take a look at shares of general motors this is one of those days when mary barra and her team can sayis it. this is what we need to do. you build better cars, you will sell more of those cars and you can take a brand like buick which has struggled so long and improve it. >> it's been funny because buick has sort of played it up. they've played the fact that hey, you might not recognize how good we look. that's sort of the way their commercials go. >> a marketing program that works. cadillac should do what buick is doing. cadillac has been adrift in the woods. johan who has been brought in to fix them is going to be going down this path. he has too good of a track record not to succeed. this is what they need to do. >> i got into my friend's brand new uconn the other day and the whole thing controlled with his iphone and i have never seen that before. you know, i've not even imagined gm was up to that level of technological sophistication. stopping and starting the car, everything you would normally be able to do with the cup sol or key chain, you're doing with an app is that something

. >> the auto industry, last week in davos i spoke to mary barra. we talked about uncertain times. gas prices have come down dramatically. what does that mean in terms of the consumer behavior. >> long term we're investic in technologies and the electrification because again over the longer horizon. certainly we'll want to take advantage and be able to offer the vehicles customers want with this environment but there is a lot of uncertainty as everyone knows. >> my thanks to mary barra. up next we are "on the money." get cash out of your closet. a new start-up helps re-sell your clothes and keep more of the profits. is there is a catch? we'll talk to the founder. >>> and then first the government was going to tax them. but maybe not. how does a 529 savings investment work. but before we take a break look how the stock market ended the >>> if your closet is full of clothes that you don't ware. a tech start-up could help that turn into cash. tradesy is a up and coming online thrift store. tracy dinunzio is the founder. first of you wiall you came up this idea because you had stuff in

activist investors putting general motors on notice what they want, what it means for ceo mary barra. >> and let's just note that the dow is now up 146 points on the session overall. sue herrera is here with a cnbc business news update. >> indeed i am simon. here is what's happening this hour. the obama administration has set a goal of raising some $2 billion through philanthropic investments to fight climate change. it's trying to bridge the, quote, valley of death, which is the gap in funding between research and development and commercialization that holds back startup companies. >>> would you believe apple at $150 a share? that's what barclay's analyst told cnbc today. he said the company's free cash flow is, quote, mind blowing. apple trading higher. >>> and connecticut wants to keep its billionaires happy. so much so that tax officials are going to great lengths to keep them in state. in one case they set up a meeting with a super rich hedge fund owner who was threatening to leave connecticut. well, go to cnbc.com and you can find out what happened. coming up on "fast money," ji

because wilson doesn't want mary barra to go which would be wrong. he simply wants to changestructure. barra should consider this option. it's worked for some of the smartest executives out there, including harry singleton, with the buybacks. it can work for general motors, too. it's a much better use of cash than say how about building up a car financing business. that could be deadly in a downturn. let me give you my bottom line. it's time to recognize that tim cook is babe ruth. and that barra should take a bow for her performance and buy back gm's stock like a banshee. why don't we go to bobby in georgia. bobby? >> caller: hello, jim. thanks for taking my call. >> my pleasure. >> caller: my stock is microsoft, jim. i've owned this stock for a couple years. had a great return. and of course, we love the dividend. i have a couple concerns about one would be the amount of shares that's outstanding, and also the debt. would you hold or sell this stock here? >> all right, unfortunately it's been a real underperformer of late. we think the potential on

that was not a good year for mary barra. 2014, see ya.nk at this point the nest is priced into the stock. i'm sure that is what they're thinking. liz, don't forget the dividend is back. 3.% yield. they will probably increase it in 2015. that is not a terrible additional bonus to getting back into the gm stock. liz: three times this year, we have general motors, looking at around 36, 37, jeff. i just wonder, how many times do we have to see that before it breaks through 37, 38? >> there is an old saying on the street of dreams that triple tops rarely hold. meaning when you come up to a triple top you usually go through it. that is just happened with the s&p 500 by the way. i agree with tracy on this one. i don't have an analyst that follows it so i really don't have an opinion. i was in detroit. i went on plant tour. they're running it 24/7 throughout. they can't keep up with demand. liz: move on to a company very young and very valuable apparently. photo app snapchat is seeking a 19 billion-dollar valuation with its latest round of fundin

it's like mary barra, mary barra solves ignition thing by putting feinberg in, how many claims.uilds these cars, better lucky than good for the gas guzzler, right? gives you a big dividend boost. what happens? two of the most powerful hedge fund managers, they train their guns on her. so i mean, what do you have to do in order to please these activists? >> how about be a man, right? barra, rosen feld coleman? is this -- are we arguing coincidence? >> not to mention marissa mayer gets a lot of heat for whatever reason, meg whitman got earlier, but that was not as much her as it was last management team. >> i call it from popeyes, that stock doing well, a woman that's doing well. >> dupont. >> wish doing well. >> your point, i think, the right one, maybe it's multiple expansion because they've gotten -- they will argue, tryian, no it's not, it's just us. >> it's both. >> people believe that we were in there, going to make things happen and certain things already have happened and it's us. if we weren't there, stock would not be -- you'd not be talking about multiple expansion. tal

. >> mary barra is pretty perceptive in the times. i think mary barra was at the time a bad hand. investigated everybody and tried to figure out who was behind the ignition key. in the meantime she has the right portfolio, done remarkably well, and she can't catch a break. >> gas prices are going to give a lift to some of the higher profit cars. >> that's true. >> but i think her product lineup was refreshed even before gasoline. >> well is she doing better or worse than mark fields -- >> well mark can't -- you know alan was there before. but i just think that there say lot of cash there. that was a very nice dividend. >> a lot of cash they did increase the dividend by 20%. the quarterly dividend. it's now 36 cents a share. they're talking about that saying we are returning money, the shareholders for that. >> disappointed they didn't have a dividend boost earlier. a dividend boost, more than ford. people are unhappy, they want more. that's fine. i like the feet to the fire hence, coca-cola. this wouldn't surprise me it's finally going right. >> these fee arrangements i don't like

this comes as the automaker and its ceo mary barra are the target of activist investors wlash do they want? cnbc phil lebeau behind the wheel for us in wisconsin. phil. >> tyler, they want cash because general motors is sitting on a big pile of it right now. in fact, total liquidity of $37 billion. that's what is interesting to harry wilson. who is harry wilson? you might know him if you are familiar with the auto sector because he is one of the president obama's auto task force members, and when he was doing that he was actively involved in the restructuring of general motors. well now he is representing four investment groups, and today he announced that he is going to be nominating himself to join the gm board. he is representing four investor groups, including three hedge funds. what do they want? $8 billion to be spent by general motors buying back stocks. certainly that would give the stock a boost and has been today. for gm ceo mary barra this represents the latest issue she has to deal with after a year of wrestling with the recall crisis and all of the problems that were invo

he met with mary barra last week on tuesday the 3rd. he met her at that time to discuss with her his proposal. i asked him if she was surprised. he said, yeah. i do think she was surprised by what i had to say and by my proposal. he also believes general motor does not have enough awareness about the amount of shareholder frustration out there. his proposal, he'd like to be elected to the gm board of directors. he's going to nominate himself and believes there should be a fresh shareholder perspective on the gm board. he wants the company to start by buying back $8 billion in company stock. that's the conversation i had with harry wilson. a big day in terms of gm shares. is it time for general motors to free up some of the cash it's sitting on. >> phil, stick around. we'll trade gm first on the desk. >> this is sort of interesting, thoe. there's some smart investors. i think from his resume he'd understand the auto business, but this is such a sort of institutionally held name and a retail held name, they together only have 3%? that's g

mary barra the roman particulars of the trail minus 40, sleep in a sleeping bag. >> i'm starting to be scared a little bit but actually, i'm looking forward, as well, yeah, it will be a really nice experience. >> that's your house. >> yes. >> they drag food, shelter and safety gear to help them endure. the real enemy they say is within. >> i know if my hat would let me down but there is no way you can keep going. >> as we head north the wind is blowing in our face. >> a survive clinic teaches racers who haven't been in the extreme cold before. they discuss their fears and burden of being alone at night in deep winter. >> you make a poor decision for start to get too tired or let the demons in your brain overreact, people just start misjudging. >> it's a race, yes but safety is everything. that's why organizers make sure people have all the right equipment and put first timers through mandatory cold weather training. >> a final test outdoors before the race begins. first timers lighting stoves, pitching tents and making a fire all the things they'll spend the next week or more they'll h

mary barra taking on the stock folks, the activist investors. that was the reference. i have to put my specks on. >> so you can see. >> so i can see what i have to tell you. linkedin executive potentially exposed to measles thousands to people commutes in and out of san francisco last week. linkedin ses quote, we're working very closely with the san francisco department of public health and following their recommended protocol for managing this situation. the health and well-being of our employees is our absolute top priority and we will take whatever steps are advised to ensure their safety and the safety of the general public." and it's not just employees that are at risk. according to wired magazine the children of employees are at perhaps, even greater danger due to what wired calls a, quote, sickening low vaccinatexccination rate at day care centers across silicon valley. wired joining us now from san francisco. what specifically did you find and whose numbers did you rely on? >> i was relying on the numbers of of the california department of public health. they m

now ceo mary barra delegated the recall issue to kent feinberg mr. fair who has gotten his arms around the claims as this most trusted individual always does. as horrific as gm's liability was, it may not add up to the charges that the company has already taken. it may not even be -- it may not even hit the stock. not only that but the headline risk has finally gone away, because the journalists have written their books and the story has played out. gm makes the big gas guzzlers where all the profits is. gm is about as perfect a story as they come with a bountiful yield, more than double what you get with ten-year treasuries. the only knock against it -- europe. europe has just gone from negative to positive right before our eyes. let's not forget alcoa. i know they reported a throng time ago now. go back over that quarter. alcoa is levered the to just about everything that we've heard is doing well in the world since they reported. aerospace, nonresidential construction, packaging, trucks, autos, turbines. but what kept alcoa from going higher, well

with regard to mary barra and the conversation harry wilson had with her last week, he said i think she was surprised when he brought up his plan to nominate himself for the board. i don't think or the company were aware of the level of shareholder frustration. that sums it up there in terms of where harry wilson is coming from. shares of gm fractionally higher today. the bump was yesterday. it will be interesting to see what happens over the next several months as harry wilson makes makes the play for the gm board. >> give me the thing on tesla ahead of the earnings. on thoughts that some heads could roll as a result of these unbelievably awful china numbers. >> there's already been turnover in china. we know that the head of communications over there has left the company. the report yesterday from reuters is that sales in january were just 120 vehicles. now, we don't know if elon musk will talk about that on the conference call today. he will be asked about it. he's already said that the fourth quarter sales slow down was unacceptable, that they're trying to turn it around. china is c

. >> did you talk to mary barra this weekend? >> i haven't spoken to mary barra in months.ar that this is an independent program, they're not second guessing. gm has not under our agreement has not questioned or rejected or appealed. they have no right under the protocol protocol. gm has willingly gone along. this is what gm said they will do and they are. >> when you talk with these victims, clearly this is an emotional situation. you mentioned that emotions are running high. in general, summarize what you heard back from these families in terms of how they feel about general motors. >> you don't hear much about -- you hear some criticism of general motors for not disclosing these problems earlier, what have you. most of the families -- and i've seen this in 9/11 and you know from bp most of the families most of the physically injured victims lament their plight. it's not so much gm they focus on. there's some of that. but most of them are emotionally distraught over life's unfairness. >> losing a loved one or a loved one being catastrophically injured. >> exactly. mr. fei

. >> do you talk to mary barra about this negotiation? >> no. i have not talked to her in months. she made it clear and told me once you start processing the claims, we back off. it is your call. you make the judgment. you value the claims. we will have no say in second-guessing or repealing. general motors has lived up to what it said it would do. >> is this a departure from other claims? >> no. bp turned the function over to me. attorney general ashcroft said you process these claims and we will step back. you know how to do this. we will abide by your decision. general motors has provided me as much independence as the program needs. >> we will continue to be very busy in the weeks and months ahead. thank you for speaking with us. this morning, president obama will send congress a $4 trillion budget blueprint. peter cook also has a busy day and more on the plan and the reception. a couple of questions. what is the biggest surprise for you? >> the president's proposal with regards to infrastructure. the fact he is asking corporate america to put so much of the bill here. the num

instead, mary barra the chair of gm, said the workers did not do this and they will get the full $9,000ater on. it has not been announced. the executives of the company will likely not get the full amount of bonuses they might have without subtracting this. this is very good news and builds trust. matt: how important is that tackle mary is trying to reshape because her and that would seem like a key step. still giving those bonuses to the workers on the floor. and taking them out of the pockets of the higher paid executives. >> it is a stunning move. it builds a lot of trust, goodwill and a more competitive company. it reflects her relationship with the united auto workers. she talks to them frequently. they have made this case. there is a former uaw vice president on the board of gm. all of this came together into a decision that was the right thing, but also has very positive consequences. one might paraphrase, henry ford when he initiated the five dollar a day, he said doubling the wages of the auto industry he said this was the best business move i ever made. matt: those workers can

investor and represents hedge funds holding a total of 34 million shares asking general motors' ceo mary barraon the board and is pressing for a stock buyback. >> our next guest is a former gm bondholder who says the company isn't so financially healthy it should burn through its reserves and believes wilson's move is designed to boost the united autoworkers union and more he says than the gm shareholders. mark joins us. he's an associate fellow at the national legal and policy center. also with us kevin o'leary, chairman of o'leary funds and more importantly than all, a "shark tank" investor. mark, make your case, if you would. >> hello, simon. i think this is just a farce and the first evidence is look at gm's performance since the ipo which is a little over four years ago. underperformed the s&p 500 by close to 70%. so the idea that this underperformance is coming because they have too much cash on their balance sheet is nonsense. so now we have harry wilson re-entering the scene. mr. wilson best known as one of president obama's men on the auto task force, helped crush the individual bondh

mary barra's doing a great job.n ss don't see a lot of stuff about the ignition. a big dividend boost above 40. they -- she's doing a great job. attack coleman, doing a great job. attack berra the best thing, i don't think they're alive with this they can sell. to me now they're in they're not going to flip it. i like that so many bad executives. it's coincidental, maybe more than that? great piece yesterday. follow up on that piece, it was great. >> appreciate it. maybe we will. see you in just a few minutes, look forward to following up with that. >>> coming up can tesla warm up to buyers in cold weather states? phil lebeau will tell us what the company plans to do get buyers in northern states and hit the insane button and see what happens. back to this moment. opportunities aren't always obvious. sometimes they just drop in. cme group can help you navigate risks and capture opportunities. we enable you to reach global markets and drive forward with broader possibilities. cme group: how the world advances. [ male

mary barra has been there dealing with a massive situation.ted. here we go. transition here, 2015 the cfo of coke saying we do think cheap gasoline has impacted consumer behavior. and it will help our business but ads the macro environment continues to be, quote, challenging. of course, the dollar is a big part of that as well as macro contributions in europe. and the cfa telling sarah eisen, we're always looking at things globally. there you go. >>> and out with the annual rankings of the world's most innovative companies showing out the best in innovation. rocket bob is the editor in chief of the magazine. good morning. >> good morning. >> let's go straight to the top of the list. the number one most innovative partners in the part. >> what's so innovative, they make glasses? >> they broke through on an area of glasses. 109% share in the glasses business. >> willy parker has come from nowhere to break into that market. it's a company created by millennials for millennials connecting across all demographics and that's really why they're on th