jcpenney shares now down 4% in the after-hours session on the news that mike ullman will take over the> the market would almost prefer tracy ullman at this point. >> that would be quite a talker. what did you do last night? anything good. >> some hoops. >> i tuned in to watch the highly anticipated premiere of mad men, shares of lion's gate up 43% to date. continue to seduce investors. lion's gate chairman joins us on the fast line. always great to speak with you. >> thanks for having me again. >> any initial number on how the premiere did last night? last year's premiere set new records. >> very comparable numbers to last year's premiere. amc just put out a press release, 3.4 million viewers, but don't forget in this world of c plus 3 and 7, we expect the numbers to go up when you count the dvr viewership. >> i wanted to ask you about the impact of netflix. i'm sure i'm not unlike many people out there who just binge watch entire seasons of "mad men." i did that to get myself geared up for season six. does that bring in more viewers. obviously you think you're better off allowing that

what do they need to do, and is mike ullman the guy to do it?i'm so disappointed this chapter in american retailing is coming to a close. i think ron johnson did a lot of right things that mike ullman started. he started american living, he started the concept of having exclusive brands that in multiple channels can be controlled by pennies and differentiate themselves, kind of the terry lundgren model with macy's. i think ron came along said i have to keep going with this, i have to get more brands in, and i'm not sure he had all the time he needed. now, he did fire his consumer by stopping couponing and discounted in a whole different way. that was the big mistake. i think him getting hold of these brands that mike ullman will continue. he's brought in people like michael fisher who does an amazing job with retail experience from apple. i'm hoping he keeps going with the concept that multiple brands and multiple channels will work and that he will keep going forward with that. liz: just because he slapped the word apple on a resumÉ, jay, doesn

now mike ullman has been named interim ceo. j.c. penney's sales dropped 25% in johnson's first year at the helm, and then during his tenure the stock tumbled 50%. >> joining us now with more on what happened and what's next for the company, our courtney reagan. >> good evening to you both, tyler and susie. i'm actually standing outside the new york courthouse because earlier today the trial resumed between macy's martha stewart. johnson's turn around plan just hasn't taken hold. sales down precipitously and now it appears that johnson is stepping down. that is the wording that was used in the press release. and interim ceo will be mike ullman. he was the ceo before ron johnson. during the time that he was ceo, the stock price fell 17% and earnings were relatively flat. as far as where the company goes from here, a lot of questions still unanswered at this hour as to what this interim ceo will change, if anything, as they make the transition and search for a prominent replacement. >> so there's no likelihood that mr. ullman will be t

dana, it's probably not a huge surprise to see ron johnson to go opinion is it a surprised to see mike ullman back in? that is a surprise. mike coming back,way does brick is he brings familiarity. even in the comments made in the prerelease, he's there to prepare the next generation of leaders. let's see what he brings in and what the team will be. >> is the criticism fair that mike ullman didn't move things around enough? he was there for seven years and he certainly brought some of the discounts there. he reacted to the environment that he was working in. and he's a successful retail executive. now it's a different environment. it's not the same jcpenney when he left. did he cause what happened? i don't think he caused what happened. i think he worked with the environment. but it always can be better and let's see what they're going to do now. >> the big complaint was all of these discounts. that was something that the retailer was getting crushed by. these discounts and the shoppers who wouldn't come in unless you had a massive discount. can you rid yourself of those things as a retailer o

they pushed out mike ullman and now they're putting him back in place.tt wapner, are you hearing upset about the board right now for investors? what are you hearing? >> i don't think that anybody really expects that mike ullman is going to be in this job for the long haul. he signed a one-year deal. i frankly would be surprised if he's still the ceo after even that long. they don't have an interim title by his name, but i think everybody involved expects that they're going to be looking for a ceo to take a more permanent role. he's 66 years old. he's been there, done that. he's a stabilizing voice, at least internally. and that's a big part of the story. ron johnson didn't only alienate the customers of jcpenney, he alienated the own employees of his company. that needs rebuilding. and ultimately, he alienated the board by the fact that his strategy at the end of the day just didn't work. so they needed to do something to stop the bleeding. they brought in a guy to try to stitch jcpenney up, as best they could, at least, in the near-term. and they're loo

mike ullman will be making $1 million as his base pay. tyler, back to you. >> court, thank you very much. what does the returns ceo, mr. ullman, the million dollar a year man have to do in the next 100 days to fix j.c. penney? the timer is ticking. george berard is mcing director, and professor charles ellison, the center for corporate governance, and simon also joins us as well. professor ellison, let me start with you. what does he need to do in 100 days? >> he's got to stabilize the situation, who in the inner team stays, who goes, and how does he stabilize. it's a very problematic event, and he has to make sure that critical people stay and those who should go go. he has a tough job ahead of him. the stabilization is almost as hard as redoing a company. mr. pratt, mr. ellison says stabilization. is that going to fix things or not? >> well, the answer is not, and i think stabilizing it is half the game, but the other game is, he needs to get ready to get rid of this company. this company has no reason to exist anymore, and he -- the new

when mike ullman joined the company, the press release said we don't have a plan yet. we have to do some works to figure out what the plan will be, but i don't think they go out of business. >> they're burning through that liquidity real fast. >> they are. they'll likely, i think, draw down on the revolver in the first quarter, certainly in the first half, but it seems like ullman may pull back on some of the capital plans, so that's good news, you know, from a liquidity standpoint. there aren't aren't a lot of protective covenants for the bonds. >> my question is, why should investors have any faith in mike ullman, when it's not like he led them to the promised land from 2004 to 2011. >> i think that's true. until hi prior tenure, the stock was not successful. the company definitely had some troubles, but i think he understands the company, i think he understands the customer and the brands and promotional cadence. what the company said to me last fight when i spoke with them, execution was the real problem. it doesn't sound like they're necessarily backing away from

he's being replaced by the man he took over for, former ceo mike ullman. and dreamliner jets which have been grounded since january could soon be back flying the friendly skies. united airlines has put the 787 back on its flight schedule for may. and people are riding the rails in record numbers. amtrak says passenger numbers are up since september, despite disruption from hurricane sandy on its most traveled route. the northeast corridor from washington to boston. richard, that's the latest. back to you. >> seema, thank you so much. >>> now time for a business pop quiz for you. which retailer got his start in the jc penney management trainee program? ray kroc, jeff bezos, sam walton or george dayton? we'll tell you in a minute. >>> the numbers are in, and ford's compact focus outsold all other vehicles with more than 1 million sales. jetblue being made in mobile, alabama. speculation is swirling after fox and univision execs raise the possibility of going off broadcast airwaves and onto cable in response to streaming rival aereo. according to the white ho

well, jcpenney is not confirming that mike ullman has or has not had any discussion with macy's about the settlement, nor is jcpenney confirming the report that three executives have left the company, but news did just happen inside the courtroom behind me. judge jeffrey owing basically denied a dismissal notion. they say macy's lawyers have met the burden of proof necessary on the claim that martin luther living violated its contract with macy's by designing products for jcpenney in the categories in question. we're talking about the ones that are not labelled with martha's names, but are currently labeled jcp every day. this means that martha stewart's lawyers will have to argue this claim as a part of their defense. they were hoping to clear the decks a little bit and make their defense a little bit simpler, but now they do have to include that. tomorrow macy's is going to propose a broader injunction than what's currently in place to also potentially include some of these martha celebration products that are currently for sale at jcpenney, things like plastic pitchers and plastic

interim ceo mike ullman will takeover the role. taking flight. united airlines will fly boeing's 787 dreamliner in a trip from denver to houston on may 31st. it is the first airline that will do so since the faa grounded the aircraft back in january. confirmed! the senate has confirmed former wall street prosecutor mary jo white to head the securities and exchange commission. let's jump on in and take a look at the markets with doug rothschild of performance trust investment. doug, you follow the bond market...it was a miserable jobs report friday---what kind of bond action did you see after the report? > >you did see a bad jobs report come out on friday and the market reacted, certainly the bonds. and you've seen yields at their lowest point that we've seen in sevearl months and a pretty big---about 30 point move in the bond market in the last couple weeks. what's really driving that is thew swingback in sentiment of investors that the fed is going to continue its purchase program. and they're going to continue to buy bonds and keep rates low. >

mike ullman is leading the company right now, but not for the long-term according to some. ook over in november 2011, jcpenney shares have dropped 52%. it didn't farewell during ullman's first go-around following ullman's first extent in 2004-2011. >> jp penny will be in focus today. >>> still to come, alcoa in focus after its earnings results. profits looking pretty good. revenues looking weaker. we'll break down the numbers when we come back. welcome to the new new york state, where cutting taxes for families and businesses is our business. we've reduced taxes and lowered costs to save businesses more than two billion dollars to grow jobs, cut middle class income taxes to the lowest rate in sixty years, and we're creating tax free zones for business startups. the new new york is working creating tens of thousands of new businesses, and we're just getting started. to grow or start your business visit thenewny.com >>> alcoa's first quarter profits rose more than expected, helped by strong demand. revenues were down 3%, missing forecasts. companies blame low aloom yumm prices

investors have a lot of questions that still remain for the interim ceo, mike ullman who was ousted asot of people think that ullman is going to return the retailer to this high-low pricing strategy with the promotions. i don't know if that's the answer at this point. there's a lot that they're going to have to decide in the next couple of days, weeks and months to come. back to you guys. >> courtney, i just wondered if johnson was quite relieved and he made hundreds of millions at his time at apple. he's a very rich and he isn't need the problems moving forward. >> that is very true, simon. he does have a lot of money that we know based on different sec filings and the compensation that he made at apple. that being said. he was a very strong believer in the strategy. i can tell you, i have spent a lot of time with johnson, and i truly believe that he believed this was the right thing and we know now that it didn't resonate and he believed in it, he was invested in it with his own money in a number of different ways and maybe there is relief this morning and at the same time i can't im

after ron johnson's exit, mike ullman has returned to jc penney in hopes of turning around the dwindlingllman spoke to one sell side analyst after the announcement was made and here with his big takeaway is matthew boss, retail analyst with j.p. morgan. matthew, welcome. >> good morning. thanks for having me. >> i want to get right to it. what did he tell you what the strategy will be? is he going to continue what ron johnson did, or will he do his own thing. >> he'll definitely do his own thing. the biggest thing that he talked about, number one priority is reconnecting with the customer. he talked about having the right product, but more importantly having the price and the value perception, something that he believes was lost over the past year. taking a look back at the shop strategy. they are are still going to open the 30 shops by may here. they are going complete the home transformation, but after that they plan to take a step back and look at that is how many shops does the customer want, not how much does jc penney want. going back to high-low pricing and trying to stem the -- a

safe to say this will continue as a part of the work under way as we develop a game plan under mike ullman and what jc penney, we do know that jc penney is involve said as you and scott kelly. >> just a few blocks from here. speaking of macy's, we should note, we will have a live and exclusive interview with terry lundgren and that's coming up 23 minutes from now. that's not the only big interview we have coming up, david? >> i recently sat down with the media titan as the chairman of liberty media and where he had a significant vote, as well. i did ask him, give know so many companies that he has a perspective on, how is it looking from the business view he has and he did express about america losing its competitive edge. take a listen. >> how do you make america a better place for business? we have the worst corporate tax structure in the world on the large in? and, you know, what the politicians forget is decisions aren't made on the average. decisions are made on the margin. so if caterpillar is looking at building the next plant, where are they going to build it where the tax rate's 1

mike ullman at least knows it. maybe he can turn it around. he's a good guy.

what's startling is who the board picked to replace johnson, mike ullman.s is the guy they fired to make room of johnson. he is the former ceo of penney's. he is the guy they department like before they didn't like the new guy. they said he chronically mismanaged the stores. the rest of the storey is when johnson left apple, they replaced him with someone they don't like. maybe the solution here is for johnson to go back to apple. he did a good job with their stores. j.c. penney's stock has fallen by more than half. the one guy you don't want to have come in is the person you fired for incompetense >>> you don't get rid of your first guy with the second guy. johnson is a very confident manager. lots of people at apple like him. maybe the solution is him go home to apple. >>> 6:16. california's wine industry has a new threat this morning, climate change. >> researchers say it won't be long before all the water used to grow grapes in the state will dry up. "today" in t in the bay's" bob is live with the changes expected to happen sooner rather than later. >>>

his predecessor, mike ullman, back in the sweet seat. maria, back to you. >> black rock's rick rieder says it's time for the federal reserve to rein in stimulus program now. he'll explain why he feels that way exclusively and why he says it should. >>> and as we march toward dow 15,000, news of some sketchy insider moving happening from wall street to washington that could be making some question the fairness of this market. coming up, we're digging into those stories that are raising eyebrows, getting the attention of lawmakers and the feds. that and a lot manufacture coming up next on "closing bell." revolutionizing an industry can be a tough act to follow, but at xerox we've embraced a new role. working behind the scenes to provide companies with services... like helping hr departments manage benefits and pensions for over 11 million employees. reducing document costs by up to 30%... and processing $421 billion dollars in accounts payables each year. helping thousands of companies simplify how work gets done. how's that for an encore?

ceo ron johnson was fired and replaced by former chief executive, mike ullman.it too late to save the iconic retailer? been a while to say it is iconic. >> i would say so. liz: we took to the streets outside jcpenney in manhattan to see what they think. >> i'm not a regular customer, when they made the change, no coupons, i stopped. >> they tried to go away from sales. that didn't work. so they will go back back and do sales. if that is what it takes to save retail, that's what they have to do. >> i love shopping at jcpenney. i have no problem with with them. liz: interesting. ashley: what is next for the struggling chain. adam shapiro joining us with the very latest, the "b" word is being used, adam. what can you tell us. >> the concern the next chapter in the jcpenney story will be chapter 11. burt fleckinger, the nose tra daum must of retail is what he is called. he is predicting that j.c. penny will not emerge from this. he said it is a jump ball at this point. depends on competitors and vendors. we're entering a 500 plus day retail shopping and retail reces

now mike ullman has been named interim ceo. j.c.penney's sales dropped 25% in johnson's first year at the helm, and then during his tenure the stock tumbled 50%. >> joining us now with more on what happened and what's next for the company, our courtney reagan. >> good evening to you both, tyler and susie. i'm actually standing outside the new york courthouse because earlier today the trial resumed between macy's martha stewart. johnson's turn around plan just hasn't taken hold. sales down precipitously and now it appears that johnson is stepping down. that is the wording that was used in the press release. and interim ceo will be

now mike ullman has been named interim ceo. j.c.enney's sales dropped 25% in johnson's first year at the helm, and then during his tenure the stock tumbled 50%. >> joining us now with more on what happened and what's next for the company, our courtney reagan. >> good evening to you both, tyler and susie. i'm actually standing outside the new york courthouse because earlier today the trial resumed between macy's martha stewart. johnson's turn around plan just hasn't taken hold. sales down precipitously and now it appears that johnson is stepping down. that is the wording that was used in the press release. and interim ceo will be

was announced that ron johnson was out, stock was up, and then once everybody found out it was mike ullmank down 20%. stuart: are you putting jcpenney on death watch with other people here? >> caller: i'm not putting it on death watch, but there's no reason why it can't drop another $3-$4. stuart: real fast, is there a real estate play with jcpenney? >> caller: there is a plaa, but it's not a realize play until it's down to $7 a share. stuart: all right. we here you. brine, timely appearance there, appreciate it, sir. thank you. >> caller: thank you. stuart: dead flat day, tuesday morning, down two, that's it. margaret thatcher, barely dead a day, and that's not stopping the left from attacking her legacy. look at this, openly celebrating her death in the streets of london. jovial drinking in the open, cheers of hatred. that's flat out disgusting. get my take on that, 10:52 this morning. there are nearly nine million people collecting disability benefits, a record, but our next guest says there is a partial explanation for this. joining us now is a professor at the university of chicago. p

he has been replaced by mike ullman, the man who ran the company from 2004 to 2011. the question now? can jcpenney get its customers back? carol, just a stunning leadership changeout. when people who study this, kids getting their mb as will study this for years on how not to lose customers. he tried to redefine jcpenney and lost the essence of jcpenney. quiet now, can the former ceo turn it around and lure customers back and bring it up. staggering what has happened there. >> not kidding. i'm still getting over the $58 million thing. christine romans, thank you so much. >>> first courtroom showdown to get under way in philadelphia in a concussion lawsuit against the nfl. nfl lawyers will ask the judge to toss the suit that blames the league for concealing long-term dangers of concussions. among the 4,000 people suing are families of dave duerson and junior seau. their brains showed signs of concussions and both took their own lives. we are following in this morning. >> reporter: good morning, carol. and i am right in front of the courthouse. i've got to tell you, th

company's board ousting ceo ron jon's sonsz and -- johnson, replacing him with the man he replaced mikes ullman for the entire board to resign. ashley: job creators losing confidence in the economy. nfib chief economist bill dunkelberg will tell us what small businesses fear the most. that is coming up. tracy: president obama's budget is due out tomorrow. hardee's chief says what the president can do to help american businesses. ashley: first the top of the hour. time to look at stocks. let's go to nicole petallides on the floor of the new york stock exchange as we do every 15 minutes. the dow is still up 32, >> it is a breaking news day. we're seeing major market averages with up arrows. we're gaining some momentum today. right now we're up about 82 points. we were up almost 100 points. up half a percent on the s&p and the dow. we have to get to the kpmg story pertaining to herbalife and skechers. this is because of a partner that allegedly was involved with insider trading and giving out some confidential type of information and, now the fbi is involved in los angeles. so you can see both her

push the reset button is what the company did, bringing in the old ceo mike ullman and wall street wasn't with that choice, either. penney shares set to drop this morning. >>> fox and univision set to go off the broadcast spectrum and become cable-only channels. it's a response to a court ruling that upheld the legality of aereo. a company that makes a small antenna you can plug into a and watch tv channels. it could be an empty threat from the network. an estimated 10 million viewers still get their tv over the air. >> 27 minutes after the hour right now. ahead on "starting point," president obama's emotional appeal for gun control laws. >> plus an aviation first. officials finding evidence of texting while flying in a deadly chopper crash. >>> and no, no cookie monster. a favorite ends up behind bars. we're going to have the details ahead. you're watching "starting point." as your life and career change, fidelity is there for your personal economy, helping you readjust your retirement plan along the way. rethink how you're invested. and refocus as your career moves forward. wherever you

mike ullman , johnson's predecessor as ceo , is back in charge of j.c. penney.ck with more in just a moment he. [ male announcer ] fact: the 100% electric nissan leaf... is more fun than ever. sees better than ever. ♪ charges faster. and will charge. cool. and heat. from your phone. fact: leaf never needs gas. ever. good for the world. built in america. now, leaf's an easier choice than ever. ♪ shop at choosenissan.com. ♪ >> welcome back to the kron 4 morning news continues to monterey hotspot for the ride on 24 2 southbound concord into walnut creek. the two left hand lanes are blocked by an overturned pickup truck on the southbound side. with a truck that small it is possible they could get it reasonably quickly. it is not a big rig. it as back up traffic to high way 4. highway 4 has been slow because of earlier a car in problems in antioch. all of the traffic that was backed up behind leverage road that is working westward has tried to get south here. i do not get on the 242 . continue our to interstate 680 then head south it will save considerable time and t

nobody expects mikeç ullman to stick around this time.as a placeholder to stabilize things, but then what? is that the key to deciding when to invest again? >> i think it probably is. the first key is to see the business stabilize. we're not going to get any data points on that until the end of april when they report earnings again. but, yeah, if we find a good, more traditional retail ceo, maybe somebody out of walmart, somebody that can really turn this into the retail company that it once was, i think that's a real positive. unfortunately, ron johnson tried to do too much in too short a time period. >> this is a classic, specific stock company story. >> right. >> we're not really talking about the overall environment and the consumer part of this. this is a specific misstep. >> this is what they call alpha, one way or the other. >> thanks, darrell. >> kate, thanks. >> heading towards the close, 30 minutes left in the trading session here, up 29 points. finishing off a positive week for the dow, but it's the only positive indicator righ

. >> remember, we have -- the wwd article talked lovingly about the fact mike ullman has the abilityal with the creditors. that's the key to the christmas season. >> no doubt. his credibility with creditors and jim, as you well know, with vendors is probably one of the key reasons he's back in that seat. again, it is stabilization, stabilization. that's what he's got to do for jcpenney. then they can talk about trying to create some moment mum if th can get to stabilization. >> not the pe but the mojo. >> look, mr. ullman has a big task on his hands but mr. balance sheet is going to rule at the end of the day. that's the story to focus on more than anything. >> credit suisse did a good piece about how once you're in a tailspin, you're finished. a fellow, the steven roth professor of management at dartmouth. his book is "why smart executives fail." david, how ironic is it to have the professor talk about one of the worst investments he's ever made! >> he doesn't like to hear you say that. >> i like steven roth. i'm sorry. >> he's done a lot. >> he has. >>> after another record setting

mike ullman comes back, the guy who replaced, when ron johnson was supposed to turn the company around the consensus is that the numbers this quarter are even worse, hemorrhaging cash, and j.c. penney in absolute crisis. we'll have to follow the story. i want to point out louisville. one thing about them winning the national title is obviously they're on top of the world but they're also for the last couple years the most profitable college basketball program in the country. >> really. >> by far. >> why? >> they get $20 million a year in donations to the basketball program. that's more than almost any other school has in total revenue. the kfc young center, they sell beer, draw more than 20,000 a game, they have luxury suites. basically they've charged more, about seven or eight nba teams, the $35 average guys. they are a cash cow on top of being the best team in the country. >> and a little known fact, brian eeked out mika brzenzski in the morning joe brackets. congratulations. >> what? >> you won the bracket. >> i don't think that says very much. i had miami against louisville so i t

see johnson's $344,000 is not only usual for jc penney's ceo, in fact, it's below the amount that mike ullman seven years of his tenure as jc penney's ceo. its sales weren't nearly as troublesome as they've been under johnson. ullman, too, lived in colorado and commuted back and forth. >> i don't know why we're talking about $300,000 when you've got $54 million in stock. >> in 2011. and that was to compensate for the money that would've vested from his apple stock. but additionally -- >> it was in stock. >> it was in stock. >> and additionally -- >> oh, it's still worth -- >> johnson put in $50 million of his own money. this is interesting, through stock warrants, so $7.25 million in shares of warrants wort about $50 million. price $30, were like $14 and change right now. he could lose all $50 million of that. he did puz his mont his money w mouth is. >> now i don't know why he's smiling. now it's a nervous smile. >> i think courtney's making a bigger point, which is that with all the push for transparency of compensation, which i'm all in favor of, we are still a captive of things that are a