mary thompson live with the latest. >> reporter: hey there. as you can see the rain is coming down fairly hard here. picking up in the last couple of moments. earlier or actually yesterday both the port of new york and new jersey as well as the port of delaware which serves philadelphia, they would close. port of baltimore, which is right to the east here, also closing down. what does that mean? well, port of new york and -- delaware, key places, crude oil to be imported. port of baltimore complete key area for coal to be sent out and foreign import cars to come in. of course, maryland may not be getting the worst of sandy but it is getting all of it. not only is there coastal flood watch, flood watches all over the state, snow is expected in the western part of maryland and, of course, expect high winds all later tonight. governor martin o'malley earlier warning residents of the storm's dangers. >> this is going to be a long haul. days will be difficult. there will be people who die and are killed in this storm. ripe right now there are 75,00

i'm mary thompson with a cnbc market flash. shares of haines celestial down. street account crediting the decline to reports circulating from nielsen that says while sales were up for hains in the most recent period they decelerated in the prior period so the stock is under pressure. again we'll try to confirm that but that's what street account is reporting light yao. >> thank you. >>> to the bond market. they've had a wild week there. auctions, whipsaws on data. all sorts of things. rick santelli's here to handicap the afternoon action for us. >> they definitely have had a wild week. 2 out of 3 auctions were great. the last one took the charm off the first two. let's look at two-week charts. right around the unemployment issues that we all went through not that long ago, interest rates definitely seemed to be creeping up. but over two weeks we're basically close to unchanged. we're down ten basis points this week. if you look at a 10-year bund, correlations are still tight but patterns are diverging a bit. pay close attention

mary thompson is at lowe's distribution center in pennsylvania. mary, good to see you.r lo jegistics syste going to swing into action now? >> reporter: it swung into action prior to the storm, especially here at the lowe's distribution center. this distribution center, which basically is the size of 22 football fields, serves 114 stores in six states, including a number of those that were hard hit by hurricane sandy. states like new jersey, maryland, and parts of delaware. now, when we were here last night, we saw a truck being loaded up. it was headed for eastern maryland. of course, that part of the state hard hit by storm surges and flooding. so going on to the truck was a palette of emergency supplies. tarps, ropes, generator, things like that. it was being put on at the end or at the back of the truck. so the first thing that the store can take off when the truck reaches its destination. that way it's easily accessible for those in need. now, what's different about this storm, not so much the supplies that are being sent out to the stores, but basically the number

our own mary thompson has the latest on the impact on business. good evening, mary. >> larry, people are comparing this storm to last year's hurricane irene the tenth costliest in history. now from its command center today, home depot sending sump pumps, shop vacs anticipating lining irene a lot of coastal and inland flooding. for home depot that means demand for carpeting picks up after the storm. if there's any extra profit for the retail that comes out of this storm it comes from demand not pricing. home depot locked in prices this morning just to make sure that consumers will not get gouged. as for paying for the property, property and casualty insurers in good shape thanks to higher premiums and a lack of major events. a major storm may allow some of them to pass on higher prices to their clients. restaurants will see business decline. restaurants like this group you see here can take solace from the fact the storm is hitting did your the slow part of their week. as for the power provider the big exposure these four have in the mid-atlantic re

mary thompson has the scorecard. >> a lot of people are overlooking the negatives in all of earnings mid-week. right. it's like intel came out. >> right. >> ibm came out. then the bombshell from google. >> from google. hasn't been a great earnings season. just under a quarter of the s&p 500 reporting the results profits remain down. revenue growth there isn't much. the blended results which combine forecast for companies that haven't reported and results from those that have show profits fell 1.8% last quarter. the actual results from the 160 s&p 500 members show profits off 3.7% from last year. now coming in to the earnings season analysts forecast the s&p quarterly profits would fall 3%. first decline in three years behind the expected slide weaker global growth hitting material and energy companies especially hard. and while the final profit tally usually exceeds expectation because of cautious corporate guidance the early read on the bottom line doesn't look promising. with just over 60% beating forecasts slightly less than the quarterly average a smaller than average percentage

we've got mary thompson as well with how businesses are preparing. todd, let's begin with you.t do we know so far? what's the very latest? >> well, hey there, mandy. as of the 2:00 p.m. update from the national hurricane center this doesn't look that daunting to folks used to dealing with hurricanes. 75-mile-per-hour sustained winds, moving north at 7 miles per hour. it does have some dry air wrapped in to it. the thing is the system is likely to grow in both size and size of the wind field, meaning that a lot of people will be dealing with the wind all along the eastern seaboard, even actually toward atlanta, georgia could see 30 to 40-mile-per-hour gusts. bigger numbers will be along the coasts. some of the waves as high as 28 feet off to the east of cape canaveral. winds out of the north-northeast. ft. pierce at 22 miles an hour, gusting into the mid 30s. the system itself is likely to take that turn out towards the east a little bit further before kind of hooking that s-turn back into the northeast. this is a look at the currents with the storm. quick look at the forecast t

let's get to mary thompson. she's at the port in baltimore. anything moving through the port right now? >> reporter: nothing at all, maria. the port shut down today. i'm standing on the chesapeake bay. actually, the port is a little to my east. keep in mind, of course, the water is not very rough here because it is a bay. we're nevertheless protected. nevertheless what they're concerned about in maryland is flooding. almost all of the state is under a flood watch. that's one reason they closed the port of baltimore which means a lot of the u.s. coal exported or sent out from that port is not going anywhere for at least a day, possibly two days. and foreign cars coming into the port, not moving anywhere. similar situations happening up and down the east coast. the port of new york and new jersey, the third largest in the country, also shutting down its operations because of the severe weather, as well as port of philadelphia and port of wilmington, part of the port of delaware. an area that imports a majority of crude oil into the east coast us

. >> mary thompson though, this is a role that we don't often see lloyd blankfein in. one could almost use the word statesman like when he was making those comments. talk to me about your impressions of what he said and how he appeared in this particular panel. >> well, i think as everyone has pointed out, he was very statesman like, very i would say reasoned and balanced in his approach in how he'd deal with the issues, not rush to anything but phase in some of the needed cuts and increases over a long term. i do want to go back to something that steve was saying and something that i took away from mr. blankfein's comments, that at this point not only would it be an opportunity for his firm but it is an opportunity for the u.s. economy. the rest of the world is in troub trouble. if we get our house in order, that kind of re-affirms the u.s.' economic dominance, something that should appeal to both parties. so as he said, wall street may have been wrong in keeping their head, you know, down behind the fox hole because they were concerned about some criticism that they

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melissa, back to you. >> thank you very much, mary thompson.while ago. let's get an update on how it's doing. bob pisani here on the floor. >> dave duffield is here, chatting, ceo here and the after glow is still here, like a cocktail party. the important thing is look how we're trading now here. 47.16, still up on the day. and remember, i want to repeat the numbers. 21 to 24 was the price talk. 24 to 26 is what they upped it to. priced at 28 and opened at $ $48.05. another thing that's interesting and dave duffield, the ceo right here and we were talking a few moments ago is the volume and action here. 8.1 million shares. why is that possibility or interesting? because they offered 22 3/4. normally on a hot issuance when you've got practically a doubling in the price in a single day, the hot money would sort of come in and move around and sell very quickly. oftentimes in these hot issuances, you see 100% of the turnover by 11:00. but look, only 8 million shares, that's about one-third of the actual shares that are offered. it's an interesting

. >> meanwhile mary thompson is in pottsville, pennsylvania. >> this distribution center serves 116 stores in six states. it is being loaded with emergency supplies headed for eastern maryland which was hit by the storm surge as well as the rain. other goods that are needed for the post-recovery process. they will be the last things loaded on the truck so they are the first thing off the truck when it hits that affected area. preparation for sandy started early. while shipping out the goods to shep with that recovery process will last for days. >> we worked additional hours prior to the storm. people would come in and work some over time to help prepare prior to the storm and we will also be doing it post storm now. we do workday and night throughout the week and the weekend as well. >> helping homeowners with the post storm recovery process. burn told us what stood out for him about sandy is the amount of ground that it covered. this served west virginia where there was snow fall and new jersey where the devastation was so great. as a result, this distribution center has employees that we

we are going to check in with mary thompson. she joins us live with more on that. y. >> hey, barbara. today, we are looking at mixed earnings reports. they are keeping pressure on the stock market. right now, the dow is down six points. the s&p down five. the nasdaq is holding on with seven points. pressure on the dow, intel in the wake of the earnings report. ibm under pressure after revenue declined reflecting clients reluctant to spend more on new technology. intel is lower after they narrowed profit margins because of the chips used in personal compute computers. they are offsetting positive news. they rose 15% in september. the news giving a boost to housing stocks this morning. bank of america broke even and were expecting a slight loss. shares of apollo heading in the right direction. warning on lower revenue. it's cutting hundreds of jobs and plans to close 115 of its university of phoenix locations. back to you. >> thank you. >>> a lot of people think losing weight is easy. keith, you want to tell us about that? >> yes, i do. don't stop eating. skipping bre

check in with mary thompson.oins us with more on that and the rest of the day's business headlines. >>> europe remains a focus for europe investors. the markets are held by expectations spain is going to ask for a bail out. this could prove a positive as they resolve the national crisis. the dow is down 75. the s&p is down two points. auto makers in the news as they roll out their september sales numbers. cloudy skieslers were up 7.5%. ford was down. gm sales rose 2% for the highest levels in september since 2008. toyota rebound 41%. thanks to easier credit and a more stable economy, the auto industry is on track to sell 14 hadn't 4 million autos this year. aig, the insurance giant rescued by a government bailout at the height of the financial crisis could be named a financial institution by regulators. if it happens, they will be regulated by the federal reserve. back to you. >> thanks for the update. barbara? >>> more and more spas are offering cosmetic procedures done in doctors offices. we have the precaution

let's check in with mary thompson. she joins us live with more on that and the rest of the days headlines. >> stocks are getting lifted from the positive news. housing dropped to a five-year low. holding on to a 26-point gain. the s&p is up five and nasdaq up six. first time unemployment claims dropped. the labor department cautions much of the state is responsible, the numbers are likely to be revised. jp morgan ceo is stepping down. no word on his replacement. he's one of a growing list of jpmorgan executives. japan's third largest carrier is in talks with sprint nextel. they are rallying on the news that an investment might help sprint compete with verizon. >> for the first time in 30 years, wendys is getting a makeover. the fast food giant updating their logo with a modern lettering and older looking wendy. she still has her pigtails. >> where's the beef? that slogan will last forever. thanks for checking in. >>> in this week's wednesday's child, we meet a boy who has been in foster care most of his life. he's made

we'll check if wif in with mary thompson for the rest of the business headlines. >> after closing outeek since june, the markets are actually in a slight rally mode this morning. the dow up just about 63, nasdaq about 12. providing early support to the market, stronger than expected retail sales numbers for the month of september. they rose 1.1%. citigroup is also giving a lift to the broader markets after the bank reported stronger than expected earnings. softbank has made it official paying over $20 billion for a 70% stake in sprint. this gives the japanese company a foot hold in the wireless market and gives sprint much needed money to help it compete better with bigger rivals at&t and verizon. microsoft is taking another stab it at the online music which is p business. today it's rolling out its music platform replacing its zune marketplace. and kindle clients are eligible for a credit on past ebook purchases. back to you. >> thanks, mary. >>> october is domestic violence awareness month. every nine seconds, a woman is assaulted or beaten. men are also victims of domestic violence

let's check in with mary thompson.ve with more on that and the rest of the day's business headlines. >> hey, barbara. as you mentioned, building on monday's gains. strong earnings report and decent economic data. the dow up 113 points. nasdaq holding on to a 28 point gain. stocks getting a boost from a stronger than expected reading. in the meantime, in corporate news, a shake up. the bank ceo unexpectedly stepping down along with the firm's president and coo. the surprise resignation is coming after they took over citi. he's replaced by the former head of europe michael corbett. that happens immediately. the earnings keep rolling in. among them, johnson and johnson. the dough's newest member, united health care. the estimates remain cautious about the coming year giving pending economic pressures. coca-cola's earnings were in line. revenues hurt by lower sales in europe and asia. >> back to you. >> thank you. keith? >> people across the country are turning to a black market version of cosmetic surgery, sometimes with

let's check in with mary thompson. o you, mary. >> fixed income trading contributed to better than expected results from a number of big banks even know net interest margins what they earn on loans minus what they pay out on deposits and that area continues to be squeezed. earnings combines the actual earnings reported and the estimates for those still to report. they are up 5.4% which is healthier than the overall decline of 4.5% in third quarter earnings for s&p 500. now most of the big banks beat analyst forecasts. goldman numbers were strong thanks to an increase in value in securities and lending portfolio. wells came in a penny ahead and stock took a hit immediately after the results as banks revenue missed wall street's forecast. morgan stanley stock struggled since it reported its results on thursday. it lost money but excludeing a massive charge for changing value of debt. morgan's operating earnings increased from a year ago quarter. the regional banks reporting this week. they too have been hurt by declines i

mary thompson of the new york stock exchange, thanks. >>> this dramatic video of a reckless stunt will hopefully serve as a warning to others. a young woman egged on by friends sticks her head out of a train window as another train approaches, and she appears visibly shaken by her near tragedy which has gone viral on youtube. >>> and it is going to be on a lighter note ladies night at this year's golden globe awards. "thirty rock" star tiana faye will team up with amy poehler taking over from ricky gervais. the two have starred together on "baby momma" and on nbc's "saturday night live" and, of course, they have that great chemistry. can't wait to see it. 7:12. back over to savannah, matt and al. going to be great. >> it is, but the video of the train with the girl. >> frightening. >> i know, it's shocking. >> idiotic. i'm sorry about that. >> but thanks for trying to put us in a better mood with the golden globes information. >> i'm sorry, how many times do you say to your kids. >> don't do that. >> very lucky. >> thanks, natalie. mr. rocker here with a check of the weather. >> big ch

mary thompson is live at the port of baltimore and she has more. >> reporter: greetings from baltimore, kelly. a rainy baltimore this morning. of course the worst of it hasn't happened yet, that's expected later tonight. keep in mind that baltimore is on the southern part of this storm, what is expected in this region of washington, d.c. are very hefry rains. nevertheless in light of the massive size of this storm, the port of baltimore which is a bit east of here as well as other ports in the united states, have closed down. there is some they were natural operations here in the port of baltimore, but what this means for the refining industry here in the u.s. is that refiners along the east coast are not going to be able to take any delivery of crude for the next day or so until the ports are open. again, what we're seeing now in the northeast refineries, keep in mind they account for about 6.5% of total production here in the u.s. some of them are shutting down including the linden, new jersey refinery that's operated by phillips 66. it expects to be shut town completely by about 6:0

mary thompson diving in to the latest numbers. >> it was a good report along with strength in investment banking, strong results in fixed income and investments as well as its investments and lendings unit drove the quarter offsetting a 16% decline in the company's revenue. goldman's beat coming as cfo saying the clients remain risk averse and given the uncertain i about the global economy as well as domestic issues. >> traders themselves have to be more comfortable that the market environments are being driven by economics as well as politics and i think maybe you've had a slight shift, but not a big shift the at all. >> goldman's earnings handily beating estimates as did revenue of $8.3 billion thanks to unrealized gains. goldman set aside more money for compensation in the quarter, but the ratio of comp to revenue was only slightly higher than in past quarters at 44%. gold man's return on equity edged up slightly to 8.6%, still below peak levels. also saying the firm remains on track to cut expenses by the targeted $1.9 billion by year end. sue, back to you. >>> another big piece of b

. >>> mary thompson at the new york stock exchange for us. good morning. >> european summit, investors are expressing little progress on dealing with the region's debt crisis. earnings in focus as tech giants microsoft and google report their results after the bell. and a late-day rally helped the dow eke out a small gain. 2/3 of the graduating class of 2011 left college in debt. on average owed $26,000. that's a 5% increase from 2010. back to you. >> mary thompson at the new york stock exchange, thank you. >>> and in politics, as you know, it's better to be up than down. well, julia gillard, high heels, really delivered a low blow in new delhi when her shoe got stuck in soft grass at the ghandi memorial. she explained she is fine, but unlike men who get to wear flat shoes all day, being a female leader has one extra challenge. one that we certainly can relate to, savannah gurthrie. >> we certainly can. >> still not easy. >> no, no. >> at least once a year. >> exactly. >>> well, we've got this strong storm system up over the great lakes causi

cnbc's mary thompson is at the knock stock exchange. >> reporter: google mistakenly released its results early yesterday causing disappointment and confusion in the markets and a drop of 20%. markets followed with a 22% decline in its product as they put off purchases awaiting the release of windows 8. today marks the 25th anniversary of black monday from the dow dropped 22.6%, its single largest percentage decline ever. natalie, back to you. >> not a good reminder. mary thompson, thanks so much. >>> well, it was a rough night for the bronx bombers as the new york yankees were defeated by the detroit tigers, 8-1, sending the tigers to the world series for the first time since 2006. heading into tonight's game, defending world series champs, the st. louis cardinals lead the san francisco giants 3-1 for the national league title. >>> and a high school football player has kicked his way into the record books. check it out. this is austin rehkow from spokane valley, washington nailing a 67-yard field goal bringing his team to a 62-55 point victory, and it beats the current nfl record which i

cnbc's mary thompson are at the new york stock exchange for us this morning. good morning, marry. >> good morning, natalie. the national retail federation estimates on average consumers will spend just over $749 this holiday shopping season. that 1.2% increase from last year, the smallest in four years. apple expected to unveil its ipad mini next tuesday, two days before rival microsoft begins selling its own tablet called the surface, and after another day of triple-digit gains the dow sits within striking distance of a five-year high. back to you. >> all right. mary thompson at the new york stock exchange, thanks. >>> think you've got a bug problem? a small county in utah has been invaded by a plague of insects called box elder bugs. folks have not seen this many before. the good news is they don't bite, and they usually disappear when winter arrives. so gross. >>> former reality show star kate gosselin has lost her job as a blogger for coupon cabin. the company's ceo blamed what he called a series of recent events which he said made it clear that kate is si

mary thompson has the details. >> all three of the major indic indices, utilities finishing in the red for the week. the dow transports appears to have bucked the downward trend for the week. nope, actually finishing modestly lower. for the most part, it outperformed the rest of the week helped by gains of federal express. take a quick look at the ten sector wes follow. all of them finishing in the red. telecom had its worst week in years. tech was pushed lower by apple's recent weakness. edwards life sciences the biggest loser among the s&p 500. down just about 20%. the company warned its third quarter sales would miss estimates. another company hit by a disappointing forecast, dollar tree. the discount retailer finishing the week down 14.5% after it said its third quarter sales would come in at the low end of its forecast. we had some winners, though. despite a friday pull back, some coal stocks were up on this because of expectations. higher natural gas prices will help boost demand. i'll call it a 15% gain. lastly, sprint was higher for the week as well. almost up 10%. lastly, it's

mary thompson is here with a look at the credit card companies. how are you? >> good. a lot of analysts saying in this space jump on board, the water is fine. these companies helped in part by rising market. credit infused and u.s. economy shows signs of life. after two big acquisitions this year analysts say capital one's outlook should be clearing up and discover is expanding in to the payment space. two major players in that space mastercard and visa off all time highs but franchise names to own. revenue from credit card transactions moving up thanks to higher volumes and larger than average purchases. fserve growing. >> secular move in using cash instead of credit card. they went through new regulations. so, you know, the fundamentals are very strong. they are not terribly expensive. >> joe give me the best play. mastercard or visa or american express or discover. >> i like all of the above. throw in capital. >> it's not too late to jump in. >> not too late to jump in. capital one throw into the mix. fundamentals are turning there also. i think there's a lot of mon

mary thompson has a look at the stocks that were able to buck the trend. >>> another tough week for the markets and nasdaq extending the losing streak to two weeks. blame it on the earnings season, disappoints on the top and bottom line along with weak forecast hammering stocks but helping those who beat estimates. leading the dow lower, dupont, setting waengness in asia and cut earnings guidance for the year and cut 1500 jobs for the week, down 8.4%. 3m, lowering its outlook as well, citing a weak global economy. new field exploration, the s&p 500's worst performing down 20% after a drop in value triggered a third quarter loss. the commerce department won't finish reviewing their signs, contract for another six months sending its stock down almost 20%. down 17% for the week. sears was the big winner, up about 14%, followed closely by expedia, thanks to strength in its hotel business and the full year forecast, 13% last week. >>> varian medical, helped by stronger than expected third quarter results and raising guidance as well as for the fourth quarter, stock up almost 15%. back to you

mary thompson is live at the port of baltimore. mary, ships coming? ships going?> reporter: they stopped coming and going last night, brian. port of baltimore decided in light of hurricane sandy to shut down its operations, this is the 1th largest port in the united states when you consider the value of the goods that go in and out. we're standing a little bit away from it. it is probably about a mile or so either of us right here. we're on the chesapeake bay. but there are other ports along the u.s. as well that have decided to shut down their operations, too. most notably the port of new york and new jersey. as you mentioned, there are very dangerous conditions there. then the port of delaware bay which clouds the port of wilmington as well as philadelphia. those two ports, philadelphia or -- three ports. wilmington, philadelphia, new york and new jersey are very important for the refiners that you were just talking about. the reason being is that most of the imports of crude that they need come in through those two ports. given that they have been ramping down

mary thompson is in the port of baltimore. most of maryland set really to get hammered. mary? >> reporter: that's true, tyler. most of the state is under a flood warning. the governors saying they are expecting floods to be equivalent or worse than hurricane gloria back in 1985. of course that prompted the port of baltimore to shut down earlier. similar actions being taken by the port of new york and new jersey as well as the port of delaware bay. those two ports are important to the east coast refineries. the reason being, most of the crude that those refineries use to make gasoline and other distillates is brought in through those two ports. now speaking of the refineries, a number of them have either shut down or operating at reduced capacity. if phillip's 66 lynn d 66 refin jersey shut down earlier today. three others including the largest on the east coast -- philadelphia energy solutions, they are running at a reduced capacity. all of this giving a lift to the price of gasoline on the futures market. as you might expect, investors and traders are anticipating tighter sup

mary thompson is tracking preparations ahead of the big storm. >> it's already been dubbed frankenstorm over the halloween horror story at lowe's. the east coast of course bracing for a storm with potential to do billions in damage. the latest update from noaa says heavy rains and flooding is forecast in the mid-atlantic states but high winds could be felt from the carolinas all the way up through new england. corporate america's prepping to serve both customers and protect its employees in light of this storm. at lowe's, a 24-hour command center tracks the storm while it shipped generators, batteries, chainsaws and other items in high demand after the storm to northeast markets expected to be impacted by sandy. as for the power provider, citi noting four with big exposure to the mid-atlantic and pennsylvania areas where the heaviest rains and flooding are forecast. banks saying any earnings risks for these companies lie in prolonged outages. farther north in the tri-state region where heavy wind could cause outages, utilities building on lessons learned from last year's hurricane irene

let me get to mary thompson covering the american express story. we're already seeing a reaction. >> right. as you pointed out, the earning and revenue in line with expectations. couple of other nuggets here. rou is 23.6% down. that, of course, is a measure of profitability. importantly, the company's ceo saying that card member spending rose 8% in the u.s., 6% globally. that's a healthy pace, he says, in a current environment and an improvement from earlier in the quarter. nonetheless, it represents slower growth than we were generating earlier in the year. it's what he calls an uneven global economy they're operating in. the company managed to control expenses in the quarter. they were down 2%. so that, of course, helped it meet estimates in the quarter. maria, i'm going to go through this earnings release. if i have other details, i'll come back to you with them. >> all right, mary. we want to bring your attention to a story we told you about earlier. there has been a plot to have terrorists attack the federal reserve. there's been an arrest mad

mary thompson breaking it down with the big names on the earnings calendar. >> you know that 12 of the dow 30 report tomorrow. five tomorrow, cluntd newest member united health care. investors will be keeping a close eye on coca-cola's report for hints about consumer sentiment. intel will be reporting and investors will be keeping a close eye on that for clues about demand for pcs, as well as the impact on wayning pc demand. how that will impact the average selling price of intel's chips. bank of america reports before the bell. investors will focus on any growth in the bank's businesses. american express reports after the bell. i know vesters focus there on how the firm is controlling expenses and listening for clues how they'll make money on growing its prepaid credit card business -- the credit card company, not the bank. travelers, microsoft and southwest report on friday. and friday closes out with reports from general electric where quarterly profits are seen rising 17%. mcdonald's, revenues report to be flat, earnings up slightly. >> thank you so much. we have a lot more ahead o

. >> mary thompson is at the news desk. what do you have for us?tal one is the latest bank to be the subject of one of those denial of service attacks. the company saying its online systems are experiencing some problems. it is working to resolve those problems as soon as possible. additionally, the company telling cnbc it doesn't anticipate that any customer information has been breached because of this attack. back to you. >> all right, mary. thank you very much. heading toward the close with about 15 minutes left. the dow still hovering near the lows, down about 95 points. >> one of the top senate democrats throwing cold water on a potential bipartisan tax deal. >> it is an alluring prospect to cut taxes on the wealthiest people a, reduce the deficit and hold the middle class harmless. but the math dictates you can't have it all. >> so will the leaders who dig in their heels have to get out of the way to get anything done? that's next. >>> also, german chancellor angela merkel getting greeted by protesters dressed as nazis during her first visit

i am mary thompson. let's take a look at shares cliff's natural resources. we're seeing gains in iron ore prices, this in turn is causing the stock to move higher as well. there you can see up 3.25%. also taking a look at coal stocks in an otherwise down market and they, too, are up for a second straight session. back to you. >> thanks. how about it? do you like either of that he is names? >> the cliff set up is real interesting, bumping it, regained the 50-day moving average and running into the 100-day moving average and announcing earnings later this month. i think the story with cliff, we know that iron ore prices are increasing. that's helped the stock here. remember, these guys are fundamentally a great dividend, paying close to 6% dividend. it is above the 100, i want the name here. if iron ore prices will move higher. >> tonight alcoa kicks off what's expected to be an ugly earnings season and things looking especially bleak for tech and with apple shares in correction mode. should you just stay away from tech? let's go to jackie deangeles, the host

. >> mary thompson with a market flash. >>> we have a number of companies hitting 52-week highs. among them walmart, aig and 3m, loss clorox which is the second-worst performing stock within the s&p consumer sector group. up just about 1%, 74 cents. that's a 52-week high for clorox at $74.48. >>> with the world recovery potentially on the ropes, where do investors turn in these volatile times? our next guest has some truly surprising suggestions. back with us now, sara zervos who manages $22 billion across three international and emerging market debt funds for oppenheimer funds. welcome back, sara. i know you do have some surprising suggestions for our viewers. you like emerging market debt, but perhaps not some of the usual suspects. >> sure. so we look across several different asset classes in emerging markets and one of the asset classes we like is coverage high-yield debt which brings the name venezuela to mind. that usually makes a lot of americans, investors, generally a little wiggly. >> i would say that's a good observation. but what is it that you find compel enough to g

mary thompson joins us with the sector sweep, as we call it. >> hey, there. maybe energy didn't sustain big gains, but the sector did sustain enough to make it the top performing sector of the ones we watch. other risk on sectors leaders, materials, industrials, and financials all trading to the upside. telecom, the worst performing sector despite the big rally in sprint. we are going to have more on that later. first, a closer look at the names driving the sectors today. alpha natural up a whopping 17%. the coal firm contributing to gains in the energy sector after speculation about higher demand for coal from chinese steel makers. fastenal said third quarter sales are a healthy 13%. sprint bucking the downward trend among telecom stocks on news that japan's bank is looking at taking a majority stake in the company, up 15%. we also want to point out the outperformance of the dow transports over the last seven of eight sessions. today no exception, especially of note given this indices under performance against the dow industrials. a contributor to the dow tr

it is a rough ride today, mary thompson. >> it's been a rough ride so far, sue. as expected, profits are down from last year's third quarter an revenue growth, there isn't much. on a blended basis which combines forecasts for the companies that haven't reported and the results from those that have, profits down 1.8% last quarter. the actual results from the 116 s&p members reporting so far throw a 3.7% decline in earnings. that's a bit worse than forecast. ahead of the earnings season, analyst estimates called for profits to fall 3% from last year as companies struggled with its weak global economy. this scene impacting materials an energy earnings the most in the third quarter with telecom profits falling back as well down about 14.9%. the biggest positive surprise so far this earnings season, a whopping 72% of financials have posted better than expected results with 37% of the financial sector having released their numbers. the beats by banks and other financials well above the average number for the s&p 500 members that have reported though, just over 60% beat

mary thompson has details. >> it's property and casualty insherers hit those multiyear highs. chief among reasons, property and casualty firms are pushing through modest rate increases. month major or big weather-related payouts this year and many companies are buying back their own stock to mitigate the drag of low interest rates, how that has impacted the company's investment income. analysts noting the plain vanilla business models, and a lack of exposure to europe make them a more safer, more predictable investment for what remains an uncertain time. ace, as investors await the impafkt the drought. all state closed although multiyear highs. travelers, and chubb bought back 305 million of its own shares. allstate high even despite second quarter drop in key auto policy business. it gets to push on rate increases and analysts like that news. >> thanks so much. keep it right here. >> a lot more ahead on this big, big monday edition of the "closing bell." >> announcer: coming up, bipartisan support? what could possibly have both sides of the political aisle actually agreeing o

mary thompson joins us now. >> if you're a believer in improving the economy it could push the dow backnd beyond those record levels set in october 2007. a few of the dow 30 look cheap by a key measure suggesting it could be a buying opportunity. on a forward price to earnings basis the index is much cheaper than in 2007, trading at 11.6% earnings 2007 earnings. improving earnings for the dow 30 indicate improving markets. still with 13 of the dow 30 trading below the indices forward pe we pulled out the five cheapest using that same ratio as a yardstick. the cheapest, wlet trading 3.9 times next year's earnings. earnings look questionable as it struggles to re-invest itself after years of missteps. jpmorgan chase and caterpillar both trading at just over eight times next year's earnings with oil giants chevron and cisco systems trading at just over 9 nims next year's estimated profit. cisco struggle with slowing demand and chevron warning third quarter estimates may come in shy of estimates. back to you. >> very interesting value plays there. mary, thank you. >>> jim, where are you fin

mary thompson joins us now to unveil the cnbc list of what we are calling "teflon ceos." >> some people would argue they aren't really lackluster. it's just been tough times over the last couple of years. >> that's what they would say. >> yes. nevertheless, this list is the result of unscientific poll of money managers, headhunters and money mansiagement experts. two long-term executives struggling over the last few years after leading their firms through very hard periods. john chambers, the stock is up 847% for cisco since then. it's been years since chambers could promise and deliver 30% annual growth rates. last year chambers cut cisco's three-year sales forecast to 5% to 7% a year, a pullback reflected in the stock's five-year decline. dell's ceo michael dell also considered teflon. he assumed the position in 2007 after a three-year stint solely as chairman of the company founded in 1984. dell made his early money selling computers directly to the consumer. but with cheaper competition and without an answer to the ipad, dell's been unable to re-ignite the firm's initial success. ge

mary thompson has that story for us right now. >> you know, by one key measure blue chip stocks lookit could be a buying opportunity. they look cheap only if earnings continue to rise. right now fourth quarter estimates are coming down and third quarter profits are forecast to fall. keep that in mind. on a forward to price earnings basis the dow is cheaper than it was in 2007, trading at 11.6 times 2013 earnings compared to 16.1 times 2007 earnings and 2007. within the dow, 13 of the dow 30 are trading below the index's forward p/e ratio. the five cheapest, hewlett-packard, 3.9 times next year's earnings. earnings look questionable as they struggle to reinvent themselves. jpmorgan chase and caterpillar trading at over 8 times next year's earnings with chevron and cisco systems trading just over nine times next year's estimated profits. there is another reason they look attractive. all of their dividend yields right now, at or above the dow's yield of 2.5%. >> those dividend yields are very, very important these days. thank you, mary. >>> if stocks are so cheap right now, why aren't s

mary thompson watching shares of procter & gamble. >> best performer in the dow today up just about 3%. company's net income declined by 7%. earnings excluding charges exceeded expectations. more importantly, though, the company said it is actually ahead of schedule to cut $10 billion in costs and might seek more cost cuts after that. and it said its growing share in 45% of its businesses, very fwood news for investors. procter & gamble has been the target of activist investor bill ackman who wants a change at the top and more aggressive changes at the consumer goods company. >> who's trading procter & gamble on this news or before it? >> we don't own it. i think the fact they're able to show positive operating leverage, that's what everybody was waiting for. it was either the restructuring was going to start to work or the ceo was going to have to step down. you have a win/win setup into this quarter. i don't know if you want to chase it at 70. it's not particularly cheap at 16 times. i do think if the company can continue this momentum, it does have upside. i'd just wait for a pullba

. >>> i'm mary thompson with your cnbc market wrap. the dow falls about 33 points.ns 1 and the nasdaq adds 6. >>> oakmakers reported sales figures. fords were flat. >>> holiday sales are expected to rise just over 4% this year. the smallest gain since 2009. >>> and jap morgan shares ended flat despite becoming the target of a lawsuit by the new york attorney general's office related to mortgage-backed securities. that's it from cnbc, first in business worldwide. now back to "hardball." >>> back to "hardball." it's one of the hottest races in the country right now with more people watching and more dollars being spent than any other senate contest around the country. and last night in massachusetts senator scott brown and harvard law professor elizabeth warren took to the stage for a fiery second debate. you wouldn't normally think of the home state of ted kennedy and tip o'neill holding a tossup race but roun is holding his own against warren. he must convince obama voters in massachusetts and obama is expected to win by double digits, to also vote for him, a republ

mary thompson is live from baltimore. >> reporter: hey, bill, you know, brian schactman on live and sandy is south, of course, of the storm system, the storm north, and that's where the refineries in the northeast are located. now, in the wake of today's storm, and, of course, pending what happens tomorrow, a couple of refineries and some pipelines have shut down. let's give you the rundown. the linden refinery in new jersey or the phillips 66 shutting down completely along with the hess refinery. we have three others that are running at lower run raise, basically operating at very minimal levels, but they can get up and running again once the storm has passed. there's one refinery that was recently acquired by the airs. the airlines said it was operating normally and was monitoring the storm and might change if conditions merited. today the east coast refiners are accountable for 6.6% of total gasoline production here in the u.s., but keep in mind as storms keep the people off the street, demand for gasoline goes down. lebeau and associates say demand could be down about 1.5 billion barr

. >> mary thompson had a great one she e-mailed to me.oth candidates to their credit are in good shape. >> maybe because of the manx. you never know. >> what's coming up on fast? >> all over apple and amazon earnings tonight. ceo of gold corp. on the back of his earnings. and windows 8. what's at stake particularly when it comes to the stock? the stock hit 30, hasn't been able to cross it. what next for microsoft. >> you just come back from halfway around the world on vacation. you're basically running into the busiest two hours of earnings of the week, probably -- >> she wouldn't miss apple earnings on the 5:00 show for nothing. >> my favorite story is you were in asia. you woke up and you saw google had reported. but you knew something was off. >> i had fallen asleep. i was jet lagged still. i heard jon fortt talking about google reporting earnings early. i was thinking it's the middle of the day. i started to listen. it's addictive. the markets are addictive. >> you've got to live it, you've got to love it. >> she is living it and lovi

mary thompson is live at the port of baltimore with more.. >> reporter: good morning to you, carl. you know, there's already an impact being felt. the port of baltimore is the 11th largest in the u.s. it's a couple miles east of here. it's not a big entry point for crude oil. but the two other ports along the east coast, both new york as well as the port of delaware, have both shut down. all three of these ports not accepting any new cargo. of course, for refiners up and down the east coast, that means no new crude to refine. that's important. east coast refineries account for about 6.6% of the country's total capacity. as a result of the storm a number of them are taking steps and either shutting down or reducing operations. phillips 66, lyndon, new jersey shutting down. hess's in port reading. other retduced capacities inclue the facilities owned by pbf and big philadelphia energy solutions facility in philadelphia. delta's facility which makes jet fuel, they gave a comment last night saying they are operating as normal. of course, they ar

i'm mary thompson. we're taking a look at shares of netflix. it's up 5%.e've seen on netflix, we had upgraded citi earlier. the customer satisfaction at the firm appears to be improving. in the course of the wake of the price de-bach o'last year, that's good news to shareholders. carl, back to you. >> that is a big deal for a name that's been kicked around. thanks a lot, mary. >>> as you might have heard, mark zuckerberg speaking out about their growth. you're going whaer what he told matt lauer in just a few moments. if we want to improve our schools... ...what should we invest in? maybe new buildings? what about updated equipment? they can help, but recent research shows... ...nothing transforms schools like investing in advanced teacher education. let's build a strong foundation. let's invest in our teachers so they can inspire our students. let's solve this. \s 12 >>> it's a new milestone for facebook, announcing they have more than a billion users. ceo mark zuckerberg speaking to matt lauer in an exclusive interview. >> if a company has a billion user

[i'm with scottrad. >>> this is mary thompson.e breaking news from goldman sachs here. basically some more details about their internal review that they conducted in the wake of an op-ed written by a former employee greg smith. saying it was no longer client-focused. and indeed, a number of the workers at the firm were very disparaging of clients calling them among other things muppets. these coming from goldman sachs, this is what the internal review found. they looked at literally millions of e-mails and 97.1% of those references to muppets they said were references to the movie. certainly not to clients. in addition, keep in mind that goldman has a rather strict review policy. their employees give each other what they call 360-degree reviews where other employees review them, managers review them, et cetera. well, smith himself reviewed 13 colleagues over three years and gave them the highest marks possible for culture, leadership as well as client effectiveness. in addition, smith himself was reviewed and his colleagues tended