let's talk about lennar moving to the other side of the spectrum. shares of that company topping today after home builder reported earnings top expectations, lennar profits soaring from a year earlier, a slow and steady housing recovery. you can clearly point to housing stocks, weiss, as one of the reasons we pointed out that near triple digit gain in the dow. housing in general today was pretty good as well. >> i agree. it's been a real bright spot. i talked to a number of developers, even had a conversation with one last night who are putting money back into the market across the country. so you've seen virtually every market. i should say the worst market like phoenix pick up. i missed it, this close buying hsb. i missed it. i still think you can buy it. >> what held you back from pulling the trigger, not sold on it, looking elsewhere in the market, what? >> it was really a market call. i didn't want any long exposure to the market and it hurt me. i do think i'll get another opportunity to get in. i like hsb because i think housing stocks themsel

lennar said home sales and prices are higher. they could get a big boost when lennar is speaking. mccormick and general mills are both consistent though mccormick is providing more spice for the portfolio. i'm a dividend fanatic and i prefer general mills here. both are suitable additions to the nest egg. after close we hear from paychex which is my gauge for small business hiring. companies paying 4% courtesy of the dividend but the yield is the larger pay off versus the capital appreciation scheme given that small businesses are scared to hire. here's something interesting. you get a strike down of obama care it may be a chance to pick up some paychex. hiring could blossom if the law is struck down. you heard me. the health care law is a job killer. thursday, wow. it's a battleground day. one of the most exciting days in a while. we are putting a number of stocks caught in the cross hairs. first is nike which failed to hold the key $100 level. we have analysts saying this is the opportunity for a high quality growth stock at a discount ahead of the olympics. we have others who t

would you be a buyer of lennar?> we would be, we use our company framework that has an effective gross margin strategy, fictioned costs, and third, the fact that lennar as effectively deployed it's capital. if you look at it from the bottom it outpaced it's peers. >> i love it when the technicals and mind mentals send two messages. it's good to see you both. >> the dow is up 105 points, bill, the nasdaq higher by 23 points, and about 35 minutes before the closing bell. do not go away, we have a big interview straight ahead. >> we're talking tax reform with the head of the committee. why will congressman camp be battling john mccain about tax loopholes this year. we want to know what you think is the best way to reform the tax system. tweet us. plus, the clock is ticking in europe on the eve of a key summit. will european leaders just keep buying more time? we're hitting new highs. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 and i'm on top of it all with charles schwab. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 tdd# 1-800-345-2550 i use streetsmart edge and its

it sounds like the community benefits agreement for lennar holds them accountable. i hope that as we continue this discussion, you could talk about enforcement as well. and even the continued mitchen of the community benefits agreement as an approach to this development. -- mentioned of the community benefits agreement. >> the first source chapter 83 enforcement requirements apply. it is monitored out of our office, and it calls for liquidated damages if we do not get the referrals when job openings come for the targeted opportunities. and we do have the ability to impose that through chapter 83. it is already part of the language and part of what we do now. we would continue that process on this project. in terms of the entry-level jobs, if we do not hit our 40 per year dole, we are able to roll those over to the next year. cpmc is a partner on our health care academy of which we have all the providers working with us to ensure that our classes get placed. on monday, i will have a class of 70 students that i will need to find placement slots for. cpmc will work wit

we bought lennar at $24.75.ng for a push back into the low 30s when they announce at the end of this month. >> guy, couldn't agree less with you right? >> yes, i did cover my housing shorts to day. we did both buy. but mike was buying long, i was buying short. this sector has been decimated over the last week. as you mentioned, 20%. pulte homes off 20% in a week. that is not the kind of price action that is indicative of a sustainable rally in my view. i think it reeks of a mini bubble as the street calls for a housing bottom. >> the bulk of that damage, though, was done on friday. the home builders were down 8%, 9%, 10% based on that ridiculously bad jobs report. >> if you look at it, judge, you have a number that we track is new home sales report. you know this is coming in now at 5.1 months. a normalized market is going to give you six months of inventory. so that tells you have to differentiate between new home sales and existing home sales where you have a lot of forehe closures on the market. we're looking

shares of lennar are up sharply.econd quarter earnings 21 cents a share, ahead of street forecasts by about 4 cents a share. lennar says evidence from the field suggests the for sale housing market has bottomed and begun a quote slow and steady recovery process. you know, you put that together with those quotes from blitzer yesterday joining us at least starting to see real gains. >> hearing from toll brothers and other builders. >> the stocks reflecting a lot of move. you see toll, lennar even more so. but you hate to even say it and venture it. really, a bottom? has it really occurred? >> building the number of homes we built with half as many people. a major demographic shift in this country not talked about and argue that people stopped having new household formation and used to be 865,000 no matter. you have 330,000 homes every year destroyed by fire, flame, flood, overuse. you come and say, wow. there may be a recovery because they're not building many houses. >> and the new house ownership should not have been

supervisor mar: commissioner, i know that the lennar project contributed $7 million, and i wonder what you think about the discrepancy? >> i look at the benefits -- no one project is alike. as a former planning commissioner, have had the opportunity to look at many projects in the city. we look at a different picture here. specifically for this project, we know that the academy, the job creation, there are so many elements to that. i know that mayor lee and his staff looked before deciding about support of this project. sometimes there are generics. their commonalities. lennar is a fine developer in this city, regardless of what people say about them backing out on their promises. actually, we have ongoing engagements. yulia the broader community benefits that are going to be made available, it might be the housing element, and this is the way that you need to look at the bigger picture. and i will be glad, supervisor, to engage with you. because i was also involved with all these projects. supervisor mar: thank you very much. next speaker. i will take the time to call more names. mich

new home builders continued rallying, thanks to a big earnings report from lennar.earnings made a big jump from a year ago, and three cents per share better thaestimates. lennar is one of the country's biggest homebuilders, and is seen as a barometer for new homes. it's results indicate a strong spring selling season, and reth may continue. new orders were up 40%. shares jumped 4.8% on heavylume. the rally brings the stock less than $2 away from a 52 week high. other builders caught a bid. m.d.c. was up almost 5%. standard pacific gained more than 4%. and meritage homes added 3%. for the first time in more than a decade, a new weight loss drug has gotten the green light from the food and drug administration. and its maker, arena pharmaceuticals saw big buying in anticipation of a big hit. shares shot up 28.7% to a new 52 week high. this brings its gains since early may to more than 300%. its weight loss treatment is the company's first commercial product. the medicine still has to go through another regulatory process sting up to six months before it will go on sale

i am not sure what lennar's goal is. we started at 7% also. we realized that in order to get where we wanted to, 14% + very ambitious. supervisor mar: i think we need to do a better than not, but i will look at the numbers. next speaker. >> thank you, board of supervisors. i am a project coordinator for the general contractor on this project. i work on the st. luke's project. i have been a resident in san francisco for 11 years. i support cpmc's rebuild. it means i will have a job to provide for my children. this project will bring jobs that will generate income for families. it will boost the local economy will providing a seismically state of the art facility. cpmc serves one-third of san franciscans. it is important that we invest in rebuilding the facilities. in doing so, you are considering -- you are ensuring that there will be adequate coverage for the long and short term health care needs of the people. it would be ideal to give up most of the jobs to residents. it is not realistic. bitchin' not bwith such educati, this city may not be

in a lot of work and helping us to scope the city and look at the work that they have done on the lennar project, so i think they can bring something to the table here. i deferred to the people in the room who have more knowledge about planning than myself. i am a homeowner and residents, but i am also housing provider, and i support more housing in san francisco. supervisor cohen: thank you. supervisor mar: of would like to ask if and mary rodgers can give the planning staff's recommendation. i understand that cindy lou, vice-president of planning, has said that it does need more analysis on the impacts of open common areas and open space. there have been a number of letters of people saying more time to analyze its impact of opportunities for low-income and homeless families. i think those were questions raised from correspondence we head from a number of advocates in the community. but what is the planning staff's perspective. >> good afternoon. i am with the planning department. this ordinance does not amend the planning code. neither staff nor our commission has analyzed this are ev

they're higher than a year ago. >> you brought up lennar.arket leader in new residential construction. that's a world class company which is really leading the pack. kb's had a very difficult year, the first quarter was definitely a misfire. we think this is a transition story, which is going to work out. if you want to make money in the stock, you have to buy stuff when it's still uncertain. what we're seeing today, we think is incrementally positive. if this trend continues you're going to get better growth in the third and fourth quarters in tandem with continued improvement and new residential construction. that's what you want to focus on. >> are you more bullish -- sounds like your more bullish on kb homes than perhaps some of the others who have had stronger rallies this year? i ask you because kb homes is a favorite for the short sellers, half of its shares outstanding are held short on this one. it's one of the top three shorted stocks in the s&p 500. what are the short sellers missing? >> i think that the unexpectedly weak performa

for the first time in seven months renewed investors' optimism and gave builders pulte group and lennar a healthy boost. >>> meanwhile, more worries out of europe kept u.s. markets in check after a pair of debt auctions sent spain's borrowing costs higher. >>> more sobering news. consumer confidence fell in june for the fourth straight month as economic worries outweighed lower gas prices. news corp. shares shot up 8% after "the wall street journal" reported its parent company is considering splitting up its publishing and media arms. >>> the parent company of the university of phoenix online was another big market mover, soaring 10% on a better than expected quarterly earnings. >>> best buy's founder, who resigned from the company's board earlier this month, is reportedly working on a deal to take the retailer private. >>> fbi agents said yesterday 24 suspected hackers have been arrested as a result of a two-year sting operation targeting stolen credit cards and bank information. >>> a u.s. judge has granted apple's bid to stop samsung from selling its galaxy tablet as part of a patent

i think it is preposterous to think that they would not know what lennar was doing at the redevelopment agency. it shows a lack of understanding. finally, the los angeles ethics commission collected $2 million in enforcement actions compared to an infinitesimal amount in san francisco. we had a case that was filed about laurie making illegal contributions last fall. it is still pending in san for cisco. it has already been acted upon by the fpcc. there were fined $40,000. san francisco is still sitting on it but they have had a $40 collection. i also thought you might like to see what the budget analyst is referring to. it really does help people who want to make contributions who want to understand what the rules and limits are. there you have a copy of it. >> midafternoon. -- good afternoon. thank you for holding this hearing. i am going to tell you something you all know. free speech and open elections is something this country has been about for a long time. we still have open elections. unfortunately, we do not have free speech anymore. speech is equated to dollars. and now we have

[bell rings] match lennar's commitment to $8.5 million in funding towards workforce development. guaranteed job transfers for 3000 current employees at risk of layoff. respect the rights of the poised to join a union free from interference. do the right thing, supported -- support the workers and communities. thank you. supervisor mar: the question that has come up before is the need for a community benefits agreement to hold the project developer and the project accountable. i am wondered how the cba what kind of hold them accountable? if you do not want to answer it, it is fine. thank you. next speaker. >> my name is linda carter. a stanford and residentfor 44 years and rn at st. luke's for 42. i know this will bring a lot of short-term building trade jobs, and that is great. the city doesn't need that. and we do need seismically state hospitals. however -- the city doesn't need that. and we do need seismically safe hospitals. however, after that work is done, the real work has to get done. the hospital has to have staff. i am here to speak for the nurses whose jobs are at stak

we should really be looking at basic standard of strong community benefits based on looking at the lennar project for bayview hunters point and other models in our city so cpmc at least abides by that common standard. but even does better because of its track record in the city, whether it's on charity care or other issues. lastly, a number of people have brought up concerns about enforceability of the d.a. and i know that will come up a little bit later. but my hope is that a community benefits agreement could be a piece of this. i know that had been in the discussions early on. and i think that there's been support from the public testimony that that's one way of making sure that there's strong enforceability of high quality jobs and that the hospital and the construction is really abiding by our city's standards. it's just basic employee security but also high quality jobs. and the hospital being a good neighbor for our city. we expect or i expect as a supervisor, cpmc to continue to be a good neighbor but to even do better than existing past community benefits agreements. and then the

colleagues, if you remember the lennar-hunters point project, the numbers we received suggested that project was about a 22% rate of return. this is a project that has an awful lot of money in it that we are all a bit mystified about and i still have questions about, but i wanted to ask our budget analyst -- do you know if they port ever did it there- party analysis to determine whether the developer was receiving a fair rate of return with any kind of credible and reasonable standards? and mr. president, members of the board, supervisor chiu, we do not know. we have not been provided with that and permission. supervisor chiu: thank you. let me mention a couple of other things. first of all, the agenda item we have has hundreds of pages of documents, and i suspect that not a single one of us here have an opportunity to go through every single one of those pages, but if you did, you would realize we have not been provided all the documents that i think are relevant for analysis here. literally, many of these documents are simply the first page of documents that the port should have pr

lennar suffered multiple bruises and cuts in the attacks. he claims he molested him and his brother in a camping trip 30 years ago. the defendant's mother was at the courthouse to show her support. >> we're just here to support will. we're happy so far with what's been going on. we're glad for will to get his story out. >> lynch says he refused a plea deal because he wanted a trial where he wanted to publicly expose the priest as a pedophile. >>> a san francisco couple is accused of killing a man they claimed prostituted their 17-year-old daughter, appeared in court today accused of his murder. 22-year-old calvin sneed was shot to death june 4th in the bayview. prosecutors say 38-year-old barry gilton and 37-year-old lupe mercaddo planned and carried out the murder. today, their families showed up at court for the proceeding. prosecutors claim the couple traveled to los angeles county eight days before the murder and shot and wounded sneed. the defense attorney said the two did not enter pleas, as they are waiting for more information from t

lennar was down 8.3%. with job growth on the decline, the u.s. dollar was hit by some selling, helping gold prices. after suffering its worst may in 30 years, gold rallied almost $58 an ounce, settling back above $1,600 an ounce for the first time in three weeks. gold stocks were one port in today's selling. gold-corp up 8.8%. barrick gold gaining 7.3%. and newmont mining up 6.7%. worries about a slower economy are not confined to the u.s. and europe. one of the engines of global growth is showing signs of braking. brazil's economy grew by only 0.2% in the first quarter compared to the end of last year. this exchange traded fund follows brazil. it was down 2.5%, closing just 50 cents off a 52 week low. brazil is the world's sixth largest economy but after a decade of strong growth, its economy has slowed considerably. in our exchange traded fund market flash, all the most actively traded funds fell by at least 2.5%. the steepest losses were in the financial sector and russell 2,000 funds. and that's tonight's market focus. political uncertainty i