important. the market has been waiting for that. i will be interested to see if it picks up. that is it for us. >> we are up today. >> central banks to the rescue as fed chairman in the ecb signal action. >> bp evaluating platform workers we have their reaction live. >> lance armstrong stripped of his titles and the future for his $10 million of sponsorship. >> up-to-the-minute coverage

of the fatal shooting outside of the empire state building. shooter dead. and nine injured. now we go to the new york stock exchange. what about mr. burnett the? >> we are up 0.5% of the negative for the week. we thought durable goods raising would help but unfortunately not such a good number. the chatter is moving the markets. would get eli lilly the drugmaker showing promising results for alzheimer's drug although it missed the goal it did work well. it is up 2.6%.

>> talk about europe driving the market today that ecb will said he'll targets but a decision is not expected to come before september 6. angela merkel pledge to greece will remain in the eurozone. offering them time to breeze but she insists they stick to their commitment. now is not just her but the u.k. independent newspaper saying obama wants greece to stay in until after the election people worried if it exit it will damage the reelection bid. lori: asking for more time? time is money. that is asking a lot.

tropical storm isaac birling toward the gulf of mexico. there is concern it could disrupt oil production now we go to the cme pitch. how is this affecting oil? >> is up a little bit. the thunder kors the biggest platform that could be totally shutdown and oil is sold the higher. that is because of the domestic production on land. the question will come up will they be short over the weekend with the storm barreling down? they look brave so far. also harbach gasoline futures down almost $0.4.

sometimes they are worried about the man destruction. that may be why gas is faltering. ashley: we will see what tropical storm is it does. the national debt at $16 trillion enough to feed every 57 million american households at 187 years 6400 missions to mars and by a half a million-dollar house at 32 americans. how do we get back down? now covering the story and from washington d.c., not an

easy task? >> how big this big year is comment a way to visualize the mammoth size. spend $1 every second 32 years that is just one year. multiplied times 16. >> it is a ticking time bomb it will go off. >> it reaches a point* and is unsustainable it creates said economic implosion without an increase in is on the way. compound in the problem, baby-boomers for between 46 and 64 they are now retiring. >> and avalanche of seniors moving into medicare and

medicaid and social security. federal expenditures will go up faster than the economy and revenue can grow. >> not a onetime tsunami but they 20 year-long urges the. also approaching tax again where the tax cuts expire and sequestration cuts will kick in and. >> a significant tightening of fiscal policy leading to a recession next year. >> economist point* out it is not the 16 trillion figure but the trajectory. if the economy grows and robustly it will level out. but four years of

stimulative efforts it has done little to produce intended results. ashley: thank you very much. should you be worried? our special guest is not worried. we will ask him why in 20 minutes. lori: why facebook may hate wall street and rival twitter is learning from the mistakes. lot of reporting today mr. gasparino. >> yes with the situation in manhattan and this and interesting story. why it came about and what twitter is learning. i learned yesterday the

chief operating officer of facebook mark zuckerberg erred not well-respected on and wall street they feel they need adults in the room. she spoke with one institutional investor but tried to explain why facebook priced the deal as it did. it is now $38 then up at 45 but now below 20 her cushy tries to explain this. we wanted to screw wall street traders. ashley: is that how she put

it? [laughter] one did to prevent wall street from making money, the flippers but she said you allowed others your venture capital list or others. that hurts the entire approach and hurting the reputation of investors on wall street. this is getting back to the founder of twitter who was learning from these mistakes jack dorsey, she is a kid but smart enough to know you have to work with all street before jumping in with of bru-ha-ha including jamie diamond to plot the future of the company. this is what worries wall street. it had no growth structure

it is outgrowing down with profits and revenues. now left in the lurch and cheryl samberg does not show confidence but jack has a more enhanced plan. >> as of yesterday it could happen in one year. you don't want to say definitely. they change their mind but at least one year. lori: i found out about the empire state building from twitter. random boast that is quicker than the media. >> that is interesting. you have to monetize that.

they're looking at variations of the business model. heidi you monetize that? if i can use facebook tomorrow? not a big deal. but my knees it is really q. [laughter] -- q to i need twitter every day. lori: but as much if it had advertising? >> that is what he is weighing. >> the issue with social media how you grow? but any business demands growth. lori: now give our handle. [laughter] did you just give your

personal email? [laughter] and making money with charles payne of next. mitt romney learned bain capital needs to do to buck up the economy. take a look at metals and gold is still climbing. it is at one douses $674. so... [ gasps ]

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lori: stocks now every 15 minutes at the new york stock exchange with major move furs? >> the big losers posting numbers and with ms. estimates for the first time in almost two years. the automaker announced it would cut stock and the outlook. also the big winner today the knicks and rangers the profit at madison square garden tripled. you can see up 4 percent

right now. back to you. ashley: time to make money with charles payne. a stock good for your portfolio. >> then it will pay for your next vacation. the august 7 priceline guidance was horrendous. including expedia. $3.50 that has not changed since the numbers came out and the model is different. i like this a lot. from where it is trading you

have the key resistance point*. but so far they have not disappointed wall street. >> the packages now are building the corporate business as well. they stamped out a solid edge and they own hotels' stock. from the valuation point* of view, revenue is good good, everything that i look at that heritage is what i will say. there is margin

compression, we take the match their word but the next time the stock could be on its way. >> seven time georgia france winner used performance and hand same drugs to cheat his way to the top according to the united states antidumping agency. he does not agree but we have the story. lori: looking at the dollar it is rebounding slightly but hiro is as high as we have seen it in a while. more after this.

>> 23 past the hour. fox news minute. amana madoff last year shot and killed a former co-worker near the empire

state building. jeffrey johnson died in a shootout with police. nine people were injured. some victims could have been hit by police bullets. all will survive. >> tropical storm isaac ready to hispaniola. predicting it will blow onshore haiti tonight and then hit the gulf coast just-in-time for the rnc held in tampa up. one couple took to the air in jet packs in california. exchanging thousand while hovering over newport beach 81 it has to be california. the u.s. -- u.s. ada strip

aimed lance armstrong of his tour de france metals accusing him of using performance-enhancing drugs. our next guest is the managing editor from the u.s. network, why did he give up? i give been but i do not admit i am guilty? >> he has passed over 500 drug test. it has been constant allegations that they have heard this. the charges are from years ago i don't know the statute of limitations but i guess at this point* he gives up. ashley: did he fail the

doping test? >> i know the actual result. but it is from years ago. then why not charged guilty then? they seem to be brought up every so often somebody claims they would is something but when head-to-head he has beaten the charges. >> being stripped of his tour de france titles, he makes multimillion-dollar spree year with speaking fees, what happens to that? >> he has to give back the winnings during that period which obese several million dollars in. he was earning $17 million

from endorsements bring now it is above 10 million. he will probably lose some of that but to do his foundation to help people fighting cancer over 470 million has been raised since 1997. he has good will. nike will continue to support the foundation. ashley: i use surprised he took the step? i was not aware he had to give back the prize money. it is of big step? >> he wanted to get this passed him. the have not spoken to him but going hereafter year to say i don't need this.

i am retired. do what you want to do. lori: to read it the comments in the french newspapers of course, they claim he cheated. the big paper says he is pierced with the arrows of justice. ashley: but not prevent. lori: a sad story. there is a lot of zeros at the end of the it data. we will zero and on his take >> take a look at the winners and losers of the s&p 500. we will be right back.

ashley: time now for stocks. as we do every 15 men's, let's head to the floor of the new york stock exchange and our very own lauren simonetti. who has a guest, right? >> no guest right now, ashley. maybe a little bit later although i'm surrounded by potential guests. let's look at the dow and s&p 500 today. it is up day on a down week. for the dow and s&p we're probably going to snap what was a six-week winning streak. that is news there. we'll take the green arrows today because we haven't seen them all week. at one point the s&p 500 fell below the 1400 mark. but it is back above it now. right near the high of the session. so that is good news. also the only lagging sector today is the materials which was the worst-performing sector yesterday, although all 10 of sectors we watch were down yesterday. ashley, back to you. lori: lauren, i'll take it. thank you, ma'am. lovely in white. our national debt is approaching $16 trillion.

but the chief policy strategist at the potomac research group says, don't worry about it. he joins me now. it can't be as simple as that, gregg. go on. >> it is a pretty big number you have to agree. let me make a serious point. it doesn't worry the bond market. if it doesn't worry the bond market it won't keep me awake at night. lori: let me talk to you there. only reason u.s. rates are depressed because europe is in shambles. all the global investment money looking for a safe haven play is piling into the u.s. you don't have bond vigilantees out there. >> i will push back on that one. lori: okay. do your worst. >> this trend of interest rates plummeting has been a decade long trend. fors last decade, deficits have gone straight up. lori: yes. >> in the last year or two, move downward has intensified because of europe and the fed, i can't disagree with that. most people that study this, a lot smarter than me says

there is no correlation between deficits and interest rates. zero. lori: talk about the interest payments that doug mckelway was talking about. it could economy into recession alone because what we're going to be having to pay in interest alone on the 16 trillion figure. >> and to be fair, there are some things you have to worry about. one, obviously is interest rates. another is, we could be spending that money a lot more productively. lori: right. >> whether on infrastructure or lower tax rates. so i would be foolish not to acknowledge that. but i think, one of the key premises of the deficit hawks has always been if we don't do anything, boy, oh, boy interest rates will go straight up. it just hasn't happened. i in washington where wit is so difficult to get anything done, you need the catalyst from an angry market and you don't see it right now. lori: do you think we could get an angry catalyst? i mean is it just brewing out there? is there a straw waiting to break the camel's back? >> at some point. the timing is everything. the key would be, lori, if

the economy really were to recover, not this very a peoplic recovery we have now, but if we started to see gdp growth at 3, 3 1/2, 4 percent. that would automatically raise rates. the bond market would look at size of our deficits and would demand action. they're not demanding now. lori: i suppose a girl can wish, right, greg? >> yes. lori: pick your poison, 16 trillion or the fiscal cliff. does that make the debt more worrisome considering we have all the issues about to hit us at the end of the year? >> to me the fiscal cliff is a far more serious issue. what a way to run a railroad. to say to investors, to big companies, to markets, we don't know what tax rates will be on january 1. that is an appalling situation to have. i would argue it will be mid-december at the earliest before we get any kind of certainty on taxes. we have another four or five months to go with no one knowing where taxes are going to be. lori: i want to play you a sound bite from our

interview yesterday with the gop candidates, mitt romney. >> sure. lori: talking about the federal reserve. i know you had an interesting take on this. let's get your reaction. >> i don't think qe2 was terribly effective. i think a qe3, other fed stimulus will not help this economy. i think that is the wrong way to go. i think it also seeds the kind of potential for inflation down the road that would be harmful to the value of the dollar. i think harmful to the stability that our nation needs. lori: romney said he would replace federal reserve chairman ben bernanke. >> yeah. lori: what do you think of him being so forthcoming on that? >> i agree qe3 would not do a heck of a lot. whenever i hear a politician start to meddle wit with the fed i get nervous. whether barney frank or rick perry or ron paul on the right, i think politicians should but the out of the fed because largely they have done a terrible job on

fiscal policy they will get involved on monetary policy now? i don't think there will be enough to know about it. people have been warning about that yet for years and i it hasn't happened. lori: you're a good friend of stuart varney. >> yes. lori: thank you for taking time to speak with me today. greg valliere. >> thank you. ashley: is mitt romney's experience a help or hinderance? we'll talk with lou dobbs. lori: interest rates have not done anything to warn the markets or lawmakers that our debt is overwhelming or humongous. look at the 10-year. 1.66%. not at the lowest levels but pretty darn close. also unchanged, 30-year. back with more after this.

>> i'm cheryl casone with your fox business brief. the bulls are clearly in charge of wall street with the market snapping a downward trend that kicked off the trading day. news that european central bank may be taking steps to contain borrowing costs for greece and spain has investors optimistic. durable goods rose 4.2% in july. blowing past analyst expectations. marks the largest gain since december. taking out transportation factors, orders fell .4 of a percent. below the half percent gain

forecasted. durable goods are products built to last three years or more. general electric plans to unveil a new locomotive today that will meet strict u.s. emissions rules set to take effect in 2015. it will need to meet a epa standard to have 76% reduction in nitrous oxide a pollution engreedent for asthma. that is the latest from fox business, giving you the power to prosper

lori: gop presidential candidate mitt romney attempting to turn the national conversation back to his record as a business leader. in an op-ed published today in "the wall street journal" romney explains his experience is better for business. saying quote, my presidency would make it easier for small businesses and entrepreneurs to get investment dollars they need to grow by simplifying taxes. lou dobbs is here. wonderful to have you back at this time always on our

regular date. what is also interesting about the piece, his explanation of history and businesses he worked to shape in private equity, bain capital. >> absolutely. he mentions damon, one of the companies which a competitor which had been found guilty of medicare fraud. he ordered, i think he would say quite differently, effect tiffly insisted be an examination the way they were doing business. it is kind of leadership you expect. it's the kind of governance you expect in corporate america, when you have a business, that is run correctly and is committed to profit and stakeholders. the man who revealed himself in that op-ed is the kind of guy i like. ashley: yeah. >> the kind of guy, gal, whatever you want to say, the leader i like in business. that's one of the reasons i love business is you have got people who get excited about creating more. where there was no enterprise, no business, first an idea and then the execution of everything necessary to make that idea into a business and to

create wealth. it was, it is existing. by the way, you know what really excited me in that op-ed? ashley: i want to know. >> he used the word empowerment of employees. my lord, we haven't heard that word in connection with employees in this country in so long. not from any of the consultants who are of current import, let's put it that way. ashley: the attacked as, lou, from the democrats, paint him as a rich corporate shark essentially. he doesn't seem to so far have really addressed that. i mean we've got the convention coming up. people say, well, okay, they respect his business background. he is not that likeable. he can't seem to win on either side. >> i know that is quote, unquote a narrative. i remember by the way we used to call it a story. now it is a narrative. we've gotten really fancy in the 21st century. the truth is, the story doesn't hold up. and the story is something, it is, it is push polling.

we're watching the mia and -- media, much of the media trying to shove it down the throats of those reading, listening and watching. others are trying to be opinion leaders. the fact of the matter is, the man is who he is. what is ride is leadership. the man that emerged from the op-ed in the "wall street journal" is the kind of leader, i personally think we desperately need. and he is talking about his experience, his reality. it is not, it is not a campaign --. lori: i appreciated finally hearing more specifically about his history and what he accomplished or his challenges. and i almost wish we got that like a few months ago. but do you think this can quiet democrats and criticism? >> no, hell no. lori: will it help it or fuel it? >> what it can do, in my case, i can tell you it's worked. he has got me excited about thinking about how those skills and that experience and perspective and those values applied --. ashley: in this country.

>> to the oval office would translate. that is kind of an interesting proposition. lori: thanks. ashley: thank you, lou. as always. lori: catch lou with us every day at this time. of course 7:00 and 10:00 eastern. you have economist and former director of the congressional budget office, douglas holtz-eakin. you will ask him tough questions. >> these numbers like this? they're all tough. ashley: lou, thanks so much. all right it is 45 minutes past the hour. as we do every 15 minutes we head down to the floor of the new york stock exchange with our very own lauren simonetti. cigarette-makers getting good news. really? >> a split decision for the cigarette-makers today. we have lorillard down and reynolds american up. the news is that a u.s. appeals court ruled that cigarette companies do not need to comply with new rules requiring that large, graphic image on a cigarette box showing what smoking can do to you and some of them cite that is violation of the first amendment. so there is possibility because of this, split decision, that the appeals

court that the supreme court would take this matter up. but that is how we're looking at stocks of cigarette-makers today. back to you. ashley: interesting stuff. lauren, thank you very much. lori: what is tops on the republican national convention on nominating romney, maybe? ashley: avoiding a hurricane maybe? lori: there is that. congressman michael grim. that will be his first convention. ashley: bring an umbrella. next out, barge traffic on the mississippi moving but at a very frustratingly slow pace. we're talking to a cargo operator trying to stay on track despite the record low water levels. first, let's take a look at some of today's winners and losers. we'll be right back.

ashley: s&p 500 holding above the key 1400 level after reaching four-year highs earlier this week. one big difference this time around, stocks in the s&p are much cheaper than they were four years ago. sandra smith is here with details in today's trade. sandra? >> yeah, the last time we saw these levels, like 1422 is the level we were looking for but we popped above there this week. we haven't seen that going back four years the difference this time stocks in the s&p are much cheaper. you can really find some bargains. we found six stocks total. the first six stocks here trading cheaper than s&p and yielding higher than the s&p. aflac, we all know and love commercials with the duck especially, this insurer is beating the s&p 500 on all accounts. it is pretty much a bargain at these levels. i will pull up a one-month chart, guys. the stock is up 10%.

bargain prices, seven times earns right now. s&p is yielding 2.3. so it is beating. the other stock we're looking at is chevron. this is large cap stock to look at. very much tied into oil and natural gas's rise this evening. up 5% this month. so it is underperforming the rest of the market. four largest oil companies with great play on $100 oil. paid a dividend since 1912. a great dividend may. at $111 a share. it trades eight times earnings. lori, ashley, really a great stock to look at if you're looking for a bargain in the s&p 500 when it has got so high. lori: terrific analysis especially pointing out higher dividend yields. ashley: sandra, thanks very much. >> we're ways away from the republican national convention. threat of tropical storm isaac still looms over tampa a lot bigger issues at home. joining us congressman

michael grimm from new york. >> great to be here. lori: your first convention this will be. what are you expecting cliff getting closer and closer. what can you say about this? what will be said at the convention? >> i think one thing that has to come out of this convention is just how serious this is. unfortunately with the political rhetoric thats has been going on for decades people don't believe, is one

party trying to get an advantage over another? is there really a fiscal cliff or is this more political nonsense? unfortunately this time it is true. this is as real as a heart attack and if we don't get our act together and start coming together as a congress and really getting solutions passed into law --. ashley: is the compromise there though? because the rhetoric in washington is ugly. >> right now it is not. no question we're completely polarized. in all sincerity i don't want to bash the president. that's not what i'm saying. he hasn't shown leadership to which us together. he done the opposite. he divided us. president of the united states leading and dividing everyone very hard to get congress together. lori: what must be hard energizing the republican party at convention and speaking to specifics and what needs to be done in terms of spending cuts, you know, avoid the fiscal cliff. how will you balance that? what does the party need to do to be successful? >> the party needs to do is exactly what paul ryan does.

he breaks things down in very common sense, easy language you can understand and he sincere. he's honest. he is not --. ashley: you worked very closely with him? >> i worked very closely with him. i can tell you whether you're democrat, republican or independent, if you get to know paul ryan the more you get to+++ in five to 10 years, medicare is going bankrupt. insolvent. we won't have it anymore. if we do nothing we're

hurting seniors. we must do something for future generations. that is one of the messages that have to get out there. make sure they have everything that they have owed and everything they earned and really promised but for future generation this is is not a sustainable formula. ashley: for mitt romney, the presumptive nominee, what does he have to do in that big speech at the convention that launches momentum toward the election? because there is criticism he is just not able to relate to some of the voters out there. what do you hope he can deliver? >> one, i think he has to draw on personal experiences. he has to hone in on being proud of his father's success. being proud of his opportunities and his own success. he is successful. there is nothing wrong with that. i was raised, my parents wanted me to be successful. my dad worked relentlessly three jobs so i could have education he didn't have so i didn't have to break my backswinging a hammer and i could go to school to use my mind. the american dream is still alive with everyone. if he can tap that and bring

everyone out and show how proud he is of his father's success and his own success, because the country gave him opportunity. opportunity. notice what i said the country gave him the opportunity. it was hard work, dedication, to be innovative. that is what makes or breaks --. lori: isn't it brilliant the theme of the convention is, we built that? >> i think that's wonderful. lori: very clever. >> very clever. ashley: don't forget the umbrella. >> i won't. lori: district is staten island and parts of brooklyn. >> great to be here. ashley: delaying the inevitable? new reports say president ball is pushing for greece to stay in the eurozone until at least after the u.s. presidential election. so, can greece hang on until november 6th? markets now continues right here on fox business.

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ashley: welcome back, everybody, i'm ashley webster. lori: tgif, ash.

on the day where with the markets are climbing. i'm lori rothman. stocks are higher but slightly off the session highs. dow and s&p are up more than 2/3 of 1% but unfortunately on track to snap a six-week winning streak. ashley: not easy to say. keeping the mighty mississippi rolling. we'll hear from one barge company chief how the low water is affecting his business and what he says is the silver lining in the slowdown for american commerce. lori: plus a new york man laid off from his job opened fire outside the empire state building this morning. two people are dead including the gunman. several more are injured. we'll bring you latest as it develops. time for stocks now as we do every 15. lauren simonetti on the floor of the new york stock exchange. >> tgi friday, guys. session highs set to round out the week on a plus note but the week has been a down week. for the dow industrials we started the week at 13,275. that is where we closed out

on friday. obviously lower now after gaining for six straight weeks. as for the s&p 500, we started the week at 1418. at one point today we up didded below that key 1400 psychological level but we're back above there now and set to end up higher, with the dow snapping a six-week win stwreek. nasdaq set to snap a five-week winning streak. that is how we look today. comments from ben bernanke in a letter sent to the house that qe3 is certainly on the table and scope for further action. those are the quotes exactly from the letter exactly. ashley: that is what the markets like to hear, lauren, thank you very much. greece begging for more time, not not money to rebuild the its economy. prime minister samaras said they will fulfill their obligations. we have heard it before.

he made that statement after a meeting with germany's chancellor angela merkel. they will stand behind the country as it tries to rebuild. european central bank is reportedly setting yield targets under a new bond buying program to help lower costs for greece, spain and perhaps italy. a decision is not expected before its next policy meeting on september the 6th. lori: is it shocking for greece to ask for even more time? ashley: not really. let's be honest, the more money you throw at greece the less likely you will get it back. they're trying to buy extra two years. they were given two years to get all these things in place. they say it is not possible. they are incredibly painful. give us four years. the troika will have a report they release next month. lori: this goes on and on. i wouldn't be surprised germany and france bails out on its own. you guys tried -- is that ridiculous thing to say. ashley: germany gets a lot out of the eurozone.

they have a big interest in it surviving. lori: interesting discussion. the latest chapter at least. talk about the pharmaceutical industry. eli lilly, big news. new alzheimer's drug failed two late-stage studies. it traded at all-time high because of good news on alzheimer's treatment. adam shapiro with very latest. adam? >> this has to do with the kind of lesson you get when a study doesn't succeed for the reasons you want it to succeed but you learn something in the process. this of course does have to do with eli lilly's alzheimer's drug. what they found for people with advanced stages and medium stages of alzheimer's there was no benefit to taking this medication but in a company press release they actually said that for people in a mild form of alzheimer's, it did slow, it slowed the cognitive decline of those people. now, that's important pause no drug to date has ever been able to at least be shown to slow the cognitive

decline of the millions of people who suffer with always himesers. right now, 2012, 5.2 million. by 202011, 6.7 million. 2050, 11 million to 16 million. this is positive news in the sense that eli lilly stumbled upon something they think is worth pursuing. you see that reflected in the investors driving up the stock price. this is what the ceo said. this is from the press release. we recognize the drug studies did not meet their primary end points but we're encourage by the pool data that appeared to show a slowing of cognitive decline. we intend to discuss the data with regulatory authorities to gain insights on potential next steps. not a cure. nothing clearly close to coming to market. what you definitely have is a drug in these stages has been shown in mild cases of alzheimer's to slow down the cognitive decline. back to you. lori: thank you, adam. ashley: u.s. coast guard

reporting barge traffic improving along the mississippi river but still moving slowly following record low water levels across the river. we're joining us with more with the company, sorry, going straight through, aren't i? lori: let's bring in greg phillips, ceo of ingram barge. craig, forgive us it has been quite a long week. i'm sure for you too considering the drought and the low mississippi water levels. so tell us how it impacted your business. >> lori, thank you for inviting me to join you today. we've been contending with low water since june 1st although it has gotten worse the last 30 days. our first most important priority dealing with this situation like we do every day to make sure we're operating as safely as possible and we do that in collaboration with the other carriers that are using the system and with the army corps of engineers that maintains the waterways and the u.s. coast guard that is the traffic cop. and i think overall we've done a remarkable job of avoiding any significant

casualties as we face a low water in spite of the fact it is leading to real hardships for operators like ingram who are contending with very difficult situations right now. ashley: craig, like the kind of airline analogy. where you have delays in o'hare or jfk, kind of, is a situation where that traffic built up very quickly and you see a lot of delays. is that the same situation on the mississippi? >> well it is similar in a way but the airline analogy is a good one. imagine if the airline industry had been told on june 1st that they were going to have to operate all of their airplanes with 10% of the seats empty. then they got to july 1st and they said, let's take another 10% of the seats out of service. that is kind of what we've been facing as we had to reduce of the size of the toes we operate, flotillas of barges in front of the tow boats and had to reduce the drafts of our barges. like operating our network at 75 or 80% of the capacity

is is really designed for. of course that has impacts on our customers and we've been working hard to make sure we can fulfill all their obligations as i'm sure all the other barge operators have been doing as well. lori: to kind of recapture, you're not only dealing with the low water levels but also reduced cargo because of the drought affecting the grain yield, is that true? >> well, the, we won't see the impact of the drought on the harvest probably until the fall. lori: okay. >> that's when most of the grain looks to move in this country. so we're unfortunately anticipating that, that the demands from our agriculture customers are likely to be less robust than we'd like them to be as we get into october and november. ashley: craig, i was just looking through some of these notes. the last time it's been this bad with regards to the drought or water level, 1988. how does this compare to back then? >> well, we're not, we're not done yet. the drought that year extended through the month of september and we're certainly hoping that we'll see some relief from some

weather, maybe this hurricane will give us some rainfall in the heartland. but it's, it's really equivalent to 1988 in terms of low waters we're experiencing today, are every bit as low as those we faced a year ago. i would like to say in our judgment the work that the army corps of engineers has been doing over the last couple of decades to improve the channels and the way that they manage the system, i think it has had some positive effects relative to what we saw 25 years ago. lori: quickly, craig, seems last year around this time you were dealing with overflowing water levels. weren't you there? ashley: i was covering it. lori: now you have too low water levels. you really can't mess with mother nature. how do you balance it out? it has to be so frustrating for you. >> we have places like memphis the water a year ago was nearly 50 feet higher on the mississippi than it is today. it is a testimony to the resilience of the system that has been built over the last century, that the

operators and in collaboration with our government partners are able to use the system in a safe and productive way irrespective of what mother nature throws at us. ashley: craig phillip, thank you so much from the great city of it nashville. lori: he is about of luck to you. coming up, a different kind of drought hurting california's $40 billion farm industry. it is not a shortage of crops but a labor shortage. one ranch owner will tell us why he can't find anyone to harvest his crops ahead. ashley: haverford chief investment officer hank smith says the market is showing signs of a bottom. he is you are guest next. we'll see how oil is trading toward the weekend. down a little bit even with isaac heading toward the gulf of mexico. price of crude, $96.25 a barrel.

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ashley: it is time to make money with charles payne. he is back this hour with another stock recommendation, this one from the consumer goods sector, charles. >> that's right. if i say helen of troy. you probably think, homer, paris. wooden horse. you think usc. you might think curling irons. you might know a little bit more. ashley: i wouldn't have said curling irons. >> you wouldn't have. for me i thought this was a old stodgy company but

they're doing some interesting things. the stock happens to be down. that is why it is a value play. that is why i'm looking at it. 7 pe peg ratio. one times sales, one times book. extraordinarily cheap in most ways. hear is the problem. execution. even though the quarter was a record quarter. i think these guys might be on the cusp of turning it around. housewares were up 13.8%. health care, home environment was up 28%. part of that the pur water filters, they acquired that company at end of last year. this is a company that is smart that is sitting on a ton of cash. lori: they will snap up something else. >> they are going to snap up something else. lori: maybe you shouldn't snap them up now. >> depend if they overpay. they're old line. personal care products, they were down 4%. i'm not hippest person when it comes to women's products. vidal sasson. ashley: we're glad for that. >> that is not rubbing me the right way. the other thing i think is

smart, the pu rflt acquisition is good. at these levels i like the risk/reward. helen of troy is something. ashley: you don't hear that every day. >> you really don't. unfortunately for the company [laughter] ashley: we changed that. >> we're changing that. ashley: very good. >> guys, see you later. ashley: as we do every 15 minutes, just that time. check the markets now. lauren sim sill on the floor of the new york stock exchange. lauren, what you got? >> i'm looking at oil stocks today. oil is set to rise for the fourth week until a row, 96.30 per barrel. as isaac barrels through the gulf of mexico we could feel the impact this weekend and on monday. couple oil refiners moving are bp, chevron, exxon, conoco. many of these names do about three million barrels per day in louisiana and mississippi. that is about a fifth of total u.s. production. so we certainly have to watch the situation. bp already told us they're going to evacuate their thunder horse platforms.

and royal dutch shell is preparing to evacuate nonessential staff. we're continuing to monitor the situation and moves we're seeing as we follow the path of isaac. back to you guys. lori: lauren with important stuff there. wet come news to retailers in border states in canada. canadians are taking shopping vacations to the u.s.. the canadian government says overnight travel to the u.s. was at the highest level in 40 years this year. strong canadian dollar and relaxation of security along the border helping to boost sales here. retailers may love the crowds but u.s. shoppers, they're putting up with long lines especially milk lines. u.s. mill prices are half of what canadian stores are charging. but low milk prices in the u.s. may not last long the drought may send the cost of milk up by 20% as early as october. ash, i might be dating myself but i remember going across the border to canada to go shopping when the

loony was around 77. ashley: prescription drugs were cheaper there. senior citizens by the busload go north of the border. it is fair exchange. lori: how times have changed. food inflation is coming around the bend. ashley: certainly is. despite concerns where stocks are headed next one big money manager says there are plenty of opportunities in this market. haverford cio hank smith has his picking with us. lori: as far as currency, let's see how the dollar is performing against its major trading partners. it is stronger against the euro but the euro is high, higher than it has been in a while. back with more after this.

>> at 20 one minutes past the hour i'm patti ann browne with your fox news minute. a man laid off from his job last year shot and killed a former coworker before randomly opened fire near the empire state building in manhattan. the allege he had shooter, 53-year-old jeffrey johnson was killed. nine others were injured. new york city mayor michael bloomberg said some of the victims may have been hit by police bullets. forecasters say tropical storm isaac will not probably become a hurricane until monday. it is heading toward the

coast of hispaniola. the five-day forecast has the storm shifting west. an exact course is hard to pinpoint. that leaves florida and the republican national convention within reach. u.s. anti-doping agency stripped lance armstrong of seven tour de france titles and banned him for live from professional cycling after the agency decided he used performance-enhancing drugs. he denies the charges but decided not to challenge them. those are the news headlines on fox business network. back to ashley and lori. ashley: patti ann browne of fox news, thank you so much. markets are up --. lori: happy friday, folks. ashley: there you go. ecb is looking into setting yield targets and, straight cameras shots on the sovereign debt buying program. my next guest says today's pop is the beginning. thinks we're near the market bottom. hank smith joining me now. hank, thanks so much for joining us. okay, look, the latest rumor coming out of europe, and

they seem to come out one an hour, maybe every 30 minutes that the ecb may look to place caps on those bond yields, how long will this drag on and how long will it impact markets here in the u.s.? >> i think the european situation is going to drag on for quite a while. i don't know if it will take the 28th, 29th, 30th summit to finally get to a market credible resolution but i think it is moving in that direction. and our view is we take draghi at his word, that they will do whatever it takes to keep the euro intact. it will be a bumpy road until we finally get some resolution. it will not going to be quick. ashley: meantime, what happens to the markets here? it is all doom and gloom and all of sudden will be sold whether ecb or bundesbank agreeing to all of this? how do you play it on this side of the pond? >> well, you know, you're right, it is all doom and

blame. in fact if you look at sentiment. look what investors are doing as opposed to what they're saying piling into cash with no return, piling into bonds with little or no return, that is indicative of fear and indicative of anxiety and i would say from a sentiment standpoint the market looks like a market low than a market top. there is no euphoria, that's for sure. we think the best way to play it if you're concerned about the volatility is the number one opportunity in equities and that is using stocks for yield. stocks that have dividend yields greater than fixed income yields. that opportunity has been with us for three years and it continues to be with us despite gains off of the bottom. ashley: how do you see it towards the end of the year? we're waiting. we have the fiscal cliff, that continues to get closer and closer. we have a big, obviously the big, presidential election which could change things a little bit. the general consensus though is, it will get better

towards the end of the year. although you say that but the markets keep wanting to go higher anyway but do you buy into that theory? >> i think what the equity markets are suggesting is that after the elections in a lame-duck congress they're going to talk -- take the path of least resistance and that is extend all of the current tax rates, suspend the sequestration of spending cuts, and whether that is for two quarters or for a year push it into 2013 and let the new congress and whatever administration takes over the white house, let them deal with comprehensive tax reform because i think that will be the number one issue in the first half of 2013. we were very close last year. i think it gets done in the first half of 201. -- 2013. ashley: very good stuff. hank smith of haverford. thanks for joining us. lots of good information from hank. american incomes were below where they were when

the recession ended three years ago according to a new report. gerri willis breaks down the numbers for us next. lori: first, let's check some of the winners with and losers on the s&p 500 with the dow up 91 points. all this thanks to comments from ben bernanke. market loves stimulus. watson pharmaceuticals on good news out of the drug sector overall, up 6% and change. qep resources also popping today, and net app up 4%. back with more after this. [ male announcer ] let's level the playing field. take the privileged investing tools of wall street and make them simple, intuitive, and available to all.

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gerri: stocks end on a positive note. the dow nearly triple digits but still the broad 2011 averages down for the week and the broad market average ending six weeks of gains. eli lilly shares rising 3% off of session highs after the drugmaker said its experimental alzheimer's drug showed progress treating patients in the early stages of the disease. tropical storm isaac could be heading to the gulf coast. how republicans on their way to the gop convention are preparing. how isaac's threat is impacting energy prices today. ashley: it is 30 past the hour. let's get a check of the markets as we do every 15 minutes. the dow 90 points. lauren simonetti at the nyse. >> we were just joking allied feels like purgatory for the stock market because nothing happens until september when we had our third meeting and the

jobs report and the ec meeting in the german high court meeting. what happens between now and then? >> we get churning in the market. we are up 100 points because ben bernanke assured the markets they stand ready but we are stuck in this 1400 trading range. everyone is paying attention to the convention and jackson hole at the end of the week which people will pretension to. don't think there will be any new information. you will just hear ben bernanke say they stand ready. what is interesting is comments out of mario draghi and what he thinks is going to happen. >> he said the bar high. >> he has that bazooka in the closet and is ready to use it and if he does anything short of the bazooka markets will be disappointed. >> you could say we are in purgatory but it is a good friday and like you said we are snapping six weeks of gains for the broader market.

ashley: we will be back in 15 minutes. >> does it feel like a paycheck is not stretching as far as a was even a couple months ago? if so you're not alone. gerri willis has more on the stalled income recovery. gerri: i hate to be the bearer of bad news that this report is i opening. consumer incomes have recovered a quarter of a ground they lost during the recession. median incomes are up 2.2% in 2012 since the beginning of the recession but 7.2% below where they were at the start of the recession and 4.8% below where they were when the recession ended. you would think things would be worse during the recession but there were sir after the recession so people who think thing that getting less optimistic are absolutely right. ashley: looks like companies paying less because jobs are scarce so they can go down.

>> fewer jobs. we are talking about media and. we're talking average in some cases and looking at households and in come over a number of people. yesterday i was reporting on the queue research findings that the median net worth, middle-income, 38,000 to 181,000. that has declined 28% over the last decade. that is the value of your house that is a large part of this. i find this really disturbing. we want to see america's prospects -- gerri: activity is sky-high which is why workers are not being added because -- gerri: corporations don't know -- [talking over each other] lori: sitting on $3 trillion in cash. that is how many are on the sidelines waiting for this sir in the.

ashley: there's so much uncertainty out there. taxes and health care and so on. where is all going. gerri: it is more difficult now than a decade ago to maintain a standard of living. people are not happy. got to have an economy where people can get ahead and get wealthy and no excuses. [talking over each other] lori: gerri willis. ashley: tropical storm isaac building strength as it moves toward haiti and the u.s. coast and strikes tampa during the gop convention. the very latest forecasts. how republicans are preparing for isaac. lori: as we do every day let's see how the ten year treasuries are moving. ben bernanke talking about more stimulus could be around the corner. no surprise covering recent lows moving up to curb the long bonds

at 2.78%. people with a machine. what ? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it ? hello ? hello ?! if youbank doesn't let you talk to a real perso24/7, you need an ally. hello ?

ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. >> adam shapiro with your fox business brief. amazon shares at an all-time high after the company announced it expanded its agreement with nbc universal. speculation about the company's tablet is pushing stocks higher. madison square garden scoring a big win with fourth quarter

results. revenue increased across every segment led by its sports division. the parent company of the new york knicks and rangers benefit from both teams from making it to the playoffs. verizon wireless and j.d. power at samuel study of mobile network quality. the company was said to have the best network in five of the six regions covered in the study which measures issues like dropped call rates and web connection errors. verizon is hoping its network will allow it to maintain premium pricing. that is the latest from the fox business network giving you the power to prosper.

>> tropical storm isaac heads with the dominican republic and haiti today. the latest on the storm and the path threatening the gulf of

mexico. >> getting really close to haiti at this point just about 1 35 miles south of port-au-prince not looking all that great on satellite imagery. breaking up a little bit or at least dry air getting into it. winds at 60 miles an hour. we are seeing some big storms in the center of it. that is one thing that could favor intensification over the next number of hours. all travel the models pull this to the west of florida and then somewhere making a landfall across the panhandle of florida tuesday night into wednesday morning. something like that. a lot has to happen and these models are not in agreement in the three to five day range. tomorrow we are talking about landfall across cuba on the southeastern side and depending how much time it spends a crossland will depend on how strong it is when it emerges into the gulf. a lot more time across the eastern parts of the gulf over the water. likely it will strengthen again will strengthen. how strong remains to be seen.

officially a category 1 storm. look how big this:is. not senate all at this point. anywhere from new orleans to at potlatch bay. a lot of people are going to get a lot of rain especially towards florida of to ten inches in south florida and parts of the panhandle and they have a lot of rain this year so we will see some significant flooding across much of florida when we get to tuesday and wednesday. lori: specifically for tampa. >> three to four inches of rain. winds 30 or 40 miles an hour with the rain but i don't think we're talking a direct hit and no big storm surge. we will see flooding around town because of the rain. lori: thanks again. ashley: let's go to the republican national convention in tampa. rick leventhal is there and maybe isaac will be making an appearance as well. >> tampa hasn't been hit by a major hurricane in almost 50

years. if the winds do reach 40 miles an hour it will close this bridge behind me so it could still have an impact even if there is a direct hit. the sunshine skyway bridge will close if winds reach 40 miles an hour not because of any structural issues but because concern about wind moving around on the bridge and also because the access to the bridge those roads are very low just above sea level so this one and three of this could shutdown and that could be an issue if there is flooding. could make a lot more difficult for conventiongoers to get to the convention and more difficult for half of the 3500 police and sheriff's deputies expected to help out with the r n c. the media with security issues on their own states and the national guard is -- florida's experience but but bad weather that tampa is prone to flooding. in june troubles to get the dump ten inches on tampa and downtown

was flooded. a lot of st. route. bridges were closed. some roads were washed out and there were sinkholes in the area. in anticipation of isaac people are beginning to stock up the especially in the keys which will get hit first. emergency management officials are encouraging people to gather up 72 hours of food and water and pet food to top off their gas tanks just to be sure and not get complacent. lori: thank you. >> tropical storms and hurricanes threaten real. people who have been through them will tell you that the outcome can be better if they prepare ahead of time. >> no one really knows how bad this is going to be so we just have to wait and see. tomorrow we will have a better idea and sunday we will know much better where the storm is headed. ashley: thank you so much. lori: oil is closing lower down $0.12 to $96.16 a barrel.

despite tropical storm isaac barrelling for the gulf of mexico bp evacuate workers at its thunder force platform. let's go to the nymex and j.j. woods and associates. interesting with the storm approaching crude is a lower today but there are other factors at work here. how do you see it? >> the market screams $97 and it is friday. people like taking money off the table and lightening up positions. like a previous guest said no one knows where the storm is going to go. it is nice to take a couple bucks off the table at the end of the week. ashley: natural gas edging higher and inventories rose last week. higher than expected. where is natural gas headed? >> we tested the 270 region. we got as high as 287 earlier in the session that natural gas is still going to move down. bp did evacuate platforms and

such but at this point all models indicate that it will basically go right up florida. really not disrupt production. we are looking at $2.55 for natural gas. lori: the petroleum economist reporting the i e a may release oil reserves in september. could that be bearish? >> that is real bearish. it might be a coincidence that they will release of around election time. i am hedging that. >> do we need those reserves to be open? john, can you hear me? do we need those reserves to be open? lori: we lost john. we lost him. ashley: those reserves being released right around election time. no coincidence. lori: more reaction when you get a chuckle when you ask question. doesn't matter what you say after that.

is a quarter till. let's get an update on the markets as we do every 15 minutes. lauren simonetti on the floor of the stock exchange. >> pretty good day across-the-board. 834 the outlet now looking at big loser today which is down 6%. volume is pretty big. typical you see 400,000 shares traded every single day but now looking up words of a million shares. the story is they are going to exchange a million shares of their convertible preferred stock with common stock and that was part of a privately negotiated deal. biggest loser to the hand and a bid for the market. ashley: they are good. ashley: kremlin and the system. lori: just about that time that most of us need a quick pick me up. you may want to think twice before taking your next coffee break. a study by johns hopkins medical school shows that while most folks turn to copy for a jolt

lead this new memory and attention span negative effective withdrawal actually reduce -- johns hopkins -- [talking over each other] turn to can been for in the first place is the negative impact. talk to me after not having a cup of coffee. ashley: if you'd keep drinking you are fine. just don't get into the withdrawal. lori: california farmers don't have the workers to harvest their crops. how it is impacting business like never before next. ashley: take a look at some of today's winners and losers. the dow up 82 points and of 3.4%. we will be right back. [ male announcer ] at scottrade,

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lori: breaking news looking at shares of gm down $0.10. we are hearing gm is in preliminary talks with the banks to increase its credit line from the wall street journal. gm could seek $12 billion more in available credit. the journal reporting these could help gm reduce its pension exposure. we will get the latest round of auto sales at the beginning of the month. the durable-goods sales orders were very strong, driven by higher sales of aircraft transportation.

some analysts expect good things for the latest round of auto sales and all that said gm still struggling, taxpayers still unknown a significant portion of general motors. analysts say stock has to reach $50 a share before taxpayers are off the hook. ashley: thank you. the s&p 500 remaining above the key 1400 level after hitting four year highs earlier this week but one big difference this time around, stocks are cheaper than they were four weeks ago. here with stocks you should be watching in the index is sandra smith with today's trade. >> we sort of bounce off of this showing key level of support for traders back above 1410 but here's the level we had earlier in the week. 1422 is the high earlier this year and we climbed above that and hit those four year highs and as we do that we look back

four years ago and see the s&p 500 considerably cheaper so we went and looked at s&p 500 stocks and looked at those stocks trading cheaper than the broader index. we showed you chevron at $111 and change. to lead eight times forward earnings meaning it is very cheap. here are a couple new ones. we all know coles recently beat expectations opening new stores reducing its debt and it is up 10% next month. average price, this stock has a p/e of just 12 under the s&p yielding higher. a good stock to watch. the other one is wells fargo. similar situation. dividend plays and double the dividend in march. a couple companies to keep an eye on. lori: a different kind of

drought plaguing california. a massive shortage of labour. farmers being hit hard. craig underwood is one of them. he turned down crop orders because he could not find the labor to produce them. we're pleased to have him join us. welcome to you. why would use it worker shortages worse than in previous years? >> every year we have more workers retiring as they get older and the borders so tight it is dangerous and expensive for workers who want to work here to cross over and also if any worker decides to return to mexico they won't come across. lori: workers -- illegal workers. why can't you find legal workers? >> there hasn't been a half for workers from mexico or any other country to work legally in this country for 20 or 30 years. i don't know exactly so most of the young workers that are a key

part of the work force are going to be undocumented. lori: makes for better immigration policy. >> it would be nice to have a dialogue about it. there are some solutions to get all sides to talk about it. lori: what would those solutions the. what would help you and your business? >> our goal would be to have a stable reliable work force. intricacies of working at immigration policy are outside my field of expertise. lori: interesting for your take. a bigger question, nationwide unemployment 80.3%. people are desperate for jobs. you would think it would have its and fiscal nightmare to deal with the. people would be fighting for the opportunity to work for you. >> we have no interest -- people looking at work in the fields.

farmers make up 2% of the population. few people grow up on a farm. if you don't learn the skills and ability to work hard in the field. if you have grown up working with computers you are not likely to want to work in the field. typically farmers the average work week is 60 hours at not too many people are accustomed to that. lori: you are chuckling. computer expert of professionals not want to step down -- i mean desperate times -- i am sitting here in a fantastic fungi that fox business but if my family was desperate i would hit you up for a job. >> we have a strong enough safety net where it probably doesn't get quite that.

i would be willing to guess most people if they are thinking about work -- we are totally off the radar screen. it is hard work. the people that do the work probably work harder than anybody else physically. lori: good luck to you. thanks for sharing your story. >> you are welcome. was he milking a cow? ashley: another financial crisis in the works. the head of the financial crisis inquiry commission joins liz exclusively. count down to the closing bell is next. hey! did you know that honey nut cheerios has oats that can help lower cholesterol? and it tastes good? sure does!

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liz: it is friday. last