Families and others hit by this senseless tragedy. The horror of the story may have muted trading on wall street today, as all priorities are being rearranged in a moment, and we will get you caught up on these markets in just a moment, but first we want to let you know. President obama is set to make a statement on this tragedy from the white house around 3 15 eastern. Our john harwood is in washington with some more details on what we know right now. John . Reporter well, bill, the horror of this tragedy is also muted talk of anything else in washington for the day, including the fiscal cliff and all the issues that weve been discussing for some time now, but one of the jobs of a president is to console victims and to console the nation at a time of grief of this magnitude, so were going to hear from the president at 3 15. Jay carney earlier saying he wasnt going to discuss issues like gun control. It wasnt a day for politics. Its a day to focus on the victims of the tragedy, so you can expect the president is going to focus his remarks on the victims and what happened in connecticut and the attempt to figure out how it happened, why it happened. Well hear from him at 3 15, and were going to bring that to you, and well talk about it afterwards. All right, john, thank you very much. Of course, we often talk about how the markets are a mood reflector, and if thats the case, we very much see a market that is subdued today by all of this news. Right now the dow near the lows of the session. We havent seen a whole lot of volatility so far today. The dow down about 30, 35 points at this hour. Lets get to todays closing bell exchange. Theres the dow down 36. In fact, its sitting on the lows of the session at 13,135. Danny hughes is with us from Divine Capital and Mark Spellman from value line funds and joe greco on the flor with Meridian Equity Partners and our Rick Santelli is standing by in chicago. Rearranged priorities on this, and the market really reflects that. Absolutely does, bill. A hard day to trade when youre so focused on the tragedy thats unfolding in front of us, and as the mother of a kindergartner and a preschool child my heart goes out to these families. Its a real terrible thing. We do have business to conduct though in washington. We do. And when we last left that story it appeared there was very little progress made. How do you invest in that kind of an environment . Even less is happening frankly, so, you know what, we have to do is still keep our eye on the ball and have to believe that at some point something will further itself, whether it happens whether we go over the cliff or before that. Reinvest in companies that are dividend payers, that have an efficiency paradigm so whether they are investing in smart energy or automation or Something Like that, thats where we look, and we also like the tsunami of the baby boomers that are going to be retiring as well. Thats where were looking. Thats coming at some point. Mark spellman, youre feeling like a lot of people that this is going to go down to the wire. Do you take a waitandsee attitude when youre investing . Do you place a position . What do you do in the meantime . They have got so far into it, and i think in everybodys best interest. For some reason they cant hear your mike. I can hear you through my ear piece fine. Well check your mike in just a moment. Joe greco, what about the tone of the trading that weve seen here, a very headlinedriven market but its also been a very lightly traded market this week and not a whole lot of volatility. What do you make of all of that . We have low volumes, low volatility kind of flattens out the market. Youre trading on levels and seeing a lot of technical trading. Those people getting in and out are doing it on a tactical basis and trying to find great ideas but on a day like today, unfortunately, the somber tone is ringing true and really added to what apple is doing by the broad market by dragging it low, and i guess at this point to throw out a trading, you know, concept in the way we kind of look at things. At some people look at things and say, hey, be the gun manufacturers, and maybe you even want to look at the video gamemakers that make the violent games because thats the followon story that comes out of this if you can take away from the heart strings being pulled of whats going on in newtown and look back at the screens and try to put on a position. We show you a scene from the white house where the president will soon be speaking about this tragedy. That is scheduled to begin around 3 15. Well take you live when that happens. Mark, i think your mike is working there now. Were talking about how you what you do as an investor while we still wait for some sort of resolution out of washington. I think you try to use the volatility to your advantage. We go into every stock position knowing where we want to buy it, where we want to sell it, and you just stick to that and when stocks get there, you buy them. For instance, i think apple is a buy today. A couple weeks ago it wasnt so much, but you stay true to exactly your entry points and your exit points, and, again, i think this is going to be a brinksmanship situation. If i had to pick a day im picking new years eve for when they come to a deal because everybody wants to leave saying they tried their hardest, so when they go back to their constituents, they can say, you know, im all bloodied up and everything i could get i got. Right. Try and do their best there. Rick santelli, this was a week where a lot of the socalled safe havens were sold off, even as we fear that the safe haven or the fiscal cliff is going to be facing us soon rather than later. Gold down sharply and treasuries down with yields going up. What did you make of all of that . I think from the commodities side it gets very difficult because the dollar is weaker, but theres somewhat of a glut in commodities and questions about china. If we just look at Interest Rates in general, they were definitely up on the week, but they were not up as extreme as they were right after the fed. They were up only about half, and i really think if you want to summarize the week, it was about foreign exchange. The dollar did great against the yen this week, but it still had a horrible dollar index finish because the euro was screaming and continues to scream. I think well have to continue to handicap quantitative easing with all Central Banks which we might get knorr more news of sunday night with the japanese elections. And they are yes, and we are expecting to hear more quantitative easing coming out of Japanese Bank as well. Danny hughes, can you look beyond the fiscal cliff and try to make bets with your investments . Plenty of people, a lot of wall street houses coming out with their forecasts for 2013, and virtually all of them are very bullish for that year, but we still have to get past this critical moment in washington. We do, and its a great time of year for sales, as weve seen both on the retail end when you go to the mall and also in the stock market as our other guest mentioned. Mark said theres a lot of belle weathers going on. Would you buy apple here . Absolutely. Bellwethers, you know, will be bellwethers to come, and i think youre buying these stocks for their longterm perspective. Youre not i mean, if youre a day trader you obviously have a different perspective, but if youre an investor over the long haul, youre looking for yield and looking for companies that will stay true to task. Companies that will go on sale. Its a great opportunity and great time to do that. As we show you the chart there, this is a stock that has become a bellwether for this market and it has suffered greatly the last several weeks here. No question. I think its a question of where you buy it, not if you buy it, and when i come to that i look at whats the worst case snareio. I really do think the worst Case Scenario is probably 450 a share. In the scheme of things, 10 , 12 downside. I think upside is 720, so we have a very good risk reward profile in apple. Id be buy right here. Folks, thank you. We must move on. More news coming our way for this friday, but we thank you for your thoughts. Thank you, bill. And ideas on the markets here. Weve got some big names hitting record highs today. Brian sullivan rounds that up for us. Brian . Yeah. Got four names, bill, hitting alltime highs today and let us begin with hershey. Obviously not only a brand but also a town in pennsylvania. Company started in 1894 when the guy, milton hershey, decided to make chocolate as a coating for caramels. Little did he know they would have 14,000 employees now. Thats an alltime high for hershey. Another food company, Condiment Company is heinz. Making ketchup for 140 years. Sell 650 million bottles of ketchup every year. File that under facts you did not need to know, but im going to throw it out there for you anyway. Heinz, an alltime high. Lets switch to tech. Salesforce. Com, mark bennoff, rich guy already, crm, a favorite of jim cramer for a long, long time. That stock up 50 this year alone and slightly different note. Ppg, another company that makes coatings, paint, things like that, stuff you put on other stuff. Operates in more than 60 countries around the globe. That stock, pittsburghbased up 5 this year but enough, bill, to push it to an alltime high so four names, two similar tries, two disparate industries but hitting new alltime highs. Ill tell you what, ill contribute to hersheys bottom line because im going to go home and buying my daughter the biggest ice cream sundae she wants, cover it with as much chok chocolate sauce she needs and give her a giant hug. I hear you, brother. Thanks, brian. See you late e. We do want to update you on the Tragic School shooting in newtown, connecticut. Michelle franzen stepping back in with more of what we know and still plenty we dont know. Reporter a lot we dont know, bill, but were starting to have some numbers and some details start to fit out in this last half hour. What we do know is that the governor of connecticut continues to meet with families who have been skywestered at the nearby family, many that rushed there in that initial hour after hearing about this shooting only to be told that they need to go over and wait over here and, of course, receiving the worst possible news. Were hearing as many as 18 children were killed today by that lone gunman who walked in, and were also learning about the gunman, a 24yearold who had evidently at this hour, what we know is that may have gone to that school targeting his mom who worked as a teacher there and entering the school and going to her classroom and opened fire. Thats what we know the details right now as well as this community that is just beginning to mourn this tragic, tragic situation here as it unfolds. Many other parents who rushed to the school today are being reunited with those school kids. Were hearing that this is an Elementary School, only k4 or k5. Right. So thats anywhere between 5 and 9 years old, that you can imagine those children of what they had to cope with and deal with, but were also hearing, bill, heroic stories coming out of there from teachers who knew exactly what to do when they heard those noises which were gunfire, so were hearing more about that as well. Michelle franzen there in newtown, connecticut, thank you very much. While were at it Speaker John Boehner has order the flag at the capitol in washington to be lowered to half staff in memory and honor of those victims in newtown, connecticut. All right. Were going to take a quick break here and step aside for just a moment. The markets still moving lower. The dow down 50 points right now, the low of the session here, and with no deal in sight, the u. S. Economy is racing towards the fiscal cliff. Well come back. Weve got a Top Republican lawmaker telling us what shes willing to compromise on hopefully in regards to spending cuts and tax increases as part of this deal. Plus, will there be a market event before the year is over because congress cant solve this budget mess . Someone here is predicting one, but how bad will it be coming up . Stay tuned. Customer erin swenson bought from us online today. So, im happy. Sales go up. Im happy. It went out today. Im happy. What if shes not home . together she wont be happy. Use ups she can get a text alert, reroute. Even reschedule her package. Its ups my choice. Are you happy . Im happy. Im happy. Im happy. Im happy. Im happy. Happy. Happy. Happy. Happy. together happy. I love logistics. Since Ameriprise Financial was founded back in 1894, theyve been committed to putting clients first. Helping generations through tough times. Good times. Never taking a bailout. There when you need them. Helping millions of americans over the centuries. The strength of a Global Financial leader. The heart of a onetoone relationship. Together for your future. We are moments away from president obamas statement on the Tragic School shooting of earlier today in newtown, connecticut, where we are told at this point there were at least 26 fatalities, including 18 schoolchildren. The president will be out in just a moment there at the White House Press briefing root our john harwood standing in here. John, as we stand here, they have taken the flags on the capitol to half staff, and, you know, an awful lot of pain being felt around this country right now. Reporter its amazing, bill. The more details we get about this episode, the worse the worse the entire episode sounds. Just a tragedy of unbelievable proportions, and the president has got to speak to t. Jay carney, his press secretary spoke to it earlier and thats why hes going to come into the Briefing Room and console the victims and speak to the country and so many parents and children alike are terrified to see a story like this unfold on television. The images of small Elementary Schoolchildren. This afternoon i spoke with governor malloy and fbi director mueller. I offered governor malloy my condolences on behalf of the nation and made it clear that hell have every single resource that he needs to investigate this heinous crime, care for the victims, counsel their families. Weve endured too many of these tragedies in the past few years, and each time i learn the news i react not as a president but as anybody else would, as a parent, and that was especially true today. I know theres not a parent in america who doesnt feel the same overwhelming grief that i do. The majority of those who died today were children, beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old. They had their entire lives ahead of them, birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own. Among the fallen were also teachers, men and women who devoted their lives to helping our children fulfill their dreams. So our hearts are broken today for the parents and grandparents, sisters and brothers of these little children and for the families of the adults who were lost. Our hearts are broken for the parents of the survivors as well, for as blessed as they are to have their Children Home tonight, they know that their childrens innocence has been torn away from them too early, and there are no words that will ease their pain. As a country we have been through this too many times, whether its an Elementary School in nutewtown or a shoppi mall in oregon or a temple in wisconsin or a Movie Theater in aurora, these neighborhoods are our neighborhoods, and these children are our children, and were going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics. This evening michelle and i will do what i know every parent in america will do which is hug our children a little tighter, and well tell them that we love them, and well remind each other how deeply we love one another, but there are families in connecticut who cannot do that tonight, and they need all of us right now. In the hard days to come, that Community Means needs us to be at best as americans, and i will do everything in my power as president to help because while nothing can fill the space of a lost child or loved one, all of us can extend a hand to those in need, to remind them that we are there for them, that we are praying for them, that the love they felt for those lost endures not just in their memories but also in ours. May god bless the memory of the victims and in the words of scripture heal the broken hearted and bind up their wounds. A poignant moment as the president had to take a few seconds a couple of times to collect himself as he thought about, as we all do, the young victims involved in this tragic shooting there in newtown, connecticut. John, this is often not the kind of thing an elected official signs up for, but this is the part of the leadership equation that you talked about where, you know, we have to deal with this as a nation here. Reporter bill, its the most emotionally shaken ive ever seen president obama and rarely seen any president. It was a striking image of him, and that i think the degree to which he was shaken was reflected in his comments because he went beyond the expressions of grief to pledge meaningful action in the days to come regardless of the politics. Thats a significant statement because democrats and this democratic president have shied away from dealing with issues of gun control because they have been politically counterproductive for democrats in recent years, so can you tell this really affected him as a parent. Tears were coming to his eyes. He was wiping his eyes. It was quite a striking image that i that i wont forget, and i think most americans watching will not forget. And, yes, i think we all agree. A lot of children will be hugged tonight, being told by their parents that they are loved greatly. John, thanks. Well be checking back with you as this story continues to unfold throughout the afternoon. And well be back with more on cnbc in just a moment. Any way you want. Fully customize it for your trading process from thought to trade, on every screen. And all in real time. Which makes it just like having your own trading floor, right at your fingertips. [ rodger ] at scottrade, seven dollar trades are just the start. Try our easytouse scottrader streaming quotes. Its another reason more investors are saying. [ all ] im with scottrade. I heard you guys can ship ground for less than the ups store. Thats right. Ive learned the only way to get a holiday deal is to camp out. You know weve been open all night. Is this a trick to get my spot . [ male announcer ] break from the holiday stress. Save on ground shipping at fedex office. All right. Well show you where we stand on the markets right now with about 35 minutes left in the trading session, the dow down 39 points near the lows of the session. Apple though, the longawaited iphone 5 went on sale in china today, but sales are not expected to be all that great, and we wonder why. Some are speculating that in part its pause Fake Apple Stores have been selling fake iphone 5s for months already, and apple is not the only Company Whose products are getting ripped off in china. Max wolfe is chief economist and Senior Analyst at green crest capital. He says the iphone is, after all, a status symbol, and once you have the fake you have the status. Allen tunnelson is the Research Fellow at the u. S. Business and Industry Council and author race to the bottom. He says piracy is so pervasive in china that no Companys Technology is safe. Welcome to you both. Im just stunned, max, that i get fake iphones, but you have fake iphone stores as well . How does that happen . The whole constellation of apple approximate, the pads, ipads, ipods, is subject to this. And as Many American Companies Including starbucks, iconic american brands, face nasty piracy which gets an official blind eye and sometimes get a rap on the knuckles but this is a major issue with billions of dollars and thousands of jobs at stake. Apple is not the only one, but they have certainly suffered here and the status symbol that goes with the brand ownership makes this a little worthwhile in the kind of upside down thinking of the piracy system which is fairly well articulated in china. And what impact do you think this does have on sales when you have this kind of piracy ahead of the official launch of a product like the iphone . Its certainly going to depress the sales of apple products, just as it now just as its greatly depressed the sales of microsoft products. Just to cite one very prominent example. Microsoft systems, especially for pcs, are massively pirated throughout china. In fact, Steve Ballmer complained earlier this year that as a result of this rampant intellectual property theft microsoft is making less money in china than in the netherlands. Right. Im not saying that that same fate is going to befall apple but the same danger certainly exists and theres certainly an element of poetic justice here because Companies Like apple and like microsoft, and all the other outsourcing u. S. Companies told us we should dramatically expand business dealings with china even though problems like intellectual property theft were far from being solved. You know, max, if apple cant get a deal with china mobile which has 80 of the market, why sell iphone in china at all, especially when were talking about such rampant piracy itself . A good question. Speaks to the bigger issue. China mobile wasnt willing to cut the huge kind of subsidy deals that apple relies on with carriers like verizon and at t and vodafone and the International Carriers and, therefore, they are left to pick up the pieces on 15 to 18 of the market. Obviously these other players, China Telecom and company can hope they will take market share. This also speaks to part of the reason we see so much of the piracy of the iphone in china is that the price point is very high as against the average per capita income in china in a way that it really isnt in a place like the United States or uk or canada. Max, let me get your take really on the broad question of where we are in the economy and what were seeing in terms of selling right now. Are you seeing business pick up, or do you think people are sort of sitting on their hands because were worried about so many things out there, including the fiscal cliff . Thats a great question, maria. Apples Stock Performance has a lot to do with the fiscal cliff. People are painting their years to try to benchmark against the s p and rebase their apple which many will request into in q1 at the new higher price for tax reasons. That being said, apple is a luxury product, a luxury product that hasnt fully 100 delivered on the price premium, given the sensitivity in the market and the sensitivity about dysfunction in washington, all things being equal, thats something of a headwind and we should keep in mind, too, part of the bargain hunting has to do with concerns of growth thats been lately better news but pretty marked in the chinese economic landscape for the last several months. Same question for you, alan. What are you seeing out interest there in terms of real business right now . I think we have problems that go far beyond the fiscal cliff, serious as that is. Youve got so Many Americans who have such thoroughly depressed incomes who still have to rely very heavily on borrowing to sustain the lifestyles that they have managed to carve out for themselves. You have still a very weak, very fragile demand environment, and american businesses know this. Yeah. They know they really cant count on the American Consumer that much longer unless we want to increase americas debts that much more. Not a good idea. Max, alan, good to see you both. Talk to you soon. Thank you. One of the big parts of that story, bill, we we cant get into is the fact weve got such enormous population growth happening outside of the United States, when you look at a place like indonesia and india right now, that encyclopedia in peoples pockets is empowering people all over the world. You were talking about the piracy issue. In china they not only have fake iphones that have come out before the official iphone which came out today, they have Fake Apple Stores that are cropping up all over the place, having a huge impact and Material Impact on earnings for a company as huge as apple is these days. I was Walking Around the floor a minute ago and everyone is just, you know, blown away and so upset. They have got their tvs turned to the local news in some areas of the floor. This senseless act in connecticut is just so so daunting. Its hard to even its hard to take. An impact on the market as well. As i said earlier, a subdued market, as we all are. The dow holding with a decline of about 38 points. Well bring you the latest on the fatality in connecticut. Facebook stock up nearly 40 in the last three months. When will it move past the original 38 ipo price . Well take a lock and still shy of that by better than 10 a share. Stay with us on that. 17 days left until the fiscal cliff. Are lawmakers any closer to a compromise of some kind . A Top Republican leader joins us next to explain whether shes willing to raise taxes if democrats give in on the spending cuts. Also ahead, will Oil Prices Fall off a cliff is the economy is impacted by the state of affairs in washington . Tdd 18003452550 and with schwab mobile, tdd 18003452550 i can focus on trading anyplace, anytime. Tdd 18003452550 until i choose to focus on something else. Tdd 18003452550 all this with no trade minimums. Tdd 18003452550 and only 8. 95 a trade. Tdd 18003452550 open an account with a 50,000 deposit, tdd 18003452550 and get 6 months commissionfree trades. Tdd 18003452550 call 18662945412. Cmon, michael get in the game [ male announcer ] dont have the hops for hoops with your buddies . Lost your appetite for romance . And your mood is on its way down. You might not just be getting older. You might have a treatable condition called low testosterone or low t. Millions of men, fortyfive or older, may have low t. So talk to your doctor about low t. Hey, michael [ male announcer ] and step out of the shadows. Hi how are you . [ male announcer ] learn more at isitlowt. Com. [ laughs ] hey well, welcome back, a quick check of where we stand with an hour to go in the trading week. A market thats lower here. The Dow Jones Industrial average down 24 points. Volume very light today. Were all focused on what is happening in connecticut the nasdaq composite down 22 points, and the s p 500 weaker by 4. 63. Bill, pack over to you. Facebook shares down today, another lockup expiration. More shares available for insiders to sell if they choose to, but in the meantime shares of facebook have been up 22 in just a month, so is todays selloff a buying opportunity . Lets talk about this. On the technical side and the fundamental side. Zach, what do you think . Does this expiration lockup, what does it mean for investors . Stocks going higher here. Do you like the relative strength weve seen lately in this company . Yeah. I mean, first of all. Look, its a sober day. Im feeling that as well. You bet. On facebook a few weeks ago, theres been lockups where the shares have gone up. Lockups where the shares are going down. I think all of that is kind of i respective to the fundamental question of what is the market going to value facebook at. Its interesting. Its beginning to coalesce around the price that people thought it should have gone public at which is far lower than the price that it did, so i think that all of this is the aftershocks of a really disastrous ipo for a company, you know, that still netnet is a very new company that has had extraordinary and rapid success. I would be interested in this if it shows that this is around the price that we should start thinking about the company, if the market thinks that. Lets see what the charts say. What do you think of it right now . Zachary hit the nail on the head. Mentioned the words very difficult and a lot of questions surrounding the pricing. The good part about facebook is the technicals still work. If we look at a chart of facebook going back to its ipo, we see two clear distinct powerful patterns that have formed. The first is a descending triangle. We had a series of lower highs. We had a nice base, nice for around 19. The stock rallied and it broke of the lower downtrend line and rallied up to 28. The second pattern within the triangle is, you know, a floor consolidation pattern. You know, trading between 19 and 24. Again, when the stock broke, it rallied and technically between the target in the 28, 29 range and to zacharys point, whats very interesting, the catalyst that broke both of these formations to the upside is the third lockup expiration date, one that when facebook rallied 12 . Today were down 4 . Right. So the question now is where can it go . The technicals, were waiting. Well see what the sentiment is. We can go a little higher or a little lower but right now im taking a step back and watching the next move. Both of you with the same message taking the waitandsee attitude. See you later. Have a good weekend. Marya . Final stretch of the day, for the week. 20 minutes before the closing bell sounds on wall street. The Dow Jones Industrial average down a fraction today, down 21 point. The s p 500 also under some selling pressure about, four points lower. Our next guest says despite cliff call cliff, he says investors should be buying stocks now and after the bell, is your 401 k good anymore . How does it rate against other 401 ks . Eyeopening information about your retirement program. Back in a moment. [ engine revs ] [ male announcer ] oh what fun it is to ride. Get the mercedesbenz on your wish list at the winter event going on now through december 31st. [ santa ] ho, ho, ho [ male announcer ] lease a 2013 e350 for 579 a month at your l mercedesbenz dealer. We dont let frequent heartburn come between us and what we love. So if youre one of them people who gets heartburn and then treats day after day. Block the acid with prilosec otc and dont get heartburn in the first place [ male announcer ] one pill each morning. 24 hours. Zero heartburn. Its easy to follow the progress youre making toward all your financial goals. A quick glance, and you can see if youre on track. When the conversation turns to knowing where you stand, turn to us. Wells fargo advisors. Welcome back. If congress thinks the Federal Reserve is going to put a floor on the damage the fiscal cliff will do on the economy, they are sadly mistaken. That according to dallas Federal Reserve member Richard Fisher who was very clear on squawk box this morning. We need to get things done, cannot substitute for a proper solution to the fiscal cliff, and i hope theres not a Single Person in congress that believes Monetary Policy will bail us out. Theres a limit to our effectiveness. Joining from us capitol hill, congresswoman Katherine Mcmorris rogers, congresswoman from washington and chairs the house leadership conference. We welcome you. For the first time in a while were not all obsessed with the fiscal cliff. Weve had our attention diverted to connecticut, and i know we all send our best to the people of newtown, connecticut, today, and i can imagine youre adding to that, yes . Its just devastating, its awful. Im a mom and have two kids, a 5yearold and 2yearold and like any parent we cant understand what has happened or the grief that they are going to be enduring and our hearts go out to them, our prayers go out to them, and and anything we can do at this point were ready to do it. When we last left the negotiations Speaker Boehner went to the white house yesterday. Did you hear anything . Was there any progress made there . Whats going on right now that youre hearing . Well, its encouraging that theres at least some discussions. We need those. We need the negotiations, the good faith negotiations to to come forward. The republicans believe its very important that we address the spending, the outofcontrol spending, the debt that weve accumulated. Raising taxes, raising tax revenue doesnt solve the problem. Its a bandaid to the underlying problem, and so we need that framework, and thats what Speaker Boehner and the republicans are hoping that we can accomplish by the end of the year. So, what have you heard from Speaker Boehner from that meeting last night with the president . We know youre position. Were just trying to figure out where we are in this. What have you heard from last nights meeting . You know, we have we have heard that the president continues to call for higher taxes than he called for in the campaign, almost a doubling. Hes wanting unlimited debt ceiling increases which we just cant go there, and so and we also are hearing that hes calling for more spending, another stimulus, and the republicans, to make this happen, we need the spending cuts. We need that to be a part of this framework. But if you get that spending cut, if you get a sizable amount of spending cut related to the drivers of the debt, medicare, medicaid, social security, are you willing to accept higher taxes for the rich . The just to get a deal done. The speaker the day after the election went to the podium and put new tax revenue on the table. I dont mean new tax ref knew. We know youve got new tax revenue from tax reform. Talking about higher tax rates. On the top 2 . We want to have those good faith negotiations so that we can start putting together that framework. The republicans believe that we can get revenue through tax reform. We need to give that certainty to middle class families and also to the economy, but we have to be careful that we dont further damage the economy moving forward, and so thats why so the answer is no. You dont want higher taxes, you want the revenue from tax reform. We want the good faith negotiations. The New York Times laid out three possibilities and apparently Speaker Boehner has been laying out to you folks on the republican side, and one of them is the possibility we dont get a deal by the end of the year, and he waits until march when the debt ceiling comes up for debate once again and its at that point that were all held hostage again as we were in august of 2011. Is that a distinct possibility . Is that part of the strategy now by the republicans in this issue . Our hope is that we can we can put together the framework now so that we dont find ourselves having the same debate three months, four months from now. We need this is our moment to address the big issues, the pressing problems that face this country, and its driven by the record deficits, trillion dollar deficits and the debt, and that needs to be addressed. And as maria pointed out, the quid pro quo that the president is requiring right now is the tax increase on the top 2 income earners in this country, and we cant get a single republican to come on the air right now and say they would vote for that in order to get a fiscal cliff deal, and i include with you that now, congresswoman. Youre not answering the question. The republicans have put forward new tax revenue. We have come we have moved that way. We need the president to bring the leadership on the spending side of this equation. We could raise the top two to 100 and it would only fund the government for 91 days and when we put tax revenue on the table, close loopholes and closing the tax deductions, the wealthiest will be paying more in this country. I dont think anybody expects the top 2 increase to be the only solution, but it is a key part of the negotiations that the president has laid on the table, and we cant get anybody to agree on it. To be fair we havent been able to get any specific spending cuts from the democrat side. I agree. Everybody is talking past each other. They are also spinning this. Real quick. Are you aware of the number of layoffs that will happen if we go over the fiscal cliff . How bad will the economy get in the first half of the year if we go over the cliff, congresswoman . Cbo estimated that the tax increases would be up to 2 million jobs lost. The sequestration, the acrosstheboard cuts would be up to 1 million defense jobs. We do not want to go over the job. 2 million jobs, and were still not getting any specifics from either side. Thanks, congresswoman. Thanks for joining us today. Thank you. Were in the final stretch. Not making any progress there. Down 30 points on the Dow Jones Industrial average. If Congress Worked more like ben bernanke and the fed, would the fiscal cliff even be a discussion right now . Well explain why some in the Federal Reserve are calling out congress to do that. Stay with us. Back in a movement de, you wont just find us online, youll also find us in person, with dedicated support teams at over 500 branches nationwide. So when you call or visit, you can ask for a name you know. Because personal Service Starts with a real person. [ rodger ] at scottrade, seven dollar trades are just the start. Our support teams are nearby, ready to help. Its no wonder so many investors are saying. [ all ] im with scottrade. Weve got breaking news right now on the developments in connecticut. The fatal shooting, lets get bertha coombs. Bertha, what can you tell us. Reporter Connecticut State Police just concluding an update where they have updated the figures on on those who were killed in that tragic shooting at an Elementary School in connecticut this morning. They now say 18 children were killed at the scene, 2 children prodownsed dead at an area hospital, 6 adults that worked at the school were killed and with the gunman that makes a total of 7 adults killed. One adult was injured and survived. According to the Connecticut State Police, the shooter was killed at the crime scene or found deceased at the school. There is a second crime scene they say in newtown, connecticut, where an adult was found deceased at that location. Sources have told nbc news its believed that the gunman went to the school in order to kill his mother who was a teacher at the school, and she is among those killed, but, again, the updated information at this point, 20 Young Children killed. A total of seven adults, including the shooter, dead tonight. Maria . Thank you, bertha. Just a few minutes away from wrapping up the week. Lets get to the markets here. Gentlemen, thanks very much for joining us on a tough day for everybody. Lets talk, first, about this fiscal cliff and what really is driving Investment Decisions as we head into year end. What are you doing . Well, ill tell you, maria, i think a lot of this is in the market already. January 1st is really a false deadline in my book. Really . Theres any range of solutions from the grand bargain which probably isnt going to happen to kicking the can down the road that will probably be closer to the ultimate solution. What specifically is in the market or no deal . A deal. Some type of deal that is probably leaning more towards kick the can down the road type of deal probably sometime in january. Thats what i would say. I think theres so much room for disappointment in this market if we go over the fiscal cliff. This market would be trading much worse if that was the expectation. Do you agree . Our economists are expecting onequarter of the fiscal cliff to hit us so it wont basically eliminate all of us. What does that mean . Of the 600 billion of tax increases and spending cuts, maria, 150 would hit so a quarter of the 600 would hit. They are not going to basically allow all of it took off a cliff, so thats number one. Were looking for a slowdown in the economy to 1. 2 next year from 2. 2 this year. For the whole year . For the whole year, for the gdp. Onequarter means youre expecting a deal. Expecting a deal, but it wont be a total housecleaning, okay . So our view is, look, chinas improving. House prices are improving. Jobs rim proving, so theres a lot of good news flow here. The biggest single number for me this year, the greek bonds which in june were trading at 13, traded over 44 now. The greek bonds have tripled, maria, since june 1st, and those yields have come down from 30, as you know, to 12. 9 . They are below 13. Way to go, greece. They have done very good so far. Thats interesting, because europe has taken a back seat to many soft other issues. You still worried about europe . Should that be part of our investment idea portfolio . As david said, thats improved dramatically, too, and its really taken a back seat, so i would say, as david said, that some type of deal is priced into the market. Lets do it this way. Your single best idea to invest in, and then ill get yours. Financials, not necessarily the big banks but bank of new york melon. Why . A Processing Bank, because its the cheapest sector. A lot of momentum going for it right now. Even the low rate that hurt their bottom line because its tough to lend and borrow at such low rates. Keep in mind, bank of new york melon, they are a Processing Bank so lending is not that big a deal to them. Profit, production and personal income are the three things to watch, the three ps. Whats your single best . Our single best idea is apple computers. Still . Yes, and Johnson Johnson . They are barbell. Down 9 out of the last 11 weeks, another down week for this stock. Its getting into a buying range. Doing a lot of dollar cost averaging. Started recommending it here a year ago at 323 so its at 523 now, so its up 200. It was 200 higher, bill. We think that thing has china ahead of it and smart tv ahead of it, lowcost ipad and lowcost iphone ahead of it so go apple. Real quick. Where do you think cap gains is in 2013 . Cap gains tax . 20 . 20 . That shouldnt upset the markets too much. Shes obsessed with that one there. See you soon. Thank you, guys. Up next, well give you a quick closing countdown for this week. And after the bell somebody here says the market environment a market event is coming in the next two weeks, and it will be bad. Details coming just ahead. Stay with us. And we can save you 10 on ground shipping over the ups store. Look this isnt my first christmas. These deals all seem great at the time. But later. [ shirt ] merry christmas, everybody not so much. Ho ho ho this isnt that kind of deal. [ male announcer ] break from the holiday stress. Save on ground shipping at fedex office. And his new boss told him two things cook what you love, and save your money. Joe doesnt know it yet, but hell work his way up from busser to waiter to chef before opening a restaurant specializing in fish and game from the great northwest. Hell start investing early, hell find some good people to help guide him, and hell set money aside from his first day of work to his last, which isnt rocket science. Its just common sense. From td ameritrade. Two minutes to the close. Very quickly. A quick recap of the week here. Pretty flat for the major averages and the stock market. The dow will be finishing down a quarter percent. Not bad. Whats interesting is you saw a sale of a lot of the socalled safe havens during the week. The dollar was down for the week. The price of gold. Were going to show you the tenyear yield moved up meaning they sold treasuries even as the fed was continuing the campaign to bring long rates down. The yield is up to 7. 1 on the tenyear and rising almost 5 for the week. The price of gold collapsed midweek, and its finishing down fractionally right now, down half a percent for the week, although that seems a little counterintuitive, and our fiscal cliff portfolios that our Research Team put together for the First Time Since the election, the one that would do well if we get a deal has turned positive, and they crossed each other here. Do you think we get a rally, david, if we get a deal and does it matter . Is it in the market already . It will get a rally. The markets been basically trading sideways, bill. We would say get china exposure. Europe, japan and the u. S. Are all up 12 to 15 for the year. Chinas down
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