tap into your inner gordon gekko. it was written by a robber. >> agreed is good. >> know it is not. >> i would argue greed is a good tng. it saves lives. when they look to make a profit they are designed to create better services. the benefits everybody. john: it was the foundation for this country? >> add-os see that in the declaration of independence. >> the pursuit of happiness is. john: happiness comes from family those who believe then god it has little to do but the others do not. >> family and religion can make you happy. a by relentlessly pursuing a goal that could make me happy. the burning desire to move mountains to get it. john: gordon gekko was implying that. would get the rest of his speech. he goes beyond greed is good. >> greed clarifies and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. greed an all forms money, life, love, knowledg the a board search of maind mark my words. it will save he other bell fracturing -- malfunctioning corporation called usa. john: was to look selfish >> we seek if i am p

the trick at that point is not to go all in gordon gekko.not good, man, it's dangerous, it's horrible. bulls make money, short sellers or bears can make money, but pigs, slaughtered, bacon. when you've got a serious winner, even if you think it still has many years of gains left in it, hey? you know what? take some profit. period, no discussion. you can let some of them ride, but it's a mistake to let them all. you've got to ring the register on some, a partial portion or position. otherwise your winners could become losers and that's a huge sin. it's best to lock in profits while you still have them by selling incrementally into strength. believe me, you haven't won until you've taken something off the table. hey, i'm making a lot of money. don't use that term making unless you're profiting. ringing the register. why am i putting so much stress on the need to unload your best-performing stocks that you're supposed to let run and never touch. for starters, you don't need me to tell you to sell the losers. when you own a stock and the company

. >> you going to gordon gekko first? >> a lid like that, you're surprised? >> reiterate qualcomm. uri. this is right where it ran into resistance in mid-september so give it a day to simmer down. >> wasn't he supposed to say, "greed is good"? >> long netflix. still using $63 stop. >> netflix up today in an otherwise weird nasdaq. nasdaq's getting a little momentum. >> energy stocks continue to be extremely active. they're all over our stuff in the options world. psx continues to hit. it's going higher. >> catch more "fast money" at 5:00 p.m. tonight. the conference call, all that after hours. "power" starts now. >>> housing starts at a four-year high. stock prices near record highs. your 401(k) balance, probably looking a heck of a lot better than a few years ago. other economic signs from consumer spending to sentiment, all in solid shape as well. now, it's not all roses. unemployment a big problem. the thorny one. but has the american economy moved on? we'll debate that later this hour. >>> our countdown to christmas never stops. today though we get aig

. >> gordon gekko was telling this story about a son to rudy said you know what happens when you stickpot. >> we have to run. make sure you join us tomorrow. "squawk on the street" begins right now. >> good wednesday morning. welcome to "squawk on the street." i'm carl quintanilla with david faber. melissa lee is off. jim cramer is on assignment as you may know already. got some cross currents going this morning. earnings, not really any good, but housing starts are monster. a four-year high. permits up, as well. meantime in europe, moody's chooses not to downgrade spain to junk