Transcripts For FBC Varney Company 20140521

Records at va facilities has to be held accountable. The Inspector General has launched investigations into phoenix va and other facilities and some individuals have been put on administrative leave. I know people are angry and i sympathize with that. We have to let investigators do their job in getting to the bottom of what happened. Veterans deserve other facts and families deserve to know the facts. The facts i assure you if there is misconduct it will be punished. I want to know the full scope of this, so i ordered secretary shin secchi to investigate. He updated me on his review which is not looking just at the phoenix facility but also va facilities across the nation and i expect preliminary results from that review next week. Third, i directed neighbors to direct a broad review of the Veterans Health administration, the part of the va that delivers health care to our veterans and robb is going to phoenix today. Keep in mind even if we had not heard reports out of this phoenix facility or other facilities, we all know it often takes too long for veterans to get the care that they need to. That is not a new development. It has been a problem for decades and it has been compounded by more than a decade of war. That is why when i came into office i said we would systematically work to fix these problems and we have been working really hard to address them. My attitude is the folks who have been fighting on the battlefield should not have to fight a bureaucracy at home to get the care they have earned. The presumption has always been we have got to do better and robs review will be a comprehensive look at the Veterans Health administrations approach currently to access care. I want to know what is working, what is not working and i want specific recommendations on how the a can up their game. The full report from rob next month. Number 4, i expect everyone involved to work with congress which has an important oversight role to play. I Welcome Congress as a partner in our efforts not just to address the current controversies but to make sure were doing right by our veterans across the board. I served on the Veterans Affairs committee when i was in the senate, and the broadest piece of business i did in the legislature. It is important veterans dont become another political football especially when so many of them are receiving care right now. This is an area where democrats and republicans should always be working together. Which brings me to my final point. Even as we get to the bottom of what happened in phoenix and other facilities, all of us, whether here in washington or across the country have to stay focused on a Larger Mission which is a folding our sacred trust to all of our veterans, bringing the va system into the 21st century which is not an easy task. We have made progress over the last five years, we made historic investments in our veterans. We boosted be a funding to record levels and created consistency throughout advance appropriations so veterans organizations knew their money would be there regardless of political wrangling in washington. We made va benefits available to 2 million veterans who did not have it before. Delivering a disability to more vietnam vets exposed to agent orange making it easier for veterans with posttraumatic stress and Mental Health issues and traumatic brain injury to get treatment. And care for womens veterans. Because of the steps and the influx of new veterans requiring services added in many cases to wait times we launched an allout war on the disability claims backlog and in the past year alone we have cut that backlog by half. We are not going to let up because it is too high. We will keep at it until we eliminate the backlog once and for all. We are reducing homelessness among our veterans. Helping veterans and their families, more than a million so far, pursue their education and did the post 9 11 g. I. Bill. We are stepping up efforts to help get our skills and training to find jobs when they come home. Michelle ng joe biden finding forces that helped hundreds of veterans find a job. More veterans are finding work and unemployment, although still too high is coming down. The point is caring for our veterans is not an issue that popped up in recent weeks, some of the problems with respect to how veterans are able to access the benefits they have earned. That is an issue was working on when i was with the United States senate, taking care of veterans and their families, has been one of the causes of my presidency and it is something that all of us have to be involved with and have to be paying attention to. We ended the war in iraq and as our war in afghanistan ends and our newest veterans are coming hmmm the demand on the va are going to grow. We have to redouble our efforts to get it right as a nation. We have to be honest that there are and will continue to be areas where we have got to do a lot better. I have got to let every veteran knows that we are going to fix whatever is wrong and so long as i have the privilege of serving as commanderinchief i am going to keep fighting to deliver the care and benefits and opportunities your families deserve. Now and for decades to come. That is a commitment to which i feel a sacred duty to maintain so with that i will take two questions, i will take jim cuban first of all. The cause of your presidency, raining on this issue, and why would you let it get to this stage where if you actually had potentially 40 veterans who died while waiting for treatment in an extreme circumstance. We have to find out first of all what exactly happened. I dont want to get ahead of the report or other investigations that are being done. It is important to recognize that the wait times, generally what they indicated so far, were for folks who may have had chronic conditions for seeking their next appointment but already received service, or calling for Emergency Services so they indicated he did not see a link between the weight and them actually dying. That does not excuse the fact that the wait times in general are too long in some facilities and so what we have to do is find out what exactly happened, we have to find out how can we realistically cut some of these wait times. There has been a large influx of new veterans coming in. We have a population of veterans that is aging as part of the baby boom population and we have got to make sure the scheduling system, access to the system, the all those things are in sync. There are parts of the Healthcare System that performed well. What we have seen is for example satisfaction rates in many facilities and many providers. And how folks get scheduled. As a consequence of people caring about the problem, there are 8,585 million appointments scheduled in the course of the year. There are a lot of appointments. A system is built to take those folks in in a smooth fashion, and you know what to expect and it is reliable. It seems the va has set standards that it can meet. If it can meet now, it will have to set realistic goals about how they improve the system overall. The responsibility ultimately rests with generals . Responsible if things always rests ultimately with me as the president and commanderinchief. Rich shinskeki has been a great soldier. The disabled veteran. And no one cares more about veterans than he does. If you ask me, how do i think he has performed overall i would say that homelessness, 9 11 g. I. Bill. And still he is taking it very seriously. And there is accountability. And i expect before the reports ive done, and we see significant reports in how the admissions process takes place in all of our va healthcare facilities. I know he cares about it deeply and he has been a great Public Servant and a great warrior on behalf of the United States of america. And after i get the full report. If he is not, who is. I think he serves this country because he cares deeply about veterans and cares deeply about the mission. And he does not think hes doing a good job on this and has led our veterans down, and he is committed to solving a problem, and im going to do everything in my power using the resources of the white house to help that process to get to the bottom of what happened. But i am also waiting to see what the results of all this review process yields. I dont know how systemic this is and i dont know if there are a lot of facilities that have been cooking the books and, and it is not an episodic problem. And wait times all kinds of circumstances with respect to the va getting benefits and healthcare etc. And the Veterans Affairs said a goal of 14 days for wait times. What is not yet clear to me is whether enough tools were given to make sure those goals were actually match, and i wont know until but full report is put forward as to whether there was enough management followup to ensure those folks on the front lines were doing scheduling, had the capacity to meet those goals, that were not realistic and couldnt meet. And not enough doctors or systems were not in place, we need to find out who is responsible for setting up those guidelines. There will be a lot of questions we have to answer. In the meantime, lets not wait for the report retrospectively, to reach out immediately to veterans who currently were waiting for appointments to make sure theyre Getting Better service. That is something we can initiate right now. We dont have to wait to find out if there was misconduct to dig in and make sure we are uping our gain in various facilities. I do think it is important not just for rich shinskeki, to say that every single day there are people who do outstanding work and put everything they have got into making sure that our veterans get the care, benefits and services that they need. And so i do want to close by sending a message out there that there are millions of veterans who are getting good service from the va, getting really good treatments from the va. I know because i get letters from veterans asking me to write letters of commendation or praise to a doctor or a nurse, couldnt have given them better treatment. This is a big system with a lot of people in it, who care about our veterans deeply. We have seen improvements on a whole range of issues like homelessness, starting to clear the backlog, make sure folks who previously werent eligible for disability, it was a Mental Health issue. And agent orange issue were able to get those services, i dont want us to lose sight of the fact that there are lots of folks in the va doing a good job and working hard at it. It does not excuse the possibility that number one, we were not doing a good enough job in terms of providing access to folks who need to unemployment for chronic conditions. Number 2, it never excuses the possibility that someone was trying to manipulate the data in order to look better or make their facility look better. It is critical to make sure we have good information in order to make good decisions. I want people on the frontlines if theres a problem to tell me or tell rick shinszeki or whoever is there superior that this is a problem. Dont cover up a problem, do not pretend the problem doesnt exist. If you cant get wait time down to 14 days i want you to let folks up the chain no so the week and solve the problem. Do we need more doctors . Do we need a system to make sure scheduling and coordination is more effective and more smooth . Is there more followup . That is the thing that right now most disturbs me, the possibility that folks intentionally withheld information that would have helped us fix of problem. Theres not a problem out there that is not fixable. It cant always be fixed as quickly as anyone would like but typically we can chip away at these problems. We have seen this with the backlog and veterans homelessness. We saw that with the post 9 11 gee i bill. There were problems, they got fix that now is operating smoothly. Problems can be fixed but folks have to let the people who do the reporting to know that there is a problem in order to fix it. What is the strategy . We are going to find out. Listen, if someone has mismanaged or engage in misconduct, not only do i not want them getting votes, i want them getting hushed. That is hopefully what we will find out from the ig report and the audits taking place. Thank you very much. Stuart the Veterans Administration scandal president has just said anyone who has manipulated the records will be punished. There will be a full indepth report submitted by general shinszeki next week, there will be a broader review how to improve the situation within months and aide has been dispatched to start that one and the president says he will bring the veterans, the va into the 21st century. General shinszeki states. The news is busting out, i can say that all over. Breaking as we speak, the door bailout, obamacare will cost billions more in the insurers will get your money separately. The bill for those Obamacare Exchanges goes up to 1 billion. The welfare state expense. A new record, and 11 million on Social Security disability. Google keeping its money outside the United States, 30 billion stays over there for a shopping spree. A huge decline in Mortgage Applications to buy a home, housing in full retreat. Dont you dare on her success and hardware, you might leave people out and they would feel bad. Varney and company. Lets start with markets, individual stocks, big names that are moving, luxury sector pay offer tiffany doing well and more profit in the future. That stock is up 8 , General Motors another recall, 218,000 cars this time bringing the total cost to recall some 14 million this year, stock is still at 33 a share. Lower profits at target, some of progress as it rebuilds customers confidence after the data breach, taking a hitting canada. Stock is down fraction, 0. 20. Lower profits at American Eagle outfitters, down she goes, 3 . Very different story. That is a solid rally. We are up 1 . 165. The headline to beat all headlines, check out Health Insurers first, we have a bombshell obamacare and mine. It is a bailout for Insurance Companies. The Obama Administration quietly made adjustments to the law. They want to keep insurance premiums down before the elections and would make the difference to the insurers with taxpayer money. Congressman Marcia Blackburn joins us. I call that flat out it is a bailout, we saw it coming. Is it a bailout . Deal agree with me . It is a bailout. Absolutely. We had warned the administration as much as a year ago not to come and ask us for money to bail out the Insurance Companies because we were not going to give it to them. Now here we find out through the process there we go again. And things that the american people, endless atm and coming at them for more money. Stuart how is this going to play with voters. The administration had a choice of stock two negatives. Or they could bailout the insurers with taxpayer money. Bose i suspect negatives. Which is the bigger negative . The bailout is the bigger negative and here they are, they want to keep these ensure its premiums and it is not lowering the premiums like they promised and what theyre trying to do is to keep escalation rates of 40 or 50 . People having enormous sticker shock. Not even to say 2,500 a year and insured. It is just to keep it from being exorbitant in the amount of increase. And one not like past taxpayer money will bring premium down. Will be spent by the billions to stop premiums going through the roof. That is what is going on. Always a pleasure, thank you for staying with us. We appreciate it. To the markets and individual companies and stocks, look at google. They sent a letter to the sec. They will use 20, 30 billion of the money they keep overseas to gonna tech shopping spree. They are not bringing the money back here, they are keeping it overseas, avoiding 35 tax rates. This is not what president obama wants, he wants the tax money and not what he expected from googles executive share, got the president reelected. Wall street journals mary kissel is here. Eric schmidt from google, organizer, but builds his computer operation, turns around and wont googles money back to america. He is doing what is best for google shareholders. Stuart the president has been betrayed by his man. The president doesnt understand how the economy works. Look how he has managed it. The reality is capital will always go to its best uses and if america has the highest Corporate Tax rate, companies will keep an abroad. That will help employees of foreign companies. Stuart when surely this is another clarion call, the googles of this world dont do this kind of thing. Charles it is amazing. People should keep in mind the amazing Profit Margins Technology Companies enjoy as they beat down single digit Profit Margins at Companies Like mcdonalds for being mean evil spirited corporate citizens for hiring people with no skill sets. Not just eric schmidt, steve jobs did the same when he was alive. A week ago ge, jeff immelt said on want to invest in gold because it is the hottest technology around worlds. He is right. These business guys understand at some point that business comes first. Stuart a number for you, important number. 10,996,000 to be precise, that number of people collecting Social Security, disability in april. That is the record. The numbers up from 8 million on disability when the president took office. Charles i have been talking about it for a long time. It easy to be a drop out nation. It is easier and easier to say i will step away from the idea of self improvement, getting in labor force, and and getting headaches, and i am strong as an box. I can do anything but i am so broken down like a scene from patton you want to smack these people, were giving them a check. Stuart another number relates to what you were talking about. This is a number from express employment 4ut . Of the unemplo erode, and crisis how judge Andrew Napolitano is here. It seems to me this lawsuit has merit. My question is is anything criminal going on here . You give these guys i am getting tongue tied. They are given drugs which makes them addictive, get back on the playing field, they play. Judge napolitano the allegations are horrific but only allegations. They are that these drugs were prescribed not by doctors who have examined these players, there for the prescriptions were illegal because no doctor could say this particular human being, say jim mcmahon, required for this and also alleging they were not given informed consent, they were not told what the likely side effects would be. The other side of this is the allegations are this happens 20 years ago. The statute of limitations for personal injury for every state of the union is two years. Some have to demonstrate the symptoms didnt manifest themselves in the first 18 years after they took these drugs but only in the last two years or within two years of the time they filed. That is a difficult thing to do in some states. In our home state is the easiest to do. Stuart good pr for the nfl to settle . Charles they settled with a group of players and the players should have gone more money but they had to pressure these guys, they took the money. The argument will be 40 years ago, forget 20 years ago, 40 years ago. The door off of this and everyone knew it wasnt a secret, getting shadowed with things to go out and play and doing this of your own volition. Stuart judge napolitano another defense would be you knew all about this, you requested it, you were aware of the side effects. In my opinion this is a grandstanding piece of litigation intended to get a quick down and dirty settlement. They will probably get it because Roger Goodell does not want this hanging over his head. It is may. He wants this done before opening day which is the end of augusta. Stuart open the floodgates to what kind of litigation. Judge napolitano that is the problem with selling this because the lighting courage of the people to file similar frivolous litigation. I am not critical of the lawyers, just these guys are so woefully out of time, i dont see a judge letting this go forward. Stuart it has problems Going Forward if they did a settlement. What drugs can you administered to a player to getting back on the field . Is that a minefield . Judge napolitano the whole world of regulating drugs is different today than it was in the 80s and 90s which is the year these guys are complaining about. Stuart i know you want to say some about the president s. Ten seconds. Judge napolitano this is the worst president ial speech since Richard Nixons im not a crook. For him to say the cause of his presidency was maintaining the health and safety of veterans, that is the cause of his presidency he should be impeached. Stuart that was 15, 20 seconds but it is worth it. Restaurant owner zane tackle does all kinds of things, doesnt just jones dozens of appleby is but we are going to pose this question, what is worse for business . Obamacare or a much higher minimum wage . He is on the set after this. [ female announcer ] who are we . We are thinkers. The job jugglers. The up allnhts. And the ones who turn ideas into action. Weve made our passions our lifes work. We strive for the moments where we can s, i did it we are entrepreneurs who started it all. With a signature. Legalzoom has helped start over 1 million businesses, turning dreamers into business owners. And were here to help start yours. For what reality teaches you firsthand. In the face of danger, and under the most demanding circumstances. Experience builds character. Experience builds confidence. And experience. Has built this. The 2014 glk. The engineering and the experience of mercedesbenz. See your authorized dealer for exceptional offers through mercedesbenz financial services. Wbecame your business. Z passion. At t can help simplify how you manage it. So you can focus on what you love most. When everyone and everything works together, business just sings. 126165, we were up 150 but we will take up 126, ebay asking all of its users to change their passwords. Cyberattack, stock down a little. Another big name, more money coming then. That is good for the stock, 0. 45, hit 75 a share. Charles still with us, still says you can make more money about putting more money into chesapeake energy. Charles going into energy, chesapeake is one of these names that was extremely popular, internal problems with the axe ceo and now theyre firing on all cylinders, looking at 48, earnings estimates for this year next year going through the roof, they should grow exponentially over the next five years and people who were brought into to additional evaluation metrics. And i love this stock. The 50 moving average today breaks out to a 40 stock. Stuart 40, here he comes with chesapeake. The cost of obamacare and the possibility of federal minimumwage hike are two factors which a lot of businesses have to consider. Out of the two which one is a threat if youre in the Restaurant Business . Obamacare or high minimumwage. Areas, the chairman and ceo of apple metro runs about 40 appleby restaurants. That is the question. Obamacare, or higher minimum wage . Which is the bigger threat to you in the Restaurant Business . Pick your poison. It is the slow death on the obamacare side ann immediate hit on the minimum wage side. The minimum wages and going to go away and the issue there is someone making 10 today and someone making minimumwage at 7 today comes to 10 you got the bump everything in scale. Stuart what proportion of staff in a typical appleby is or any other restaurant operation what proportion actually get minimumwage or eligible for minimumwage . We have virtually no one. That makes minimum wage. Minimumwage we lost what it is. The entry level into the world of working and the escalator up the ladder. If we make it too comfortable we lose that desire to move on up so take for example 7 up to 10 is a 40 increase. If you were just squeezing by no one is getting rich on 7. I empathize with workers making 7. I want to make that clear but if you all of a sudden got a 40 increase wheres your incentive to want to go to the next avalanche perform and get recognized by management to get increases to move up the ladder of life . We really back to stuart that is the nitty gritty. Do we pay for performance or do we pay because i needed . I want more money. What i say to the people who are the recipients of it i say where do you think it comes from . The president said we are going to give you a raise. Where does it come from . Comes from you ultimately because you have to pay it to the government for the government to give it back in taxes. Stuart the bigger threat to you the Restaurant Business generally. Look at the other side of the fence. Obamacare. You think you can push that off or push employees out the door to the exchanges . That is how you get around . Not really because people who qualify for employers to pay for it, heres what happens with obamacare and what i find in my 3,000 plus employee population, for now, down a road, everyone chooses to pay 90 that is eligible for obamacare but if they dont want to pay round figures, 10 of gross income if you are making 30,000 you are not getting rich on 30,000 you are barely getting by. Take 10 of that for health care which is what they are required to pay, 10 of their gross income, they will opt for the 90 fine. Plus employers depending where you are in the gross scale or the Business Cycle employers may choose to pay 2,000 fines rather than 4,000 of health care. Plus i think healthcare may just go away because once people start to see health care as we see it today. Not health care, once people see what their deductibles are, what the costs truly involved, once they start to see a minimum hours are going to be 40 or 30 they may all opt to go ahead and pay 90 and college day. Stuart the news we broke literally 15 minutes ago there is going to be an Insurance Industry bailout because of obamacare. Wait till the voters hear about that one. It wont be popular. By the way i am sure you are aware of the cbo said between 500,000 going back to minimumwage when i say it is worse between half a million and 1 million additional unemployed that is what the cbo estimated for the additional minimumwage, lets take summer employment for example. All the college kids in High School Kids that get jobs for the summer at 10 an hour . Is not affordable. Stuart always a pleasure, thanks for being with us again. A Rhode Island School reverses its decision to cancel honors night. Is back on again. It demonstrates the point, doesnt it . They canceled it. A few people complained. Everybody has got to conform. Everybody suffers. We got that story next. When folks think about what they get from alaska, they think salmon and energy. But the energy bp produces up here creates Something Else as well jobs all over america. Engineering and innovation jobs. Advanced Safety Systems technology. Shipping and manufacturing. Across the United States, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. When we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. Thats not a coincidence. Its one more part of our commitment to america. Most of them in the u. S. General motors is recalling another 218,000 chevrolet cars in the u. S. As well from model years 20042008. Gm says cause a fire. The latest recall comes after the automaker agreed to pay record 35 million fine for its delayed response to a defective ignition switch. Gm shares are up 0. 8 . The wall street journal, yahoo is close to finalizing the purchase of a company that develops software to improve highdefinition video streaming over the web and mobile devices. The transaction would be one of several video deals negotiated by yahoo ceo Marissa Meyer in recent months. Shares are up 1 . Roker islands for versus its decision to cancel orders night. Stuart netflix is expanding in europe and will expand some more. Later this year, the stock. Nicole europe up 2. 5 . And over the last year or so it is up almost 60 and moving on with their Global Expansion strategy bit by bit country by country, local rules and regulations, and britain and scandinavia, adding on france, germany, and lower monthly fees there. Great prescriptions and continuing original programming and the like. Stuart i am very site, you were blanked out. And a rally up 100. If you are curious about a stock. To tweet us, hash tag ask payne. To date charles has a company of never heard of but you asked about. What do they do . Charles it plays on the oil industry. One of the things we have known for a long time. I have been talking about that in the network and to this network made a lot of money and wants to know if they should move on. The answer is the march quarter beat the street by 18 , the biggest beat they had a long time. We talk about the oil boom, it is extraordinarily inefficient. It is coming out like industries. They get the in the efficiency and productivity, they do that. We talk about acquisitions they made 250 acquisitions in the last 13 years, a classical company, a juggernaut in its own industry. It continues to grow rommels. Stuart thanks, nice job. Charles on want to thank the viewers. I got inundated so i will try to answer a lot of them personally. Stuart a show of your own. Charles you taught me that, the essence of capitalism. Stuart moving on officials at Rhode Island School district now say it is okay, we are going to hold an honor night for students. Initial leak a canceled it because it was so exclusive. Tracy byrnes tracy tracy byrnes. Stuart okay. I find this absolutely appalling the idea you should not have honors night because it leaves some people out who are not going to be honored. Tracy i have two middle school kids on the honor roll. They worked their butts off and do sports and dance and do everything and make good grades and i asked my daughter last night and she, quote, said to you to say that is so stupid. Why should you be included with the people who dont care and dont study . Is unfair. She says it is something to strive for. And you know what . Lunch with the principle, they are embarrassed by it all but still want to be there. They still want to be there. Stuart i dont know whether it was one or two or three people objected to wanders night at this place but this is typical of america. One person objects and everybody else has to change to conform to them. Tracy what they said was they wanted to celebrate the collective academics of all of us. Is not collective the some kids dont play video games and then kids like mind that bus their but between sports and academics and they should be honored. Charles your daughter will give up a larger piece of her paycheck to pay the same people that are slacking off right now. Will only be fair that she does this in the future. Stuart got to take your take on this. And alehouse in brooklyn, band kids. Recently on a weekend swamped by stroller moms and toddlers to ban kids. I dont know what the age group, the age limit is that they ban them on, you dont want that, do you . If you are in a stroller you dont belong in a pub, a face that. There is language going on you shouldnt be hearing. Stuart depend on the kind of coin. I dont want to hear another child. And we dont want to hear screaming babies. Stuart when you approve of this. Tracy is unfair to make kids sit still and wait for some bad burger to come back. I love that. Tracy you got to do what you got to do for decent meal in this city. Stuart this show started with you and charles and chris cotter. It was so cool. Charles they are back. Stuart up next, another sign of the Housing Market may be flat lining. Mortgage applications falling double digits over a year ago. We got to bring you the numbers in a moment. Ameriprise asked pee a simple question can you keep your lifestyle in retirement . I dont want to think about the alternative. I dont even know how to answer that. I mean, no one knows how long their money is going to last. I try not to worry, but you worry. What happens when your paychecks stop . Because everyone has retirement questions. Ameriprise created the exclusive confident retirement approach. To get the real answers you need. Start building your confident retirement today. Stuart listen to this one. Mortgages for home purchases down 12 compared to a year ago. The refinance market now makes up more than half of the market. Cheryl casone, what is going on . Cheryl 52 . That is more than half. First, we are not seeing those firsttime homebuyers coming to market. Also what we are seeing is they will see Interest Rates begin to pick up later in the year. They are starting to act now. The investment money had come in, but the residential money, the actual homeowners, those that will buy a home and keep that home, they are not in the market. There are many ways that we can analyze this. There are a lot of problems in the market. Stuart i had the mortgage ceo this morning. New element. Ce student loans. You cannot do it because you have a student that around your neck. That is a big negative factor for housing. Cheryl they are getting jobs, they are lowpaying jobs. The job market is so rough right now. Especially the ones that are coming out of college. Stuart i have no sympathy. They voted for obama. They got what they asked for. Cheryl for children. Stuart Cheryl Casone, we will see you next hour. Cheryl we will talk about the unemployed. Lovely for the unemployed. Bad for you and i. Stuart half of them have given up totally. They have given up completely. They are using taxpayer to do it. We will talk about that. Stuart i am not capable of teasing anything. I just give the story. The dow falling to 6000 in the next year or two, the guy who says that is back. Plus, dr. Keith ablow weighing in. A school canceling honors night. Our obsession with football. Of course, our obsession. Our number two is just minutes away. [ male announcer ] what if a Small Company became big business overnight . Like, really big. Then expanded . Or their new product tanked . Or not . What if they embrace new technology instead . Imagine a companys future with the future of trading. Company profile. A Research Tool on thinkorswim. From td ameritrade. A Research Tool on thinkorswim. Can you start tomorrow . Yes sir. Alright. Lets share the news tomorrow. Today we failrly busy. Tomorrow were booked solid. We close on the house tomorrow. I want one of these opened up. Because tomorow we go live. Its a day full of promise. And often, that day arrives by train. Big day today . Even bigger one tomorrow. When csx trains move forward, so does the rest of the economy. Csx. How tomorrow moves. Stuart stocks are up. We like that. Look at who is coming. Hairy dads. He is the only guy who tells you when the doom and gloom will happen. Breaking news as we speak. The white house makes your money available for Insurance Industry bailout. This is obamacare. Check this, too, please. We will show you a molecular center. Microsoft revealing a new tablet. Keith ablow is with us again. Cannot wait to hear what he has to say about that high school that and honor awards. I will take you back a generation. To those good old days of malaise. Stuart first of all, some big names. You know them and they are moving. Tiffany. They have raised their profit forecast. The stock is up 8 . Lower profits at target. They are trying to rebuild confidence after the data breach. Down 0. 09. That is it. Lowes results, disappointing. It has raised its outlook. Down 0. 37. Look at this. This is a triple digit rally. Up 113 points. We were up 150. We will take what we can get. Here is the key Interest Rate indicator. Slightly higher rates. The yield on the 10 year treasury moving up. Staying on the markets. We will bring in a doom and gloom are. I hope he does not mind that we call him that. Joining us now is harry. For all booms come to and end. Now, yes, we have to be on the downside. We have to be very skeptical of labor coverage that is totally build on stimulus and not fundamental. By late 2016. Within two and a half years. This whole bubble in stocks laze exactly overstocks from late 94 to early 2000. Stuart is it a bubble when some of these bigname stocks that have gone straight up have a price to earnings ratio of what, 18 or 20 . That is not a bubble situation; is it . The big bubble was in the late 90s. That was even bigger than the roaring 20 bubble. This is more like an aftershock. When you look at Robert Shillers model and you adjust for this at the colony of earnings, we are at levels that most major bull markets and bubbles have peaked. Not quite as extreme as in early 2000 feared we should not even be here. This is not even a real recovery. This is not real. The fundamental trends will get worse. Stuart, i look at patterns in the nearterm. We have a major third bubble peaking here at higher highs. It suggests that we will go to lower lows. We are in a way that keeps narrowing. I think we will probably see a peak in the next month. I am sticking to nearby target. Near 7000 peak. We will see Something Like 6000. This is not something you buy and hold. Stuart hold on a second. Could things turn around . Lets speculate for a second that there is a turnaround in america. We have a president that will cut taxes and give us fourfive 6. 5 world. I am not saying it is a new ronald reagan. Would you change your forecast . It is after my bottom target did i think you probably will see some sort of changes and talented. Longterm of politics does not drive. I do not expect the markets to fully bottom until about early 2020s when our fundamental indicators start to turn back up again. Yes, you will see a bounce in between. Hopefully, it is different than qe. Creating money out of nowhere and thinking you will make a difference. Stuart i have to repeat. Within the next month or so, we peak at 7000 on the dow. After that, at some point, it is really sharply down the hill. We will hit 6000 on the dow. Leave it at that. That is where you are coming from. Yes. Stuart you are a favorite guest on the show because you spell it how you see it. Harry dent, everyone. Thank you. We have a bombshell headline. It is about obamacare. It is from the l. A. Times. The administration has quietly adjusted part of the obamacare law. The white house wants Insurance Companies to keep premiums down before the election. You, the taxpayer, will make up the difference of the insurers. Essentially, it is a bailout. It will be funneled to the Insurance Companies. It is a bailout. That is the way i am reading it. Grace marie turner joins us now. Am i right . Absolutely. This all stems from the president broken promise, if you like your health plan, you can keep your health plan. We had to change the law to allow people to keep their plans. That meant they did not have to go into the exchanges and they have a much thicker risk pool than the insurers that they would get. The government is now saying, the administration, as you said, quietly said on friday afternoon in this huge pile the regulations, that they will make hhs appropriations available to meet any shortfall. They are absolute you are right, stuart, their goal is to keep premiums as low as possible. They will still go up, but they could sort if they did not have this basic thing. Stuart Insurance Companies could have their money, essentially, tops off if they were not making enough money. That is what i call a bailout. Previously, the Insurance Companies all put money into a pool and those with the healthier risk pools would transfer money to the company that got a sticker pool. Well, they are all getting sicker risk pools. They say that they will find money somewhere else and put it into this. Stuart this will be wildly unpopular. It seems like there was a choice of two bad things here. They could let premiums go up right before the election or they could bailout the insurers to keep premiums at current levels right before the election. Congress will not let this happen. The taxpayers will not stand for that. This is just the beginning. All we need to do is throw more money at the problem. That is exactly what they are trying to do again. Stuart grace marie turner, thank you very much for straightening us out on this one. Lauren simonetti is here. This is about obamacare. What is the story . Using the taxpayer as the atm. The whole point of obamacare is not to use the emergency room as the doctors doctors office. We are still doing this. You will not believe these numbers. More people have access to healthcare. Additionally, it gets even worse. This stuff will blow your mind. There has been a dramatic expansion of medicaid. A lot of primary care doctors do not accept medicaid. That is one of the reasons people are going to the emergency room. There is expected to be a shortage of 30,000 primary care doctors. But for obamacare, emergencies rooms that a grade of a c. They have gotten worse. This has happened in the state of massachusetts as well. Stuart thank you very much, indeed, lauren. We keep our eye very closely on retail operations. Bricks and mortar. I want you to tell us, nicole, about pets mart. We love our pets. The stock is down 8 . The ceo noting he was happy with earningspershare growth. The sales were a complete mess. Though volatile consumer environment, they did not achieve their sales goals. The ceo noting exactly that. Not good news and hitting new lows. The number one loser on the s p 500. Stuart some people are going online for those big petfood purchases. Someone like me. We have microsoft. I do own some microsoft stock. Thinner, lighter, faster than the last model. Microsoft said it could replace your laptop. Here is jeff vancamp from digital trends. He knows about this stuff. Welcome to the program. Thank you. The surface pro three. Do you have one onset . Yes. This is the surface. Stuart you are in the business of making comparisons. How do you think it stacks up against, say, the macbook air . Well stuart just for starters. Microsoft is trying to compare this to the macbook air. It is at a macbook air price, but it does not run back. The problem is a lot of people do not like windows right now. Stuart that is the difference . That is the difference. Stuart you would say, what do you mean, oh sure . I caught that. Stuart you say the surface pro three does not match up very well against the matchbook air. Here is the problem. It is a tablet. It is trying to be a laptop. You can snap a little keyboard here. Using it as a laptop is not so good. Stuart i like microsoft. I owned the stock. You are beating it down. The problem is it is trying to be two things at once. Trying to do two things at once, it is not a great laptop. It is too heavy and too big to be a good tablet. Stuart are you calling it a failure . Anyone who wants to spend 930 2000 on a tablet that can also become a laptop will already be okay spending a little more getting a tablet and a laptop in the first place. It is very expensive. May i time and . Microsoft says get rid of your tablet and laptop. Get a surface pro three. Do you think apple is going in this direction anyway . Wouldnt that be what customers are going to want and not this . Yes. That is exactly right. There are rumors that they are going to add split screen. This is the same strategy microsoft has had four a few years now. Stuart you just do not like it. You try to be nice, but you just dont like it, do you. It is just too expensive for what it is. Stuart you are totally wrong. Microsoft stock is up today. 0. 47 higher. That is my Retirement Fund right there, young man. He has plenty more. Stuart seriously, you do not like it, you preferred the air folks. I would prefer to have a laptop and a tablet right nowllk on the program. [laughter] stuart our obsession with the nfl, Record Number of people on government handouts and, of course, facebook. Facebook is associated with depression. Less powerful interpersonal relationships. The Surgeon General should be putting a warning label on facebook, but he does not have the wherewithal or the guts to do it. mother vo when i was pregnant. I got lots of advice, but i needed information i could trust. Unitedhealthcares innovative, Simple Program helps moms stay on track with their doctors to get the right care and guidance. anncr vo thats health in numbers. Unitedhealthcare. Stuart dr. Keith ablow is here. We have a lightning round. Officials at a Rhode Island School district say we will let you have an honors night and then canceled it. Come on, i think this is a disgrace. Respond. Well, here is what i think. I think that it is important to recognize achievement. Why should we not do that academically, just in the way we would do that with a varsity sport event. I do think that these honors can be awarded in a setting in which all students are present. I think that is okay. I think it is a little unusual to have an honors night. I have not heard that so much. Stuart oh, come on. Celebrate success. Put them on a pedestal. Tell them they are good because they work hard. Stuart, we are living in the facebook age. I know that these kids are already narcissistic. We will mention new at graduation. We will note that in the newspaper. Really . And honors night . Stuart i have to move on. 47 of the unemployed have completely given up looking for work. What is with the psyche of someone who is presumably ablebodied saying they are not looking for work. That is outrageous. You know it. These people are getting a disabling message from washington. They add up the numbers. They cannot make as much as they are paying me to stay at home. I believe that this is kind of in agenda. Believe it or not. This notion of not urging people to perform or out performed is very consistent with the Obama Administration. Stuart i am glad you are turning around a little and beginning to see things from my point of view. At t wants to buy direct tv. Why . They want access to the live sporting events. Do you think that we are obsessed with sports, doctor . We are. In terms of watching, i think it is a drug, to some extent that is distracting america for their own lives. We are so ready to be inhaled by entertainment that the sporting act committees of other people, these professional athletes, i think and take us away from our own existences. It can be a drug. Stuart okay. Here is your favorite one of the day. Facebook. It has a new button. Why are you single . Why are you single . Do you have any of jackson to that . I have no particular problem with folks inquiring that of other folks who have the judgment to put themselves out there. In fact, i would go this far, why have you not told me about your problems . What is it about all of these fun, foolish pictures of you that you have posted. Tell me the worst breakup you have suffered. Stuart this is one aspect of the Facebook World that you would approve of, i suspect. In a plague should one worry about a little bit more fever . No. Facebook is a plague. This particular symptom does not concern the dr. Anymore than the rest. Stuart a great pleasure to have you on the show. Thank you very much, indeed. I caught that. He tried to slip it in at the end. The world is in turmoil. Oh, yes, it is. The bad guys seem to be winning hand down. Does that take you back to the good old days of jimmy carter . My take is coming up next. Wheels turning round and round going back jack do it again true businessgrade internet comes with secure wifi for your business. It also comes with public wifi for your customers. Not so with internet from the phone company. I would email the phone company to inquire as to why they have shortchanged these customers. But that would require wifi. Switch to comcast Business Internet and get two Wifi Networks included. Comcast business built for business. Stuart just look at what is happening overseas. The world is in turmoil. The bad guys seem to be winning hands down. This is what i call our National Mood. It reminds me of the malaise. Reality though, it is not pleasant. Here is my take. Consider this list of headlines from the last week. Civil war in libya. A very unstable area. A merger class between china and japan. Martial law in thailand. Poison gas used again by syria is that. Russia owns crimea. Fighting in ukraine. This is not a peaceful, stable world. The president was consumed with domestic scandal. Irs stonewalling. His Approval Rating way down. Add it all up in there is a parallel with the late 70s. The National Mood now is very similar to what it was then. Anxiety, malaise. I am not suggesting that everything that has gone wrong is the president s fault. What i am saying is that this mess started when america began its retreat from the world. I am saying that president obama lacks the leadership abilities. Right now, he seems isolated. He seems disengaged. Overseas, he draws lines in the sand and then does nothing when they are crossed. At home, he learns about dying veterans in the media. When syria of saud drops barrels of poisonous gas on children and gets away with it, you know something is wrong. When the president s Signature Healthcare plan is in shambles, you know things are not going well. We cannot be happy about this. Americas reputation is standing. They are at issue. Malaise is an understatement. Are we still on for tomorrow . Tomorrow. Tomorrow is full of promise. We can come back tomorrrow. And we promise to keep it that way. Csx. How tomorrow moves. What a day. Cant wait til tomorrow. Im dave and i have copd. Im kate and i have copd, but i dont want my breathing problems to get in the way my volunteering. Thats why i asked my doctor about breo. Oncedaily breo ellipta helps increase airflow from the lungs for a full 24 hours. And breo helps reduce symptom flareups that last several days and require oral steroids, antibiotics, or hospital stay. Breo is not for asthma. Breo contains a type of medicine that increases risk of death in people with asthma. It is not known if this risk is increased in copd. Breo wont replace rescue inhalers for sudden copd symptoms and should not be used more than once a day. Breo may increase your risk of pneumonia, thrush, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. Tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high Blood Pressure before taking breo. Ask your doctor about breo for copd. First prescription free at mybreo. Com [ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. She can print amazing things, right from her computer. [ whirring ] [ train whistle blows ] she makes trains that are friends with trees. My mom works at ge. My mom works at ge. Carstheyre why we innovate. Theyre who we protect. Theyre why we make life less complicated. Its about people. We are volvo of sweden. Stuart a new study. They say cereal prices are about to go up and Global Warming is to blame. Every time there is a gaffe in the car, i never expect to pay the same thing. They are out with an ad, a campaign charging the 10 biggest mobile brands. General mills and kellogg. Not doing enough to acknowledge Climate Change and cut their Greenhouse Gas emissions. The price of corn flakes over the next 15 years will go up by 44 . Stuart that is it . 44 . This is what kellogg says in response. They are working. They will do it by 1520 next year. Stuart thank you very much, lauren. The market likes this. Google is up 5 at 5546. Of 11 at 383. We really like to bring you the latest geewhiz technology here on varney company. It is called the site oh. This is a handheld molecular scanner. It can instantly give you any information on the food you eat to the medicine you take. Earlier, i was trying to tell the audience what you have here. If you have an apple and you have your Molecular Device here, you put them together and the device can tell you whether the apple is right or not and how many calories it has. That is correct. Stuart this is pretty geewhiz stuff here. You can do this with anything . Medicine, for example. We can do it with everything that is in our database. That is the reason we launched a kickstart her campaign. Stuart you are looking for money to back this device. You will put it out commercially . Correct. This is a device that we will ship at the end of this year. This is the sensor that is in there. Stuart what could i use this for . I am interested. I will buy one, if i can afford it. It is pretty affordable. You can use it to get information about nutritional values. It is very large and cumbersome. Stuart you mentioned plans. What would it tell me about geraniums . For example, it will help everyone know when you need to actually wanted the plant before you see it. We are actually engaging thirdparty developers to build more and more applications as we build the database. Stuart can you tell me in 20 seconds how it actually works . It seems like star trek to me. Well, there is no magic and witchcraft here. It is basic science. We shine a light on materials. It vibrates the molecul stuart i want to be the first guy to get one. This is fascinating. Please come back. We want to know that you are raising money. How much. Where i can buy one. We want to know. Thank you so much for being with us. We do appreciate it. Nearly 11 Million People on disability. That is a record. It is a new normal. Stay right there. We will deal with it in the real Halftime Report which is next. I get by with a little help from my friends going to try a little help with my friends do you need anybody i need somebody to love can you see anybody i want somebody to love te sector jobs. Making new york state number two in the nation in new private sector job creation. With 10 Regional Development strategies to fit your business needs. And now its even better because theyve introduced startup new york. With the state creating dozens of taxfree zones where businesses pay no taxes for ten years. Become the next business to discover the new new york. [ male announcer ] see if your business qualifies. Become the next business to discover the new new york. If. Hey breathings hard. Know the feeling . Copd includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Spiriva is a oncedaily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that helps open my obstructed airways for a full 24 hours. Spiriva helps me breathe easier. Spiriva handihaler tiotropium bromide inhalation powder does not replace fastacting inhalers for sudden symptoms. Tell your doctor if you have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. These may worsen with spiriva. Discuss all medicines you take, even eye drops. Stop taking spiriva and seek immediate medical help if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells, you get hives, vision changes or eye pain, or problems passing urine. Other side effects include dry mouth and constipation. Nothing can reverse copd. Spiriva helps me breathe better. Does breathing with copd weigh u down . Dont wait to ask your doctor about spiriva. Microsoft is unveiling the latest version of its surface tablet. It has a removable keyboard cover and microsoft is billing it as an alternative to a laptop. It is available for preorder today. It will cost you 2000. Netflix is making a big push into the european market. Lets check netflix shares right now. They are up better than 3 right now. Yahoo is close to finalizing ray. Negotiated by yahoo s Ceo Marissa Mayer in recent months. Yahoo shares are up. Coming up next, the real Halftime Report. Verify and lock. Command is locked. Five seconds. Three, two, one. Standing by for capture. The most Innovative Software on the planet. Dragon is captured. Is connecting todays leading companies to places beyond it. Siemens. Answers. Stuart yes. Here it is. The real Halftime Report. Scott sala delta, Cheryl Casone right here. Nearly 11 Million People collected disability and april. That is up from when the president took office. Scott, what does that tell you . Some people actually do need the disability. It becomes a better option when they need it. Real disposable income was brought up by 4 . Since 2010 we have been averaging and losing because of the participation rate. Maybe not as many people will choose that disability option. Stuart thank you very much. Luxury. It sells these days. Tiffany hitting a 52 week high. Nicole thank you for giving me tiffany. I love tiffany. Who doesnt. We saw the profit jumping. The ceo noting that they found the balance between fine jewelry, affordable jewelry, doing well with new products and the lip line. As they boost their outlook, the stock here is jumping. We have General Motors recalling another 218,000 cars. That brings a total recall 214 million vehicles. What does gm have on the road that is not being recalled, i may ask. Are you buying General Motors stock around 33 a share . I absolutely am. I like it down to 32. I think most of the recall news is out. They took a 1. 4 billion, set aside in the first quarter. It is a great buy in here. Stuart it does not go below 33 or at least it has not recently. How about apple . You Like Apple App 400. Now it is at 600. You still like it at 600 . Right here, i think it will have a little trouble. I think originally it would get there easy. We sold some calls. I think we will try to get out and about at about 620. We get out at about 624. Look for september to buy back in. You buy by General Motors and you sell apple. That is very interesting. Tells me a lot. We get the fed minutes at 2 00 oclock this afternoon. Are you really waiting with baited breath . No, but i guess that is the only thing we get to wait for today. Maybe give the markets market a little bit of a move. I think everyone is playing a little defensively. She has been kind of good for the markets ever since her first talk. I say this, it just does not matter. Show me the growth. Look at that gdp. We need to get going. Stuart well said. The figures that we get all of the report we get at 2 00 oclock. You trade actively. Are you waiting with bated breath . I hate to admit it, but i am always waiting with bated breath. The chair said, what they are all saying, i think you kind of have to watch everything now. Stuart i have another number for you. 47 of the unemployed have completely given up looking for work. Cheryl 82 of those surveyed actually say that the benefits will run out and they may look harder. What does that tell you . People are more comfortable sitting on the couch then going out and looking for work. The Employment Situation is so bad. The benefit, if those were to run out, they say that maybe they would go out and look for a job. What the taxpayers are saying right now, a sad fact that they are not hiring any more. Stuart last word from charles. 3 i think we have become too much of a welfare state. I think it is a bad direction to be going in. Stuart that is if from all of us. They give very much indeed for joining us for the Halftime Report. Thank you one and all. First it was concussions. Now painkillers. We will do with it after this. mother vo when i was pregnant. I got more advice than i knew what to do with. What i needed was information i could trust on how to take care of me and my baby. Luckily, unitedhealthcare has a Simple Program that helps moms stay on track with their doctors and get the right care and guidancebefore and after the baby is born. Simple is good right now. anncr vo innovations that work for you. Thats health in numbers. Unitedhealthcare. When folks think about wthey think salmon and energy. But the energy bp produces up here creates Something Else as well jobs all over america. Engineering and innovation jobs. Advanced Safety Systems technology. Shipping and manufacturing. Across the United States, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. When we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. Thats not a coincidence. Its one more part of our commitment to america. Cozy or cool . Meow or woof . Wheels or wheeeeels . Everything exactly the way you want it. Until boom, its bedtime. Your mattress isnt bliss its a battleground of thwarted desire. Enter the sleep number bed, designed to let couples sleep together in individualized comfort. Hes the softy his sleep number setting is 35. Youre the rock your setting is 60. That works. Hes the night owl. His sides up while youre in dreamland. Youre the early bird. Up and atem. No problem, because youre in it together. Keeping the love alive. And by the way. Snoring . Sleep numbers even got an adjustment for that. Crazy . Only if sleeping peacefully with your soul mate is crazy. You can only find sleep number at one of our 425 sleep Number Stores nationwide. Hurry in for memorial day weekend savings. All beds are sale, starting at 649. 99. Know better sleep with sleep number. A safe zone for the traffickers. That is your exclusive interview tonight at 7 00 p. M. Eastern. Stuart a former Football Players are suing the nfl. Masking the symptoms of serious injuries. Joining us now is the wall street journal special editorial writer. They do not want any part of this. Absolutely not. They sell the concussion lawsuit for one reason. They want to get these problems off their play. Now they have another one. Jim mcmahon. Stuart he says, look, you give me all kinds of painkillers way back when. Now, i am paying the price. I want compensation from the nfl. If the nfl caves, gives in, give some money, settles this thing, dont they open a huge can of worms . Absolutely. There is no professional athlete out there that has not taken a painkiller so they can get back on the field. They are playing constantly. Training constantly. They live in pain. All of them want to be on the field. The question is, what information do they have about what the repercussions of taking that medication will be. Stuart we want them back on the field because we want our star player to win for our team. Absolutely. It is all part of the game. You do everything you can while you have the chance to do it. Stuart look. Okay. You are in the middle of a game. You get injured. It is painful. Will you ask the trainer what you are giving me . What are the side effects . That conversation probably is not taking place on the field. It is probably taking place in a training room. Who are the doctors and the trainers working for . Are they working for the coaches and the team . Are they working to protect the interests of the player . Will that person say, you know, i do not know if you should take this. This could really hurt you down the line. Stuart this will be a pressured conversation on the field. Those questions will be asked on the field. Will they not . Absolutely. Every player will want to take the medication. Stuart i want to stay on the field. I want to win. What may happen is what you see on the sidelines is you start having more independent positions on the field. Sort of sort of overseeing the evaluation process. Stuart it is made. Football season starts. Exhibition season out the summer. Stuart my guess is the nfl settles in one way or another. Pays some money before the season starts. I would make that that. The nfl has shown one thing. It will fight for a while before it is plaintiffs too much power and too much leverage. Do they want this on their plate . Do they want people talking about this . Absolutely not. Stuart you are a big sportswriter. I write a lot. I am spending all my time these days getting ready for next month in brazil. Stuart you do know about soccer. We call it football here. Stuart no you dont. I know. [laughter] stuart you can come on the show anytime. Your take on this show is next. Middle school kids on the honor roll, they do sports, dance and do everything and still make good grades and i asked my daughter last night and she, quote, said to you to say that is so stupid. Why should you be included with people who dont care and dont study . Is unfair. Stuart that was tracy byrnes, a reaction to the decision to cancel honor night because the event was too expensive. The school decided to go ahead and hold the event but you have a lot to say about the schools initial decision to cancel. Jay says we are no longer raising leaders. It is short and to the point. Peter ads at my point at school, they a wide prizes to students of all classes and the entire student body. Tracy everybody gets a ribbon. Everybody gets a ribbon, you are all equal whether you are at the top of the class or bottom. Stuart here is dierdre bolton. Dierdre thank you very much. After a decade of intense talks, china and russia signed a natural gas deal worth some 400 billion. For raja getting access to the asian market as its relationship with the e. U. Schools. Lots of movement to tell you about, a Chinese Company that goes public, netflix pushing into europe comments and air b b cutting a deal, ebay hasnt been hacked, with the you should change your password and get more details on that straight away. Security and privacy, backbones of internet transactions. The headline on ebay is disturbing and i bring in my colleague, jo lin kent with the latest. A large number of users have been affected. Yes and we d