richard dugas, pulte's ceo and president. we'll tell you why shares of j crew are getting a nice pop today and speaking with the ceo of saks. back in a moment. >>> welcome back. now a look at the other stories we're following. drug wholesaler cardinal health reporting fourth quarter profits down 14%. the company made $273 million. but that didn't match wall street expectations. the company boosts fiscal 2010 profit outlook because of strong growth in the medical shares. tonight up 2.5%. corning upgraded to outperform from perform. a target price of 19. concerns about falling demand for liquid crystal display glass is unwarranted and as a result, investors are underestimating a potential recovery by the company. stock up 4.75% on the move. j crew upgraded. the firm also hiked price target on the stock to 35 up from 25. strong fall product mix and long-term growth potential is ahead up 8%. the producer price index falling a record 6.% year over year. should wall street be worrying about deflation or is inflation still the bigge

horton, pulte, kb, cent ex, which is see you later, bye, because it's being acquired by pulte, and lennar. so those five are all trading higher here as well. so what is going on in this nail-biter of a situation? the group is up 44 year to date, even though you can see it was up 60% in a month. rising orders. it doesn't get any more simple than that. that's a great indicator people are putting money down and you're seeing sequential improvement. yeah, i know it's off the bottom, but it's not going down. and the cancellation rate is going down. so people aren't backing out of contracts like they used to. and sharply lower. people are always going to cancel. there's always going to be some. but it's way down from 40% 50% in some cases. the backlogs, if you take a look at a company like pulte or d.r. horton, some of the big builders, even though their backlogs have shrunk 50% they still have a billion dollars worth of building in the books ready to go soon as they can start digging it. there are some of the builders moving today. note the bottom, e house china, ej is the ticker, a billion 7

pulte is reportedly buying centex. as for trading action, take a look. stock index futures are indicating a loss at the opening bell. that is your business news. live at bloomberg headquarters in new york, i am linda bell. doug and alison, back to you. >> thank you very much. >>> 5:26. the news continues. >> in our next half-hour -- a noisy session for lawmakers as the clock ticks on health care reform. >> i am pamela brown. if you want to send mail, you may soon have to look a little harder to do so. i will explain. >> adam caskey live in the weather center. today it will be like the last hi, may i help you? yes, i hear progressive has lotsf discounts on car insurance. can i get in on that? are you a safe driver? yes. discount! do you own a home? yes. discount! are you going to buy online? yes! discount! isn't getting discounts great? yes! there's no discount for agreeing with me. yeah, i got carried away. happens to me all the time. helping you save money -- now, that's progressive. call or click today. >> live and in hd, this is "good morning washingt

after the close, numbers from pulte homes, chesapeake energy and andarko petroleum. >>> coming up, ase mentioned, it's a very important week in terms of u.s. economic data. on friday, that jobs report for july is due out. before that, manufacturing data today. is the u.s. economy in recovery? announcer: some people buy a car based on the deal they get. others buy the car of their dreams. during the lexus golden opportunity sales event, you can do both. it's an opportunity today. it's a lexus forever. special lease offers now available on the 2009 is 250. >>> it's just about half past the hour. here are the top business stories from around the world. in the u.s., the white house not ruling out tax hikes, as investors brace for a big week of economic data, including the all-important july jobs report. >> in europe, barclays numbers topped the headlines after a stellar performance. >> and global bank hsbc posting half-year pretax prflt of $7.5 billion saying it is strongly positioned for the upturn but the economic outlook remains uncertain. >> welcome to "worldwide exchange." if you're

pulte homes ceo sits down with maria bartiromo live on "the closing bell" at 4:00 p.m. eastern. >> it is certainly a big day, for tech. apple holding a key board meeting today. two tech analysts join us to talk making money right now. >> but first, jane wells is in iowa. jane? >> all right, melissa, i love the smell of biodiesel fermenting in the morning. up next, why diplomats from angola to zealand are here. we talk with senator chuck grassley after the break. people think that honda is always the most fuel efficient choice. well, this chevy cobalt xfe has better highway mileage than a comparable honda civic. this chevy traverse has better mileage than honda pilot. the all-new chevy equinox has better mileage than honda cr-v. and chevy malibu has better mileage than accord. however, honda does make something that we just can't compete with. it's self-propelled. there's never been more reasons to look at chevy. test test upgrade cycle. on the legal test test test test test test looking forward to this sort of capital -- over a lifetime being released and it sounds like

. >> that is the latest on "traffic pults 11." we check in on sandra. >> it is going to be a hot day today. probably the hottest this year. a scorcher on tap. when you are starting out at 80, there is a lot of room for that temperature to rise. we're calling for a high today in baltimore of 96 degrees. the temperature range anywhere from 95 to 98. you combine that with the humidity and the elevated due point and it will feel around the i-95 corridor like 100 to 105 degrees. that puts us in the heat advisory range. so we're talking dangerous heat here. more details on when the heat will go away coming up in your seven-day in a little bit. keith? >> yes, the ravens training staff will keep an eye on the ravens today. you can see it here on wbal-tv 11. the ravens with two practices. only the afternoon session is open to all the fans at 2:45. way to go jeff fisher of the titans. he called for the a fake punt. this is the back-up punter who scored 50 toins in high school and one now in the nfl. 7-0 titans. replaced by vince young. not

kb home, lennar, pulte. remember, centex is gone now. so pulte has everything. i want to also note, this attention from the traders, financial outliars are strong this morning. freddie mac, is up, fannie mae which has doubled. fannie mae was 90 cents four trading days ago and citigroup has been notably strong here. so yesterday, these three stocks count counted for 25% of the trading volume at the new york stock exchange. rather amazing, and accounted for a lot of the liquidity that we saw on the new york stock exchange. but it's not just three two groups. as we saw better numbers at 10:00 eastern time, we also saw some of the retailers did better. chico's is one of the very few companies that actually reported increase in same store sales. they really turned the company around, but retailers are done very well the last quarter and there's a lot of detail about whether given the lack of top-line growth, those stores also had a bit of popup. there's your big group, financial, retail, home builders. how are we looking at the nasdaq? >> very similar positive to wha

look at homebuilders, pulte, nice pop at the number at 10:00 eastern time.uly numbers, higher in september 2008. we said 7 1/2 months supply. ten months supply of new homes every month for a whole year with the exception of june. that's an excellent inventory number moving in the right direction and the positive revisions in june. i was a real estate reporter a long time ago. boy, my eyes really popped up when i saw that. there's pulte, s&p 500, we were about 10.23 at 10:00. now essentially flat on the day. remember, we started on the downside noticeably. note the three big financial outliers, citi, fannie, freddie, all were down. since that 10:00 number came out they have moved to flattertory. these three stocks for the prior two days, 20% of the volume at the new york stock exchange. scott wapner? >> decent, bob, up 4 1/2 points. fractional move to the upside. big cap technology picture this morning is decidedly mixed. microsoft and intel are positive. apple, google, yahoo! are negative. i've been mentioning throughout the early moments of trade that bio p

for example, from pulte or from centax or d.r. horton.again, bulls are successfully arguing the information in the next two to four quarters is going dob drastically better. you saw that with caterpillar with jim owens talking about earnings in 2012 multitudes of orders better than right now in 2009. there's the closing bell. there it is. well, i was close. trader talk.cnbc.com. michelle is next. >> it's 4:00 p.m. on wall street. welcome to the "closing bell." i'm michelle ca rur so carrara in for maria bartiromo. a choppy trade on wall street. strength in the financial sector was offset by weakness in commodity related stocks. also weighing on the minds of investors, mixed economic data. pending home sales better than expected. personal income fell by the largest amount in four years. the sec working to create a rule that would ban a controversial practice known as flash tradinging. here's a look how we finished the day on wall street. went into porve right toward the end. the dow jones industrial average sitting close to the highs of th

. >> i think the centex/pulte merger was a watershed event.s with strong balance sheets coming together. several months of positive data coming in, i am long centex. >> shares of centex up 10% after a competitor saw net contracts for new homes climb for the first time in four years. >> this is one of the names that i think you have to own it, it's not a crowded trade. what you want to avoid in this environment. it is in the scenes what is much better than wells showed today. >> the liquidator calling a bounce on u.s. bank kocorp. >> and finally? ♪ some guys have all the luck ♪ >> the negotiator still managing to make you money while on vacation. >> the las vegas sands, looking at what is going on with those guys. they might spin off, i would rather own it above $lov11.50. it might make sense. >> after reporting better-than-expected results and amending its credit pac, the stock soared 19%. leaving us with two words to sum it up, "fast money." >>> my favorite is when we paste people's heads on other people's body. >> would we have done it her?

>> centex which is now pulte homes, they've closed the merger. the data today was obviously good, but one data point isn't enough. i think we're starting to see enough data points to say that there is a bottom in housing. i know we're going to talk with -- >> sir grande is what i like to call him. not to be confused with starbucks. >> getting home depot after the lowe's earnings. people shorted home depot on the back of lowe's and it was the wrong thing to do. and we tried to talk about it. and home depot is right back up. i think it's a stock to sell as well. >>> let's bring in rick, he's in chicago. sir? >> well, you know, karen, one thing i noticed that i found really interesting, and this is the fourth month-over-month increase in existing home sales. i understand the second derivative. you have to slow the rate of deterioration before you can put in a floor. but one thing i did notice, and i'm not looking that in an optimistic way, this is the first year-over-year positive number we've had in 43 months going back to november of 2005, to put

. >> i think the centex/pulte merger was a watershed event. strong balance sheets coming together. we have been seeing several months of positive data coming in, i am long centex. >> the chairman woman calling a basement in real estate. shares of home builder centex up 10% after a competitor saw net contracts for new homes climb for the first time in four years. >> this is one of the names that i think you have to own it, it's not a crowded trade. what you want to avoid in this environment. it is in the scenes what is much better than wells showed today. >> the liquidator calling a buy on u.s. b. the bank bounce picked up steam and joe's trade rallied 22%. and finally -- ♪ some guys have all the luck >> even though he's not on the desk tonight, the negotiator still managing to make you money while on vacation. >> the las vegas sands, looking at what is going on with those guys. they might spin off, i would rather own it above $11.50. play the breakout. if you're looking for playing casinos, lvs light make sense. >> after reporting better-than-

one preacr, a black heyman on a very remote island to with the proceeds of marijuana got his pult built and the ws from his church, a gymnast and you feel bad about taking this money you know, came from the illegal operation to basically get your chairs and your needs for the churc he gave them a good quote, if solomon spoke to it, i must me able to sell at. [laughter] and he made the point* because solomon talks about it in the bible. >> host: i would have to say jimmy and i have something in common. t i was practicing law for a few years in the late '70s/early eighties there was a baseball law firm we've represented on the drug traffickers. by that point* most of the people getting busted were not the college did we had known, they were cocaine smugglers and dealers. i can see that it seems to me most of its people were simply criminals or scammers a favor not selling cocaine they would have some other illegal activity per after three or four years, frankly i did not find the work very satisfying i stepped asidend went back to public-interest. if i was practicing in the '60s when most

shareholders approving pulte's purchase of rival centex. shareholders encouraged the deal.y said a bigger company would be stronger and survive the housing downturn. the price, nearly $1.5 billion in stock. the dow, nasdaq, s&p 500 each down about 1%. let's end on a bright note, mr. lemon. you could have made quite a bit of money if you bought google shares when the company went public five years ago today. that ipo priced at $85 at their high. google shares soared above $700. today, google shares trading around $445. a gain of 425% for five years. woulda, shoulda, coulda. >> i'm actually saying that because i had the opportunity. but i'm still working right here. susan, always good to see you. >>> let's go overseas to afghanistan. it is about 12 hours away from holding only its second election since the overthrow of the taliban back in 2001. here's what we know right now. security is a very big concern. the government has asked the media not to report on violence on election day to avoid scaring people away from the polls. the taliban has vowed to disrupt the election. the

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check out pulte, the homebuilders have been on a tear.. up 30% since the wee bull market began on july 13th. both of them will report after the close. coffee drinkers, perk it up, baby. down 6% on green mountain coffee but you've had a heck of a year. you're up over 150%. the company announcing they're going to do a 4 million share offering to pay down debt. keep it clean and lean and mean. but it's a 10% dilution and the stock is weak on the news. >> thank you, matt nesto. >>> up next, economists, optimistic indeed. according to a new cnbc survey, then congresswoman betty sutton of ohio, the original sponsor for the cash for clunkers bill is going to join us on more with keeping the program going. plus, we jam with the ceo of the r rock 'n roll hall of fame. "squawk on the street" coming "squawk on the street" coming right back.r at risk for diabete. introducing new nutrisystem d, the clinically tested program for losing weight and reducing blood sugar. hi i'm mike, and i lost 100 pounds on nutrisystem d when i was first diagnosed with di

just some things to think of to pult some advice in with these numbers. >> i know, christine, but like you, i'm sure you're tired of telling people how to deal with unemployment. we want to get those jobs back. i know you'll be back talking later in the hour, but i'll ask you about that. stimulus and the car manufacturing jobs coming back. where are these jobs? hold that thought, christine. >>> this is not easy to talk about senator ted kennedy may be dying and now we realize he may know it. the letter he has now sent to insure massachusetts has two votes in the u.s. senate, even if one is not his. they say imports always get the best mileage. well, do they know this malibu offers an epa estimated 33 mpg highway? they never heard that. which is better than a comparable toyota camry or honda accord? they're stunned. they can't believe it. they need a minute. i had a feeling they would. there's never been more reasons to look at chevy. >>> an update on hurricane bill, a category 3 storm. the latest now from the national hurricane center. winds of 120 miles per hour and decrease of intens

today's "usa today," story, " pulte: 57% do not see stimulus working." a usa today gallup poll found 57% of adults say the stimulus package is having no impact." guest: i think that has got to be the scariest number the democrats could be looking at right now. the president said that getting the stimulus program will take time to start working. the message they are starting to push right now is there are some indicators of the economy rebounding. the president has repeatedly said that the stimulus brought the country back from the brink of the great depression. that is the next battle they need to bring to the brink more than anything. host: richard on the line now four independents. caller: government sponsored health care is a terrible idea, in the way that the veterans administration, u.s. post office, medicare, social security. we need to get the government out from between the patient and the health-care provider. also we need to get the insurance company out. it is like the doctor in new york who said he could do that 44for 400 or $500. government

. >>> i know many of you are waiting anxiously to find out if congress is going to pult more money intohat cash for clunkers program. there is a debate shaping up over that widely popular incentive. jennifer westhoven is looking into that. good morning. >> so popular, robin. the dealers were scrambling. the bottom line is if you got a deal over the weekend, good for you, i'm glad you rushed and did some of your homework because it's probably burned through its $1 billion budget and we just don't know if it's going to get more. here's the big picture whether cash for clunkers is a good thing. could this be a sign that the economy is on the way up? >> it's a very important indicator that the state of confidence in the economy is beginning to pick up. if we had been -- if it the clur program had been put in place six months ago, it probably would have been a dud. >> so he's saying whether or not it gets any more money, it's telling us something good about the economy, that people are ready to buy. will it get more money? we'll see. the house okayed another $2 billion for it to happen. the