the latest reading from case schiller also showing pretty good gauge.ect going ahead? >> if we resolve the fiscal cliff, consumer confidence stays intact, if we see modest improvements in job creation, the fact that housing is showing resilience, will really supports and continued gains. lot of people out there when they do start to see the price trajectory turnaround are going to say with mortgage rates as low as they are and prices starting to climb now was the time to jump into the housing market. shibani: there are positive factors but one not so positive factor is this fiscal clip, that could force people to pay more taxes, could impact of the across-the-board. how worried are you? how worried should we be about the state of the housing industry and what happens in washington? >> absolutely. applicable latest data housing is actually contributing to growth right now but it is one of the few areas contributing in a meaningful way. we could see that the rail. the fiscal cliff is not resolved expeditiously, if what we see is that has an impact on cons

and we have price stability, if you look at kay schiller, that's gone flat.as down, now we're flat. i'm not sure we're frothy yet. we want to be restrained in our enthusiasm, but we are very bullish on home builder equities. we see upseed in 2013. >> your top pick is one that will benefit from home building boom but also a renovation boom that's going on right now. >> you think increased consumer confidence will lead to the release of pent up consumer demand. we have a bullish call on u.s. gypsum. benefits from favorable wallboard prices could rise by as much as 20% in 2013, in response to tighter demand conditions for wallboard from home builders. we see 10% buy-in growth due to increased new residential construction activity. stock is around 26 bucks. we have a $35 price target. big move today. >> and the allegations about price fixing are -- a concern? >> after reviewing what's been put out in the public market is they're unfounded. so, we still like our call. >> bob, good to see you. thank you for copping by. >> thank you very much. >>> let's stick with h

the closely watched s&p case- schiller index rose 4.3%, in october, beating expectations. looking at month over month performance, the 20 city index fell 0.1% from september to october. still, s&p is optimistic about housing activity in the new year. >> 2013 should be a good year for housing, we're going into the year with a whole lot of momentum, we've seen very strong housing starts, very strong construction in 2012 but even with that strength construction is still way below where it should be and we have a lot of lost ground to make up. >> susie: david blitzer also expects home prices to continue to improve through the end of next year, and he believes that rebound in prices will help the u.s. economic recovery. still ahead, the outlook for stocks in 2013, we're joined by wayne kaufman, he's the chief market analyst at john thomas financial. president obama is due back in washington tomorrow, cutting short his hawaiian holiday vacation. he will be meeting with congressional leaders for one last push to prevent the economy from falling over the fiscal cliff next week. no

and the standard & poor's case schiller report shows, since january, prices are up 6.9%. >>> it's a different story for holiday sales, which are turning out to be the weakest since 2008. one retail report says sales in the two months leading up to christmas were up just 0.7% from last year. one reason being given is the impact of hurricane sandy across the northeast. now, stores are trying to lure in shoppers with some deep, deep post-christmas discounts. >>> and some starbucks stores in the nation's capital are serving up a political message with their coffee. ceo howard schultz is urging employees in washington, d.c. area starbucks to write come together on the customers' cups today and tomorrow. it's a message to urge lawmakers to work out a deal to keep the country from going over that fiscal cliff next week, which would send taxes soaring while slashing spending. >>> meanwhile, hollywood has something to celebrate as we close out 2012. it's been a very big year in the movies, with the number of tickets sold in the u.s. up for the first time in three years. the domestic box office take is

third quarter, the biggest year-over-year increase in more than two years, according to the s&p case schiller index and energy is booming. new drilling methods are generating jobs and growth. 1.7 million jobs created, 2.5 million jobs creed up over the next year and added up americans see better times ahead, why consume are confidence is at a four-year high. i know, i know, i know. it's not strong nup enough, i agree. it's fragile, you're right. just this week the organization for economic development downgraded its economic forecast and we need to make sure congress doesn't drive us off the fiscal cliff so evidence is mounting. now is it time for the gop to reposition itself to get in on a brightening economic picture? want to bring in two conservative cnn contributors, anna navarro in cambridge, massachusetts and will cain here with me. republicans lost with a campaign focused on what they turned as a failed obama economy. is it time for them to change their message on the economy? >> well, look, i'm happy you're talking about the economy because i think the lesson that too many republicans

stuart: as in case schiller. he is saying watch out. stuart: he is right to say that. let's say we don't go over the cliff but we get a tax increase on the so-called rich, forget spending cuts and ignore the debt. very small scale deal that focuses on taxing the rich. what happens to housing there? >> great question. we have seen pending home sales and new home sales, what we are seeing is a fire sale. at the low end wear short sales are concerned and the high end where a luxury home sales are we see a lot of sellers incentivizing selling homes before the end of the year so they don't get slammed with taxes. stuart: to sell -- >> in the fourth quarter we will see that get sluggish next year, i also think with all this uncertainty whether we go over the cliff we will see tight lending standards despite a low mortgage interest rate. stuart: isn't that a counterargument? ben bernanke prints money and $45 billion of mortgages every month and breaks down 3.5% or something like that. surely that continues, surely that is a bright spot. >> if that happens and we have the weak

. >>> the standard & poor's kay schiller national index of house sales shows prices are up 4.3% in octoberfrom 3% annual gain in september. >>> starbucks has its own plan to encourage lawmakers to reach a "fiscal cliff" compromise. the coffee giant surging employees in some of its 120 washington area shops to write the words, come together on cups of java. let's send it back to you. >> thank you. >>> looks like shoppers just weren't in the holiday spirit this year. >> holiday sales growth was the weakest since 2008. one report put the increase at 0.7%. that's far below analysts' predictions of 3 to 4%. experts blamed superstorm sandy and the looming "fiscal cliff" for disrupting shopping. back to you. >> thank you, erica ferrari in new york. >>> and -- >> and -- >> go ahead. >>> holiday sales grew at a weak pace, weakest in four years. mastercard reports the sales in the two months before increased just .7% over last year. >>> new evidence that the bay area job market is in recovery mode right now. a new check of the numbers finds the boom that began in the silicon valley tech sector is br

basically the housing market, you had the case schiller numbers today.s looking a little bit better. you got that in the plus column.

they're working with the law firm-by-schiller, in connection with the fight with billackman.horting the company. last week he revealed he had been shorting the stock. the "wall street journal" saying it's not clear what counsel the corporate litigator could be offering herbalife, you can imaginin it's going to get tough and aggressive. at some point we've got to talk about julian -- julian robertson on twitter. if we'll consider that a headline. if he's on twitter -- >> did you know about this? >> no. >> there's a handle -- >> i've seen other people that it's obviously not them -- >> this could be him, though. and there's a big debate. a raging debate going on line about whether julian robertson is actually tweeting or not. you have a view? >> i -- i'm going shy away from this conversation other than -- >> we need to find out, though. >> other than to say it's a raging debate. >> i e-mailed him. this julian robertson -- >> how do you know you're e-mailing the right one? >> wow. >> because i have e-mailed with him previously. so i believe it's a verified address. i believe it'

another name my would throw out is robert schiller of yale university, great track record on psychologying market which is still a major problems so we still have problems, banks around the country, he is one we should watch out for. dennis: let's ask a 25 year veteran staffer at the fed. should the fed over insider elected janet yellen or might there be an outside benefit with going with an outsider with a fresh pair of eyes? >> janet is the obvious choice and my money is on janet to get the job. she has all the requisite experience, she has policy experience outside the fed as well. she is chair of the council of economic advisers, very thoughtful. i know some people on the panel don't agree with her policy choices but you read any of his speeches she is very thoughtful and very well versed in issues the fed is dealing with and going forward, that will be a very important point. an outsider would not be as well qualified to do that. cheryl: we are getting very close to the fed decision. we want to take a quick commercial break. our panel will be sticking around with us but do not move

the latest s&p schiller home price report has been released. the results being shown at the bottom of your screen. david blitzer will join us with a closer look at the numbers in just a few minutes. let's get a check on how we're setting up on this day after christmas trading session. the dow looking higher by about 15 points. s&p looking at about two points at the open. european markets closed on this day after christmas. the uk and france among those celebrating foxing day. we start off with, what else, retail. dips in spending in the mid-atlantic and northeast regions. luxury sales also weak. >> we're coming off the worst christmas eve for the dow since 2006. as the president cuts short his hawaiian vacation to deal with the fiscal cliff, just five days to go until we go over. >> threatening both coasts with workers snubbing up best and final contract offer. >> and more on the home front. we'll have more on the data and whether it can keep one of the best performing sectors of 2012, home builders going in 2013. >> data showing what some expe

. >> as your friend and our friend bob schiller said people are optimistic about the housing3 market.momentum from the fed super easy monetary policy and the fact that that you know, we are just coming back from all-time lows. we will likely see all-time continuation. dagen: do you think that they won't touch, that lawmakers will ever touch the interest deduction. you have grown manly men screaming like they are 3-year-old girls. >> i got hate mail. dagen: i am sure you did. >> particularly l.a., easy and new york. they will have to maybe. there aren't too many people. everyone wants the deduction. they will have to cut something. again, as i have been talking about over the week, you know, the automatic spending cuts that will go into place are only, get ready for this, 6% of the current budget deficit. it is not the budget cuts, automatic budget cuts, that people are screaming about. it is the taxes. i think it is an average $2500 per american household. that is not good. that will take something out of their demand for housing. dagen: oh, it sure will. that is showing up in everyon

so the trio spent the night in a makeshift schiller near a tree. members of the group remove -- were moved to tears when talking about the moment rescuers found them four miles down the canyon. >> they were like angels coming down the road. they were. i really thought we were done. we had no more propane very little food. one chance to make one call. thank god we got through. >> the irony of all of this, i put in 18 years with mountain rescue and i get to deal with the fact that mountain rescue rescued me. came to help our group out. i think i can work with the irony of that later on. >> reporter: for now, it's time to make up lost time with families. >> he's usually so punctual. i never hear the end if i don't tell him where i'm at all of the time. now he's not gonna hear the end of it. i'm gonna milk it for as much as i can. i'm happy he's back. >> that was laura rios reporting. crews called off the search for a drunk driving suspect who jumped into corte madera speak to fall off police. authorities found no sign of the suspect seen swimming away

schiller auto -- shillito step up here. open the floor for the nomination of presidential teller and vice presidential teller. i recognize barry terry for that purpose. >> [indiscernible] >> thank you. is there a second to those nominations? i recognize ms. hines. >> [indiscernible] >> are there any other nominations? hearing none, is there a motion to close the nominations? ms. hines? okay. is there any objection to clause in the nominations? hearing none, the nominations are closed. all in favor of the nominee please stay aye. all those opposed, saying they -- say nay. their folk -- -- therefore, mary jo shepard has been elected to serve as presidential teller and doreen abernathy has been elected to serve as vice presidential teller. if you would please take your seats at the podium. the electoral college of north carolina, having been duly organized, balloting for vice- president and president of the united states will begin. i would like to recognize art pope for the purpose of nominating mitt romney for president of t

we look for upward move on kay schiller. gross margin performance will beat street expectations. we're actually very comfortable being up there, if you look at toll numbers, if you look what we're looking for on a forecast for the national association of home builders, if we get to 950, that's going to be terrific. my call is that by the end of '13, our exit rate will be above 1 million. if we get there from a psychological standpoint, huge boost for investors. >> i'm curious about your call on toll and granted. your favorites of lennar, pulte and kd homes. also, they're more towards the high end of the spectrum which is not where you're expecting the biggest growth. >> correct. they dominate the luxury segment. their footprint is washington, d.c., to boston. extremely competent builder. we love the story fundamentally. we think the good news is reflected in the stock. >> a lot of experts say 950 is great. it's not average. if you're counting on first time buyers, that means you're counting on mortgage availability. is that