And hello again, everybody. Welcome to the closing bell. Im mandy drury sitting in for maria bartiromo. Happy boxing day as well. Christmas is over but mandy has been celebrating boxing day all day. We didnt get any presents from lawmakers in washington yet. Were still five days away from falling off the proverbial fiscal cliff and wall street, like everybody else, is waiting for some kind of a solution here, and as you can see by todays numbers the waiting game continues, although we thank Brian Sullivan and you, mandy, for bringing us back to positive territory in the last hour. Im not sure we can take credit but well take it. The dow is up a fraction at the moment. 13,139 after a meandering much of the day. The nasdaq hardest hit today. Technology has been very volatile recently. Still down a fraction right now. 13 points, fraction percentagewise and the s p is down 3. 33 at 1423. Five days left until the fiscal cliff deadline, and though the market has been very resilient to this point, what happens if we go over the cliff and if lawmakers cannot get it together come january 1st . Will it be a big meltdown for wall street . Thats what everybody wants to know. Certainly hope know. In todays closing bell exchange, former chief economist of the Vice President joe biden, oliver perch from Gary Goldberg and Matt Cheslock and rick santelli, thank you very much. Jarred, you wrote an article called cliff dive, what the heck happens next . What does happen next . Well, thats actually all up to john boehner, as i see it, because if we were to decide to bring the president s most recent small car compromise to the house i actually believe it would pass. The problem for him it would probably pass with mostly democrat vote, but i think it could get through the senate. Thats the only scenario i see by which we avoid going over the cliff. Wait a minute. At least temporarily. Wait a minute, jared. John boehner said its up to the president and harry reid so are both sides standing at the precipice waiting for each other to make the next move. Not really. It really is all up to john boehner to decide whether he wants to bring this vote to the house floor. If he doesnt, i would put on either your cliff bungee cord or your cliff parachute and thats actually an important difference. We would like a bungee cord and a parachute. Right. But i would like to know maybe we have neither. What do you think happens to the market, matt, in either scenario, deal or no deal . I cant imagine were going to get a deal done with any significance. You know, they are probably going to change it as we go forward so maybe they will let us go over the cliff, the market will crash a little bit. I dont want to say crash as in crash but we could retrace some of the gains and a rough start to 2013 until they finally realize that maybe the Largecap Companies could be leading us through the rallies. Maybe it will take the stocks back up the latter half of 2013, first quarter. Oliver, what are you doing with your clients money right now . We think there will be a selloff as a result of all of this and also the debt ceiling debate coming up at the end of january and thats a buying opportunity because theres relatively strong, and strong gdp growth in the second half of 2013 so we would see a 5 , 7 selloff as a heck of a buying opportunity early in the year. I see youve got a yearend target for 2013. 1540, actually just looking at the 2013 predictions, youre pretty bullish. Yeah. We think were going to see a 6 , 6. 5 return on the s p. We think dividendpaying stocks will do even better and will focus on companies that are growing revenues and paying a strong dend. Can i ask you a question about that scenario. Of course. Suppose we go over the cliff and stay over the cliff, that strikes me as a very potentially recessionary. In wouldnt that deal quite a significant blow to the projection you just gave us . Well, if you stay over the cliff, yes, but its more of a mud slide. In other words, our baseline scenario is sometime by the second or third week of january there will be a resolution and thats largely based on the fact that plan b turns from a tax hike to a tax cut as of january 1st. So your forecast is your forecast is conditional on a resolution and that makes more sense to me. Rick santelli, i mean, even if we do go over the cliff, anyone youve spoken to that actually believes we would stay interest. Wouldnt we claw back at some point . I think that whether we go over the cliff in the traditional cnbc sense or not, were still in for a lot of issues, and i particularly want to address my buddy jared. First of all, you know, happy holidays, jared. Thank you. But you did work for joe biden, okay . And how you can be how you can be here telling us all how bad it is to go over the fiscal cliff when senators barack obama, senator joe biden, senator harry reid in 2006 all turned down ws request to raise the debt ceiling. The fiscal cliff was born in 2011. He didnt like it then but he wants today. He wants Carte Blanche today. Let him answer, rick. I listened to you. Please listen to me. I know thats not easy for you. Okay. But please listen to me. Not easy because you dont say anything consistent. The seeds of the fiscal cliff were planted in 2001 with the tenyear window for the bush tax cuts. Secondly, look, youre not going to like this, rick, but the fact is the president has come more than halfway in terms he hasnt come anywhere. Hes come halfway on 7 . He hasnt come halfway on the other side, the entitlement side, the reform side. Were going to a too light deal thats too small. A lot of people are saying he wants to go over the cliff because it gives him more leverage. Yes. His treasury secretary said that. Tim geithner said that on cnbc. Right. Well, look, i mean, first of all, i dont believe he wants to go over the cliff, but if we go over the cliff, the economic downturn only occurs as others have said in this very segment if we stay over. If we go over and quickly reverse the damage. Its not good. Its bad, but its a lot better than the recessionary scenario of staying over. Rick . I listened. Doesnt change my mind what. Are you going to be saying four years from today . We didnt expect it to. Matt, what do you make of whats going on today . Expecting anything, all about the fiscal cliff or whats the mood of the market . Im sorry. Its a shame thats all were talking about right now because there are some things we could probably focus on. Like what . Again, its corporate. Its large corporations. No one is talking about small caps right now. Generally in january they probably have a pretty good mood. Everybody is talking about dividendpaying stocks, large caps, where theres liquidity, can get in and get out and it all ties back to the fiscal cliff. Thats all were talking about and why do anything until then . Rick has been waiting all y day. Whether were sick of it or not, it has to be resolved. Meantime, counting down, 50 minutes until the closing bell. The dow was positive when we started the show. Lets call it the street signs glow. Weve gone back into the negative territory slightly. See what we can do here in the last hour of the trade. If you dont think people are feel the effects of the fiscal cliff, think again. We look at very real effects of the cliff on holiday sales and the numbers coming out are not all that pretty. Plus, dont count out Mother Nature as the east coast faces another noreaster. Meantime, starbucks is worried about the fiscal cliff. The nations biggest coffee chain is planning to take its message to washington. Would that be enough to jolt lawmakers into action . And as the year winds to a close, the head of aetna is back with us winding up for higher taxes in 2013 thanks to obama care. Wait until you hear how high he thinks they could go. Youre watching cnbc, first in business worldwide. Stamps. Com is the best. I dont have to leave my desk and get up and go to the post office anymore. [ male announcer ] with stamps. Com you can print real u. S. Postage for all your letters and packages. I have exactly the amount of postage i need, the instant i need it. Can you print only stamps . No. First class. Priority mail. Certified. International. And the mail man picks it up. I dont leave the shop anymore. [ male announcer ] get a 4 week trial plus 100 in extras including postage and a digital scale. Go to stamps. Com tv and never go to the post office again. Well, were getting numbers in. Turns out retailers saw the weakest Holiday Season since 2008 hurt by bad weather and more uncertainty about the rising tax increases that could come next year. Were wondering if the concerns will continue to keep shoppers from spending into 2013. Lets ask our guests. Ladies, thanks so much for having us. I nearly said thank you for having us. Thanking you for coming on the show. Stacy, here we are day in and day out on the Financial News talking about the fiscal cliff, economists talk about the fiscal cliff and politicians talk about the fiscal cliff. Were wondering whether mom and pops at home talk about the fiscal cliff. Is a lack of a budget deal actually spooking shoppers out on main street . It is. Walmart told us 75 of their customers have cite that had they are worried about the fiscal cliff. Mandy, you and i were on last week talking about the luxury retailers and we called out saks saying business preholiday was particularly weak. What are the people in the stores telling me all week, saying that this is the worst prechristmas they had seen in over a decade, and part of that was because their consumers are worried about the fiscal cliff, so note to the government. It does matter. Yeah, but thats, as you say, part of it. Laura, what else is going on . It just felt like we were going into a lackluster season here. What happened . I mean, theres been some discussion about weather trends as well, but whether or not we go over the fiscal cliff, consumers think next year well see higher taxes and lower entitlements. The only place in our space where we see a very significant fiscal cliff hit is aspirational customer, so the stepup customer into lowend tiffanys jewelry, for example, we just dont think they showed up this year. Even if people, stacy, are going to be hit by higher taxes next year, at least some people are going to be hit by higher taxes next year, a lot of this is psychological, isnt it. You turn on the tv and youre feeling spooked, right . And once we have a deal or resolution, uncertainty taken away, will people unleash their spending . Will this be unlocked . I think at the high end, yes, there will be some relief, and, you know, to lauras point, we were in tiffany over the weekend, you would be shocked how much sales help was available on the silver floor. Typically you cant get near a sales person there. Right. But a lot of it is psychological, but then again, christmas has come and gone and the fullmargin products have come and gone. You fix the fiscal cliff and go into clearance and thats are where retailers make their sales. You call this period panic time for these retailers, dont you . It is panic time. Its been a disappointing season. We havent heard the numbers from specific retailers. Thats right around the corner, but you can bet based on, you know, what i was hearing in the stores, it was doom and gloom. You can bet that retailers will be hitting the clearance panic button, and that is bad for gross margins, even though we have very easy comparisons for last year. Bad for them and good for us, the shopper, right . Laura, lets talk great for us. Laura, stock winners and losers this season . We really like Williams Sonoma in part because they have a huge skew online. Most of the profits come from ecommerce so even if spending is overall dampened, theres more migrating online. Losers, like we said, tiffanys may have trouble at the higher margin, lower price points, but i think we should look at some of the big winners this year to pull back next year. Those would include gap and lowes, a number of retailers who worked really well in 2012 may not see as bright a future as in 2013. What about the big boxes, how did they do this year . I would agree with laura on gap, and also abercrombie, a stock with a huge run and you saw the velvet ropes outside the stores. We saw them in new york and guess what . We saw them in london and behind the velvet ropes inside sued the stores there were very few people lined up buying items so i would watch out for abercrombie and certainly with the bigger box space, you know, youll see mixed signals. Everybody is under pressure. Target might do a little bit better because they have had an interesting collaboration project with neiman so i think theres weakness across the board but targetsed macys will outperform the group. You like limited brand . One of the most consistent retailers out there. I personally own the stock and they have a history of special dividends. A player with always newness in the store and started their International Flagship in london. Its doing phenomenally well so an international piece of the puzzle is just starting. Laura, online, i heard some big numbers percentagewise gains year over year on how online buying was going. Is that good or bad for the retailers overall right now . The vast majority of the retailers we follow have a small part of their business online. For the Online Business to be booming, if theres not something similar to drive traffic in the store, theres concerns there. One of our best online retailers Urban Outfitters is going to stop breaking out store versus ecommerce so the concern is perhaps they will mask weakness in the stores and hope that the overall growth, particularly online growth care its the retail as well compared to Williams Sonoma, by far the leader of the group. Ladies, thank you both for joining us. Appreciate it very much. Thank you. Have a happy holiday. And to you as well. About 45 minutes left in the trading session. The dow down five points. Were playing the waiting game in washington. Let the blame game begin. We are asking which stock is the better one . And what about the impact obama care will have and jobs may be on the line if we go over the fiscal cliff. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro. Omnipotent of opportunity. You know how to mix business. With business. And you. Rent from national. Because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. And go. You can even take a fullsize or above. And still pay the midsize price. I could get used to this. [ male announcer ] yes, you could business pro. Yes, you could. Go national. Go like a pro. It the it the not a great day for technology with the nasdaq down most in terms of percentage. Seema modi is at the nasdaq and joins us now with more details. Hi there, mandy. Wall street was not able to give us a fiscal cliff for christmas and thats weighing on textures. The nasdaq is underperforming the minimum wage or indices. Some of our largecap tech shares including apple and some of the online players like amazon and ebay losing face in todays trade. One stock i want to point your attention to, marvell technology, plunging the last hour. The headline weighing on shares of marvell. They lost a 1. 7 billion verdict in a carnegiemellon lawsuit where carnegiemellon accused marvell of patent infringement. The stock is down better than 11 . Bill . Seema thank you very much. Well, if your plan for Christmas Eve was to watch a movie on netflix you might have been disappointed. The outage left users without the video streaming capability, but the company blamed it on its arch rival amazon and its Cloud Computing services. Brouhaha aside, were wondering which stock is the better buy right now because thats what we do on talking numbers. Lets do on the technical side and fundamental side with steve cortes. Good to see you both. One has been a stellar performer and the other not so much. What do you like right now . Bill, you just summed it up. The news came out over the weekend and the market is telling you what you should believe in. Netflix is up 1 and amazon down 3. 5 . Look at the chart in amazon, you can see its been showing us this over the last four months. Amazon put a high in at 261. About eight days ago tried to take out that high and couldnt do it. It put in a double top. Thats a sign of a you know, of a failure. You have a stock like amazon who basically the stock failed at 261 and now we have a 20day moving average which it broke through and 209day moving average, the last time it broke through the 20day moving average it fell 13 . Now we look over at netflix, thats a totally different story, right you . Said it was a dog. It bottomed out at 54 and broke above its 20day moving average and stayed above its 20day moving average for the last four weeks. If it stays above its 20 moving average were going to long this. Our price together 120 to 130. Steve, sure looked like a double top on amazon. It does. Its concerning. Its the reason why i dont own amazon right here because the technicals look like theres a double forming near 265, and i think retail in general doesnt trade terribly well right now. However, if the technical pulled back and continues on amazon i want to be a buyer and its important to keep perspective. When we talk about amazon failing against alltime highs just in september whereas we look at netflix, a few very good weeks. Netflix is a broken story, and if youre in this broken story use this lift that weve seen recent weeks to get out of netflix. Steve has been talking about the fundamentals and technicals. Ive been in the business for 16 years and theres been no profit in either company, especially amazon. Day traders like to tray, but its not making any money. They are selling kindles for free to get people to shop at amazon, and no one is shopping. You just saw the updated numbers that came out this morning. Well, jeff, yes, ill concede its most recent quarter was not profitable, but its been a profitable company. Not nearly as much as a lot of folks would see and theres a reason. They have been taking market share and doing it in the cloud. Use the Cloud Streaming Services of amazon which is indicative of what an important player amazon is becoming in that field as well. Its an expensive stock. Youre paying an astronomical p and still a dominant player in ecommerce and one of the new areas where its dominant is the iphone this year. Two companies weve been following very closely this year. Thanks for joining us on talking numbers. See you later. Happy holidays. Mandy . A quick look at whats happening with the markets right now. The do you is just hitting flat with the down side barely moving at this point. Of course, were counting down to the bell. Also got aetnas ceo who says his hiring plans for the new year will definitely be affected by the fiscal cliff, and get this, he also says Health Care Costs could double for some groups by 2014 due to obama care. Weve got aetnas ceo coming up next. And also just what our economy needs right now. Just how will harsh weather impact your money as we wrap up the year . 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A smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes. Mine was earned off vietnam in 1968. Over the South Pacific in 1943. I got mine in iraq, 2003. Usaa Auto Insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. Because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaas commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal. Begin your legacy, get an Auto Insurance quote. Usaa. We know what it means to serve. As we all know the clock is ticking. U. S. Debt clock continues to tick as the fiscal cliff clock ticks down and the debt clock is going up as we get closer to the deadline. Aetnas ceo has been outspoken on the potential dire consequences, even to his own company, if we go over the cliff, so where does he stand today with less than six days to go . Joining us in an exclusive interview on cnbc is chairman and ceo of aetna. Great to have you on the show. Great to be here, thanks. Back in november you threatened either a hiring freeze or maybe the layoffs if a fiscal cliff deal was not reached. Still no deal as we stand. Only a few days to go. Are you actually planning a hiring freeze or layoffs . I think every business man plans the fall part of the year, particularly if they are on a calendar fiscal year. We put x percent of our budget at risk with a contingency just in case things go bad in the economy. What percentage is that now . I dont want to tip off to the street what our what our plan is, but what i will say is that we have doubled our contingency this year which puts in a set of action plans that we act on depending on what happens in the economy. So we pull back on cap x and gain cap x and we include head count. Us a well know, mark, weve had a whole parade of ceos like you who tell us the very same story. Were waiting. What are you waiting for . What would you like to see from washington that gets to you unleash that cap x and other things . The best deal would be a big deal. You want a grand bargain . I mean, americans dont want plan b. They dont want a shortterm fix. They want the very best we can come up with, plan a and we should be focused on that. Doesnt that have to include higher taxes, maybe even higher corporate taxes, lower government spending. I mean, that in and of itself is an austerity plan that were waiting for, isnt it . I dont think its necessarily austerity. The reductions in spending over time can happen over time, the way our government keeps track is over a decade. Right. So we dont need to do it all today, and as far as higher taxes go, theres a group of people who will sign this pledge not to raise taxes, and, you know, more than twothirds are millionaires who said, you know what, well pay more taxes because in the end analysis, the investment we would make in paying more in taxes to get the economy going will return in wealth very quickly if we get the economy back to where it should be. Theres a very good article on cnbc. Com about the possibility that Congress Might decide to start tax is employersponsored health insurance. Do you think thats a possibility, and what impact would that have on you . Everything needs to be on the table. If were going to have a good solution that gets at our deficit and reduce our debt everything has to be on the table and well deal with it. Its great to have rules. We just like to know what they are so we can make the right investments moving forward. Even if it puts us in a climate of slow growth, even more slow growth than the economy which would be the kind of a climate where you as a ceo wouldnt want to invest in that anyway, you know what i mean . So i think a grand bargain wont create a slow economy. I think it will restore confidence and well all invest. Well know what the rules are and the game plan is. Weied be ready to move ahead. We have opportunities to grow all the way around the world. We need to know where to put our capital investment. If we know what the rules are, well invest. 60 to 65 of our costs are people and we put people back to work every day. You dont expect a grand bargain . No. Meaning . A shortterm fix and perhaps a recession. They talk about this bungee approach and i dont think thats helpful. Lets take it away from american businesses and take it away from the rich people. Lets talk about the people who really get impacted by a recession and thats the poor and the middle class based on their returns or where ever they have things invested. Who are we hurting me. Lets get on to obama care. Originally the whole idea was to save money, cut costs, et cetera, but youve recently said the new Health Care Law could cause insurance premiums to doublery 2013. . Theres some places where the premiums will go up by 100 . A 49yearold in texas can buy a 5,000 deductible policy thats well below the 60 threshold so if im at a 45 threshold policy, the and it goes up to 60 , you have a 33 increase just to moving the benefits up. Seems crazy, that the system is broken and could still double by 2014. If were going to warn americans, somebodys got to pay for it. How do you think its going to pay out, who is going to or what . I think it wont start right away like everyone hopes it will. There wont be an october 1st, 2013, are a bright new plan available for everybody, and its not going to be cheaper, but i think it will be a start and it will be fits rand smart. If we want to insure more americans, and in the long run if we control our krosts we can control that over time, bring in back in line. The higher proem dums you talking about, does that measly mean higher percentage for you . No necessarily because the people coming in will cost more. Do you think they get it done by the december 31st deadline . I dont. The can is readying itself to be kicked i feel. Thanks for joining us tonight. Well see you, thank you. Okay. Were on the countdown mode here. 25 minutes to go, and at this stage the dow has not moved. I tell a lie. Its moved two points to the downside. Virtually not moving. Thats correct. This powerful storm that is making its way across the country now is starting to wreak off acon the east coast as we speak. Well tell you if the weather could put a damper on wall streets trading action this week, even as we wait for the fiscal cliff. Speaking of all wet, is washington throwing the fiscal cliff talks down. Held hostage, the head of a California Company tells lawmakers what he thinks about the fiscal cliff. Im brad adams and the ceo of sun stone Component Group in california. If the politicians in washington dont get this situation resolved, undoubtedly there will be a downturn in Economic Activity and a direct impact to our business. Its a very severe situation. Treat this as an economic problem and stop playing politics and take leadership for the situation and get it resolved. Excuse me, sir im gonna have to ask you to power down your little word game. I think your friends will understand. Oh no, its actually my geico app. See . I just uh paid my bill. Did you really . From the plane . Yeah, i can manage my policy, get roadside assistance, pretty much access geico 24 7. Sounds a little too good to be true sir. Ill believe that when pigs fly. Ok, did she seriously just say that . Geico. Just click away with our free mobile app. To the best vacation sp all the gulf it doesnt matter which of our great states folks visit. Mississippi, alabama, louisiana or florida, theyre gonna love it. Shaul, your alabama hospitality is incredible. Thanks, karen. Love your mississippi outdoors. I vote for your florida beaches, dawn. Bill, this louisiana seafood is delicious. Were having such a great year on the gulf, weve decided to put aside our rivalry. 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Well, lets get a quick check on the action in the commodity pits. Bertha coombs joins us. We did see a bit of a klaus rally here at the nymex. Very low volumes which means moves can often be exaggerated and certainly did see that today. Had a technical rally that moved to the upside even as stocks faded. Oil actually closed at highs of the session, a twomonth high to be exact. Right near 91 a barrel. We will not be getting the inventory numbers until friday because of the christmas holiday, but we are expecting to get industry inventory numbers tomorrow, and were seeing a bit of a move up along in heating oil and natural gas as that snow is now closing in on i guess about half of the country now, bill and mandy. Yeah, it looks like it hasnt reached outside here yet. Weve seen a little bit here. Seeing some flakes. Thank you, bertha. On Christmas Eve, no less, a few flakes. Had a few. Yeah. Look at this chart from our friends. This shows since 1928 the s p 500 averaged its greatest december percentage gains in the last few days. But theres a big but, the fiscal cliff is still unresolved, and theres only three trading days left in the year. Could this still be A Santa Claus rally or hohum or ho, ho, ho. What do you reckon, david . Morgan stanley wealth management, everybody, the best thing to watch this month, and bob pisani pointed this out. The transportation stocks have been very strong. China has been strong. Mandy, you know, japan has been strong, and the banks have been strong. To me theres an underlying strength to the market when some of the bodyguards have been doing well so i think the market wants to do better. That having been said the fiscal cliff will turn out to be not a maxi deal but a mini deal and will clip the economy not by 1 but a 2 and a 60 chance something will get done but thats where we come out on it right now. A little bit harder hit to the economy. Dont adjust your sets, everybody. This is what bob sounds like today. This is a Different Exchange here. Not doing your imitation of david . What do you think that the seasonal factors are a major reason why the markets are holding up so well . If you look at the havens, gold, treasuries, for example, the dollar, theres no sign of panic in the haven. Silver is down. Youve seen a little bit of a lift in the vix, closer to 20. Thats not bad, a normalization type of thing. Treasuries have sold off a little bit. That means the patient is leaving the hospital. The patient was on intensive care earlier in the year back in june. The biggest day of the year was june 19th. Thats the day of the second greek election when that guy came in who did not take them out of euro to. Meet biggest things that happened this year were things that didnt happen. No greece exit, no china hard landing and no u. S. Slipping into a recession. Therefore, the market has been able to lift. The last thing that may not happen is the fiscal cliff resolution, too. That could throw an iron in the fire. Weve all got to be mindful of the possible debt downgrade. Moodys and fitch are still at aaa and they have been rumbling they might take us down, and i think if s p goes down a notch, mandy, thats not good for the market. The fact that these predictions did not come true i guess show that making predictions it shows the value of strategists. Okay. It shows the value of vat jists. What are you predicting for 2013 . I think you have to watch things in europe. The big day is the september 11th elections in germany and germany could be harder after the election. In the first half is the sent ceiling discussion and finally profits, personal income and production, if those can do better than the markets can lift but right now the view is for a nothing market from here till year end. Once the seasonal increases go away, we could have tax increases rand spending cuts if we get a deal. Why is that going on a headwind for the stock market . I think it will be. If the taxes go up, i think thats something that hurts consumer confidence. Youve seen the retail sales in the last part of this season here, have sold off, and many people have said its because of the fiscal cliff. Kind of depressing when you say its a nothing market between now and the end of 2013. How do you make money, if you want to see its going to be a he knows rhyme going to say buy apple. Its up 20 , up 50 and some off a little bit. If it sells off, youll have nice dividend stocks like ant antisizer, the subplatform of all of the smartphones. Theres way to make money. Stay away from energy and industrials. Talking of counting down. 15 minutes to go before the closing bell. The dow is down by 17 point but, you know, were not really moving much at all. Have you heard of euclid . Thats what weather forecasters have named this monster storm hitting the east coast right now. Our friends at the Weather Channel will show you the latest storm track coming up. And plus, how will euclid impact wall street . Find out what the traders are daying next, first in business worldwide. It is cold and it is ugly and it is snowing outside right now, and it is pretty much that way for most of the northeast thanks to this winter storm thats dumping snow on much of the east coast. The Weather Channels danielle banks has more. Hi there. Maybe you were dealing with family drama and today were dealing with weather drama so no holiday would be complete without some drama and still lot of that going on for locations with tornado watches through 5 00. The storms have definitely made significant progress since yesterday. So were backing things up for you about 24 hours ago, and then, of course, were following the progression of this storm system as it continues to pump not only the Severe Weather aspects across the midatlantic but into the northeast, too. Heres a look at the snowfall reports and you can see spanning the gamut from half a foot to over a foot. Updating the totals throughout the day. Several locations through ohio and pennsylvania which has not only been picking up with the snowfall but then locations in the pink is where weve been dealing with significantishing as well across ohio and pennsylvania where those icing reports have been pretty steady. Outside of West Virginia and certa southeastern maryland, causing a huge amount of accidents out there on the road but just in general. If you see the barricades heed the warnings of your local officials. As we project you, again, into the later stages of today and then, of course, heading into your thursday, well be talking about more snowfall amounts across the northeast, and this is really important with so many people trying to travel back from their christmas holiday, so we definitely want to let you know about the increased amounts of snowfall that were going to see in particular across portions of new york. Now, if you are going to be traveling in new york for today, this is where we are expecting to still see the biggest delays, this will also be the case and believe tomorrow will be easier than friday. Well put. Weve had a wild week for much of the country as this storm made its way across and the fiscal cliff deadline five days away. After today there are only three trading sessions left in 2012. Yeah. Lets break it all down and bring in ben willis here with us on set. Ben, we could talk about lots of things. What are traders saying . Already have. Whats the buzz on the floor today . Today everybody is talking about home so this holiday week, a slow week, another wasted clean shirt and bus fare. How are you trieding right now . The flow that youve seen trying to deflect the market, only a corner thumbprint to look at. Energies right now are a plus side area and the negative side, youre seeing the consumer stocks under pressure because of the microsoft story and you and i have been of the same find on the fiscal climbed. You like this market, but we are getting close to the deadline. Does it matter if we go past anyone . I think the market is saying we dont lead a lot mar. The market still expects that a deal will be done so that well get a patch, so to speak. This has been a good week. 80 of time this week is generally to the plus side. Youd still buy the dips here . Yes. Many shows have been on cnbc sending their own personal message to washington and starbucks has a quite unusual and vocal message as well, right . Very vocal. I dont know why they didnt go with rise above. I prefer that quite frankly. The origins of the message that starbucks is using today comes out of timothy leery. I dont know if you really want that connection with lsd and the likes in washington, but come together, try, it whatever its going to take, and i think the market is telling congress they need to come together and rise above because this is foolish. Youre embarrassing us to the world. Get over it. If youre in d. C. Tomorrow and friday and you go to starbucks, the barrister will write come together on your cup. Coming up, it wont be the end of the world if we go over the cliff, really . Stick around for our cliff discussion and more video on the fiscal cliff as well. Youre watching cnbc, first in business worldwide. What starts with adding a friend. Could end with adding a close friend. The lexus december to remember sales event is on. This is the pursuit of perfection. Your doctor will say get smart about your weight. 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What often happens is when the vix peaks as it did in june and july, that can mark a bottom in the stock market so were starting to move up again. Im just saying. Not trying to forecast anything and heres what happened today at the dow, sort of falling off here in the latter part of the hour but not off. Off the lows of the day. Down 21 points. Material stocks were the strength today. Up 1. 5 . Everybody else was either unchanged or lower. What do you make of the increased volatility or increased fear here, david darst, as we go into the end of the year . One of the best charts is the vix being high. It was a time to buy. In chicago thats a famous saying. When the vix is high its time to buy. We high enough yet . Not yet, not yet. Got the fiscal cliff issues which youve talked about a lot here. Yes, we have. Jobs coming out on friday. Morgan stanley looking for 185,000. Basically the housing market, you had the case schiller numbers today. Its looking a little bit better. You got that in the plus column