so they're rushing to get ahead of it. >> robert frank, we appreciate the report. ing to keep an eye on this. unfortunately i think that exactly what robert described is going to happen as the republicans cave in on president obama's tax increase. we have a special program you don't want to miss that's coming up. it's called "trading the globe." tim seymour and mandy drury are going to co-anchor this thing. you don't want to miss it. that's it for me, tonight, "the kudlow report." thanks for watching. we'll be back on monday. one is for a clean, wedomestic energy future that puts us in control. our abundant natural gas is already saving us money, producing cleaner electricity, putting us to work here in america and supporting wind and solar. though all energy development comes with some risk, we're committed to safely and responsibly producing natural gas. it's not a dream. america's natural gas... putting us in control of our energy future, now. ♪ [ male announcer ] how could a luminous protein in jellyfish, impact life expectancy in the u.s., real estate in hong k

robert frank joins us now with the details. good evening, robert. >> good evening. drastic is right. if we go over the cliff the wealthy will become less wealthy and fewer americans would become wealthy. the u.s. has around 5 million millionaires with a total wealth of $18.8 trillion. next year there are three possible scenarios all of them depend on the cliff. if we go over the live the population of millionaires would drop by 315,000. their fortunes would drop by $240 billion. if we get a deal but bad for the economy the millionaire population would drop by 26,000 millionaires. if we get a deal and the economy grows then millionaires would grow by 230,000. if there were no threat of a cliff at all the number of millionaires would grow by 443,000 millionaires. that's a 9% increase. the total difference between no cliff and going over the cliff is more than 750,000 millionaires or about 1.3 trillion dollars in wealth. i'm looking at the impact of economic growth not taxes which of course if they increase could temper some of that growth. a cliff deal could be worth

robert frank has been crunching the numbers. >> thanks. it's not a lot at least by government standards. let's look at the two definitions of rich here. the first is the obama rich. we know those are folk who is make $250,000 or more a year. about 2.8 million of them. the obama rich account for about 2% of total tax filers. the boehner rich are more of an elite club. those who make $1 million or more a year. there are about 368,000 of them. about .2 of the top 1%. raising taxes on that group raises a lot less revenue. if we raise taxes to 39.6% of the obama rich we get around $44 billion next year. we raise taxes on the boehner rich, that gives us less than half that amount, about $20 billion. aside from the smaller numbers, the boehner rich also get more of their income from capital gains which are of course taxed at a lower rate. so raising their income tax rate has less of an impact. and $20 billion is still a lot of money. and boehner's offer is just a starting point. they could agree to a midpoint. but in government terms, boehner's p

our wealth editor, robert frank, knows some of those big shareholders, those wealthy guys. he is there isn't just altruism and doing what's right for shareholders, charity does begin at home in this case. maybe altruism with benefits. let's take a look. more than 110 companies have announced special dividends of the fourth quarter, three times last year's fourth quarter. it is all a race against the tax man. if we go over the cliff, tax rates and dividends can go from 15s for 43.4%. by taking dividends before december 31st shareholders and ceos can save millions of dollars. now, mickey aaronson, $89 million from the carnival dividend, giving him a potential tax savings of $25 million. larry ellison, $199 million from the oracle dividend. his savings alone, $56 million. tom frist at hca, the hospital operator, will get more than $350 million from that company's dividend, saving $100 million. kkr and bain, also a big piece of that dividend. the king of all dividends this quarter, sheldon adelson, he gets $1.2 billion from that sands corps dividend. his tax savings alone could

our wealth editor robert frank tal lis up the casualties coming up. you're watching "closing bell" on cnbc. this is america. we don't let frequent heartburn come between us and what we love. so if you're one of them people who gets heartburn and then treats day after day... block the acid with prilosec otc and don't get heartburn in the first place! [ male announcer ] one pill each morning. 24 hours. zero heartburn. a passionate belief, and the foundation on which merrill lynch has been built. today, our financial advisors lead from a new position of strength. together with bank of america, they have access to more resources than ever before. a steadfast commitment to help you achieve your financial goals in life. that's the power of the right advisor. that's merrill lynch. >>> who doesn't want a special dividend? the hits keep coming. oracle announcing it will accelerate payments on three quarters worth of dividends for investors who hold the stock as of december 14th. now about 100 companies and can counting have announced more than $22.5 billion wo

robert frank, are they going to send him back to belize? >> they certainly are. >> oh, poor guy!he thought he had made it to safety when he reached the shores of guatemala. but it turns out his problems are just beginning. basically the gig is up for john mcafee. now mcafee of course the tattooed gun toeth software tycoon that's been on the lam for three weeks after the murder of his american neighbor in please. police were questioning him. this week he fled to guatemala hoping to find safety and political asylum but his request was denied and police just announced this afternoon they're flying him back to belize. belize police tell me they'll be waiting. what happens now is anyone's guess. he could be brought in, charged, he could be released, or, as he told us, he could be made to disappear. but with all the public theater around this man, i find that, brian, very unlikely. >> he kind of -- i don't want to say bragged but he sort of showed off he was smart, he had this whole decoy, he went to guatemala. i made it! you're just like, you can't just come in to guatemala. that's so

. >> our wealth editor robert frank breaks it down now. >> thanks, bill.ate tax could go up even more and become a big problem for any kind of cliff deal. let's take a look. the current tax is around 30%. only those worth $5 million or more have to file. if we go off the cliff, it will shoot to 55%. anyone with an estate with $1 million or more will have to file. that will cost many more in the estate tax. many prefer the tax is abolished. obama wants a 45% rate and $3.5 million cutoff. that's midway between today's rates and the old rate. now the problem is even some democrats are siding with republicans. they say they want to keep the current rates. so all sides here remain very far apart. this matters because wealthy families need to rewrite their wills, their charity plans. and for the country there are hundreds of billions of dollars of taxes at stake. it's also a hugely symbolic tax. the left says these estate taxes are important to curb family dynasties. and they also call it the paris hilton tax. the right says it's the death tax and says it hurts

robert frank is here. what are said unintended consequences? >> there are unintended consequences.ly i'm going to call it the great income shift. basically it could leave state and federal governments with huge budget holes and another big defense dit problicit probl. here's how it works. companies have announced more than 23 million inn in dividends this year alone, including 2013 dividends being paid today. investors are also selling stocks in companies and real estate before that clip. we have billions of dollars in income being shifted from 2013 to today. that means federal and state governments will see a tax bonanza this year and a tax plunge next year. the risk here is that governments assume that this year's tax boom is the new normal and they spend accordingly. we'll then have big deficits in 2013. now we have been here before. this happened in california in 2 dhou 2001. capital gains boomed, then crashed. people front loaded their income when they expect it to go up, just like they're doing today. cap gains doubled to $52 billion, then the next year they crashed to $33 bi

we're going to get robert frank on the case later to talk more about it. this is a wacky, wacky story. >> is he wanted here? >> apparently he hasn't been arrested here. >> is he wanted here? >> i don't know. maybe robert frank can tell us. >> okay. >> i can't figure out if this is just all trumped up in his own mind. i'm not -- i don't really -- >> does he get to come back and just go to south beach and just resume where he left off? is he living large? he's got lots of money. south beach is a place where you -- >> actually, i don't understand why he left. >> we're going to talk to robert frank about all this. he knows the details. >> i've got a lot of questions. >> but let's get a quick last word from our guest host this morning, dino coast. leave us with something. give us hope. is there hope? you don't have to. you can depress us if you'd like. >> it's hard to have hope. but steve liesman was walking by a little while ago. he had a trip of bernanke talking about what the assets is for and what the fed funds rate is before and for the life of me it's rea

robert frank with the latest there. >> back by popular demand.every year, i bring in my baby maltise, ella bella jazz. unfortunately, she is under the weather. she has a little skin allergy and is biting her paws. so i brought in this picture and she wishes you all good tiedings for the year ahead and sorry to miss this christmas eve. there she is. wishing everybody a happy holiday and fantastic 2013. thank you, ella. i had to put the cone on her head because she keeps biting her paws. >>> up next, the lack of action in washington and ripple effects. stay with us. when you have diabetes... your doctor will say get smart about your weight. that's why there's glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. [ male announcer ] glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and time for citi price rewind. because your daughter really wants that pink castle thing. and you really don't want to pay more than you have to. only citi price rewind automatically searches for the

robert frank. have you met -- he's a great reporter. he's going to be on talking about mcafee. know him fairly well. >> you know him fairly well. you don't know and you don't know. >> no. >> this is robert frank. >> oh, my goodness gracious. it didn't even occur to me. >> watching you wonder where i was going was really -- you were like, where am i going with that. >> i saw frank chasing her around and i said, you know, she's on fast money. what are you, coming to the christmas party and he goes, we've been married eight years. wow, in the headlines, manufacturing activity, the whole show is very -- the whole network is -- everybody is married to everyone else. activity in china hit a 14-month high in december. except for you. an encouraging sign for the world's second largest economy. purchasing manager' index rose from 50.9 from november aet's 50.5. chinese consumers will be able to buy apple's iphone today. that should help apple reverse the slide in china. they're in talks with china mobile. it's true, you can search tiananmen and nothing comes up. it's a square, but nothin

. >> robert frank with the latest there. breaking news on mollycorp. over to you, brian. >> i followed this rare earth company for a couple of years and mark smith, the ceo and face of the company, no longer the ceo. i can tell you sources tell me, kind of a board decision as they say they are growing to an operational company. the company's also been investigated by the s.e.c. i'm ted the s.e.c. investigation does not have anything to do with this muff but a hi high-flyers. getting red pretty hard right now. still above $10. looked at his insider buying and selling. sold a lot last year and was in the process of buying some some of the shares this year. mark smith no longer the ceo and face of mcp. back to you. >> what a move in the extend hours. brian, thanks very much. brian schactman, fiscal cliff talk. >> and form er fed chair alan greenspan is here and dow component dupont, is it holding back on investing and hiring because of the fiscal cliff? we'll speak to the boss ellen bowman giving me her cliff notes so stick around. ericans believee in cha

robert frank joins us with the latest on this saga. robert?he mcafee circus, as we call it, came from miami. arrived last night after being deported from guatemala, met on the plane by marshals not there to arrest him but take him safely to his taxi. mcafee is on the run, of course, after the murder of his neighbor in belize. he is wanted for questioning in that killing. he denies being involved in the murder. he says police want to kill him for not being paid bribes, he has no money, no home and no plans, perfect for being in miami. he is going to chill out there for a while. he says a mysterious canadian dropped off a wad of $5, his only money now. his $20 million fortune is in belize banks, he doesn't have access is to it the critical fact here is that he is not a wanted man. he is only a person of interest. and i say this because the belize police just told me that the case is still open. they are investigating. they say if he is charged, the u.s., under a treaty, would have to send him back to belize. for now, he is safe. but melissa, thi

our wealth editor robert frank has a very good job.e look at the top three zip codes in the nation with the sales of mega mansions. i can't wait to hear. >> i call it the return of the eight-digit home. the sales of homes for 10 million or more. took a breather in the crisis, but they're back. a report from caldwell banker says sales of eight-digit homes have doubled in miami and other hot markets. beverly hills, ranked first in the country with 19 sold over the past year. one of those deals was a home on rocks bury drive. we see it here, sold for $14 million. list of 10 million plus homes is stronger. malibu, california tops the list of listings with 63 listings. 10 million or more of course the larry ellison premium driving up premiums. he is buying a lot of homes. and aspen, colorado, this home just hitting the market. we are announcing it right now. $40 million in the starwood development plus your neighbor would be john paulson, the hedge fund guy. 2013 could mark the return of the nine-digit house. several homes for a hundred mil

robert frank, buying up where and who? >> everywhere.hy families are buying up millions of acres of land in ranches, forests and remote areas of the country. for the rich, land is the new favorite investment. it generates a lot of income and it won't rise or fall like stocks. king of billionaire land grabbers, that is the john malone. owning more than 2.2 million acres of land. ranking second, ted turner also former cable chief, dedicates most of his land to conservation. he o owns about 2 million ache perps third largest is family i b bet you've never heard of. the archie red emmerson family. they own 1.84 million acres. ranches in montana and timber land in maine are becoming very popular. they are also using them for hunting, fishing and horse back riding. plus a lot of fun to fly around your helicopter and look at all your holdings. >> it is like jim rogers, who always said, you know, when you ask for him example, what should i buy? he said buy farm land. put on your over alls. put on your hat. and get out there and buy farm land. >>

robert frank, by the way, who is getting the biggest payouts here? >> mostly ceos and company founders. more than 110 companies anumbers onned special dividends in the fourth quarter, three times last year's fourth quarter, all aimed at beating that potential tax increase on dividends. that tax now 15%, scheduled to go up to 43.4% on january 1st. now you companies have doled out more than $22 billion in special dividends this quarter. that's savings up to $6 billion in taxes. three of the biggest paydays will go to sheldon adeleson, tom frist and larry ellison. together, they will get $1.75 billion checks before christmas. and their tax savings there could be more than $490 million. so, what will they do with all this money? mandy, as you said, they are hoarding it. it is going into money markets, treasuries, some real estate but private bankers tell me it is not going into stocks or holiday spending, so it's not creating jobs. they are really just moving that money -- that income from 2013 to 2012. >> what does it mean in terms of the landscape next

robert frank has details on that one. >>> then are you looking to buy a luxury car?you are, phil with why you will never find a better time. you're watching "power lunch "on cnbc. 'tis the season to discr the kid in all of us. enjoy free shipping and great values on your holiday shopping from l.l. bean. try running four.ning a restaurant is hard, fortunately we've got ink. it gives us 5x the rewards on our internet, phone charges and cable, plus at office supply stores. rewards we put right back into our business. this is the only thing we've ever wanted to do and ink helps us do it. make your mark with ink from chase. >>> all right, you heard michael recommend goal earlier in our show. gold and other metal prices, copy trading at a high. hi, sharon. >> prices up around $9. around 17.15 an ounce is where we expect gold prices to close. traders are waiting for something to happen, hoping that chairman bernanke will make a commentary and there will be some decision for this market one way after another. it has been in a holding pattern. [ inaudible ] >> sharon, i'm goi

robert frank, are we talking like john mcafee going missing or we just saying we're not going to be millionaires anymore because we're not going to sell into these tax rates? >> belize is not big enough for all these missing millionaires. it is more like a downgrade. we're talking about the wealthy getting a little less wealthy if we go over the cliff and fewer people becoming wealthy. the u.s. has run 5 million millionaires with a total wealth of $18 trillion. that's according to wealth inside base in london. three possible scenarios all depend on the cliff. if we go over the cliff, the population of millionaires would drop by over 313,000. if we get a deal that's bad for the economy, the millionaire population would drop by 126,000 people. if we get a deal and the economy grows, the millionaires would grow by 230,000 new millionaires. their fortunes would soar by $1 trillion. to underscore the cost of the cliff, if no cliff at all, the number of millionaires would grow by 433,000, a 9% increase. difference between no cliff and going over the cliff is more than 750,000 millionaires or $1.3 tril

robert frank is describing why the number of millionaires is also facing a cut."sounds of african drum and flute" look who's back. again? it's embarrassing it's embarrassing! we can see you carl. we can totally see you. come on you're better than this...all that prowling around. yeah, you're the king of the jungle. have you thought about going vegan carl? hahaha!! you know folks who save hundreds of dollars by switching to geico sure are happy. how happy are they jimmy? happier than antelope with night-vision goggles. nice! get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. [ male announcer ] where do you turn for legal matters? at legalzoom, we've created a better place to handle your legal needs. maybe you have questions about incorporating a business you'd like to start. or questions about protecting your family with a will or living trust. and you'd like to find the right attorney to help guide you along, answer any questions and offer advice. with an "a" rating from the better business bureau legalzoom helps you get personalized an

wealth editor robert frank has the latest details on the arrest of john mcafee. >> yes, bill, it's comingst learned john mcafee has been taken to the hospital in guatemala. this follows news the former software tycoon was about to be deported to belize to face questions over a murder. let's bring everyone up to speed. mcafee has been on the lam for three weeks after the murder of his american neighbor in belize. belize police are seeking him for questioning. this week he fled to guatemala in hopes of finding safety and political asylum. his request for asylum was denied. police announcie ining today th going to fly him back to belize. he's about to be taken to the hospital amid reports he had two mild heart attacks. least been blogging all day today from his detention cell. his lawyer says the heart attacks have not prevented him from blogging, but we don't know why he's in the hospital. what happens now is anyone's guess. this strange movie is far from over. back to you. >> it's going to make a great movie some day. it is unbelievable. >> so bizarre. you know, he's been on the run. now,

our wealth editor robert frank. plus, our real estate correspondent will tell you what you need to know back half of the show. don't miss it. >>> and here's a lye shot of the street outside the new york stock exchange. christmas tree is right behind the band there. they are ready for the tree lighting ceremony. expect it to take place about an hour from now. we'll take you there live. back in a moment. obligations. obligations. i need to rethink the core of my portfolio. what i really need is sleep. introducing the ishares core, building blocks for the heart of your portfolio. find out why 9 out of 10 large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefully before investing. risk includes possible loss of principal. music is a universal language. but when i was in an accident... i was worried the health care system spoke a language all its own with unitedhealt

robert frank is here with more on that. l around the country, robert. >> we know the wealthy are worried about tax hikes but they should worry more about the cost of not getting a tax deal and going over the cliff. here's why. the u.s. has around 5 million millionaires with a total weather around $18.8 trillion. as for next year, there are three possible scenarios. all of them depend on the cliff. if we go over the cliff, the population of millionaires would drop by around 315,000. their fortunes would drop by $240 billion. now, if we get a deal but it's bad for the economy, the millionaire population would drop by around 26,000. but if we get a deal and here's the good news and the economy grows, the number of new millionaires would be 230,000. their fortunes would soar by $1 trillion. just to underscore the cost of the cliff. if there were no threat of a cliff at all, the number of millionaires would grow by 443,000, a 9% increase. this just looks at the impact of economic growth. the cliff deal would also raise taxes on w

robert frank explains. >> to really have power, you need a real power desk. a mega desk built for royalty. >> this is a desk designed in 1929, and the estimate is $2 million to $3 million. he described it with an indian prince in mind. >> it's over 80 years old but it comes with some very modern luxuries including a heated footrest. it hits the auction block at christie's with about 200 other items worth about $214 million. >> it's one of the most important art deco works that has ever come up for sale. >> just this piece of leather looks like a jackson pollock or unique abstract. >> you can see all the work that was done on it. >> and all the money that was made at this desk. >> that's right. >> from my power cubicle at cnbc, i'm robert frank. >>> i think that desk screams simon hobbs. >> with that ink that just looks dirty where he sat. art deco, yes. dirty area, here, no. surely. you'll sympathize with me, carl. >> heated footrest. >> then your feet will get too hot in the summer. >> it's not heated all the time. you can turn it off. you would presume for

this morning, robert frank takes a look at luxury in 2013. >> more money? more problems.ds of the late, great notorious vip perfectly sum up the fortunes and fears ahead for the wealthy in 2013. the number of millionaire households will inch toward 9 million, approaching its all-time high. but wealth will come under attack from taxes and from politics. income taxes will likely go to 37% or 38% while capital gains and dividends will get that added health care tax. the occupy movement will not return with the same strength, but talk of fat cats and p will iticrats in the media will drive the wealthy further into hiding and reduce conspicuous consumption. the rich will put less money into u.s. stocks and more into assets. funded by the overseas rich with some homes selling for more than $100 million. luxury spending will remain weak largely because of weakness in china. bright spots will be high end luxuries and experiences like travel and entertainment. wealth will become quieter. call it stealth wealth. the big spending in big luxuries will be behind closed doors and kitch

robert frank has been following the story this morning. morning on "squawk." >> thanks so much. well, he did make a lot of news on our air this morning. he started with his insistence that he did not kill his neighbor in belize. >> let me be clear i had nothing to do with the murder of gregory fall. the authorities know this. there will be no charges. this is like every other charge they have leveled against me since the 30th of april of this year the first one being running a meth lab then running an antibiotics lab without a license which is a serious crime in the third world and on and on. this is about the 11th attempt to charge me with something. i will not be charged with this. >> now mcafee of course has been on the run for weeks as police in belize want him for questioning in that murder. mcafee was deported from guatemala to miami and admitted to faking a heart attack in guatemala and faking his location in recent weeks. he told us he loves pranks but insists his fear of the belize government is very real. >> certainly feels crazy

. >> senator, over the weekend, professor robert frank wrote this was a game of chicken between the two uneven game of chicken, with the republicans driving a chevy spark. and the president in the mack truck. what he's essentially saying if we go through the fiscal cliff, to the tax rates reset, he has a better situation to negotiate with you and arguably you may be blamed for driving through that. do you agree the gop may simply have to say yes? >> i do think we are in a very awkward place, as it relates to taxes on the upper income. i just want to say that, again, boehner offered $800 billion. that's about the amount that taxes on the upper 2% are. so now he's negotiating north of that. i mean, the best place for republicans to be, to me, is to pass the rate increases, be done with it. the number's probably much smaller than it's ultimately going to be negotiated. then we still are focused on the right thing which is entitlement changes. again, i hope the president's going to come to the table, candidly. here we are. every developed country in the world knows this is the greatest thre

megyn: there you have it, the clackamas county sheriff, frank roberts, giving us our latest update and most informative what happened yesterday afternoon as a 22-year-old young man by the name of jacob tyler roberts went into that mall and started shooting indiscrimminantly, killing a 54-year-old woman named cindy yule and a 45-year-old father and named steven it forsyth. striking a teenage woman, a young woman named christina. she was wounded earlier. we heard a report she was expected to do okay, to be okay. we'll have more on her condition as the day goes on. a little more information from the wires on jacob tyler roberts, the 22-year-old shooter according to the sheriff. he has no criminal history. he received two speeding tickets earlier this year. he was evicted from his apartment earlier this year. this is according to the oregonian, not independently confirmed by fox news. and they also report that his mother who lives in portland answered her door last night but declined to comment to an oregonian reporter saying only quote, i loved my son very much. and you can only imagine h

robert is joining us live on the telephone. what can you tell us? >> reporter: as frank said as we reported earlier, the san jose police are basically assisting the san jose city college campus police. they are conducting a campus widowed. police say officers are going from building to building looking for this reported shooter. the initial call came from one person who did not identify themselves. important thing that policement to say is they have not had any reports of shots fired. they have not had any reports of any victims reported. we've been talking to faculty members. they say that basically they are only going by the initial information they were given by campus police that there is a search going on for a possible gunman. they say the scene is hectic but everyone is staying pretty calm. at this point it's been going on for a little while. they say they haven't had anything really new to report except for just waiting to see what happens. one thing that one of the faculty members pointed out to me was that just a couple of months ago they had an active shooter

frank somerville. >> that storm is come and gone and now people across the bay area are dealing with the damage left behind. we have live team coverage of the clean up. ktvu's robert handa is in the south bay but we begin with ktvu's lorraine blanco where officials reopened a school that suffered serious damage from the heavy rain. >> reporter: you are right. white hill middle school will reopen tomorrow, that decision was made here and as soon as we returned -- and students will return with quite a few changes. >> reporter: a crew spent the day and tonight power washing floors and windows and ripping out carpets. the weekend storm clogged a culvert pushing rain water and debris dine the school in fairfax. teachers in four classrooms packed up, their students will share other rooms or have classes in the library. >> i am worried about the kids adapting. >> the classes are already crowded. >> reporter: they are? >> with the construction, they have a bunch of students in small buildings. they have to share classrooms now. >> the school has been under construction since the summer. workers are building new 7th and 8th grade wings and a new music complex. the four dam

the world's three leading architects of the day, frank lloyd wright and tony gaudi, and walter, who it into my nature, god and man, in that order. or robert perry during race for the north pole. the bulk of this book is dedicated to those political forces that reshaped this entry. as one who gravitates towards the great man theory in most of my history, i was almost at a loss for words last week at a book signing event when a questioner asked me who's the most important person in your book? dawned on me, this really isn't a book about most important people. it's a book about great ideas, and terrible ideas, ideas that in the course of the century were tested in the most climactic of ways, war. but the most important of the ideas that we discuss is something many writers and intellectuals provided lipservice to, american exceptionalism, but which no one has really defined. we are kind of surprise as we went through to find there really wasn't a good definition of american exceptionalism. so i think that the first a congressman in "a patriot's history of the modern world." we examine and defined american exceptionalism through the identific

frank financial regulations law. she appeared along with securities and exchange commission's robert cook before the house financial services subcommittee on capital markets. their testimony runs about two hours and 20 minutes. >> good morning. today's committee is called to order. thank everyone for being with us at today's hearing. it's entitled challenges facing the u.s. capital markets to effectively implement title vii of the dodd-frank act. and i welcome the panel and i welcome colleagues on both sides of the aisle. before i begin, i will start with us a little more than a housekeeping matter. i made a similar statement previously to a panel when it was private sector before us and it is apparently that i make this statement here. and that is that it was agreed in a bipartisan manner with of the rules of the committee with regard to testimony and its preparation for the committee and for both sides of the aisle members of the committee. mr. gensler and mr. cook as you are aware the committee receive written statements 48 hours, two days in advance of the hearing. in this case, this committee invited dewaal to testify.

roberts told me they've got good reasons for passing on your offer. let me give you another scenario. i walk into the hotel, i go to the frank you have a few rooms available that night, say, sir, room is going to be $300. i say, how about $200? here's 200 bucks. do you take it? >> never. >> why? >> no way. that's called the fade. and that's something that -- >> there's a term for that? >> called the fade. if you do that, you've just trained that customer. don't book in advance. >> you'd rather that room go empty for the entire night than give it to me for less than what you would otherwise charge? >> yes. over time, you don't want to train customers to wait and feel like they can get a better deal. >> and for more insights and a look behind the scenes of the hotel industry, be sure to tune into "hotel behind closed doors at marriott." bill, you have to rethink that strategy you were going to try, huh? >> i was going to try the old fade, but i guess not there. so, what is the best way to get a good room at a cheap price? i mean, you don't wait until the last second, is one thing, right? >> no. you have to book far in advance,