i'm larry kudlow. thanks for watching.

i'm larry kudlow. i do my best. we'll be right back after this. ♪ [ boy ] looks like our work is done here. i'm heading home. vaaa vrooom! need some help, ma'am? grrrrrrr! [ in high voice ] oh thank you. these things are heavy. zzzzzzzz! [ male announcer ] built for work. and everything you work for. hey, honey. i'm glad you're home. [ male announcer ] the chevy silverado. our most powerful hd yet. from fathers to sons, [ boy ] dad! [ male announcer ] chevy runs deep. >>> we look at the economy. it's kind of getting stronger all of the time. it's broad-based. companies are in great shape, middle market companies, consumers are in better shape. consumer debt ratio. >> all right, that was jp morgan chase ceo talking about the next few years in our economy on board the u.s.s. intrepid. very good. by the way, you can find out more about how you can hire the hundreds of thousands of willing and able vets who proudly served our great company. god bless the veterans. so markets are low end for the second trading day in a r

i'm becky quick along with joe kernen and steve liesman and larry kudlow, host of "the kudlow report.o see but. >> that's 13 hours before you finish, isn't it? >> long, hard working day. >> something like that. >> miles to go before we sleep. let's look at the future this is morning. you'll see right now they are a little bit higher, indicated to open higher right now, up by about 14 points. this comes after modest gains yesterday for the market, but where you really saw some actions with when you dug into the bond market. bond yields pushing higher once again today for the ten-year and yesterday at the highest levels since back to october. >> can we just stop and ask larry about bond yields or you want to read on? >> yeah, let's do it. >> 2.3 representing a threat at all, could it go further, should it go further? >> no, it's a great sign. >> it's a great sign? >> it's a great sign. my theory is better real growth, higher interest rates. bonds are way too expensive, probably moving towards 3% if the economy continues. >> that's great isn't it. why are you laughing? >> i'm laughing be

i'm larry kudlow. this is the kudlow report. sizzle story number one tonight. the dow climbs 218 points and finishes at 13,178. the nasdaq up a whopping 56 points to break through 3,000. that for the first time since the year 2000. we got you covered because cnbc is the world leader in business news. sizzle number two, in less than an hour two key southern primaries close. alabama and mississippi. to see if mitt romney's electability passes its southern stress test. the mississippi governor is going to join us. one more story we're covering tonight. president obama tells china to play fair on key commodities. he is going to haul them off to the world trade organization and, you know what, folks, i am going to agree with the president on this one. we begin with the markets. it was a terrific day. dow up 218 points. s&p jumping 25 points. nasdaq up 56 points to get past 3,000. for the first time ever the dow is over 13,000, while at the same time the nasdaq over 3,000. now, cnbc's own bob pasani live at

i'm larry kudlow. this is "the kudlow report." sizzle story number one tonight, the unemployment rate stubbornly stays at 8.3%. there were 227,000 new jobs created. that's a solid number. the problem is unemployment too high. you're going to need over 300,000 jobs a month to really cut down. how is that going to happen? and sizzle number two. guess what? i'm going to show you how to take at least half a buck, 50 cents, off the price of gasoline. how? knock down state taxes. knock down regulations. stay tuned for that. and is there a southern surprise for mitt romney? can he take alabama and mississippi on tuesday? whoa. first up tonight, story of the day. the jobs report. now once again, here's the good news. non-farm payrolls, they did rise 227,000. that's the third straight month above 200. job creation is picking up. that's good. but the bad news is the unemployment rate is stuck at 8.3% and if it were adjusted for normal participation rate it would probably be over 10%. and there are still nearly 1

. >>> also, larry kudlow. >>> tina brown. and digger phelps. >>> also, arlan specter about his new memoir. also his standup comedy debut in new york this week. is that true? >> it makes sense. look at him. >> he's funny. >> he's owning it. >> henne youngman. >> he is henne youngman. >> up next -- you stop it right now. >> that was a good one. >> just like that. >> stop. >>> up next, mike allen with politico playbook. but first -- >> you know, tj, you know, hold on a second. let's just stop this. bill karins, do you know what tj said in our ear? he said speaking of a joke, here's bill karins. >> the director is saying that? >> the director saying it. >> i would protest. just don't give him the leather. >> we can poke fun at our friends, but you can't. tj, you're nobody's friend around here, ok? stay in your corner. does everybody agree? >> no. >> get back on your horse and go back to pennsylvania, tj. >> i'm no longer at the bottom, you're saying. there's me and then there's tj? >> lewis also. >> lewis is down there too. >> yo

i'm larry kudlow. this is "the kudlow report." sizzle story number one, in nine months the u.s. economy could go over a massive fiscal cliff. that's bernanke's warning to congress, and who has the real amnesia on bank reform? is it wall street, or is it mr. geithner? sizzle number two, can stocks trump oil? i say yes, they can. unless mr. obama doesn't get our iran policy right. obama meets with israeli prime minister netanyahu on monday. and four days to go until super tuesday. has the improving economy already decided the election in obama's favor? pundits say yes. i think not. let's get right to our top story tonight. the dire warning from fed head ben bernanke this week. he told congress that our economy faces a perfect storm at the end of the year threatening our prospects for growth and recovery. take a listen. >> under current law on january 1st, 2013 there's going to be a massive fiscal cliff of large spending cuts and tax increases. i hope that congress will look at that and figure out ways to

welcome back to "the kudlow report," i'm larry kudlow.bama is betting an improved economy will win him another four years in the white house. he's singing this reelection tune every chance he gets. "new york times" front page today, president obama offers theme of nation seeking a comeback. listen to what he's been saying over the past several weeks. >> the auto industry is back. our recovery is gaining speed and economy is getting stronger. >> i place my bet on the american worker! three years worker the american auto industry is back. >> america is back. >> anyone who tells you that america is in decline or that our influence has waned doesn't know what they're talking about. >> all right. but hangs on. this does sound awfully familiar. here's president reagan in his 1984 state of the union. >> i'm pleased to report that america is much improved. america is back standing tall, looking to the 80s with courage, confidence and hope. >> all right. but, you know, for this time around what about the weak recovery and the explosion of deficits

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i'm larry kudlow. this is "the kudlow report." things may not be perfect, okay? but i am still an optimist on stocks and on the economy. and in a moment, i'm going to show you some key charts that will try to make my case. >>> and it's a friday night and a new movie is out. this is the obama so-called documentary, but it's more like a propaganda movie because unlike a documentary, it has no negative points. i may supply a few. that in just a moment. >>> first up, the big story, another stock market gain. this is the fifth straight week. the dow is up 311 points. the nasdaq closing over 3,000. the s&p over 1400. now, again, this story ain't perfect. it should be better. but you know what? let me try to make the case why the markets are pretty decent along with the economy. all right. let's go right to the board. retail sales first up. remember, folks, a week ago, we had a good jobs report supplying income. this week we got retail sales. and you can see, we're running year on year back to about 8%. even

good evening, everyone, i'm larry kudlow. this is "the kudlow report." sizzle number one, gas prices sink obama's ratings on the economy. it's a new washington post poll. a gallon of gas goes up to $3.80. and epa gasoline regulations, whatever that energy policy is, his numbers are falling until he changes it. now, sizzle number two is the real inflation rate actually close to 8%? on the eve of the feds meeting tomorrow, we debate whether the rate is 8.1, believe it or not. and with 24 hours to go until two major primaries in the south, is mitt romney about to pull off a big upset? all right, but, first up, jus as fast as gas prices continue to rise, president obama's ratings continue to sink. cnbc correspondent joins us with all the details. good evening, john. >> reporter: good evening, larry. this washington post abc news poll has some findings. his overall job approval is down. his handling of the economy is down. this is caused the president, today, as he gave a series of interviews to local affiliate who touted his energy policy to defend what he's

i'm larry kudlow. top of this half hour, we'd like to welcome a very special guest to the "kudlow report" and a personal friend. joining me now for an exclusive interview, the highly influential former federal reserve governor kevin warsh, a ben bernanke right hand. he served on the fed board from 2006 to most of 2011. this will be your first interview since leafing the fed. mr. warsh here to talk about the outlook of the american economy. i call it life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. he's publicly stated that recent policy activism, measures that go beyond central bank's capacity threaten to forestall recovery and harm long-term growth. all right. kevin, you said that, but no one could ask you what you meant because you have been done any television yet. that's a clever strategy. but now you've walked into the lion's den, i'm kidding. let me ask you. do you still think -- you were referring to the fed's operation twist and their zero interest rate targets. do you still believe that those will

i'm larry kudlow. this is "the kudlow report." we start with break news. some of the details from the republicans' budget plan starting to come out. i have them for you. the plan calls for individual tax rates to drop to 10% to 25%. corporate tax would go to 25%. it would also spell the end for the minimum tax. tomorrow one of the people behind the plan will join me on "squawk box," that being representative paul ryan. it all starts at 6:00 a.m. eastern. now some other important headlines. sizzle story number one, no relief in sight at the pump. gas prices continue on their upward march. one of the culprits here, refiners. but that didn't stop president obama from pitting business against the american people pitching some class warfare and some bad energy economics. take a listen. >> we're going to put every single member of congress on record. they can either stand up for the oil companies, or they can stands up for the american people. >> as i said, one of the culprits but also one of the victims in

i think that's a winner. >> larry kudlow. good to see you.medicare reform. politics are brutal, people came at him, threatened to throw grandmothers off the side of the cliff. don't we have to have some kind of major reform to stop medicare from bankrupting the government is. >> medicare will run out of money in the next ten or so years. i think the key here is medicare, medicaid or social security, the key is not just how to make sure the programs are here for my generation but are they going to be around for my kid? my boys are 22 and 23. they don't think this's going to be a medicare or social security for them. we need modest reforms now and make sure the programs will be around to help the next generation and the generation beyond that. >> let me ask you, press you a little more on this. i don't know if it will ever get to the senate or not in this special but ryan has a side-by-side hybrid. he he has the existing medicare system and create as pro competition, consumer choice, more patient-centered health care. does that have any possibi

larry. the "kudlow report" is next. will provide secure and reliable energy to the united states., projects like these could create more than half a million jobs in the us alone. from the canadian border, through the mid west, to the gulf coast. benefiting hundreds of thousands of families throughout the country. this is just what our economy needs right now. >>> seconds >>> seconds away on the "kudlow report," the president and his pipeline play. he's playing red tape, tom ward is here and whether he believes this new pipeline-friendly president. another exclusive, ron paul live. pressure mounting on rick santorum to quit and mitt courts the tea party. and is t

that is from larry kudlow's sit-down with mitt romney. entire video, tune into the "the kudlow report" tonight. it is time for the volatility play book. that's more of a problem than you might think. joining us to explain is the president of et analytics. why is it a problem? >> yeah, sure. it's a fairly significant problem. volatility etfs and etns essentially own the entire market for volatility futures. they dictate essentially the pricing of outdating facility. they're bidding up those outdated process. which mean these products essentially always lose value. and, you know, it raises a few minor concerns in the broader market as well. >> scott nations, i'm sure this is an issue you have been following in terms of inflating the prices potentially. >> that's right. matt is preaching to the choir. i have a question. are you -- do you have a beef with volatility as an asset in general? or is it the way these products are constructed and the way the vix is constructed? >> let's say it's -- i guess i have a beef with both. they're terrible

larry kudlow is making his debut here on post 9. pleasure to have you here.ow the conventional wisdom, romney wins. i think there's a lot to that but santorum won two states we didn't think he'd win. he's a smart guy. he's hounding mitt romney on the health care message saying that romneycare is too much like obamacare. and mitt romney hasn't really answered that conclusively yet. that's an issue. and santorum's a tax cutter. i may not agree with everything but he's going to be tough and we're going to see it in illinois next year. >> couldn't close michigan, couldn't close haiohio. are santorum and gingrich sticking around in case romney makes a fatal error? >> i think gingrich should get out, he's dead, it's his last gasp. it's a two-man race. i think santorum's victory last night really put him back in the game. he blue leaew leads in michigan ohio. the south is not romney's best spot. that's the core of the republican party. santorum is a force. that's all i'll say. >> meanwhile, talking about the ten-year today. >> 224ish. >> i love the ten-year rate ris

king dollar is back, as larry kudlow likes to call it. it's telling me that they've got the fundamentals and the foundation for the much more sustained. that's one of the reasons i'm so bullish and why we emptied the bear for bonds. >> they've been holding back from entering which could be a big kicker. >> you know, what's happening there is that you're seeing people buying what they have to buy. people are sitting on cash and finding real value, no matter what. no matter how bad the environment might look. here, in the states, we're talking about tax ambiguity. everything is coming out of washington. it is antibusiness. >> look for the cyclicals to really kick in. i think they're going to be leading the way. >> fantastic. thanks so much. head of investment strategy. brooks, mcdonald, asset management. that wraps it up. i'm jackie dangelis. have a great trading day and thanks for watching. "squawk box" is up next. >>> good morning, stocks quietly climbing higher. apple fans, lining up to secure the latest ipad today. will the device send

good evening, i am larry kudlow. we have a massive stock market rahal erik the best quarter in over ten years, the dow up 8%, the s&p pops 12%, nasdaq surged nearly 19%. it's a sign the economy may well be better than you think. and if you buy into that, next question, who deserves political credit? well, we're going to get both sides plus the president once again on the campaign trail. what else is new. he's bashing oil. what else is new. but finally maybe on the right side for a change president obama will enforce iranian oil sanction. today was the deadline, he's going ahead and he believes oil markets can handle it. but here's the big question -- is there going to be a worldwide coordinated injection of strategic petroleum reserves? rumors of this are everywhere. we'll get the truth. that could temporarily knock down prices. and of course who could give up trying to win $640 million? we can't. we're going to cover that, too. first up this evening is the economy better off than you think? if so, who deserves the p

i'm larry kudlow. this is "the kudlow report." we talk taxes, rough politics and the economy and there's this conventional wisdom from the beltway media that an improving economy means the election is over. take a listen. >> income has risen. gasoline prices are high. the idea that everyone is fine in america comes from people who are detached in america. >> and then we have sizzle number two. we have positive economic news from the ism services that beat expectations. but china's down revisions at 7.5% growth seemed to undermind stocks and commodities. we'll cover it. and sizzle number three, senator john mccain, this afternoon, calls for the bombing of syria. this on the day of a crucial meeting between president obama and israeli prime minister. here's the president today. >> as i've said to the prime n minist minister, in every single one of our meetings, the united states will always have israel's back when it comes to israel security. >> the president may say that, but we have a guest who questions does israel think this is

hey, larry, what's cooking tonight on "the kudlow report?" >> why did the president ping the phone and kill hundreds of thousands keefe stone jobs? good evening, everyone. this is "the kudlow report." he dialed up and lobbied wavering senators. what did he say? what did he promise? with $5 gas prices not too far away, all of labor and all of business supporting keystone how being the president kill the pipe lean? here's house speaker john boehner today. >> i personally lobbying against the keystone pipeline it mean the president of the united states is lobbying for sending north american nerjt energy to and lobbying against american jobs. >> story number two this evening, obama care will bankrupt this countr rery taxes regulate us to death. there's a cost overrun and that's just the beginning. we begin tonight with the breaking news the president picked up the phone and personally lobbied senators to get the job-creating keystone pipeline scrapped. nbc news white house correspondent mike vickera joins us now with the details. good evening, mi

larry kudlow himself makes a return to post.is break. [ artis brown ] america is facing some tough challenges right now. two of the most important are energy security and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough. that's good for our country's energy security and our economy. ♪ [ female announcer ] you're the boss of your life. in charge of long weekends and longer retirements. ♪ ask your financial professional how lincoln financial can help you take charge of your future. ♪ [ male announcer ] the 2012 m-class continually monitors blind spots, scans the road to reveal potential threats, even helps awaken its driver if he begins to doze. so in the blink of an eye it will have performed more active safety measures than most cars will i

. >> my friend, larry kudlow, i know would he would ask, why didn't you ask this, are start-ups withall businesses? >> i don't think it helped any. consumer confidence is the number one thing, you know. until people start buying more goods and services and get more confident, businesses won't start up for expand. but i do think regulations are hurting them a little bit. on the other hand, i would say in this business, regulations sometimes help more people to decide to outsource their payroll to expert like paychecks. so i think it does go a little both ways to be honest. >> one last question. as someone, as you know, a client of your firm, i worry about the supreme court. if they sayity's fine to obamacare, i have to figure ou how many people on my payroll can i continue to have because this will be a step-up. this must be very important to you as sometime you got monitoring pretty closely, aren't you? >> yes, we are. our health and benefit revenue is up 25% over last year. this is a great business for us. we also got back up plans that if something continues with the health reform,

i'm larry kudlow. the u.s.mber of commerce filed a motion to have president obama's nlrb appointments nullified. it was another california of obama overreach. that's not all for the regulator in chief. the obama administration has enacted 32 new major regulations, rules that carry an estimated price tag of over $50 billion in total. let's talk to senator ron johnson, a wisconsin republican and our friend bob luts, former vice chair of gm. mr. lutz, it's want to start with you. one of the regulatory issues is the battery driven chevy volt. you were the father of the volt. the thing's become a political football. criticism left and right. why is that? is the government preferences unjustified for your volt? >> well, no. the volt was started as a program in '06. it was shown at the detroit auto show in '07. the best i know obama was elected in '08. so the obama administration has nothing to do with the volt but that keeps getting for got i don't know by the right-wing pundits. >> i don't know whether i'm a right-w

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up next, we will hear what he is telling our very own larry kudlow about what it will take to went republicanination and fix the economy. >>> then we go inside the boom happening in luxury retail. which stocks are worth shopping for now? top retail a lists will weigh in. we are back in one minute on the closing bell. yeah, you -- you know, everything can cost upwards of...[ whistles ] i did not want to think about that. relax, relax, relax. look at me, look at me. three words, dad -- e-trade financial consultants. so i can just go talk to 'em? just walk right in and talk to 'em. dude, those guys are pros. they'll hook you up with a solid plan. they'll -- wa-- wa-- wait a minute. bobby? bobby! what are you doing, man? i'm speed dating! [ male announcer ] get investing advice for your family at e-trade. since ameriprise financial was founded back in 1894, they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations through tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need them. helping millions of americans over the centuries. the strength of a global financial leader

and romney told cnbc's larry kudlow he's resigned to a longer fight. >> anyone would love to be coronated if you will the nominee of their party but that doesn't happen. >> reporter: a near sweep tomorrow would be romney's next best thing. with this drawn out race it's helping president obama -- 40% of u.s. voters in today's nbc news/"wall street journal" poll say they're getting a less favorable impression of the republicans. live from columbus, ohio i'm steve handelsman, news 4. wendy, back to you. >> all right. super tuesday may not be so super in virginia. coming up in our next half hour julie carey takes a look at why some republicans may be taking a pass tomorrow. she'll have the report for you at 6:30. >>> breaking news out of calvert county, maryland. route 2 in sunderland is now open again after a crash involving a school bus. chopper 4 was over the scene when it happened about 3:00 this afternoon. we're told a fedex truck rear ended a school bus near route 2 and push all station road. there were several kids on the bus at the time. police say none was seriously injured. route 2

romney told cnbc's larry kudlow he's resigned to a longer fight. >> anyone would love to be coronated if you will the nominee of their party but that doesn't happen. the drawn out race is helping president obama. 40% of u.s. voters in today's nbc news/"wall street journal" poll said they're getting a less favorable impression of republicans. i'm steve handelsman, news 4, columbus, ohio. >>> gas prices are still climbing nationwide. prices are up 14% since the beginning of the year. high crude oil prices and concerns over the situation in syria and iran are all contributing to the price spike. triple-a says the shutdown of oil refineries is also a factor. >> since this time last year we've seen six refineries shut down on the east coast, two in the last month or so. and that has taken almost one billion barrels of oil out of circulation a day. >> reporter: right now triple-a reports the average price for a gallon of regular is $3.88 in the district. in maryland it's $3.71. in virginia the average price is $3.65 and in west virginia it's $3.81. >> prince george's county could be next in

larry kudlow and jim cramer together on set here at post 9.rold hamm, the great father of the shale oil and gas drilling up in the dakotas, his message was north american energy independence is within sight if we take the cuffs off, let everybody drill where they need to, the environmental stuff is fine. he was optimistic about this. north american energy independence, no more reliance on opec. >> we are in a situation and north dakota will, i believe, pass alaska. we're talking about the tremendous finds. harold hamm of continental resources believes this is the largest find since prudeau bay. i'm hung up on this because i see the company's well ahead of the government making the transition. one thing is certain. there is a backlash in washington against all fossil fuels because of leanings that aren't really able to be swayed. we are not swaying anyone on this who is anti-fossil fuel. >> it's a pity. i don't want to bash the president. but personally, the president is on the wrong side of the issue. he's basically anti-fossil fuel. we can do

tom ward will be brian sullivan's guest and brian sullivan is guesting for larry kudlow, so it's guestt to guest, i like sand ridge sd. charlie? >> caller: hey, jim, how are you? >> real good, char, how are you? >> caller: you are right, last september made about 121%, what do i do? >> listen to stephanie link who was on judge wapner's show, she said that was her trade, she's also the research director of actionsalertplus.com. if you can get that in the mid-30s. >> buy, buy, buy! >> ken in illinois? >> caller: boo-yah to ya jim. >> we're all heart and soul illini here. >> caller: it has been a tough year. >> that's right. hope springs eternal. >> caller: my stock is hk. >> you know, this is just again, i like these oil companies that have good southeast, southern oil exposure. now, is this the best one? i actually prefer carrizo to these guys, but i like the space. i want to go to nathan in my old home state of pennsylvania. >> caller: boo-yah from penn state university. >> yes! nittany lions, go! what's on your mind? >> caller: i'm wondering about invn. >> i've got to look at that sto

our larry kudlow stopped by the "street signs" set and he says yes. g the discussion. great to see you both. larry, let me tart with you. why do you feel that gas prices may not go much higher from here? >> one reason i feel that way is everybody tells me every minute of every day that gas prices are going a whole lot higher. so i'm suspicious of that consensus. but the main point i'm making is, adjusting for the refinery shutdowns, i get that. adjusting for whatever emergencies are going to happen in iran, and nobody can control that. what we're seeing is crude oil is flattening out. all right? both brent crude and texas crude. and, therefore, over time, i have to wonder whether a flatter crude isn't going to lead to flatter gasoline prices. that's the essence of my point. >> do you believe the refinery premium, maybe all this talk of summer, et cetera, is already built in? >> it might be. >> i've heard this talk of summer. it's a season, apparently, where people drive a lot. >> speculators or trader or investors might be pricing that into their calcu

joining us now larry kudlow, i put that if in the intro for a reason because production on federal lands the government needs money. why not sell federal lands and open for drilling? >> because they don't have a brain in their heads. that's the whole problem. there's an explosion of oil and gas fracking, but that's all coming from private lands and private entrepreneurs. oil and gas from federal lands is down 10%, 12%, 13% in the last year. some of this stuff at nine-year lows. take the handcuffs off. you'll see a tremendous gusher of oil and gas. and here's the point. there's an economic growth model of energy, okay. the energy will create jobs. it will create expansion of gdp. it spills over into a million different areas. it will throw off royalty revenues to bounce the federal budget. this is sort of a supply side energy model of growth. if only washington would take the cuffs off. >> andy, do you agree with the citi note that the north american continent is essentially becoming the new middle east in terms of production? and to what extent is it going to reduce our reliance on forei

i'm larry kudlow. be right back. [ tom ] we invented the turbine business right here in schenectady. without the stuff that we make here, you wouldn't be able to walk in your house and flip on your lights. [ brad ] at ge we build turbines that power the world. they go into power plants which take some form of energy, harness it, and turn it into more efficient electricity. [ ron ] when i was a kid i wanted to work with my hands, that was my thing. i really enjoy building turbines. it's nice to know that what you're building is gonna do something for the world. when people think of ge, they typically don't think about beer. a lot of people may not realize that the power needed to keep their budweiser cold and even to make their beer comes from turbines made right here. wait, so you guys make the beer? no, we make the power that makes the beer. so without you there'd be no bud? that's right. well, we like you. [ laughter ] ♪ i don't know... i forget. hello, neighbors. hey, scott... perfect timing. feedin

i'm larry kudlow. this is a special edition of "the kudlow report."tories to report this evening. first, the dow

i'm larry kudlow. this is "the kudlow report" coming to you tonight from washington, d.c. this morning i moderated the business roundtable discussion on the ceo plan for jobs and economic growth. so sizzle story number one this evening. stocks come back thanks to a strong adp jobs report and a weird fed story that somehow they're going to buy more bonds without creating more money. it's all hooey. don't believe a word of it. we break it down in just a moment. sizzle story number two. once again, mitt romney snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with a come from behind razor-thin win in ohio. but he still has a slog of a couple of months. sheer one more sizzle. the new ipad unveiled today. it's hd. it's g4. and it ipaded stocks for everyone but apple. first tonight let's turn to our market panel. maybe we can get rid of all that music that is blasting in my ear. thank you very much. we're going to do some stock market work on today's comeback. joining me now cnbc contributors michael farr. he is the president of farr and millner washington, the author of "the arrogance c

i'm larry kudlow. this is "the kudlow report." the polls in illinois close in less than an hour. it could be a big night for mitt romney, and i have a message from my friend newt gingrich. newt, it's time to get out of the race. plus, congressman paul rooen releases a dramatic new budget plan. it slashes taxes, spending and the federal debt, and i take on a democratic leader. we disagree face-to-face. and is russia's bad boy vlad peer putin about to push up oil prices even higher? plus, will the saudis bring them back down? all right. first up this evening, looks like mitt romney is poised take illinois and tent's republican primary. polls close in less than an hour, and cnbc's own john harwood joins us now with all the latest on the race. good evening, john. >> good evening, larry. you know, mitt romney in polls in the last couple of days heading into this primary had opened up a lead. the average in real clear politics.com this afternoon was ten points for mitt romney. if he could get a victory like that, this could be very important in this race. there are two arguments going

larry kudlow is joining us. from france to the uk. >> there may be a coordinated emergency release. and today the president is supposed to decide on the iranian oil sanctions. now, europe has signed on to it but you get the uk and some other country. question, will he sign on to the iranian snkss and say sanctions and at the same time he talks about injecting strategic petroleum reserves. there's reuters saying that it's going to happen. i don't know anything. these are the rrps. and that would be coupled with the final nail on the iranian oil sanctions. >> yes, there are other theories out there that would target retail gasoline, waving the blentding requirements and the joan acts. >> yes, those are things that would take 40, 80, 60 cents off the epa. all of the mandates, ethanol mandates, 18 different kinds of gasoline, winter and summer, that could help. you know what could also help? a 10 or 12% increase in the value of king dollar which would bring down all of these prices. and you know what is really cool,

meantime, we are joined by a very special guest, none other than larry kudlow of "the kudlow report." with us kudlow style. we want to hit a few topics. first one is proposal that's expected to be made today by the obama administration to curb co2 emissions of power plants and favor the utilities producing with nat gas plants opposed to coal-fired plants. >> is this more regulatory overreach? do we need this and do we want -- no new coal plants. that's what this means. no new coal plants. some of the existing coal plants may survive but no new coal plants. okay? why do we need this now? why do we need this now? energy prices. is this obama making good on the promise to raise energy prices, electricity prices? coal is 20%. i don't see it. i don't get this. you are right. the natural gas guys will love this. >> why do we need goal plants? reduces emissions. >> growth. growth. >> can't you argue it's a win-win. >> growth, jobs. growth. jobs. stability. >> horseless carriages, too. >> i understand that. that's a positive break through. that's not a limitation. work out something. it is no

larry. this is "the kudlow report." story one tonight. breaking news. smoking gun, internal memos allegedly show that jon corzine okayed moving millions in customer cash to cover losses, all as mf was collapsing. remember when he told congress he did not do that. was he lying? folks, this story is moving fast. we're all over it. story two tonight. oil spiking north of $108. the highest in three weeks. yeah, gas prices climbing yet again. $3.89 a gallon nationwide. and with the stunt with keystone, some demes are prepping a bill that would hike taxes on oil companies. ramping up for the big fight over obama care. aside from the cost to you the taxpayer or business owner, next week's battle, a monumental week in american history, that happens every has too do with what the government can and cannot compel you to do. mitch mcconnell today. >> if the court upholds that, could the federal government then order you to eat carrots? >> is this the last standoff as columnist george will says the last exit on the road to unlimited government? well, we begin tonig

larry kudlow is going to be joining us in joust a few minutes.proved its aq no, ma'amic outlook. the major markets at this hour, as you can see, are up across the board. the biggest gains in germany and athens. investors have been mulling over results. j.p. morgan announcing it would boost its dividend. the central bank does say that j.p. morgan was not at fault and that there was a miscombine caution. again, with the stress test out there, people are already starting to speck lace. there is a caveat with that. you souled say that this is with citi when they were going to be issuing a bigger dividend and buying back more shares. they were the ones that wound up with some questions still coming from the federal reserve. >> joining us now with more on the bank stress test, the head of one of the banks that got a passing grade. it's considering a dividend increase at its next board meeting. were you watching yesterday when you got that big, wet kiss. did you see that? can you live up to the best bank ceo in the world? >> it was a beautiful thing, wa

larry kudlow often talked about usa being ascendant. thought it was descendant until 2012. >> another company doing business in china is mcdonald's. ceo jim skinner widely executed with the turnaround of the fast food chain he's retiring after more than seven years at the helm. coo don thompson is expected to succeed him. jim skinner became ceo in 2004. since then shares of mcdonald's have more than tripled. some people might be concerned about the transition but thompson has been around for the initiatives, the specialty coffees that have been a tailwind for mcdonald's up to 52-week highs. >> i love jim skinner. he's been on "mad money." he's a remarkable executive, for two reasons. one is he's had a laser-like focus on trying to build franchises around the world but secondly he, like other ceos of mcdonald's, have groomed and groomed and groomed. this is probably one of the best succession companies in america. they had a couple of people pass away very young who were ceos. i don't want to say anything seamless because skinner is too