twenty-threebp billion dollarsnt to the gulf. to help those affected and to cover cleanup costs. today, the beaches and gulf are open, and many areas are reporting their best tourism seasons in years. and bp's also committed to america. we support nearly 250,000 jobs and invest more here than anywhere else. we're working to fuel america for generations to come. our commitment has never been stronger. ♪ mom? dad? guys? [ engine turns over ] [ engine revs ] ♪ he'll be fine. [ male announcer ] more people are leaving bmw, mercedes and lexus for audi than ever before. take advantage of exceptional values during the season of audi event. >>> "lightning round" is sp

>> yeah, kudos to faber. he gave us that, i think, on tuesday this week, judge. stock today up 13%. obviously, they've got the backing of soft bank. so you would think because soft bank just put that big investment into sprint. i think there are some betting that maybe the deal could be sweetened a little because obviously it's trading above that takeout price. >> good for sprint, doc, quickly? >> i do think it's good for sprint because this is that spectrum they bought from at&t and then got in bed with sprint to expand that. the system across the country. and i do think it's good for sprint and ultimately soft bank. >> i think sprint is the best performing stock in the s&p 500 year to date. i'll have to double check that but i think that's the case. lexmark has been downgraded to sell from hold at deutsche bank. the analyst there calling the stock, josh, overvalued. >> well, this thing's up 30% since august when they j jettisonned the inkjet printing. we've already seen the best we'll see in terms of cost savings. all of the positives from that spinoff are bake

me, i think if they did what my friend david faber wants them to do, which is to close international, will go through the roof. but if they keep losing cash over there, it's time to -- ca-ching. apple just the latest victim of the fiscal cliff. eventually it's too cheap to ignore and then it's time to take a bite, the apple dog, the market tail, it won't always stay that way. don't move, "lightning round" coming up. how far will people go to relieve their sore throat? try these. new cepacol sensations cools instantly, and has an active ingredient that stays with you long after the lozenge is gone. not just a sensation, sensational relief. syou know, i've helped alot ofof people save a lot of money. but today...( sfx: loud noise of metal object hitting the ground) things have been a little strange. (sfx: sound of piano smashing) roadrunner: meep meep. meep meep? (sfx: loud thud sound) awhat strange place. geico®. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] everyone deserves the gift of all day pain relief. this season, discover aleve.

faber knew about it. cnbc's david faber reported earlier this week this was going to happen.s going to offer $2.90 for the 49% of the company it doesn't already own. >> surprised he hasn't called in yet to walk us through this. >> and you can also, as we always say, it's probably now on andrew's m&a website. after david faber breaks these things it usually ends up on dealbook. >> thank you. >> best buy founder richard schulze makes a formal takeover offer this week according to the "minneapolis star tribune." yum brands is upgraded by goldman sachs to buy from neutral. citing increased potential for yum's operations in china. although, that's what we talk about all the time. kfc in china. that's the growth in their, i think isn't yum bigger than mcdonald's in terms of total number? >> yeah. >> i think subway is, too. research -- >> they don't even call it kentucky tried anymore. >> kfc. >> and it's really chicken. >> that's uncalled for. what do you think it is, cat? that is uncalled for. >> this is all i'll say. >> tastes like chicken. >> yes, it's chicken! if david novak --

when we come back, david faber with more on this incredible deal.omas sargent. nobel laureate in economics, and one of the most cited economists in the world. professor sargent, can you tell me what cd rates will be in two years? no. if he can't, no one can. that's why ally has a raise your rate cd. ally bank. your money needs an ally. you can stay in and share something... ♪ ♪ ...or you can get out there with your friends and actually share something. ♪ the lexus december to remember sales event is on, offering some of our best values of the year. this is the pursuit of perfection. >>> back to the big deal today out of freeport mcmoran. our david faber has been digging. >> freeport mcmoran essentially saying we're no longer just digging for gold and copper, we are also an oil and gas explorati exploration. >>> let's give you some of the details. we'll have more on that in just a moment. as for the details of the two acquisition, when you add in debt to post a $20 billion in cash and stock, first let's start with mmr, mcmoran exploration. that opera

we go to mark faber now. he is joining us on the phone. mr.alk to you this morning. look at washington. what do you see? are you optimistic? >> well, basically, i think that the global economy is slowing down considerably. we have possibly one or 2% growth. maybe no growth. we have a slowdown in asia. particularly, in china. there are some positive spots in the world. i was recently traveling in asia. this is a region, 250 million people. they will integrate and they will grow very rapidly. the problem is the stock markets have already done very well in asia from the lows in 2009. of 250%. a lot of positive news has already been discounted. i think what has really changed in the world is -- that will be positive for japanese shares. also, if greece could rally by 80%, then, i think that china and vietnam can also rebound 30%. dagen: you have always liked gold. there was a story and the "wall street journal" today that a small number of pension funds in japan started to invest in gold for the very first time. very unusual. the beginning of some

, guys. >> david faber, yeah. >> what do you look like?k we have the big reveal. there it is. you look a little bit like william shatner. 67, not too bad. your chin drops a little bit. david with the gray hair, i think he aged pretty well. >> you're looking pretty good, david. >> 107. gravity is definitely taking its toll there. that's not accounting for the work i'm going to have done, is it, kayla? >> no, it's not. that's the funny thing we saw from the people we interviewed in bryant park last week. most of them said i'm actually going to be saving additionally for plastic surgery, some way to fix that motion of gravity. >> all right. yes. i'll keep that in mind. that wasn't that depressing. it will motivate me to get things done. >> do face yoga. >> 107 is coming. oh, man. i'm going long allergen right now. >> brian? >> yeah, i don't think i'll live to see 107, a short life, but merry. home builders, look at lennar, the home starts came out weaker than expected. single family starts for the majority of that falling about 4%. but the ke

my colleague david faber says that there are a huge number of hedge funds shorting this thing because they believe that the deal could fall through. they are thinking it is ortho. we will be listening when starbucks talks about teavana tomorrow. let me give you the outline so you can understand why i'm so bullish about the stock. it is a high quality growth stock in a low-growth world. they are putting up new stores all over the globe. i expect to hear it is doing better than yum. starbucks has high end stores. may seem like there is a starbucks in every corner in america. it is the highest quality of problems. it needs to keep the lines shorter. i know they don't control the airports but please, add like five more starbucks to every airport i've been to. the company is improving the efficiency of the stores. they have the pods that you put in the keurig to make coffee. and now they have the sumatra. they have the keurig alternative, the barismo. it could be a good year for starbucks. but 2013 should be a good year too. they have had to fight against the head wind of high coffee price

the price $2.97 a share is reported by our david faber last week.wire at about $10 billion. quite a few shares outstanding. $2.97. $10 billion. >> all right let's get a final hang from our guest host this hour, bob doll. chief ek quitty strategist and senior portfolio manager at nuveen investments. bob, we talked an awful lot about what washington needs in all of this. really when you look at the year ahead, washington aside, how are things doing both on the business and consumer levels? >> okay. muddle through. more of the same. maybe a little bit better. we talked about consumer confidence getting a little bit better. business confidence a little bit better. we're not going to set any records. europe, probably a negative number at least the first half. less than we saw last year. we didn't talk about china at all. china is evidencing, from every angle, a soft landing. >> well, they're not talking about doing any additional big stimulus package? >> they probably don't need to. so we're that going to get acceleration on the other side but we're not

mike faber from homeland may or may not be back.al house," bill murray, i'm trying to be a professional. >> i'm sorry. that just went through my head. >> that's okay. better than taking the brain on spongebob. >> eric cantor, you'll be happy to know, the gop leader tweets, we will not adjourn congress until a credible solution to the fiscal cliff is announced. revised the house calendar. so we've got that going for us. >> that is helpful. >> these guys want it lower. cantor yesterday was fiery. and again, this partisanship, jpmorgan said unbelievable research on how partisan we are. that's where they get the -- i mean, the civil war thing was not something i dreamed up. that's how difficult the -- lincoln couldn't solve it. >> part of the take your children to sweat shop work day? >> anyway, let's check with bob pisani with more on what's moving today. >> let's talk about what the trading day's going to look like. that was the main topic of conversation overnight and through this morning. i would note, folks, i know this is not a go

a complicated deal that david faber walked us through.eople are seeing at least some value in decline and shares of -- i'm so used to saying decline with hp. >> freeport-mcmoran. >> very tight as we knew it would be. not requiring shareholder vote as we already had known detailing the $9.5 billion loan they are taking from jpmorgan. the key take away, you're not going to get a chance to say no here. this is happening. they are buying mmr. at least today the stock is up after what had been a terrible performance during the last two trading days. >> explain capitalism to me for a moment. you have a publicly traded company where one person owns a huge chunk who also happens to be the ceo of another company that is buying them. >> chairman. >> chairman. yes. here's what i'm concerned about. this company's stock plummeted because of davy jones. it's pretty clear that i think that there will be few companies that will be making an offer for mmr. >> perhaps not at that premium. 74% premium and also then you get part of a royalty trust so even mo

my friend david faber told people don't pay up, some guy saying it would be 5 bucks. why don't you take some off the table? you've got a double. follow cramer's rule, sell half tomorrow, maybe let the rest run. rebel without a cause, great flick. and anyway, i want it repeated in washington. sadly, that seems to be where we're headed. i don't want a repeat of the debt ceiling t.a.r.p. debacle. but today felt sort of like we had one. >>> coming up, fiscal fear. it's a critical time for the ticker as wall street hangs on every word out of washington. >> at some point reality should set in. >> cramer takes on the technicals to see if the market could be telegraphing its next move, when he goes off the charts. >>> and, later, last-minute shopping? after almost doubling this year, shares of the gap have gapped down. could this mega name clothing retailer be gift wrapped just for you? or will cliff worries about locking in gains for the year soon make it come apart at the seams? cramer is trying it on, just ahead. >>> plus, engine of growth? the power outages that followed

david faber said same thing weeks ago but the stock moving on the that reuters report. >> big lots thee up. >> rising despite the ceo leaving, right? lower than expected loss and boosting of guidance, a big day for big lot, up over 12%. it was, at one point, may still be, the best performing in the s & p 500 this year. the ceo says they are well positioned for christmas. >> good. good to hear. >> i don't know what that means r they under the tree? >> maybe. doubt it. meantime, we are looking at apple tanking today. 10% to the downside. >> exactly down 10%. you are more of a medieval person, olive guard opinion, red lobster, they have been struggling. get this. darden, which owns those restaurant chains, sees earnings as much as 71 cents below current expectations for fiscal 2013. ceo called the quarter disappointing. same-store sales fell overall, retool the promotional strategies, famous for the all you can eat shrimp for like 9.99. not working like they hoped. >> francesca's big win today, an upgrade r. >> jeffreys a stock up to a buy to a hold. >> pep boys not pep pill. >> manny, mo

it's breathtaking, this undercurrent as my colleague david faber said today on "squawk on the street, just don't talk enough about it. and i've got to tell you, that's got to change in 2013. then there's europe. today, just today, i am wearing a tie that commemorates a brilliant strategy. one which works so amazingly that i'm still dazzled by it. what's happening on this tie? it's a man, a man in a suit kicking a can down the road. you see, while the europeans were kicking the can, they gave themselves time to develop a plan to allow governments and banks to raise capital and fix their respective balance sheets at lower levels than anyone thought possible. coming into the year, you know what my number one worry was? we believe that every time italy and spain would have to raise money, go to the debt markets, do those deals, interest rates would shoot through the roof, bankrupting all involved, sovereign countries, companies, banks. instead, by letting cooler heads prevail through can kicking, smart private sector investors kicked the tires, not the cans, and they bought the debt. hit

joining us now are david faber, bob pisani and steven guilfoyle and rick santelli at the cme. first, david, who broke the story this morning, i guess this deal had to happen based on where the competitive landscape sits, and it's likely not going to be the last deal that we've been talking about. >> we've been thinking about and hearing about and talking about deals for quite some time but much of that did not happen as a result of regulators. the nyc has been looking for quite some time to figure out the future. its ceo having engaged with and having a deal with deutsche boerse sometime back, two years ago, in heated discussions and announced it in 2011. a year later it was dead? why, because of the derivatives business in europe that european regulators did not want to see get together for both of those companies. couldn't get around t.nasdaq as well, along with i.c.e. at the time, had made a hostile bid, you may recall, from the new york stock exchange, but that was stopped as well because it wasn't going to happen as a result of antitrust here in the u.s., a americaning of

faber broke this news about a week ago. >> the company is doing all the right things. they needed the sprek tum to build out lte. they're also closing their network. they're going to have synergies from this deal and i think at four times ebitda the stock is certainly not that expensive. on a pullback i like the story. >> tenet health care trading at levels not seen since october 2006. it's almost up 3%. >> the reason is it was a completely different company back in 2006. it was back. the company may have gone out bankrupt so it's been a complete he will coverry in it and they do very, very well under obama care in this hospitals and acute hospitals. >> all right, finally cheniere energy is up. joey t. what's the read? >> it's a 20-year deal in 2018. there's two names that could play off of this. there is lng, which is chenniere, and also cqp which is cheniere partners. overall it's going to be a big theme here domestically in the u.s. cheniere is a pioneer in that. >> bond yields are moving higher today after news that speaker boehner proposed a counteroffer to avert

there was news david faber was talking about. this sprint/clearwire deal is closer.doesn't change -- >> not at all. a distant third in a two horse race. i don't think soft bank coming in does much for them. they don't know the operating environment in the u.s. as well as the big two. i would not buy sprint. i would sell it. take the profits. >> josh, as many people are sitting there saying, calling their financial advisers saying who should we sell, what do you say? >> i hope their advisers know what the correct answer is to give these people. obviously some of this is an individual situation. but for the most part any time i've seen investors do anything en masse because of some kind of idea it's usually been the wrong idea. i'll give you a really great quick example. in late 1999 you had so many people say, well, i'm not going to sell all these dot coms because look how big the taxes are going to be. had they made that move and not worried so much about the taxes, a lot of them would have saved some 50%, 70%. stocks just got absolutely crowbared. i think this is th

the new ceo of charter communications, thomas rutledge, will join david faber for an exclusive interviewear his take on money, media and the fiscal cliff. and would you get a mortgage from walmart? a lot of people would. we will discuss it today on "power lunch." i'm tyler mathisen, and i am "power lunch." now back to scott. >> ty, thanks. see you in 12 months. top of the hour. also want to let you know at 2:00 this afternoon, president is going to answer questions on the fiscal cliff via twitter. @whitehouse #my2k. thus far, we haven't had any sound bites come from anybody today. certainly after many folks made the rounds on the sunday talk shows. nobody today royaling the markets. we'll have to see if anything the president says via twitter ends up moving stocks again, 2:00 eastern time. let's get a market flash on the automakers from, else who else, bertha coombs. >> ford and gm driving in different directions. ford with a 6.5% increase in light truck and passenger car sales for the month, also saying it's going to maintain its production guidance for the fourth quarter. mean time, gm

they would pull off seven times more days -- >> david faber tweeted this morning that they should be to listen to the animal orchestra until they have a deal. >> david faber's hair. >> you put them in a room. you tell them they're going to sit there until the deal is done. day three, no more food. day five, no water. day seven, the waterboarding begins. that would get it done. >> and the president should be there, too. >> the president does work five days a week. >> but not in the same room. but he is home. he's already home. >> but listen, they spend too much time raising money. if they did a good job, they wouldn't have to raise as many money. if they got paid for performance, they wouldn't have any money. >> are you going to run for linda mcmahon's seat? >> she doesn't have a seat. >> i know that. but was that the same one she was running for? >> i was included to run, but i declined. >> nice job. nice work. >> that committee is dysfunctional. >> you could have won. >> yeah, i could have won. >> you could have been a contender. >> but america can win if you get down there and solv

. >> david faber, take a bow. >> we'll be ready to talk about that right now. in 13 seconds. >> it was a fascinating hour with david tepper. >> yeah. i'm still going through it. i was taking nose e ining notes talking. >> "squawk on the street" begins right now. >>> good monday morning. welcome to "squawk on the street." we are live from the new york stock exchange. let's take a look at the u.s. futures set up for the open first of the week. dow looking at about 50 points right after the open. as for the action in europe, taking its cues from the united states. we'll see a big rally in china extending one of its biggest rallies in three years. we have a mixed bag in europe with italy up by about .2 of 1%. >> we'll do our best to keep focused on the business day. we'll be following the tragic shooting in connecticut, of course. the new york stock exchange will hold a moment of silence to honor the victims in the next few moments, and we'll be looking at the president's call for meaningful action and the politics of gun control. >> let's get to a road map for thi

faber and i had been chatting about it probably for close to a decade.ry, the numbers, the performance, this was something that wasn't unknown. but just people were shocked. again, that day that four years ago, david, can you believe it? no, we can't believe it. finally nailed him. here's the thing. madoff won't happen again for the following reason. investors are smarter now. whereas the assumption that you could generate a 1% every month, be up 1% no matter what else was happening, even if there is somebody out there with a black box that can do it which i don't think there is, nobody will ever just take it for granted as a result of what happened with madoff. the other thing, too, anybody who has money in a fund, they're no longer since madoff going to allow that money to just sit there. they'll use custodial accounts, avd/dvp. assets directly at that fund. if they do, shame on them. >> cover in the journal is about financial advisers who cannot get their clients to buy stocks. they site the facebook ipo. i don't know if they cite madoff in particular

cnbc's david faber reports a deal could be announced today. ice would pay about $33 billion for nyse, and that's about a 7% premium to wednesday's closing price. the move comes nearly two years after ice and nasdaq teamed up to buy the new york stock exchange for $11 billion. they were competing at the time against a bid from germany's deutsche bores. both of those offers ran up against tremendous scrutiny for u.s. and eu regulators. the euro nyse shares shot up 20%. >> how republicans plan to bring their tax bill to a vote today as tensions over fiscal cliff rise. it's still unclear what the plan b will look like. president obama says he will veto the bill, which has raced tax rates for people making more than $1 million a year. the president says he's puzzled by what's holding up talks and that house republicans should, quote, stop trying to score a point against hem. >> take the deal. you know, they will be able to claim that they have worked with me over the last two years to reduce the deficit more than any other deaf sigz reduction packa

secretary-general moon says he does not faber an asylum deal for president assad, even if it meansent in syria. he said anyone who commits human rights violations has to be held accountable. now, the secretary moon also warned of huge consequences if assad decides to use chemical weapons in that crisis. secretary of state, hillary clinton, also warned syria of a swift response from the united states if chemical weapons are used. >>> well, today in egypt, supporters and critics of egypt's president have been throwing rocks at each other and fighting with sticks right outside of the presidential palace. thousands of protesters marched. muhammed morsi left as the crowds got bigger. protesters are angry -- angry about a power grab by the new president. >>> president obama is making a plan to avoid the fiscal cliff. these are live pictures of the president at the business round table. he will be speaking later today to a group of native-american tribal leaders, more than 500 of them are concerned about how deep spending cuts made to avoid the fiscal cliff would affect native-american issu

. >> that's faber holding her, before he had kids.he would do something right in his lap at the very beginning. check out the reindeer ears. great. >> happy birthday, blake. great 13 years and big life ahead. we're back in a moment. ♪ [ male announcer ] this is karen and jeremiah. they don't know it yet, but they're gonna fall in love, get married, have a couple of kids, [ children laughing ] move to the country, and live a long, happy life together where they almost never fight about money. [ dog barks ] because right after they get married, they'll find some retirement people who are paid on salary, not commission. they'll get straightforward guidance and be able to focus on other things, like each other, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. you won't take my life. you won't take our future. aids affects us all. even babies. chevron is working to stop mother-to-child transmission. our employees and their families are part of the fight. and we're winning. at chevron nigeria, we haven't had a reporte

i'm carl quintanilla along with jim cramer, david faber live at nyse.elissa will join us in the next hour. we're kicking off the month of december with strength. anticipating good auto numbers today. greece unveiling that $10 billion eurobond buyback. a 52-week high in france and germany. our road map this morning begins in washington where fiscal cliff negotiations according to the "times" has "collapsed." at least for now. with less than a month until the deadline, who blinks first if anyone? >> goldman takes dell from a strength to a buy. is it time to look at the stock and maybe even other players in the beat up personal computer sector? >> manufacturing data out of china. not bad. 50.6. that's the highest in seven months. although shanghai again trades lower even europe's pmi improves a touch in november. first up, we're one month away from the fiscal cliff and so far the white house and congressional republicans are still in disagreement over how to reduce the deficit and avoid a raft of tax hikes and spending cuts. yesterday our own jim cramer an

i'm melissa lee with carl quintanilla, jim cramer and david faber.e're live from post 9 at the new york stock exchange. a vacuum here in terms of u.s. economic data. none on top today. we're looking at a flat open across the board. as for europe, movement there. the buyback of greek debt will in fact work. we're seeing just fractions of a percent in terms of changes there. our road map this morning starts with the latest in the fiscal cliff negotiations. the white house promptly rebuffs the gop counterproposal which calls for $800 billion in new tax revenue but without tax rate increases for the wealthy. could this tax issue deadlock the talks? >>> bank of america ceo warns the cliff must get stalled or the economy could be stifled well into 2014. >>> even more dividends pushed into 2012. coach, american eagle moving up and oracle will play out three-quarters of dividends this year. >>> more strength in housing this morning. toll brothers earnings top expectations. we'll begin with the fiscal cliff. governors are set to meet today with the president

i'm carl with melissa lee, david faber, live from the new york stock exchange. jim cramer is on assignment today. well, are we getting close to a fiscal cliff deal or not. futures are up and the dow gained 100 yesterday. but there is room for skepticism. europe's grappling with the same question helped by some decent uk inflation data today. and a t-bill auction in spain. our road map begins with what appear to be significant progress in the debt negotiations overnight. a whose proposal looking to raise rates for those making more than $400,000 a year. but senator corker on squawk just poured a bucket of ice water on those hopes. >> whitney boosts her recommendations on citi, bank of america and discover financial. is that move by one of the more famous financial bears, a sign of a new era for banks? >> walmart is once again the target of a "new york times" investigation. but does the paper add anything new and can the stock outperform just as it did last time. >> private equity firm server said it will sell the firearms conglomerate. is private equity talking a

i'm carl, with melissa lee, david faber at the nyse. the new york stock exchange and nasdaq closing at 1:00 p.m. eastern time. the futures, a little bit of weakness here which we'll talk about in a minute, after it comes after a pretty bad day on friday. the european markets closed for the christmas eve holidays. london, paris, spain have each completed shortened sessions in light of the christmas holiday as well. the friday sell-off, only five trading days are left in the year. is the market getting used to the idea that a fiscal cliff solution will not happen before year end? >> only a few hours remain to finish your christmas shopping. but some words of caution for toymakers. are tablets and apps ruining the season as kids get more accustomed to technology? >> microsoft windows 8 gets more bad press today, as "the new york times" said it is not leading to a boost in pc sales. is there anything that can turn that lagging sector around? futures moving lower, as concerns about the fiscal cliff talks weigh on the market. talks about prog

cramer and faber are off today.ood morning to you, dan. >> good morning. >> the house gaveling into session just a few moments ago. business there is going to start at 10:00 a.m. eastern time. futures are showing some resilience as becky said, despite no deal yet in congress. but remember, the sell-off on friday and friday night was pretty severe. the dow is set to open below 13,000. markets in europe mixed after a shortened session in the uk, france and spain. our road map starts right where we were months ago, waiting for the 112th congress to agree on a debt reduction package. the senate convenes at 11:00 a.m. >> the dow had its worst day in a month on friday. set to close december with a loss. the question is, does it continue to sell off if there isn't an accord in congress. >> we will always have china. manufacturing pmi data from last night is the best in 21 months. can we finally say the chinese economy has been stabilized. >> but of course, we start in washington. as you know, congress comes back today. the

cramer and faber had the day off.he market has a few jitters as we enter what is going to be an interesting day. of course, the meeting at the white house, 3:00 between the president and some congressional leaders. as for europe, getting some data out of japan overnight and some data out of europe. currently red arrows across the board, in london, paris, and frankfort. our road map begins at the white house. congressional leaders set to meet with the president, 3:00 p.m. this afternoon. senator reid has already said hopes of a deal are fading quickly. just two trading days left until the cliff. and it's not just the fiscal cliff. wind farms and dairy are set to get hit. >> the ports of the east coast and gulf coast are bracing for a potential strike. the potential for this, midnight sunday with a shutdown threatening to threaten 20% of the cargo traffic. >> and instagram feeling the sting of the flap around privacy with users, fleeing the site. how will this impact facebook? >> as we mentioned, dennis berman, "wall st