us airways.ith this teadeal, it is truly ready to roar. >> the house of pain. >> the house of pleasure. >> we have witnessed a series of mergers and southwest acquisition of airtran and we learned that the competition made the industry uninvestable is now gone. i have invested in two colleges and have two kids there. anyway, the entire country is now like alaska. because there is no real competition anywhere to be found. don't you love that? terrible if you are like a traveler. but in the old days this business was a nightmare. a competent ter of war. life in the airline was nasty, and short. since the airlines were in demnated not a single airline survived without going through bankruptcy. but in constant downward pressure on ticket prices. but after the resent span of consolidation. once the us airways deal goes through. we will be in a new world of hurt for travel evers and heaven for shareholders. they handle over 80% of domestic travel. in short, running a major airline is a viable business

but united and delta are larger than either american or us airways. this allows us to combine and create a third competitor to compete against those two airlines and provide global service for people around the world and i think it's good for competition. >> we had brian moynihan c.e.o. of bank america, and one of the conversations with bankers is too big to fail. is there any sense in the airline industry you can be too big to fail? >> i don't know. we certainly have had a lot of failures in tharily business, irrespective of size. we won't be the largest airline. we're marginally larger than united, marginally larga than delta. this isn't talking about creating the things we see in the banking industry in terms of scale and size. this is creating a third competitor with two airlines larger than us and giving customers one more choose. >> rose: do you remember the famous letter to stockholders washen buffet wrote? >> i think i do. >> rose: he lost his money, i think, in us airways or didn't do well, as did julian robertson as well, tiger fund. and he b

talking about american airlines wants to join forces with us airways.he government's going to have to approve of all of this. so the senate judiciary committee's questioning the heads of both companies. the committee's talking to that the merger could cause ning consumers more to fly. at the hearings and give us a sense of what the ceos are explaining this. they're in the hot seat. >> they are in the hot seat. you know they're saying this would be a good thing if this merger does happen if us airways is allowed to merge with american airlines it will create the largest u.s. airline. consumer advocates are calling potential merger a bad case of deja vu. 's why. in recent years we've seen mergers, we've seen six to be exact, in 2005 us airways and american west, they merged. several more in between. and the last one happened in 2011 when southwest merged with air tran. if american and us airways merge, and they do get that green light, consumers will only have three major airlines to pick from. so what does that mean for you the next time you book your fl

proposed merger of us airways has cleared another hurdle. it won approval from a federal bankruptcy judge. although he did express reservations about the package for the ceo. it needs the green light from us airways stockholders. >>> stephen cohen spending like there's no tomorrow. listen to this. earlier he made news when he bought this picasso for a record 155 million bucks. now we're learning from "the new york times" that he just spent 60 million bucks for a beachfront home on long island and he's now put his east side manhattan apartment on the market for 115 million bucks. >> oh, to be him. >> the picasso more than double the price of that incredible-looking beachfront house. >> i'm still saying that picasso does nothing for me. >> really? >> nothing. i'll take the beach home instead. >> yeah, me too, i think. >>> coming up on this thursday, a firefighter in the wrong place at the wrong time as a truck slips on ice running directly into him. >> incredible video there. >>> the historic winning streak by the miami heat is over. details a

the airline stocks are gliding higher, but does us airways have more room to fly?et ready to put your portfolio in the full upright position. and later, show stopper, you know ascena retail from the brands dress barn and lane bryant. today it was strutting its stuff on the wall street runway. cramer is trying its stock on for size when he talks to its ceo coming up on "mad money." >>> tonight i'm going to recommend the stock of an airline. an industry i have hated since my early days as a broker at the goldman sachs. i used to say you should never own an airline, because the business is filled with ruinous competition that made it impossible for these companies to turn a profit. if you couldn't resist, i said all right enough, enough. alaska air. alaska was one place where there was no real competition. last night, john, a shrewd observer of the market asked us about u.s. airways. lcc, i know. symbol lcc, for all you home gamers. i had to respond. in the past i would have said sell sell sell. i mean that is how bad this industry was. but like dylan tells us, the ti

. >>> now to that brazen attempt on board a us airways flight. a man posing as a pilot, walking right into the cockpit and taking a seat. abc's david kerley tonight on the co-pilot who smartly began asking questions. >> reporter: it was a us airways jetliner in philly that this man was able to sneak into the cockpit with a ticket and dressed like a pilot. that landed 61-year-old french man phillipe jernnard into a jail cell tonight. authorities tell us jernnard was wearing an air france logo shirt and leather jacket. he asked for an upgrade at the gate. he was denied and said, "that's why i hate americans." he then boarded the plane, but instead of going to his seat, he entered the cockpit. he sat down in one of the airplane's jumpseats. in that cockpit, the co-pilot started asking questions. jernnard says he flies 747s. then, the gate agent enters the cockpit, recognizing the passenger and tells the frenchman to leave. police are called and they discover that jernnard has a crude, fake air france i.d. >> well, it's concerning because we don't kn

. >>> the world's largest airline, a bankruptcy judge has approved the merger between us airways and american, the combined airline will fly some 6700 flights daily. >>> now, to cyprus, where the stock exchange is closed again today but bank, open for the first time since march 16th, amid increased security as everyone waits to see if restrictions on customers from draining their accounts will hold and prevent a run on the banks. >>> and a new survey appearing in "the wall street journal" shows that in 42% of companies low-performing employees are often the happiest and most engaged. they end up with the easiest jobs while the most dedicated workers end up staying late and conferring for the low-performers. >>> straight ahead, when robberies go terribly wrong and the sweet 16 tips off. next. you're watching "early today." >>> now, to some other storys it that caught our eye this morning. in detroit, michigan, the morning commute turned into a giant mess for a few drivers. a tv news camera captured an explosion of metals as one vehicle barreled into a couple of cars waiting to change

the same thing will happen after us airways merge with amr. we came out after the u.s. and amr deal it was titled and i quote, service cuts may follow merger of airlines, end quote. the times quoted a transportation economist who said, quote, it's much easier to have tacit collusion, tacit collusion, emphasis me, with just three airlines, end quote. how many other slap happy industries do you know where companies can tacitly collude to raise prices without going to some hotel room to get the job done properly. what's the best way to play airline oligopoly besides getting the board game? you know why i like u.s. airways to play with amr as amr is currently in bankruptcy. delta is in excellent shape. they only have one deal with one unionized work group, the pilots which they have a decent relationship with so i'm not worried. united continental also works and we're seeing synergy and the corporate focus makes it a good bet where the environment is growing. if you had to own an airline it should be alaska air because there's no more competition and it looks more and more

that's why i expect the profits to come in for us airways when it completes its merger with amr. capacity takeout, just when you'd expect additional planes and routes to come online. i can't wait for "squawk box" tomorrow where the ceo of u.s. air's going to be on. i'll bet you he comes with my thesis that nobody's building, so the profits are coming! don't build more cars, the profits will come. that's the heart of the rental car business. right now there aren't enough autos to go around. the consolidation in the space is immense, the price increases are bountiful. if it weren't for hurricane sandy, pricing may not have been all that tight, but right now getting a rental car is difficult because of the capacity constraints. how can you not want to own hertz in that situation? don't build it, and the profits will come to the refiners! this business has been hellish because the profit margins were so horrendous for so many years and the competition way too vibrant, but there hasn't been a new refining build in this country in nearly 40 years. many have been taken out of service, e

american airlines ceo is being replaced by the chief executive officer of us airways, as soon as the two companies complete their merger. a trustee overseeing american airlines bankruptcy objects to the payout. american says bankruptcy code does not apply because the payout will be made by the new airline after the merger pulls it out of bankruptcy. >>> ebay is taking aim at amazon overhauling fees for sellers on the website. starting in april, ebay will let sellers list items for free. ebay will charge 4% to 10% items sold. the new fees are lower than amazon, which charges between 6 and 15% per item. >> sticking with the tech world, yahoo! on top to buy a stake in one of the world's most popular online video websites, daily motion.com. "wall street journal" reporting it could be worth around $300 million. google adding a filter to its image search to make it easier to search for gifts. gifts are the looping images edited together to make up a short video clip. you can see that horse trotting. to help find those gifts, go to google image search page. click search tools button and swi

. >>> bankruptcy judge could approve american airlines plan to merge with us airways, creating the world's largest airline. the judge could also give american more time to come up with a reorganization plan. the $11 billion merger must still be approved by u.s. regulators. back to you. >> thank you, courtney. >>> google took on sweden and won. the search engine was able to remove the turn -- term, rather, ungoogable. the list includes words not in the dictionary but are part of common speech. on googleable refers to something that cannot be found on the web. but google wanted to change the definition. the language council of sweden just took it off. >> wouldn't it be easier to say you can't google it? >> it would be for me. >> most people. >>> meteorologist christina loren is joining us now. it's a nice morning out there. >> it is. it's funny how the whole world goes to google every day and goog sl right here in our own backyard. oh, look, there's groupon. we have a good-looking day shaping up. same with internet highway cities. looking good today. los gatos, palo alto. watch out in the si

. >>> and today a federal bankruptcy judge could approve the merger of american airlines and us airways, or he could give american more time to file a reorganization plan. government regulators would have to approve the merger. both airlines say they expect to close the deal by september. >>> all right, the auto industry gearing up for its big new york show this week. cadillac unveiling a new version of its cts midsize sedan. although its major changes are on the inside, the jeep cherokee is back. they have a less boxy style and a lot of luxury options there. and honda's top of the line 2014 odyssey minivan, it has a first, a built-in vacuum cleaner. how about that? it's the brainchild of a honda engineer after a messy family trip. not a bad idea. >> one reason to get a minivan. >>> casino owner steve wynn has sold picasso's "la reve" to billionaire financier steven cohen once again. the price this time is $155 million, the most ever paid by a u.s. collector for a work of art. wynn had previously agreed to sell it to cohen seven years ago, but then he accidentally put his elbow through

a bankruptcy judge approves the merger between us airways and american.he combined airline will fly some 6,500 flights daily. >>> now to cyprus where the stock exchange is closed today, but banks are open for the first time since march 16th amid increased security as virtually everyone waits to see if the restrictions on customers from draining their accounts will hold and prevent a run on the banks. >>> casino mogul steve wynn has his sights set again on massachusetts, this time in everett, with a $1.3 billion plan which includes a 19-story hotel with 550 suites, some of them the size of a single-family home. it would also create 4,000 permanent jobs, if approved. >>> a new survey appearing in the "wall street journal" shows that in 42% of companies, so-called low-performing employees are often the happiest and most engaged. they end up with the easiest jobs while the most dedicated workers end up staying late and covering for the low performers. makes so much sense. >>> straight ahead, when robberies go terribly wrong. and the sweet 16 get ready to tip

than a senate hearing on the airline merger for us airways >> tomorrow on "washington journal" a discussion on president obama's trip to the middle east with nathan guttman and said arikat. the plante will discuss importance of presidential press conferences. and they guessed from the brookings institute. -- and a guest from the brookings institute. "washington journal" live at 7 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> you can take pictures of the brain with m ir scans and see the whole thing. there is this enormous gap in between on how the circuits in the brain functions in order to move my hands were looking you in process that information or to lay down a memory. we do not know how it works. a lot of this will be technologies that will be devout. a lot of this will be nano technologies. we need to be able to record thousands of brain cells at the same time and understand how the circuits work. that is a brain at to the map that is being talked about. we do not really have a map for , but it is is an exciting moment to put something together. nih directorthe dr. francis collins sunday night on c-span

we have talked about this with the airlines where my favorite right now are us airways for its merger with amr as well as spirit airlines for the ultra low cost growth play. people at jim cramer on twitter, ask the other airlines, those are the ones i like the best. the rental care oligopoly, hertz and railroads where i favor the short line. no, i don't, i favor norfolk southern. that's for a coal rebound. and especially kansas city southern for shale and autos up from mexico. and one more sector to put on the oligopoly board and that's the refiners. this may seem like an industry with too many players to be an oligopoly, cvr, then you have the big integrated oils with the internal refineries, exxon mobil, chevron, for the moment, hess. however, the nature of the refining business is such that it is almost impossible for the new competitor to break into the industry. you have existing refineries and that's it. if you happen to be an incumbent refinery, you'll do very well. why is this industry so protected from competition? for starters, the united states is an expired industry. from

the ceos of american, us airways, and delta have come out against it.backlash against the tsa's plan. and he's now in a position to defend it. his argument on this is that the tsa spends entirely too much time looking for these small knives. it's a waste of time and they pose no threat to the cockpit, because now we have a hardened cockpit door. you can't get through the door to get into the cockpit. and they need to instead be focusing on explosives that can, in fact, bring down the plane. the flight attendants argue, listen, we're the ones in t bhe back there. we've gone 11 years without having knives allowed. we already have people who are hot and angry because it's so tight inside these cabins now, because there's not a lot of room. we don't need to reintroduce knives into that equation. and the air marshals themselves have come out dpeagainst the ts plan. it's a growing tide of anger and resentment toward this plan and we'll see how long it lasts or whether in fact it will stand. >> tom costello, thanks very much. let's bring in mary schiavo, mary,

american airlines joins us airways and a flight attendants union in possessing this plan.artisan effort is under way in the house to stop it. democratic congressman ed markey of massachusetts has introduced the no knives act, which is being co-sponsored by republican michael grimm of new york. >>> trending this morning the boy scouts of america currently considering lifting their long-standing ban on gays. they sent out a questionnaire to parents and members about the issue. it's more than a simple, should gays be allowed or not. it takes it further. it asks if gay and straight scouts should be allowed to share the same tent or should an eagle scout who comes out be banned? >> and also trending, could there really have been life on mars? now we may know. the mars rover curiosity produced a startling discovery in the first robot drilling ever on the red planet. a chemical analysis of the powder dug up shows conditions did exist that could have supported life. the mission's chief scientist even said the water that flowed there 3 billion years ago would have been drinkable. >

the broadband beneath us and airways all around us on the roads, ports and denounce of the 21st century. the challenge is just as you suggested, making sure we have enough spectrum in a pipeline to meet the demand of that infrastructure. i think what we're going to have to do moving ahead though is identify ways to make sure that our federal users of spectrum are rewarded when they use it efficiently. if they use it efficiently, they should see some gain whether that's through appropriations or budgeting or some other system. and if they use it efficiently they will return more spectrum for commercial use and will have more in the pipeline which will help grow our wireless economy. >> i agree. the problem in terms of more intensive spectrum use, the devices were using today, are sometimes more aid intensive than a simple cell phone was 15 years ago. so there's a need on the consumer side. federal spectrum come one of the processes that is established now under as modified by the legislation last year, notification an auction process because i outlined, that is an established process by

a bankruptcy court has signed off on the merger of us airways and amr.he judge rejected the proposed $20 million severance package for the outgoing ceo tom horton. shares up 0.7% in germany. that's outperforming the market. >>> the pentagon cutting the number of unpaid furlough days civilian workers will have to take over the next several moss from 22 to 14. the deal is 5i78d at reducing the budget cuts on the sequester. the u.s. military faced $43 billion in cuts that kicked in march 1st. congress shifted funds around to give the pint gone more leeway. under the new plan, furloughs won't begin until mid-june. >>> and steve cohen has been on a spending spree. reports earlier this week say the hedge fund titan bought a picasso painting for $150 million. now he's plunking down $60 million for a home in the hamptons. these move come as a judge today is set to consider a settlement between the s.e.c. and ac capital under which the firm would pay $16 million in the largest ever insider trading case. >>> google is slapping the made in the usa label on its glas

us airways. this is a company that is in the process of trying to merge with american airlines.have typically not earned their cost of camepital t this suggests they might be able to get some under control. only two weeks ago, up about 25%. paying $1.10 for those. >> coming up next, it is the biggest week so far this year for i p pos. a look at the potential winners and losers and later on fast money madness, we are feature i inging the most talked about stocks in the market and you weigh in as a fifth trader. back right after this. ♪ [ cows moo ] [ sizzling ] more rain... [ thunder rumbles ] ♪ [ male announcer ] when the world moves... futures move first. learn futures from experienced pros with dedicated chats and daily live webinars. and trade with papermoney to test-drive the market. ♪ all on thinkorswim. from td ameritrade. only hertz gives you a carfirmation. hey, this is challenger. i'll be waiting for you in stall 5. it confirms your reservation and the location your car is in, the moment you land. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. ♪ ♪ no t

american airlines ceo is being replaced by the chief executive of us airways as soon as the two companiese that merger. trustee overseeing american airlines bankruptcy objected to this monster payout. american says bankruptcy code does not apply because the payout would be made by the new airline after the merger pulls it out of bankruptcy. >>> ebay taking aim at amazon by overhauling its fees for sellers on its website. starting in april, ebay will let sellers list any item for free. ebay will now charge between 4% and 10% per item sold. new fees are lower than amazon, which charges between 6% and 15% per item. >>> yahoo! is in talks to buy a stake in one of the world's most popular online video websites, dailymotion.com. "the wall street journal" reporting daily motion could be valued somewhere around $300 million. >>> google adding a new filter to make it easier for you to search for those looping images ed edited together to make up a short clip. click the search tools button, then everyone is to any type to animate it. >> little education to go with that. all right. >>> 6:58. let's g

. >> good airline cards are delta sky miles, american express, southwest, and us airways dividend miles dollar spent, you get two miles or two points. >> if you do not fly a particular airline the bank card is the way to go. you can earn rewards on the purchases you make and use them to buy tickets. >> there is another plus, bank cards are not subject to blackout dates. points do not usually expire. good bad banks american express premiere rewards goal. the chase safire, preferred visa or mastercard. and premium travel reward american express. a benefit with all three is that there is no annual fee the first year. if you choose a travel card wisely, a great vacation can well be in reach. if you are a member self frequent flying programs you will be better off with just one of the high-end american express bang cards like amx premiere awards because those cards let you transfer earned points to a number of airlines. >> 6:26. oakland hired help gets busy. still ahead at 6:30 the first visit from new police consultant. >> but, first, flag draped cassettes in santa cruz, the final respects

. >>> a man is busted for impersonating a pilot on a us airways flight wearing an air france uniformnd fake credentials. we're told he sweet talked his way into the cockpit. when the real pilot arrived, philadelphia police arrested him on the spot. >>> michael jackson's daughter, paris jackson, questioned about the days leading up to her father's death. her testimony is part of the lawsuit. lawyers for aeg tried to question 10-year-old blanket but a doctor warned it would be detrimental. >>> now back to the panel. joining us, david serota and theresa will, deputy editor for "essence magazine." welcome to all of you, especially the new ones that just showed up. let's talk got gop and the g-a-y-s. same sex marriage starting with senator saxby chambliss making sure everyone knows he's not gay. did you know he's not gay? when asked by politico if he would consider changing his views on gay marriage, the georgia republican said, quote, i am not gay, so i'm not going to marry one. let's remember, just a few days ago, the gop released an autopsy on the party to help it figure out how to bes

. >> the merger between american airlines and us airways has blessing of federal bankruptcy judge but he is skeptical about a $20 million severance package for the american c.e.o. >> gas prices are falling headed into easter weekend at $3.65 for an average, less than a week ago, and the average baseball major league team is now worth almost three quarters of a billion, which is 23 percent more than last year. the most valuable teams are the boston red sox, los angeles dodgers and the new york yankees. that is america's money. that is america's money. [ woman ] don't forget the yard work! okay. [ male announcer ] with citibank's popmoney, dan can easily send money by email right from his citibank account. nice job ben. [ male announcer ] next up, the gutters. citibank popmoney. easier banking. standard at citibank. makes it easy for anne to manage her finances when she's on the go. even when she's not going anywhere. citibank for ipad. easier banking. standard at citibank. >> novato, oakland, sunnyvale, and all the bay area, this is abc7 news. >> good thursday morning. it is 5:12. it l

even without the pending merger of amr and us airways, it it's done an enormous amount of good. quarter will be profitable and something you rarely see because the first quarter of the year is the hardest of the airlines. the last time they had a profitable march quarter was 2000 and back then it cost 62 cents a gallon and it was radically more expensive and 3 1/4 a gallon and that's a $2 headwind for delta and they're still going to be able to make some money this quarter. not bad. all of this consolidation has a lot of airlines like delta to layoff thousands of employees and you take out excess capacity by reducing the number of hub airports while also raising airfares and charging customers additional fees and if you want to understand the power of the new airline, oligopoly, you know what you've got to do. you've got to listen to the critics, the american antitrust institute in the business travel coalition came out with the report last year that talked about, and i quote, troubling metamorphosis of the industry from one in which hub airports were designed to accommodate mul

police say he boarded a us airways flight in philadelphia, wearing what pardon to be an air france uniform, and then talked his way into the cockpit. he was found out when he was questioned by the crew. he was arrested and he's now being held on a $1 million bail while a lot more questions need to be answered about how he got as far as he did. >>> in arizona, the jurors are asking questions, may have a lot of them for jodi arias, and now they've got a lot of questions for the person who's backing her. so the defense psychologist gets grilled with more than 100 different questions alone. we're going to highlight the top ten and what they might say about what this jury is thinking as this trial gets closer to an end. they're coming. yeah. british. later. sorry. ok...four words... scarecrow in the wind... a baboon... monkey? hot stew saturday!? ronny: hey jimmy, how happy are folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico? jimmy: happier than paul revere with a cell phone. ronny: why not? anncr: get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. dad: you exci

amr, the bankrupt parent of american airlines receiving court approval to merge with us airways, this's largest airline. one caveat, though. the claus in the merger agreement, a $19.9 million severance package for tom horton, who is amr's outgoing chief executive, not approved by the judge. the judge saying he will issue a written ruling, explaining his decision regarding that severance package, which did bring an objection from the department of justice. back to you guys. >> the plot thickens, then. thank you, josh, very much. so the federal reserve's role as central bank and guardian of the economy may be expanding. our wealth editor, robert frank, on cnbc.com, noting that the fed is taking a keen interest now in america's wealth gap and may consider that gap in future policy decisions. >> robert joins us now with more on this developing story, along with financial economist, lindsay piegsa. robert, i hear from my mother-in-law all the time. she's got her mother in the bank and she's not making any money on her money and she feels poorer as a result of that. is that a part of this o

this happened on a us airways flight from philly to florida. philippe general najernnard.r the pocket and he was carrying a blackjack et, looked just like a pilot's jacket, and the gold pe

so a bankruptcy judge has approved the us airways merger with american airlines. our buddy doug -- >> we had him here yesterday. >> but the judge did not approve a $20 million severance package for the outgoing ceo tom horton. >> this was always my issue. >> have anything to do with stiffing horton? >> no. the judge says. >> he plans to issue a written decision at a later date to detail his reasoning and you saw doug parker on "squawk box" yesterday. here is what he said. >> we do well independently. it's about being able to kept connect more passengers to more places. us airways hire holders. he was dealing -- that was american, too, back then. >> back in the day. they've go the gone through the this a couple of times. >> right. they were doing later stuff and then it came out. but whoa got a great example with ben lachey yesterday. transactions were getting paid like minimum wage. people can go work somewhere else. >> people have said, oh, those top executives should have known. but lachey's point was each of those guys was responsible right there. . >> speaking

and next, "squawk box" takes plight with us airways ceo doug parker.e're going to talk about his deal with american, consolidation in the industry and much more. i want to talk about are there any more flights left anywhere? >> that's what i want to hear about, too. >> a lot to talk about. >> a little more expensive. >> for shareholders, though. >> i don't own any. >> as we head to break, a look at yesterday's winners and losers. ♪ she drives me crazy ♪ zap technology. arrival. with hertz gold plus rewards, you skip the counters, the lines, and the paperwork. zap. it's our fastest and easiest way to get you into your car. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. otherworldly things. but there are some things i've never seen before. this ge jet engine can understand 5,000 data samples per second. which is good for business. because planes use less fuel, spend less time on the ground and more time in the air. suddenly, faraway places don't seem so...far away. ♪ ♪ >>> good morning. welcome back to "squawk box" here on cnbc. i'm joe

with the merger of us airways and american airlines, we are confident we can do that. ob our demand in 2005 decisions to combine. -- drove our decisions to combine. compelling isso that u.s. airways, american airlines networks are so complementarity. out of the more than 900 domestic nonstop routes, we only overlap on 12 nonstop flights. that means we are going to need all of the aircraft, all of the , and will retain service to all the communities we serve independently after the merger. the merged airline which will retain the american name will provide thousands of passengers better alternatives including more than 1300 new connecting opportunities and access to numerous cities worldwide. we will create a truly global carrier with the ability to compete in markets and against airlines around the world. the new american airlines will enhance global commission -- competition. the new american will enhance one world's competitiveness and expand international choices for millions of consumers in all regions of the country, but in particular the eastern united states. the

we had the big america american-us airways. we knew it was coming. it actually happened.t for the industry? >> i think so. there are really, if there are any others it will be small guys and they aren't going to be big enough to have a real impact. we have all the big ones put together. we are down to the four. we'll have american, delta, united and southwest airtran coming together. once you get past that, jetblue, frontier, and a fuel smaller guys none of them see it geographically such it makes sense or even more importantly the managements don't seem too interested trying to put things together. so i think this is probably it. ashley: fewer options for the consumer normally means higher prices. can we expect air fares to rise slowly? >> i think you will see modestly, maybe with inflation. but i think more importantly what probably will cause people to complain as if there were higher prices, it will be without new capacity coming on and with a little bit of growth in gdp, you probably see that it is tougher and tougher to find really cheap seats. occasion 59, 79, $89

if you move to the left here you have united, us airways, southwest but the big news on delta hittingek high it expects its first first quarter profit in over a decade, you guys. big news coming from delta this morning. that is moving shares higher. the unit revenue, the amount it takes in per passenger per flown miles, they expect to be up 4 1/2, 5 1/2%. some big news out of delta. we're looking at broader market. the dow jones industrial average is down 16 points but this isn't a huge loss. we're looking at 14,073 for the dow. keep in mind the all-time high, we're still not far from there, that it is 14,164. not many traders down here think we'll hit it today but it is still in play. melissa: sandra, thank you very much. >> thank you. lori: as you saw from sandra's report stocks are trying to reach all-time high for a week but if you look at charts my next guest says we'll see a pullback before the s&p 500 hits a new record. we have katie stockton. >> hi. lori: you sent us this chart. it is the s&p 500 over the last year. the blue line is 200 day moving average. it only dipped below

because they don't give up the airways, there's no airways to sell to the mobile carriers to the people who sell us our blackberries and smart phones. in the steps, what can be done to alaw the broadcasters' concerns? >> right. i'm the only person left in the commission who is a veteran of the two largest spectrum auctions in u.s. history, one in 2006 and one in 2008, and i learned a lot with those auctions, and one is to keep it as simple as you can. one question i have, and i have not drawn conclusions, but is whether or not the idea of combining that reverse auction i talked about with the forwards auction in a simultaneous way, is that overly complex and giving potential bidders and broadcasters enough data to make their decision? there are theories on both sides of that, but i think we need to think about do we keep that opaque black box, have a reverse and forward auction when the bidders are not sure what it is that's available to bid on, and then in the meantime, it's supposed to be a software put out for comment and public inspection that helps with the repacking program. after each biddin

this man is in custody right now accused of impersonating a pilot on a us airways plane.cockpit. >> he's conversing with the first officer and the captain and wants to sit in the jump seat. >> outrageous. unheard of. i'm really shocked. >> the flight crew became suspicious after the man started arguing with the pilots. he's being held on $1 million bail and he's charged with trespassing, impersonating a public servant and lying to police. >>> heartbreak this morning as authorities try to figure out what caused an airport flight display board to collapse on a family killing a 10-year-old boy, critically injuring his mother and hurting his two brothers. it happened in a new section of the airport in alabama. it took six men to lift the sign off the family. larry schneider was one of them. >> the family was crushed. the little kid was crushed underneath the sign. and everybody was scattering to lift it up. i helped pull people out. >> the family was returning to home to kansas from spring break in florida. >>> in georgia, two teen boys are in jail on murder charges for alleg

on the us airways/american merger.diciary committee looking into the impact the deal might have on competition. the ceos of both airlines will appear. many analysts don't expect ticket prizes to rise, because there isn't much overlap between usair and american. still airline mergers are often heated and messy. complaints about lost bags, screwed up reservations, delayed flights typically soar after two airlines combine their reservation systems. we'll continue to watch the big airline merger. >> always has the potential to be a hot mess. >> yeah. >> take a look live at the vatican. the pope now greeting the leaders from around the world. we'll tell you what he says in his next -- before his inaugural mass this morning. take you back live to rome coming up next. and then today marks ten years since the invasion of iraq. coming up john's powerful conversation with american -- to run the country after saddam hussein fled. today is gonna be an important day for us. you ready? we wanna be our brother's keeper. what's number

three major carriers, delta, american, and us airways, oppose this plan. >>> 48 minutes after the hourf "rocky ii" take a look at this. wow. two fighter goes down at the same time. who wins, what happens? stay with us. if youthen this willbrids arbe a nice surprise. meet the 5-passenger ford c-max hybrid. c-max come. c-max go. c-max give a ride to everyone it knows. c max has more passenger volume than competitor prius v and we haven't even mentioned... c-max also gets better mpg. say hi to the super fuel efficient ford c-max hybrid. like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec® at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air. the lakers kobe bryant hurt his ankle pretty bad last night after stepping on a defender's foot. he's not happy about it all all of t it went down. >> greenberg is here with more on that. >> yes, this is the worse kind of loss. a painful loss to the lakers, clinging to the final playoff spot in the western conference. l.a. fell in atlanta and that's t

police say he went up to the us airways gate in philly, he showed a fake air france id card and a coachest palm beach, florida, and he asked if he could get an upgrade. they told him, no. but once he got on the plain, he was still finish plane, he was still trying to get up close and personal with the flight crew. >> he portrayed himself as a pilot, and he gained access to the cockpit. it was a few minutes after that that they learned that he wasn't, was not a pilot, and police were called. well, it's concerning because we don't know what his designs were. i mean, he could be anything from just wanting to take a look at the cockpit to some other criminal designs. >> reporter: we may never know. along with everything else, he evidently did a lot of screaming about hating americans. he is being charged with a number of things, including imperts nateing a pilot. -- impersonating a pilot. federal investigators have taken over this case. uma: wow. a bizarre story, rick. thank you very much. jon: right now president obama meeting with jordan's king abdullah behind closed doors as we await a j

a french man is arrested for impersonating a pilot on an us airways flight. man boarded the plane wearing what appeared to be an air france uniform. he talked his way into the cockpit. his lie was uncovered when the actual pilot arrived for work. >>> the faa ax falls today. some of the nation's smaller airports will find out if air traffic controllers will continue to work. it's money versus safety. we'll be back. at od, whatever business you're in, that's the business we're in. with premium service like one of the best on-time delivery records and a low claims ratio, we do whatever it takes to make your business our business. od. helping the world keep promises. you know who you are. you can part a crowd, without saying a word... if you have yet to master the quiet sneeze... you stash tissues like a squirrel stashes nuts... well muddlers, muddle no more. try zyrtec®. it gives you powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because zyrtec® starts working at hour one on the first day you take it. claritin® doesn't start working until hour

. >>> and american airlines and us airways are taking off on their merger.pproved the $11 billion airline union but declined a severance package for the ceo of american's parent company, amr. >>> a town crushed and forgotten. more than two years after that deadly earthquake and tsunami crashed into zjapan, the town once bustling with 21,000 people, now sits empty. these folks banned from returning to this area, this is still contaminated from radiation from the crippled fukushima nuclear plant. we now have pictures, thanks to google maps, look at this with me, they are trucking to take photos that this part of the world is really frozen in time. chad myers here to walk us through the pictures. this is four miles away from the power plant? >> a town basically where a lot of the people who worked at the plant would live. now it's devastating. it's hard to imagine that this town where people's lives, businesses, things going, schools, all of a sudden it's gone. finally for the first time they've allowed google to drive their car in there with the camera on top.

when you have the old legacy, amr, deltas, us airways tiup, they were cheap because they were so bad.miller staying with us. so are you. when we come back, breaking numbers on inflation. cpi numbers for february. but we can still help you see your big picture. with the fidelity guided portfolio summary, you choose which accounts to track and use fidelity's analytics to spot trends, gain insights, and figure out what you want to do next. all in one place. i'm meredith stoddard and i helped create the fidelity guided portfolio summary. it's one more innovative reason serious investors are choosing fidelity. now get 200 free trades when you open an account. transit fares! as in the 37 billion transit fares we help collect each year. no? oh, right. you're thinking of the 1.6 million daily customer care interactions xerox handles. or the 900 million health insurance claims we process. so, it's no surprise to you that companies depend on today's xerox for services that simplify how work gets done. which is...pretty much what we've always stood for. with xerox, you're ready for real business

. >> the merger between american airlines and us airways approved clearing the path for them to losecombined, the new airline will have 6,700 flights a day and nearly 25,000 people a day angry because they are leaving late and arriving late with an annual revenue of $50 billion. we added some stuff there. >> a little bit. the "chicago tribune." hundreds demonstrators in the streets. the head of the chicago teachers union reinforced that belief bluntly saying let's not pretend that is not racist. city officials say the closures are necessary to help cut the city's looming billion dollar deficit. >> that is a huge story that we underplay, the media in general underplay. the closing of all of those schools in the city of chicago. huge story. >>> the boston herald. the mayor is expected to announce he will not seek a sixth term in office. the 70-year-old democrat will make his official yesterday. his office said the plan did plan to make an announcement. he has faced health issues. the last 60 years, boston has had only five mayors. five mayors in 60 years. >> if i ever refuse to confirm

. >> us airways. >> lcc. this is my favorite airways.ing much higher. >> steeple raising the target for kraft. >> i did that because we've got bob on and kraft is pinnacle. >> bernstein likes micron. >> they made an acquisition. it is working. >> dollar general pricing sector. >> you know what? everyone's worked on these dollar generals. i think you should be in it. >> few second to spare then. what's coming up tonight? >> we have paychecks. that's a very good gauge about whether people are hiring. then i got an old friend, fred hassan. this had guy is the turnaround par excellence. he's chairman of avon now. i think the main focus will be can they inject this kind of culture that he has at the companies that he ksh he's also worked at boush and laum. ♪ >>> let's get to the road map for the next hour. blackberry defying all the pessimism on the street posting a surprise profit in the quarter. stock seeing violent swings today as investors digest the news. we'll sort through all of it, the z-10 shipments, and whether or not the bottom is

it needs the extra time to in corporate its merger with us airways. >>> if you haven't been paying any24 hours or so, we have a pope. he greeted tens of thousands crowd indeed a rainy st. peter's square yesterday. the former archbishop of buenos aries. cnbc's mary thompson will be here shortly with more on the new leader of the catholic church. >>> a number of important economic tasks before the bell this morning. weekly jobless claims. february producer price index. and the fourth quarter current account. benefits are seen rising by 10,000 to 350,000. likely increases by 0.7. core component ticked higher by 0.1%. >>> private equity deal maker jay jordan is joining us now, chairman and managing principal of the jordan company. also mike santolli, finance senior columnist. jay, welcome to the set. great to see you again. >> thank you. it's great to be here. all right. private equity had rough years when we were looking at all the troubled markets that were out there. now that we're seeing new highs how does that change things? >> it is pretty robust right now. still remains very competi