he's a big shareholder here in herbalife. carl icahn is a big shareholder in herbalife. whether either one of those gentlemen could do that individually or together, i guess i would throw a little cold water on that as being this news based on the conversations that i've had this week alone, just based on the fact that on the left side of your screen, that number, $68.30, i think the stock according to those that i have talked to may be a little too high for a transaction to take place here. i think those who are thinking about that sort of thing would love nothing more than for the stock maybe to go down a bit. >> i was going to say, that would be a pretty rich premium to pay. >> i think all of that plays into the thinking here. again, my best guess, and it's nothing more than that, and it could end up being wrong and if it is, so be it, is some sort of debt refinance. but that's only based on previous reporting on my understanding of what the company was thinking about according to sources and that was a couple months ago. but in reality, who knows. >> yeah. we're wait

we're watching herbalife as well. herbalife was up almost 4 1/2%.eavy volume there on that one as well. herbalife is up about 60% in last 52 weeks. contrary to his bet. don't forget he has been short this one. there is news pending and been out there trying to make his case known why he believes that herbalife really is a short. both of these stocks are halted. there are big crowds around the trading posts there. so we'll continue to keep you posted. we'll go right back to the post, get in the crowd there, see if they're hearing anything. but meantime we know that herbalife has been under scrutiny and, breaking chinese laws, that is not good news. you don't want to hear more about that. that is what at least bill ackman is claiming. >> we're getting more information. i want to bring this to you. i want you to take that to the traders if you don't mind. charlie gasparino, senior business correspondent, is saying that ftc, federal trade commission, hit herbalife with civil investigative demand. official investigation has begun, a civil investigation,

adam: it is helping to boost herbalife shares. they have been facing similar permit scheme criticisms from activist investor black men who by all accounts won't finish his fight against the company until it is out of business. cheryl: a move to show a herbalife is not backing down, they are now meeting three new members to the board, all of whom are carl icahn approved. he has publicly sided with herbalife in the battle. charlie gasparino is here now with exclusive details of what has been happening. charlie: this is over the past couple of days what they say his intentions are. here is what they are saying. i actually did ask some of these people does carl icahn believe, does he have any doubt whatsoever herbalife is a company that is legal, it is not a pyramid scheme. their words, carl is 99% sure herbalife is the real thing, it is not a pyramid scheme. a 1% possibility? it is impossible to have 100% certainty, but he tells people he is 99% sure this company is legal and it will survive. herit is also what the company close to i

but that's not herbalife's marketing.the marketing of distributors and distributors get paid to bring in other distributors. but i think that has been cleaned up dramatically in the last few years. >> there are, you know, in fairness besides just ackman making the claims that herbalife has been unfair to hispanics, there are a number of advocates for hispanic groups and the like that have made similar claims as well. >> well, are you sure that those claims haven't been made because ackman went to those groups and got them to make those claims? i don't know that those claims were made before ackman came on the scene. >> maybe so. we certainly can't say for sure. but, you know, here's the ftc now investigating herbalife. there are some folks out there who probably think in the big picture here, carl, that ackman has scored a big victory against you if you will in this battle that you guys have had since back in january of 2013. is he going to end up winning this? >> no, i don't think so. and i don't think he scored a big vi

here's what herbalife said. ackman has out of desperation shifted his focus from wall street to washington and key states across the country. ackman's unprecedented campaign to destroy herbalife has now been exposed for what it is, a cynical, self-serving attempt to manipulate the market. ackman firing back saying, herbalife has refused to release actual retail sales information that requires its distributors to maintain, instead relying on third-party survey data. herbalife has refused to address the documented false and misleading sales practices plied by its senior-most distributors. what ackman wants to move is what herbalife distributors make more money signing up other distributors than they do by actually selling the product itself. if he can prove that he will be a long way toward his objective. the question is whether he can prove it or not. >> eamon javers from our d.c. brur row. >>> let's ask former s.e.c. chairman harvey pitt. chairman pitt, welcome. >> it's good to be with you. >> in a new york time

bet against herbalife in may 2012.as dan loeb and carl icahn came to herbalife's rescue, the stock battle back. the federal government opened an investigation into herbalife and the stock has fallen. the news from carl icahn has sent the stock back up. you were over herbal life goes on. dwayne stanford explained it to "market makers." >> these board members all come enterprises. to our executives with the company and the other is a n enterprises.cah he is beefing up his visions 5 on the herbalife board. this comes as bill ackman has been able to get this investigation he has called for, the ftc now looking at the company. the stakes have been raised and we are going to be in for quite a battle. you were reporting that after a year of losses on the short bet against herbalife. might be near break even, no longer losing money. >> that is right. based on our catchy lay-ins, he is somewhere near breakeven. a lot of that coming in the last week as the ftc says they are asking for more questions of the company. it creates un

the ftc has opened an official investigation into herbalife shares -- into herbalife pier chairs yesterdayed 7%. another 5% today. the company says it welcomes the probe and it is confident that bill ackman's claims are wrong. i want to talk to the dean of business school at new jersey university. welcome. is a quotey, there from you and forbes -- it would take a major event for the ftc to go after herbalife. it is not impossible but not probable at this point. that was now eight months ago. you do not think it would happen. it has. what does that mean? >> there has been agile movement on the ftc's part on issues pertaining to an multilevel marketing. 2013, there was a case brought on another front to rear from the ftc's position. back in the summer, herbalife stock was up. the ftc was quiet. , thereween then and now was an investor alert issued. and then bill ackman cap kepture on, -- bill ackman pressure on and we have seen politics get involved. >> you have studied this for 17 years. you co-authored an article with the senior economist at the ftc. what would it take for the ftc to make

a tough day for herbalife.an inquiry from the federal trade commission. this coming a day after bill ackman accused herbalife of at least questionable business practices in china. a tough day as well for zoge nix. we were going to end here on express after the retail reported weaker than expected fourth quarter earnings citing increased promotions as weighing on those results, so, kelly, overall it's been an interesting day. a lot of company-specific stories to talk about. >> a market of stocks. thank you, dom. food inflation has become a hot topic as well. economists say consumers can expect to pay more for food later in this year. for the u.s. it's mainly due to the drought in california. what are major food companies doing to prepare for potential increases? in a cnbc exclusive, we are joined by donnie smith, the tyson foods ceo. welcome back to the exchange. >> thanks for having me. >> let's just start with the u.n. warning that we're seeing another spike effectively in global food prices. how much are you

the stock story of the day has to be about herbalife.ally embattled. a government investigation has been launched and investors have been punishing that stock. it was halted for a while. you knew the drama from a couple hours ago here live on cnbc. for a time it was down 15%. it's come way off that low. we're down 5.5% right now. we'll get more react

. >>> did someone know about the investigation into herbalife, before it was public.t until you hear just how much money they made. the action begins right now. ♪ >>> we're live from the nasdaq marketsite. happy friday, everyone. traders here in times square and also in austin, texas. hi, guys. great to see you. happy friday to you, as well. this week, if you're in a momentum stock, you're in a bit of trouble. google, tesla, priceline, all having big declines on the week. let's get on the money and find out, start trading with the desk skeptic. you're the desk skeptic. >> all of those names that you had theup there before, they ha performed fantastically. you need to see money flow into new areas. you see that. the names that you had up there have defied gravity. they have had great performance. we have seen a very volatile q1 in 2014, very different from what we have seen over the last year. >> were you expecting that as a risk. >> i think we were due for it. the calendar is concerned, we closed on the tippy-top. in 2014, i think a lot of things looked different. the

$2 million herbalife spent on lobbying.t released a statement, a comment on the story first reported by the "new york times." here's the quote. ackman's unprecedented campaign to destroy herbalife has now been exposed for whats. a cynical self-serving attempt to manipulate the market by buying his way into an investigation to cover his own reckless $1 billion bet. bob? >> look, the guy's got a $1.1 billion bet against the company. it's not shocking to me that he spent $260,000 to try to get attention for it. they spent $2 million, was the number, their earnings were $577 million. i'm talking about herbalife. that's not a huge amount of anybody's money. there's a lot at stake here. i'm not shocked that these people are spending money. whether they should be allowed to try to influence the discussion, another matter. >> we have to leave it there. as we go to breaking news now with michelle caruso-cabrera. >> looks like puerto rico is finally going to borrow some money, as much as $3 billion, from the commonwealth. it's in the

herbalife has spent a lobbying effort.n the call, he has talked about his support of these various efforts was on the up and up. he was mostly responding to the new york times article and had not turned to the situation in china. >> what is the genesis of all of this? >> it is one of the big growth areas for herbalife. the company has been expanding around the world, has made a lot of inroads into latin america. china could be the next big area of growth. his case is the company is a pyramid scheme and presumably, he will make the same case that is happening in china as well. >> julie hyman, we will let you get back to that webcast. for more on the malaysian airlines missing flight, i'm joined from washington by an m.i.t. professor of aeronautics and astronautics. he is a member of the congressional aeronautical advisory committee. thank you for your time. my colleague reported a few moments ago that the malaysian military says the radar shows the missing boeing 777 jetliner changed course and made it to the strait. does t

herbalife in china and asia.think part of that was something that really intrigued -- intrigued us. host: a viewer tweets in --the case of legalized bribery. we should be mad at the elected official selling government favorite not those buying it. when did mr. ackman decide to pursue this? guest: to that point, short sellers -- i think short sellers are demonized. it is not necessarily fair. if you had been a short seller on enron and was coming to the government and you figured out that bernie made off -- bernie m adoff was a fraud and you were able to bring it to regulators and they were able to expose that and crackdown on it before more people were harmed by them, that is not a bad thing. sometimes that gets demonized. if indeed herbalife is a pyrmanamid game and he is bringing it to light, that is not a bad thing. the questions people have about him coming in is how he is going about that. is he simply bringing the information to regulators saying, look this is a problem. or is he doing things around the edg

. >> herbalife sheikhs. melissa: could be a new product for herbalife. our top story. anyway, big news coming up on herbalife. here's a hint. cark icahn is winning again. if you own shares you are too. do you think you know the worst companies in america? we are weeding them out all this week starting now. even when they say it's not, it is always about money. melissa: so the herbalife battle continues. carl icahn, gaining three additional seats on the company's board. the stock is up on news today. does it hurt or help shareholders in the long run though? here now are very own charlie gasparino. jo ling kent from the "wall street journal." we have james freeman as well. what is ackman's next move? this is pretty powerful. five seats on the board. >> icahn or ackman? melissa: ackman. how does he respond? >> icahn, start with carl. carl now will be, will push management to be more aggressive to, addressing his concerns, what ackman has raised, that this is a illegal ponzi scheme and raised it enough where he has got, the ftc looking at it. melissa: right. >> possibly st

breaking news on herbalife. the embattled company says it received what is called a civil investigative demand from the federal trade commission. bloomberg's senior market correspondent joins me now with more details. >> good afternoon. a victory for the hedge fund manager. he has been pushing for regulators to investigate the company. herbalife confirms that the at opened an investigation into the company. they welcomed the inquiry given the tremendous amount of misinformation in the market place. they say they will fully cooperate with the ftc. on the company has been unrelenting. even as he switched most of his bets from the short sale on the stock to more of and options related that. a long run atins a high-profile. just yesterday, he presented what he said was evidence of the companies illegal activities in china where he says it is violating multiple marketing laws there. he made similar allegations here in the nine states? -- in the united states. engage with to latino groups and other community organizer

breaking evene to on his wager against herbalife. they are asking questions of our herbalife. any have launched investigation. bill ackman alleges that the company is a pyramid scheme and defrauding customers. or will they give a slap on the wrist or will not happen? with all of that uncertainty, people are unsure. it could last six months to a year. the stock has taken a pounding. breakinging ackman even -- >> one way to test whether icahn is sincere is whether he will invest in the company's product. if he thought it was legitimate, he would see an amazing investment opportunity. >> i know a little bit about this company. watch what they do and multilevel marketing. they will not find anything wrong with him. -- them. they do a multilevel marketing like a lot of these companies do. >> you think the revenue is legitimate? >> i do. there are bad apples like any company. their multilevel marketing and operating for many years. they generate a lot of cash. carl icahn will come out ahead. >> what is the quality of the auditing? >> well,

why were so many traders betting against herbalife before the bombshell ftc news?e'll tell you how they made money. >>> twitter shares have plunged this year. we'll tell you why some traders are betting on a big turnaround. and that's when "options action" returns. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ tires screech ] chewley's finds itself in a sticky situation today after recalling its new gum. [ male announcer ] stick it to the market before you get stuck. get the most extensive charting wherever you are with the mobile trader app from td ameritrade. [ indistinct shouting ] ♪ [ indistinct shouting ] [ male announcer ] time and sales data. split-second stats. [ indistinct shouting ] ♪ it's so close to the options floor... [ indistinct shouting, bell dinging ] ...you'll bust your brain box. ♪ all on thinkorswim from td ameritrade. ♪ >>> you know, they say you can't win them all, and unfortunately our dear friend dan learned the hard way. two months ago he made a bullish bet on twitter. well, the stock has plunged. but he hasn't lost too much money and here is why. >> on "options action" just

bill ackman who calls herbalife's business a pyramid scam. brian bolan predicts herbalife stock won't fall or rise much more than 10% from current level.. in our cover story---millions of americans who work overtime but are not compensated for it are expected to get a boost from the white house, today...an executive order directing the labor department to overhaul overtime pay grades.but early on, there are signs of significant push-back from business. by executive order, president obama plans to direct labor secretary thomas perez to revise overtime regulations --- specifically expanding the number of salaried employees who qualify for extra pay for working more than 40-hours a week. "as a result of the recession, a lot of employers cut back and are making their employees work longer hours but those people don't receive overtime." right now, businesses aren't required to pay overtime if certain salaried employees make more than 24-thousand dollars a year. the obama administration wants to raise that threshold to about 50-thousand a year. it

herbalife and pfizer. >> at one point herbalife was down 14%, although before this it was up. his number one loss. he is obviously very short the stock. i suspect that this is the biggest losing position he has ever had. >> he has got to be really happy today. >> they have finally opened that inquiry. >> the thing is, this inquiry could stretch on for months. sure, this is a one-day victory, but in the world of trading it is not a victory until you close your position. he is not doing that today. and if he did he would still have a loss. the stock is still far above where it was when he began shorting it. to take a going while. typically when the sec closes an investigation, they do not necessarily announce the findings, right? especially if it is found that the company has done something wrong. >> once they have started to really peek into the papers. >> this goes one of two ways, right? if the sec comes out and says they did not find anything, does he have to throw in the towel? >> he did say seven years? he may be prepared for the long haul. >> but he did get out of jcpenne

herbalife resuming traders. we have james on the floor of the cme. looks like it is bouncing a back a little from the low. this is a big deal. they're getting a big investigation. >> right. this is a big deal. we're seeing the stock rebound a little bit. it is $6 off the lows here. the thing is, anyone who is long the stock this is terrible news. this is not what you want to hear. this is what ackman has been pushing for all along. when we see this investigation begin here it makes us look closer at comments of his announcement they may be breaking laws in china. china is their fastest-growing market. u.s. is their biggest market. we don't want to see them being investigated in this either market. melissa: herbalife coming out saying bring it. we are ready for this. we welcome the investigation i think was their official quote. they are basically saying they knew it was coming all along. i'm sure they did. they have got david boies. they're ready to go. >> right, that's a big point here they probably knew this was coming. the statement they released

-- that is what herbalife has claimed is going on and that is why people are wary.not seen this before. we're used to advocacy operations being deployed, but we have not seen it from a single individual like this. rex if you look at his history -- what's talk about herbalife and the sophisticated operation in terms of d.c.. >> it has been fascinating to watch. counteredhas everything he has done with an identical step. you see the number of hispanic organizations lobbying the ftc and congress to start an investigation into herbalife. once that started, herbalife went out and hired some of the best and most prominent hispanic i'd -- inin d.c. do d.c. they brought on the former mayor of los angeles after bill operationawmaker -- on a lawmaker. every time bill ackman does something, herbalife response. washingtonas been in a long time. they have a lot of lobbyists at their disposal and from a registered lobbying perspective spend a lot more than bill ackman does. has the advantages he's a behind-the-scenes organization that has always been a step ahead of herbalife as

he has made money betting on herbalife. what happens now to bill ackman if the ftc hands him a little victory? >> this is a one-day victory. at the end of such an investigation the ftc only makes an announcement if it finds that the company was in the wrong. it does not make an announcement and say, we cleared them of any wrongdoing. they might say they close the investigation at that point and herbalife might come out and say we have been cleared here in the investigation and it is finished. herbalife said we welcome this investigation, there has been a lot of misinformation and we hope this will clear it up. that is what they have been saying ever since bill ackman began his scrutiny. a one-day victory for bill ackman but there is still a ways to go before the ftc comes out with any kind of ruling. >> i want to thank you very much. you will be following that for us on going. let's turn our attention to medical charts. what do you do if you have a life-threatening disease and the medication that can help you is not availab

ackman and herbalife. and look around, chans you're living next to the next millionaire, or that you are one. greater than ever. is this a tradable trend? that and much more is straight ahead. [ bagpipes play ] make it happen with fidelity active trader pro. it's one more innovative reason serious investors are choosing fidelity. call or click to open your fidelity account today. >>> welcome back. herbalife shares continue falling today following word the ftc has opened a formal investigation into the company's business practices. robert chapman owns the stock and says he's looking to buy more. he's the managing member of chapman capital. he joins me on the phone live. bob, welcome back to the show. >> thank you, scott. >> so what's your reaction here that we've come such a long way now and now we have an ftc investigation? >> the investigation needs to be looked at in the framework of what the mandate is at the consumer protection bureau at the ftc. that mandate essentially is protect consumers against un

herbalife has been all over the news this week.harlie gasparino, a leader in the news flow here, he's got exclusive details on what lies ahead for the company which is trading up right now. >> well, i mean, as you know, the ftc has launched a formal investigation into its business model, you know, basically investigating the claims of bill ackman that it is a pyramid scheme, it's an illegal structure. they're investigating it. look, here's what we know from inside the company, what they are worried about going forward. number one, state attorney generals coming in there, attorneys generals coming in there and launching piggyback probes off this. it's a huge worry inside the company. why is that? well, as you know, the stock went down on the ftc probe, it's up a little bit today, but they are worried that that, this is going to be a year of hell for herbalife share hold hers, that the stock is going to continue to get hit on these probes. and if you are an herbalife shareholder, i will say this, you know, forget whether long term th

we will be right back. ♪ want to get you breaking news on herbalife.opened an investigation into a nutrition company. they have now confirmed as civil investigative demand from the federal trade commission today. the shares are halted. they are up about 4.5% before the news came out. asked men behind pershing square capital who has accused herbalife of operating illegally as a peer amid scheme. he renewed his attack just yesterday, accusing them of operating illegally in china. up by asis they were much as six point five percent. now opening up a civil inquiry into what is going on at the nutrition company accused of acting as an illegal pyramid screen -- you illegal pyramid scheme. more after the break going up. ♪ >> breaking news on bloomberg. herbalife shares are tanking after the company has confirmed the ftc has opened a civil inquiry into the company. they confirmed earlier they received investigative demand. shares were up i as much as 6.5% but now moving sharply lower on the news they have in fact opened an investigation. the news is considered

cheryl: i know that, herbalife petitioned the sec so to speak.ey have sent them letters, tried to talk to them to get them interested in this. here is what is interesting, if you read the story a lot of this is out there but when it kind of puts it all together, what you see is bill ackman, you know, people in congress, senator, congressman markey for example, congresswoman sanchez, going to these congresspeople and giving them campaign contributions or at least enticing them in some way to get, to basically go out there and investigate this company. does that notion, and the notion that you would do something extra politically kind of put this over the top where there could be a fraud charge here? >> you know, i don't think this is that different from what the business roundtable or the the chamber of commerce might due in pursuing their own legislation strategies. they want something. they contribute. and they push congressman and regulators to move along in their direction. that is all within the first amendment. and also, mr. ackman has not b

decision to end herbalife.ind it amaze, it's a hedge fund decision to end a company's life. you know? i think that's what he want to do, whether right or wrong. >> sure. what strikes me, we had one-year anniversary of the showdown on wapner's show. how long can this go on? >> until ackman takes the stock to zero. he's got people protesting. he got the government authority to look at it. >> sure. >> ackman won't stop until it goes to zero. the people of herbalife, the board, it's irrelevant because ackman won't stop. it's a hedge fund manager who wants his partners to profit. he's going to give this all of his gain but remember performance dictates. watch it. he'll never finish until herbalife's out of business. a lot of people work for herbalife. but this hedge fund manager decided to target this xp. i wonder if all hedge funds will start targeting companies and coming up with dirt on them. it's a new thing for hedge fund companies to destroy. the company doesn't care. it's not arthur andersen. so that's ackman

and, often, for example, with herbalife,, i believe a short was first exposed on herbalife on cnbc. there has been stuff -- melissa: is all that legal? >> here is other thing. there was a leak about soros in herbalife being long. i want people to leak to me. it is illegal when you do that and you go out and, you play the stocks. suppose someone bought the stock before they leaked it to cnbc and the stock went up? melissa: right. >> not for the reporter but person doing it. melissa: you have to wonder can the sec come in and say -- >> we should point out -- melissa: can that person buy before they called cnbc? >> we should point out on the herbalife, soros investment into herbalife, i, we were first to report that ackman complained to the sec that they were being, the stock was being manipulated there was a degree of manipulation through these leaks. apparently according to ackman the sec looked into that. melissa: we have to go.o much. charlie we'll see you back here in a little bit or maybe you should just stay. >> okay. melissa: huge score for college athletes on the union front.

herbalife says it welcomes the inquiry and is confident that herbalife is in compliance with all applicableaws and regulations. but not everyone agrees. a hot topic for epic billionaire battles on cable news between hedge fund titans bill ackman and carl icahn. >> let's move on. >> ackman calling herbalife a pyramid scheme and lobbying regulators and members of congress to investigate and placing a $1 billion short sale bet that herbalife's stock will drop and the company will fail. and drop, it did, after news of the investigation hit wall street. shares of herbalife stock plunging yesterday after the stock was briefly halted at one point down as much as 16%. they ended lower by more than 7%. so what happens next? you can bet the stock will be volatile. experts say the investigation could last as long as a year and typically in cases like this if the ftc finds anything wrong at the company, it recovers money that was lost by the affected consumers, lara. >> all right. rebecca. thank you. >>> we want to get right to ginger zee for the latest on the weather. ginger. >> the cleveland, ohio, a

hedge fund manager, made a billion dollar bet that herbalife would fail. money direction of politicians making a life tough for herbalife. coincidence? my next guest doesn't think so. petewer schweitzer government accountability institute and author of, extortion, a great new book out for your perusal. peter, thanks for coming in. good to see you. >> david, thanks for having me. david: first of all the obvious question, bill ackman, is he buying influence, yes or no? >> yes. i think there is no question that he is and i think the evidence is pretty strong. for example, you know, senator markey wrote a letter to the federal trade commission saying that herbalife should be investigated. actually, ackman put that letter on his website the day before it was reason released, or sent to the ftc, which indicates there is certainly collaboration and cooperation between the two. and, david, what's troubling about this, we're used to stories about, you know, companies trying to buy influence to get politicians to do something for them. in this case, somebody is buyi

he made a very public that against herbalife. herbalife says it hopes the investigation will clear up misinformation. volkswagen is ahead of schedule. the carmaker may sell more than 10 million vehicles this year, that is four years earlier than planned. it comes as it introduces more than 100 models this year and next. heart of the efforts to overtake toyota and become the world's largest carmaker. >> quickly, that is the first herbalife news that gets my attention. my experience is when somebody mentions the word pyramid, there is always something in the closet. >> it is not clear whether this is a pyramid scheme, they are just looking into the business practices. >> innocent until proven guilty. but with somebody mentions pyramid, the radar goes up. >> here and it is very specific. it means there's more money going out then is coming in -- pyramid is very specific. >> going back to amway and the rest of it. if someone mentions it, it gets my attention. >> auto recalls are common. criminal investigations into auto recalls, not

if they are approved, he will control five of the 13 herbalife directors. the u.s.hina to let its currency rise faster. the yen rose the most in two years. they want the currency stronger. inapple and comcast are talks for a streaming television service to rival netflix. it would use a apple setup box and get special treatment on comcast networks. it would stream live and on-demand television programming and videos stored in the cloud. we welcome paul sweeney. on here?eally going who stands to gain the most between apple and comcast? >> hopefully consumers will gain the most. we are seeing consumers consuming more video content the the cable companies and satellite companies. they are consuming much more online video. if you are streaming video over the internet, the cable companies need to be careful that they are not left out. that they are not sitting on the sidelines as more people consume online video. >> is this capitulation? if you listen to them, they say they have the best set-top box technology in the world. their software provides a superior experience. x

making ackman is herbalife his fight to the end of the errors. the company is facing more scrutiny after the ftc launches an investigation into the company's practices. this forof a win is bill ackman that the government is looking into herbalife? >> this is something he has been fighting for for quite some time. his allegation is that the company is a pyramid scheme. he has been saying in one of his main tenets is that the government is going to shut it down because he contends that it is illegal. he has been doing a lot of lobbying in washington and around the country to try to push regulators to investigate , abalife and ed markey congressman, he convinced him he should try and spark this type of investigations and looks like he has been successful on that front. he has been successful at least today in terms of what the stock did. 7 .5% and plunged after this news was announced and finished the day down about 7.5%. he has to see the stock fall quite a bit more until he makes a profit on his sure bet on the company. quick someone also has made

charles: is it a pyramid at herbalife?sential element is you are making money by bringing in new distributors and eventually you cannot do that anymore so it falls apart. the other two elements essential is you have deceptive claims of how much money you make, before the ftc can bring a case you have to show a huge number of people have suffered based on that deceptive representation. liz: what does it look like you that the billionaire started losing money and could not make a buck on all of the arm waving of it being a scheme and therefore his ability to be in the public eye gets him i an investigation into the company? >> there has been significant concern raised in congress about this. legitimately they will look at this and be very careful, but based on the evidence that is public i don't see a reason why that is going to lead to an enforcement action. liz: there have been many in history that work good examples of points where people were sucked in and the only way they could make money was to suck in other people. t

icahn is herbalife's biggest shareholder with a 16.8% stake. general motors struggles to keep angry customers from soiling its social media presence. the auto maker admits that faulty ignition switches have caused the deaths of at least 12 people and is the reason behind a recall of 1.6 million vehicles. now, g-m is trying to deal with the fallout: customers are taking to twitter and facebook to voice frustrations, fear and anger. the new york times reports the company is trying to walk a fine line on its facebook page and website between buiness as usual and dealing with posted -- and public -- ridicule. u-s manufacturing hits a snag. activity slows in march despite hitting a four-year high in february. what's called a "flash" or preliminary index number slips to 55.5 this month -- down from 57.1 in february. this is lower than the 56.5 number that economists were expecting. the good news is that any number above 50 still indicates expansion. bright spots are also emerging in the euro zone recovery. new data suggests that europe's economy is e

right now herbalife is a very undervalued company, but long-term looks very undervalued. a real business that makes real product. you don't shut down companies like that, and this is why when i read his report it was ridiculous because the irony is ackman has dismantled, he is saving hispanic people. he is hurting them because a lot of hispanic people, women who can't get jobs are making money, not illegally. charlie: we have to wrap it up, but i want to say this. you do not deny it is a possibility there may be a lawsuit on the way, that is one of your and games. >> let me say this to you. this was always a possibility. this was always under consideration. you know something, i'm hoping with the ftc in there, i am hoping we get a clean bill of health because i do think this company, yeah, yeah, did some marketing stuff, but this company i believe cleaned that up, i believe the last few years they cleaned that up. there were some marketing things, it was some of the distributors. do they make promises? possibly. but there is also a lot of people earning a lot of money and

he had a $1 billion bet that the firm herbalife would go under. he hired big democrats.re's something unseemly about this. >> he is following a traditional advocacy playbook. you see big interests, big trade groups do this. you have never seen one man with a big bet in place take on one company and start pulling the levers in washington. the question becomes, is this a paradigm shift? will we see short-sellers do this all over the place? >> whether they are good or bad, they sell supplements. we will see. the question is -- these rich guys, an obama fundraiser. the democrats are the ones with dirty hands. he is paying people to destroy the company. >> his perspective is the company is hurting people. the problem is, he is paying and running up interest groups to do his bidding. this is his money and his firm's money. he benefits from it. he benefits if the ftc finishes the investigation and finds out they are an illegitimate company. >> he is a guy that makes a lot of money, not a guy that has worried a lot about poor people. his billion dollars would seem to matter more

herbalife has vehemently denied ackman's claims. his latest volley comes months after chinese regulators launched a probe into the operations of productsmaker new skin which operates a similar business model. >>> and the u.s. state of colorado has raked in a lot of green from the legal sales of marijuana. the state cashed in $3.5 million in taxes and fees in january, 2.1 of which came from the sale of recreational and the rest of the tax revenue came from medical marijuana. the status 160 licensed recreational marijuana stores. >>> still to come on the program, as puerto rico prepare toes sell some $3 billion in bonds, will it be enough to rescue the troubled u.s. territories finances? hey, buddy? oh, hey, flo. you want to see something cool? snapshot, from progressive. my insurance company told me not to talk to people like you. you always do what they tell you? no... try it, and see what your good driving can save you. you don't even have to switch. unless you're scared. i'm not scared, it's... you know we can still see you. no, y

there for herbalife.ting a little bit more pressure on bill ackman. billion toting $1 build the world's largest global for theoud to be used internet of everything. apple and contrast -- apple and comcast are in talks for a tv service to rival netflix. set-top use an apple box and get special treatment on comcast cable, according to "the wall street journal." it would allow you to stream live from video stored on the cloud. we are back with jed kleckner. we were talking in the break. the senate will be looking as early as today at minimum rage, talking about raising it to $10.10 per hour. there are lots of questions as to whether that would do anything to reverse or help close the income inequality gap that has become so significant and severe in our country. what do you think? >> we have over 10,000 merchants on our platforms, small businesses. small businesses are the driver of the economy. we want people to be paid well, and one way we help in that for is thatn that forum there is an opportunity to tip

we continue to follow this news of the ftc investigation into herbalife's business. some color here. a source close to herbalife telling me that the company was surprised by the ftc investigation. i think i can almost go as far as to say, they were blind sided and surprised, as many of us were, to get this news today. but that the company, as it said in its statement, welcoming the investigation. it feels, according to a source, that the investigation is now the best way to battle bill ackman's accusations. i can tell you from a conversation i had with a source close to the ftc. that some of the investigation can take up to a year, perhaps longer than that. that it could also involve the ceo, michael johnson, as well as other senior executives. a penalty in this case could be anything from what's described to me as a slap on the wrist to a cease and desist order. and also that the investigation, and this is key, is not an indictment, in any way, shape or form, that herbalife has done anything wrong. an investigation, one that begins now, and could last for some time.

yesterday herbalife dropped 7 1/2%. today no bounce back in sight.n the contrary it is down nearly 5% at this time at 57.58. yes it was halted in this hour. there was some concern about news pending. of it turned out that the ftc was looking at investigating into herbalife's practices over there in china particular and whether or not it is in fact a pyramid scheme or the way they market there. so that has been a major concern of bill ackman of pershing, who in fact has been shorting the company saying exactly that. herbalife, they are happy to work with the ftc. adam: nicole petallides. thank you very much. >>> amazon opening up its online marketplace to 3-d printed pilots. it's a pilot program. the e-commerce giant is partnering with the offerings on the site which range from belt buckles to lampshades and all manufactured using 3-d printed technology. many of these manufacturers hope amazon's move will bring more of these products to mainstream. we have the ceo of 3-d lte. he joins us from cincinnati. we realize this is experimental program with ot

he had a $1 billion bet that the firm herbalife would go under. he hired big democrats.re's something unseemly about this. >> he is following a traditional advocacy playbook. you see big interests, big trade groups do this. you have never seen one man with a big bet in place take on one company and start pulling the levers in washington. the question becomes, is this a paradigm shift? will we see short-sellers do this all over the place? >> whether they are good or bad, they sell supplements. we will see. the question is -- these rich guys, an obama fundraiser. the democrats are the ones with dirty hands. he is paying people to destroy the company. >> his perspective is the company is hurting people. the problem is, he is paying and running up interest groups to do his bidding. this is his money and his firm's money. he benefits from it. he benefits if the ftc finishes the investigation and finds out they are an illegitimate company. >> he is a guy that makes a lot of money, not a guy that has worried a lot about poor people. his billion dollars would seem to matter more

he'll make a presentation on herbalife in china.e will use documents gotten from a former employee. they show that they violated china's laws about direct selling and multilevel marketing. ackman shorted herbalife stock in a $1 billion bet in 2012. the investment has lost 49%. that is herbalife. it rejects his latest arguments. arguments about rejected by wall street and washington. now he wants to take them to china. there is no merit to his accusations as you might expect. it is at the six after the hour which means we are on the markets. equity futures are pointing to a slightly higher open. they closed yesterday just slightly below the record. we may make a run for that. jcpenney was one of the big movers and we will tell you why in a moment. we're on the markets again in 30 minutes. talke next hour, we will with a billionaire ceo trying to shake up the broadband industry. xbox one release is a title that they hope will change the title of the console gaming wars. we are back in two. ♪ >> 30 minutes away from the opening bell. i

jonas max ferris is in the herbalife corner. fox news contributor. andrew keane is representing the ackman team. the whistle blows] melissa: you know what that means. jonas, what do you think? >> the guy is right, it is basically a multilevel marketing pyramid schemes like a lot of businesses are and selling placebo like elixers and aloe and problem is that is not illegal. cvs, walgreens, whole food sell stuff with questionable nutritional benefit at very high markup. the government will not step in and crush it up, which is only way to make the short bet of a billion dollars -- melissa: i will stop you there. i will let andrew in. problem they run out of people at bottom of the pyramid that is when the gig is up. how many markets do you have to exploit people to go out and sell this thing. what do you think? >> look the way the stock traded. it was $45 when came out with the claims. stock went down at $25. did ackman come out and buy the short, absolutely not. he thinks the stock is going to zero. it went up to $85. did he cover the short? absolutel