of tomorrow s good friday holiday. right now, at the major averages. the dow down about 12.5 points. the standard and poor s down, the nasdaq actually up a little over 12 points. that s it for cnbc first in business. [ male announcer ] if you believe the mayan calendar, on december 21st polar shifts will reverse the earth s gravitational pull and hurtle us all into space. which would render retirement planning unnecessary. but say the sun rises on december 22nd, and you still need to retire. td ameritrade s investment consultants can help you build a plan that fits your life. we ll even throw in up to $600 when you open a new account or roll over an old 401(k). so who s in control now, mayans? that s good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition.
what is newt gingrich s legacy going to be from this campaign apart from the fact that he smeared and insulted the president using code language about being a food stamp president. history addiction lust comments about the president s expression of condolence to trayvon martin s family. what else is gingrich done during this campaign? i think that s pretty much it. thank you. thank you very much. next, george zimmerman s father aparts newt gingrich. welcome to the cnbc market wrap. stocks have turned around a little bit in the last hour or so. what began as a very soggy day has turned around. the industrials are now higher by 6 1/2 points. the standard and poor s 500 down 2.73. and nasdaq staying above 3,000 but it is down 7.5 point. [ male announcer ] what if you had thermal night-vision goggles,
43 percent said they would reconsider their plans if fares go any higher. those folks still planning to hit the roads. 44% say they will cut back on shopping. gas prices are making americans less optimistic about our economy. the conference board reports consumer confidence dropped this months after hitting a one year high in february. here is the reaction on wall street. the dow lost 44 points. nasdaq and s&p also down a little. home prices fell in most major cities in january for the fifth straight month. according to the standard and poor s shirley schiller index. off season for. prices are also down from january of last year. doctors tell sick people to lay off the sauce. new study shows alcohol may help folks from w. heart trouble. next time your flight attendant tells you to power down, you better listen up. why using your yelling phone on a cell phone on a plane could cost you tens of thousands of dollars.
i m hampton pierson. the dow falls to 69, standard and poor s at 4.23 and the nasdaq dropped. housing prices slipped 1.1% in february while building prices surged more than 5%. after the closing bell, oracle said it earned 62 cents a share in the third quarter, beating analyst estimates. that s cnbc first worldwide. now back to hardball. big political story tonight. welcome back to hardball. polls in illinois will be closed at 8:00 eastern and the contest between romney and santorum is getting more and more heated. romney called santorum an economic lightweight and
prison for stocking madonna in prison after he escaped from a mental place. 54-year-old robert hoskins left the los angeles area facility last friday without permission. back in 1996 madonna testified against him after he jumped the fence of her hollywood home and her security guard shot him. a jury convicted hoskins of stalking and threatening to kill her. before we go our team s top five things of the day. nicholas cage denies some bizarre rumors that is he a vampire. number four, the associated press reports the westminster dog show has dropped pedigree as a sponsor claiming ads like this one with a shelter dog were too sad. number three, the ratings agency standard and poor s cutting the grades of 34 italian banks today as that country struggles with pointing debt. number two, most of the republic presidential candidates making their pitches to conservatives at the washington conference today. tomorrow we will learn the results of the maine caucuses.