That debate begins now. Dr. J, at 1 06, is apple a buy or sell . Still a bigger buy than a sell at 106. It rarely does with these announcements. I dont know that theres anything that jon fortt has said thats really that earthshaking about this particular announcement. The big one, of course, is going to be in the fall with the iphone 7. Nonetheless, people that were late to this one instead of buying at 134 bucks a share or 138, still right around 106, 107. I think thats a reasonable do, not quite as good as it was a month ago. Well break away for two seconds for breaking news. To eric chemi regarding fan dual and draft kings. Thats right, scott. Actually an agreement came out just now between the new york Generals Office and draft kings and fan dual where the two companies will not operate in new york state any more. Obviously, this is a big story a year ago. Both companies valued over 1 billion but have seen fees pile up. They decided to make an agreement to not continue fighting for the the next several months. One big push this summer to try to get their games legalized in albany. In the meantime, the attorney Generals Office is saying, we wont fight you for now. Instead of fighting you in may, and the appeals court, well wait until september so you can try to get this legalized. In the meantime, you cant operate these games in the state any more. And new york state was their numberone state across the whole country. 10 of the revenues for both companies. So its a big story. A lot of big investors involved in these two companies and well have to keep watching. We reached out to both companies. Well get their statements soon. Back to you. Eric chemi with the latest on fantasy. Back to the reality of the day. Will apple overdeliver or underwhelm . This isnt the hype. The hype really is going to be about the iphone 7. And thats coming six months from now. The important thing for me today, the average selling price on a Global Smartphone is somewhere between 275 and 300. How are they going to be pricing this se . To answer the question you asked john, if youre looking here over the next 30 days and want to play trader, im not necessarily sure at 106 you want to buy apple. If youre looking at it the right way, as an investor the next six months, you absolutely want to buy apple. Goldman sachs put out a phenomenal report over the outperformance of apple on the launches of the 4, 5 and 6. 22 to six months prior to those launches. So buy into that hype over the next six months. Yes, its a buy. Jon fortt outside apples headquarters in cupertino, california. Jon, you want to entertain the question of what you think is going to happen today . Will apple overdeliver, do you think . No. I dont think apple will overdeliver from an investment perspective. I think thats an opportunity for some people. I think the opportunity here is, if apple comes out with an iphone se thats basically the iphone 5 design with upgraded internals, if it costs around 450 bucks, then a year from now, theres a possibility that those units are going to be on the market, perhaps selling at around 350 bucks. And that gets it closer to that average selling price in emerging markets that you guys were just talking about. Apple doesnt want to necessarily be at an average price. There is still a premium product. If they are able to really capture significant share in india, continue capturing share in china, thats so important for their eco system. I think probably the opportunity for investors here is to be contrarian. Yes, people are likely to be disappointmented today about there being a lack of flash and bang, but perhaps thats an opportunity if you believe that apple is going to be able to drive an ecosystem six months, a year from now. Jon fortt with the latest outside apple hq. John brown, what is today . A nonevent if youre a trader, or an opportunity to either buy or sell the stock . You never know. They could shock everyone. But i think conventional wisdom around these types of events is usually more close to the truth than not. So i would say its a nonevent. I agree with what joe said. About the bigger announcement being later this year. And about the typical run that apple does into that announcement. Thats something worth playing. If youre a little bit more than a swing trader and have more than 36 hours ahead of you. Ive been in the name for years. I dont buy or sell in these events. I always Pay Attention. Ill be excited to see what they come out with. Historically, how does apple trade around such product announcements . Our dierdre is joining us onset for the conversation. Good to see you. Good touz as well. Historically, the weeks around product releases have been surprisingly less than stellar times to buy apple. One week after apple announces a new ipad or iphone, the company itself underperforms a whole bunch of other technology stocks, including its competitors. Take a look at the names that trade better than apple after apple releases. Youve got microsoft, alphabet, intel and sewn, all more likely to trade positive and see better average returns, one week after the new release. Now, if you thought apple anticipation was maybe greater than apple itself, think again. The past week has been a big exception. But the company tends to underperform in the week leading up to the release, as well. Now it may be that it is typically taken a while for the market, and perhaps consumers to figure out what to make of the new product. Because, i think josh you mentioned this, six months after a new iphone or ipad release, apple stock has been up 70 of the time. And returned more than 9 on average, which also, scott, made me wonder, when does when is a good time to get into the stock in terms seasonality. I thought maybe leading up to christmas. Not so. Trades negative 50 of the time so no better than a coin toss. Thanks to you. Jim lebenthal, why not sell the stock today . A lot of reasons. We already it talked about the iphone 7. I think theres room to be surprised by the announcement today. Not the announcement itself. A better opportunity to get in before iphone 7, right . I dont think so. I think youve got a nice uptrend thats developed in the stock here. I think its undervalued. And i think there is room for the smaller iphone to get a lot of uptake in emerging markets. One thing jon fortt mentioned in passing is india. Thats where the real untapped market is. Where the untapped market for apple in general is. They have to have a lower price point to get in there. Obviously a different trend in bureaucracy. Thats the surprise over the next coming months. And tony, sanford bernstein, hardware analyst on the street. Welcome back. My pleasure, jon. What should we take from today, do you think . Look, i history would suggest that news reports are really accurate in advance of product launches. And historically, the preponderance prior to the announcement in the two months following generally, theres apple underperforms. Thats the fact around iphone product announcement. So i dont think were going to be surprised in terms of what we get. I think the only most important question is, what is this se going to be priced at . And my belief is it will not be a new price point. In fact, i think they could raise the price relative to the 5s that its replacing. And so for me, this is not tapping into new geographies as of yet. It might downstream when the price comes down. But this is not tapping into new geographies. This is an attempt to provide another option for people who want the latest technology, want the latest processor. But prefer a smaller size. That fits more conveniently in their front or back pocket. Do you like this you like this stuff today, tony . Does it make you feel good about where you think this company should be going . Look, its a its a because you dont sound it. Im just being frank. No, i mean, look, this is not really i dont think its material to the story. But i dont think its a distraction, either. I mean, apple has a cadence of annual product upgrades. Were going to see that in september. Were getting sort of this bonus upgrade or bonus new phone, but from my perspective, its not really creating a new price point. So its not going to create that elasticity at the low end. I think its an attempt to provide another choice option for consumers in the hope of ensuring that the replacement cycle doesnt elongate. Because there may be there is a portion of people, im sure, who say, very happy with the phone. I really like this size. I dont want a bigger phone. That ultimately will say, okay, well, a refreshed phone thats sleeker and of that at that size, ill go buy that. Tony, its josh brown. Does apple have any momentum at all on the mac book side . Is there something we should worry about here, given the tone of what people are saying about pcs generally . Is it because apple is taking share, or is that a possible danger point for investors going into the next report . I dont think so, josh. You know, the mac is a relatively Small Business for apple, overall. And, you know, thats apple has proven to be a sustained share gainer, and we dont see that changing. So i think the combination of continued share gains and relatively small contribution are not something we should worry about. I do just in terms of nearterm considerations, i am i certainly believe that the stock will pivot on perceptions of the iphone and iphone 7 is the singular issue for the stock. I think the nearterm expectations just for the remainder of this year might be a little high. Consensus is at 9, numbers below the streets. So i probably wait if i was trying to be very tactical about trading. Until after next quarter and see where guidance is. Because if i had to bet, its more likely to come down than go up. Now, that said, if youre longerterm investor, i think you have all articulated very well. There is a product cycle coming. There is doubt about whether iphone can grow. I believe that iphone 7 will grow year over year. And the stock will likely rerate if thats the case in anticipation. Telling it like it is. Tony sack naggy, appreciate the time today. My pleasure. Coming up, valeant ceo mike pearson is on the way out. The stock is surging today. Latest reporting on the story, next. Heres what else is coming up on the Halftime Report. Still ahead, president obama in cuba. What the historic trip means for the island and what companies can benefit. Plus, cashing in your chips. Is it time to bail on intel . Find out why one analyst says the stock is a sell. And whether our traders agree. And Spring Cleaning your portfolio. Clean up everybody clean up the stocks you should kick out of your portfolio as the new season kicks off. Thats all ahead on the Halftime Report. Theres a lot of places you never want to see 7. 95. [ beep ] but youll be glad to see it here. Fidelity where smarter investors will always be. If only the signs were as obvious when you trade. Fidelitys active trader pro can help you find smarter entry and exit points and can help protect your potential profits. Fidelity where smarter investors will always be. Here at the Td Ameritrade they work all the time. Sup jj, working hard . Working 24 7 on mobile trader, rated 1 trading app on the app store. It lets you trade stocks, options, futures. Even advanced orders. And it offers more charts than a lot of other competitors do on desktop. You work so late. I guess you dont see your family very much . I see them all the time. Did you finish your derivatives pricing model, honey . Td ameritrade. Man 1 i came as fast as i man 2 this isnt public yet. Man 1 what isnt . Man 2 weve been attacked. Man 1 the network . Man 2 shhhh. Man 1 when did this happen . Man 2 over the last six months. Man 1 how did we miss it . Man 2 we caught it, just not in time. Man 1 who . How . Man 2 not sure, probably offshore, foreign, pros. Man 1 what did they get . Man 2 what didnt they get. Man 1 i need to call mike. Man 2 dont use your phone. Its not just security, its defense. Bae systems. Welcome back to the Halftime Report. Valeant pharmaceuticals rallying after the ceo is stepping down. Our meg terrell has the latest details on this developing story yet again, meg. Yeah, quite the shakeup going on right now. Mike pearson, the search is on for his successor. He will stick around until they name that person. Theyre very actively looking for folks right now. And bill ackman immediately joining the board. And, of course, howard shiller. He really is becoming the story today. Former cfo of valeant. Took over while pearson was on medical leave. He is on the board. The company today accusing him of improper conduct, along with the companys corporate controller. Theyre throwing him under the bus, essentially, right . It has that feel to it today. It certainly does, pointing out the corporate controller and ceo were the reasons for the misstatements. And the tone at valeant and the board saying thats part of the reason that led them into this huge mess here. Shiller, in a statement from his lawyers, saying that that was completely inaccurate. Hes saying at no time did i engage in improper conduct. And saying as such, he declines to resign from the board. So this is kind of the argument thats playing out today. And, of course, what happens next, who is going to be taking over this role as ceo. And what assets are they going to sell . This is the other thing im h e hearing. People talking about taking off. A lot more coming. You had the some reporting i did earlier that this move to replace pearson was not a mutual decision. That there were several board calls. Obviously, as you would expect over the weekend. And that the company, as you sort of allude to here, was concerned about the tone, and decided to oust hepearson. And he was informed that the board was taking that action and they were immediately initiating this ceo search. You know whats fascinating this, he came back. He came back, and they did this call. And then everything went horribly. And now hes getting the boot. And so the timing is interesting. Is there a bull case, guys, at this moment to be made, all joking aside and other nonsense. Is there a bull case to be made for the story right now, bmo puts out a note today that says taking steps in the right direction. And you can go down the list and ill point some things out and we can debate it back and forth. Okay. Answer the question. Is there a bull case . When you say is there a bull case, the target being what, a return to an 80, 90, 100 level. The answer is absolutely no. Is there a bull case that this stock gets to 40 or 50 can it be a double . 60 bucks . It could go to 40, 50, yeah, possibly. But i still dont want to take on that volatility. I dont want to take on that risk. I dont want to play that game. I wouldnt do it on the fundamentals. Ill say that. Youve got to think, this is a people business, right . Youre going to have people who want to sell their products to valeant. Youre going to have distributors who arent going to want to do business. Scientists who dont want to be hired by the company. There is a lot of people in this business. And is i think everybody is going to be scared off from doing business with valeant. The people saying things like taking steps in the right direction are people that had buy recommendations on this stock 200 points higher. And i think you have to understand, jim says the people business. Wall street is also a people business. Youre going to see tushcovering going on over the next three months like you cannot imagine. Theres been a ton of money lost. What if what if you believe, doc, that just by virtue of everything thats happened, the stock is cheap. The person who was viewed by many as being toxic to the situation is now going to be out. Forced out. There was worry about the debt. What if they get the waivers, which seems more likely than not. They have the audited financial statements. They have had the Ad Hoc Committee do a cavity search, if you will, into valeant. What happens if all of those things come back positive . Youre telling me the stock is not a buy at 29 bucks . No, im not im just taking the other side. Im agreeing with my friends here, that there is a lot of hair on this one. And this is not the shallow end of the pool. The model is broken. It doesnt work. But at 28, 29 bucks a share, im saying i think you can take a shot. I dont see a double here, judge. But i do say that the stock could be 40 like that. What i saw last week put it this way. People were talking about valeant and zero in the same sentence over the last couple of weeks. So youre identifying a series of potential positive catalysts that we can recognize, and other in the speculative Community Activist community could recognize, as well. This is a stock where theres more room than just a couple of activists, right . Where are the others stepping forward right now, beyond bill ackman . Why are not other activists you have a stock down 60 . Why isnt the activist community clamoring to get involved here . I think there is a lack of clarity where the company is going to go. Now i think the question becomes who is the new ceo. Somebody very credible in the drug industry who knows how to bring something back, run a drug company, maybe a traditional drug company. Maybe you dont get the same return, but they do have real businesses. Laura bush and home is a real business. But they overpaid for them drastically. Why come in now, why not wait for the inevitable writeoffs. You dont think the stock has bottomed at 29 bucks. This thing could go up 15 points in the next half hour, given the amount of Short Interest here and how much volume is turning over. In the very, very short term, there is no reason for anyone to be high conviction. It could get cut in half again or double. What im saying, as an investor, what is the rush . If you missed the bottom in this thing heres the rush. You have time. Since josh asked, heres the rush. Kinder morgan. If you were one of the folks who were throwing up your hands and just saying, im done with this stock. When its is it 12 earlier this year, its 1 n8 now. If you wait ill give you counter example for that. I can give you one for every one you can criteria. Kinder morgan and chesapeake have infrastructure. Oil and gas assets. Bausch lomb . People are not going to buy that fluid for their eyes that they charge a gazillion times more than a gallon of gas . Its not about the difference in businesses. Its the death march led around all those businesses over the last couple months. And now maybe theyve not only kitchen synced it with valeant, its the stove, its the refrigerator. Youre not buying the drugs if youre a buyer of the stock. Lets be clear. Youre not buying any jubileea or specific drugs. What youre buying is the methodology, mckenzie idea, lets get rid of necessary costs, raise prices and run this thing like a private equity firm. 260 to 20. Let me finish the thought though. If youre saying, okay, i can accept the fact that the wizard is gone and this is not going to be a hedge fund pharmaceutical and i want to buy it for the assets, guess what, they overpaid for all of them. And if there were really a lot of interest here, you probably already would have seen asset divestitures. You havent seen them in a year, while this thing has come unraveled. So, again, my point is, what is the rush . The reputation of the company has been destroyed, and is not going to be corrected any time soon. Meg, you raised a point about a credible ceo coming in. I dont think any credible ceo is going to want to come in. It has to be the most incredible risktaker who would want to come in and take over this company. Is it putting the bar low . To do what . To do anything. Why would anybody want to take the job . You dont think theyre going to get a ceo . Theyll get a ceo. But youre not going to get im talking about some this will you be you dont think theyre going to get any kind of they may. But whats the rush for that guy, also . Because theyre probably going to have some kind of a process. Youre stepping into a house on fire. This Company Needs a famed investor who come out and say this is a nobrainer. Who . Icahn. Five guys could do that. Thats what it needs. Do you have a last point you want to make . Oh, gosh. Well have more later today. Youre actually coming back . I know you will. Meg terrell, thank you so much. Thanks. Sticking with biotech, you have some unusual today . Yeah, we do. Celgene, celg. A lot of stocks were taken down just over the past two weeks with some of the issues circling the stock meg was just talking about. This, of course, has nothing to do with that. However, the stock has just retaken 100, judge. We saw very active callbuying at the 100 strike. Just a week out into the future. April 1st expiration. So what did i do . I stepped in and bought the stock. I bought these calls, as well. I added it to the halftime portfolio. So i own it. My real account, with real dollars and i own it in the halftime portfolio, as well. Shortterm, i think this pops perhaps up to the 105 level. Basically, the 200 days all the way up at 115. Not saying it gets there by april 1st, but i do think it pops. How long are you in . Probably be in four days to a week. Okay. We saw the leaderboard, by the way. Guys, throw that back up. Have a quick look. Jim lebenthal, 13 . Joe terranova at 10. John trying to get to 10. And serat on his tails as well. Follow at cnbc. A call to break up citigroup. And a sell rating on lululemon. Those stocks on the move today ahead in the trader blitz. And starwood signs the first u. S. Cuba hotel deal in more than 50 years, and announcing a big merger with marriott. Well hear from them in cuba with michigan he caruso braer, next. They may want the latest products and services, but they demand the best shopping experiences. Theyre your customers. And by blending physical with digital, cognizant is helping 8 of the 10 largest u. S. Retailers meet their demands with more responsive retail models. Ones that transcend channels and locations, anticipate expectations. Creating new ways to engage at every imaginable touchpoint. Its a new day in retail, and together, were building the store of the future. Digital works for retail. Lets talk about how digital works for your business. Back on the Halftime Report with our trader blitz. Four trades making news today. Sherwin williams announcing its going to buy valspar in cash. The stock is only 18 off its high. I like what theyre doing with the acquisition. This gets them diversification it needs, beyond the u. S. The only problem here is valspar is trading around 105. Thats telling you the regulariregulato regulators step in. Assets have to be divested. Citi should be broken up into two businesses. People are coming out of the woodwork, josh, and suggesting that citi needs to break up. The argument here, scott, is interesting. Theyre basically talking about its the only globally Systemic Important Financial Institution that can do this, and really unlock value. They think its a 57 improvement. Because the company in its current regulatory condition cannot return enough excess cash like some of the other banks can. And so a corporate reorganize would allow them to do that. I think there is merit here. Im not sure anything the company said recently leads to you believe theyre going to listen. Tesla, upgraded. Doc, 3300 price target. Argus loves it. I love it. 10, 11 days ago, march 10th, we had unusual activity in this one at the 230 strike. People were saying thats a joke. The stocks 203. Take a look at it today. Traded at 240. You got in on that . Yep. Got in on that. Detailed it on cnbc pro. As far as where the thing goes from here, judge, end of the month, they start taking orders for the model 3. I do think its been a tremendous run. So i have already written calls at the 235 strike against the calls that i own, taken the rest of it off. I like just love this move. Okay, nike added to jpmorgans analyst focus list. Lululemon, jim, was removed. Flths both stocks have very comparable multiples. The difference here, luol lululemon is up. I think this is a good call. You want to sell things that have gone up and get into things that havent done anything. I think nixy is a better franchise. Its a bold call in front of earnings. 12 30 in the east. That means european markets are closing as we speak. Simon hobbs at the New York Stock Exchange tells us now. Negative in europe. Energy mining stocks weighing on Many National indices today. Consumer confidence down for a Third Straight month in delayed reaction to the market turmoil of the start of the year. And calling again for ambitious reforms from governments, because its said the ecb cannot create conditions for a sustainable recovery. Telecom italia in a dispute with vevende, seeking to create a frenchitalian Telecom Media giant. And two german chemical giants on reports monday satto is ready to make a crop science acquisition. And political tensions mound in london, as you may be aware. Prime minister cameron countered, after his work pensions secretary resigned. The divisive debate about whether the uk should leave entirely june 23. Back to you. Simon hobbs, new york stokck exchange. Dennis lockhart expected to speak on the economy. Well bring you headlines, which could move the market. And Michelle Carusocabrera is live in cuba where president obama makes his historic visit today. Michelle. Reporter hey, scott, yes. This is a very big, historic political event. The white house also wanted it to be a commercial event. After the break, well tell you what deals have been announced so far and if there are more expected later today. Well be back right after this break. [dad] i wear a dozen different hats doing small gigs,side gigs. Gig gigs. Quickbooks selfemployed helps me get ready for tax time. To separate expenses,i just swipe. Its one hat i dont mind wearing. [passenger] i work for me. And so does quickbooks. It estimates my taxes,so i know how much stays in my pocket. And thats how i own it. [announcer] stay in the flow with quickbooks selfemployed. Start your free thirtyday trial today at joinselfemployeddotcom. Man 1 i came as fast as i man 2 this isnt public yet. Man 1 what isnt . Man 2 weve been attacked. Man 1 the network . Man 2 shhhh. Man 1 when did this happen . Man 2 over the last six months. Man 1 how did we miss it . Man 2 we caught it, just not in time. Man 1 who . How . Man 2 not sure, probably offshore, foreign, pros. Man 1 what did they get . Man 2 what didnt they get. Man 1 i need to call mike. Man 2 dont use your phone. Its not just security, its defense. Bae systems. I am a First Responder tor and iemergencies 24 hours a day, everyday of the year. My children and my family are on my mind when im working all the time. My neighbors are here, my friends and family live here, so its important for me to respond as quickly as possible and get the power back on. Its an amazing feeling turning those lights back on. Be informed about outages in your area. Sign up for outage alerts at pge. Com outagealerts. Together, were building a better california. Hello, everyone. Im sue herrera. Here is your cnbc news update for this hour. French president Francois Holland reportedly pushing for high medicine prices at mays g7 summit. More than 40 millionaires including members of the rockefeller and disney families declaring theyre willing to pay more in taxes. An effort to address poverty and rebuild the failing infrastructure in new york. The request came in a letter to new york governor andrew cuomo. A new weapon in the fight to treat patients exposed to anthr anthrax. An injectable drug to combat the toxin, viewed as a potential bioterrorism weapon. And the tennis world today seeing a lot of fallout from a pay controversy. It erupted over the weekend when the indian wells tournament ceo suggested female players rode on the coattails of the men. Among other things. T topranked Serna Williams objected. And djokovic saying men should earn more because more watch them play. This aint over yet. Scott, back to you. I didnt hear about the djokovic comments. Okay. Well see. I mean, he gives a lot away to charities. He has been a big supporter of womens tennis. Yep. So well see whether those comments were out of ton text or whether he was saying because the ratings tend to be higher in the mens matches. It has been a conversation for an awfully long time. Especially around the slams. Absolutely. Equal pay. Which has certainly gotten better over the last several years. It has. But probably hasnt gone far enough. But its not equal. So there you go. All right, sue, thanks. Thanks, scott. President obama making an historic trip to cuba, the first by a u. S. President in 88 years. Chief international correspondent, Michelle Carusocabrera. Reporter the political pomp and circumstance well under way here. President obama right now meeting with the leader of cuba, raul castro, for a bilateral meeting. We do expect to hear from them later today. A News Conference expected from them in the next couple of hours. And see if theyve made any well see if they make any major announcements about improvement in relations here at the same time, the white house wanted this to be also a commercial event. Numerous ceos have traveled as part of the delegation. We do know that starwood has made an agreement with the cuban government, the first big deal we hear from an american company, at least for now. Theyre going to manage three hotels here. There were leaks there was going to be a telecom deal, rumors were going to hear of a cruise deal. We do know that google is holding an event later on today. And president obama telling abc news that indeed google has struck some kind of agreement with the cuban government. Well see what the details are there, if we get them later today. In the meantime, arnie sorenson, ceo of marriott, is part of the president s delegation, down here in havana, and at the same time trying to negotiate the deal with starwood. They Just Announced this morning they had once again agreed to merge, because marriott had increased its bid for starwood. He was on earlier with us today to tell why it was he was willing to increase what he was willing to pay for starwood. This deal financially, the proposal we signed last night, is not as good for us as the deal we signed and announced in it november. The deal we got in november in retrospect maybe was just too good a deal. Of and so weve gone back and obviously there was a competing bidder that surfaced last week. And we said, what is a fair offer for us to put forward. We made a significant move over the course of the weekend. And decided we are really very interested in the Strategic Power of this combined platform. He declined to say what he would do if the Chinese Company also bidding, came back with a more improved offer, which they have done before. Marriott had lost the deal. Now back at it again. Well see where this goes from here. But definitely involved in a bidding war at this point, even as hes traveling here in cuba, scott. Back to you. Michelle carusocabrera. Live for us today. Lets trade it. I feel like you have an interesting take on maybe not so obvious a ways to look at this possible trade. Well, i think the smartest thing to do is to avoid that closed end that always comes up in this discussion. Cuba. It had a huge rally and selloff. The smarter thing is the tourism angle, where the most immediate plays will be. So shore hotels. Obviously, cruise lines. But bigger picture, scott. Everybody should just keep in mind, this is a very small economy. And even if all of a sudden everything goes the right way, diplomatically,el it be a very long time before you have an individual company in the s p 500, make a claim that its a huge part of their growth. So i think its an exciting story. We dont know how soon the country commercializes, and fully embraces some of the things that the Obama Administration is talking about. But tried not to put on short term trades as a result of any of this stuff. The other point is, jim, i dont know, cruise lines and airlines. Youre telling me the stocks are going to go higher because theyre going to start business in cuba . Come on. What im saying is, thats the best way to play it. I dont think this is a great play. Remember, this is an island that has 11 million inhabitants, about the size of new york city. That youre not going to get infrastructure moving the stocks of verizon or any of the material companies. Im just saying the best way to play it, if you have to have a cuba play, is their you dont have to have one. I dont think you have to have one. Okay. Breaking news now from atlanta fed president Dennis Lockhart. Steve liesman brings us that. Atlanta fed president Dennis Lockhart saying rate hikes are possible as early as april. This just five days after the Federal Reserve held the line on interest rates. And he says certainly rate hikes are justified. More rate hikes justified this year. The First Quarter growth will show a bounce back from the fourth quarter, and he says moderate growth this year is both realistic and justified. He thinks consumer activity will expand at a healthy enough pace, and he expects continued job improvement this year. He goes on to say that we are getting, quote, closer and closer to full employment, and hes optimistic that a 2 inflation target is possible to be hit in the medium term. He says the consumer is underpinned by housing data, better housing prices and by strong job growth and low oil prices should also bolster the consumer and economy. He goes back to justify the patience in march saying it made sense. The fed was concerned about recent market volatility. It is still unclear, he says, if that market volatility will end up affecting the economy, but definitely feeling more comfort with the current situation. He is the second fed official to make a comment like this, just today. San francisco fed president John Williams in an interview with Market News International saying it is a a hike is possible in april or june. The u. S. Economy can surmount foreign headwinds and it is, quote, looking great. So scott, two fairly centrist fomc members coming out and saying that april is on the table, and certainly by june the more rate hikes are possible this year. Scott . I mean, i would almost go a step further, steve, than saying that by june, not possible, but likely you could take from these comments. At least as it pertains to this gentleman. Yeah, thats been my take all along. Im a little surprised, scott, how forward they are by april. I know some members have a reluctance to move again at a nonpress conference meeting. Although they say its technically not a barrier. Theres a concern that moving in april would show more sense of urgency than perhaps the Federal Reserve wants to convey at this time. But lockhart saying april is possible. Williams putting it on the table means weve got to stand up a little bit, a little straighter in our seats than we have been sitting in terms of the Federal Reserve for next month. Yeah, steve, thank you. Sure. Steve liesman with the latest. You know, we talked about this last week. Overcommunication from the Federal Reserve. Did they look at existing house numbers today . Goldman sachs took down gdp. To 2. 3 on residential investment contracting off of existing home sales. Are we looking at that . Whats the need to communicate so aggressively . After last week. I dont get it. Would you rather they say nothing and do it in june . I would rather they say nothing. And be completely taken off guard . I would rather they say nothing. Nothing is better than saying three different things. Im with joe. Agreed. I wish liesman was still with us. Its confusing. Whether theyre meant to be just job its confusing. And its going to cause more volatility. They see growth they see growth particular picking up. Are they doing what we asked them to do last week . We made the argument the market was leading the fed, rather than the other way around. The market is leading the fed. Ill listen to jaun shots. Why doesnt the fed Pay Attention to that stuff . I dont mind the communication. If youre talking about june, there is so much data coming out between now and then. Their minds could change three times. Liesman is still with us. Steve . Im a little confused by joes comment. Bringing gdp to 2. 3 is still right around where trend growth is. And its really the spook, joe, off of trend that is the thing that the Federal Reserve put the fed on hold. I mean, i think the market has a way of overshooting certain communication by the Federal Reserve. This seems to me like a pretty warranted bringing back. Ive been out there saying the fed has overshot in terms of essentially ruling out rate hikes this year. The market goes too far. I think making that call earlier is better for the market, better for the economy overall than getting surprised later on. So but the trend is going the wrong way, steve. Im supposed to get excited over 2. 3 growth . Yes, you are, in fact, joe. Im sorry. To inform you on the reality of where growth is these days. I wish it was higher. It would be great if it were. But thats the benchmark that the fed is looking at. Thats the benchmark the market is looking at. You are correct. It is substantially lower than we should hope for. But it is the reality of where trend growth is right now. Steve, what about the i love you to death, joe. Just to be clear. What about those housing numbers today, steve . Is that just a rahrah thing for the fed right here to have it down that much . They were terrible. And i dont really know the reason. I mean, thats clear. So isnt that a bit odd to have lockhart coming out and saying april is on the table, trust me. April is on the table. When indeed you get a crap number like that out of housing . I dont think the fed is going to change its attitude towards housing, which, by the way, has been relatively strong of late. And has really been one of the great offsets to the manufacturing weakness weve had. I dont think theyre going to take this number and say, you know what, this is a reason to change our view on housing. 7 . But steve, the fed theyre real people. They hear the conversations that are out there. In the marketplace by us and others. Who suggest that they could be behind the curve. That the market is leading the fed, rather than the other way around. Im sure there are some members who vote and sit on that committee, who want to get on the other side of that, because they think some of it is probably true. I think thats right, scott. I also think the fed has given a huge nod to markets here. And you know what, it made a lot of sense. The market sniffed out the weakness in the Global Economy before the fed did. And now, i think that the issue of how muchel volatility there was, the fed looked through that and said, you know what, lets wait until markets calm down and lets go forward. It is interesting that both of these guys are really in the middle. Theyre not hawks. Its not jeff lacquer. This is John Williams and Dennis Lockhart. I think weve got to take seriously this idea theyre putting april on the table. And there must be some thought behind that, at least, saying, you know what, the market may be too much on one side of the ship here. Unless its foggy. Their thought versus reality. They just have not been on the ball all the way in their forecast. Weve got to run, steve. Well continue this conversation another time. Steve liesman at the stock exchange. Dow component intel downgraded to sell today. The Jim Lebenthal owns it. Find out if hes sticking with it. And stay tuned for live coverage of apples product event at the top of the hour. The Halftime Report is back after this. The Halftime Report with scott wapner is the place for marketmoving interviews. Theres no one road out there. No one surface. No one speed. No one way of driving on each and every road. But there is one car that can conquer them all. The mercedesbenz cclass. 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These comments today from Dennis Lockhart, who says that rate hikes could be justified in 2016, possibly even soon. Just sort of given where we are in the economy and where growth is headed. Jeffrey gundlock emailing me a moment ago saying that lockhart isnt helping the feds credibility. I guess it goes to what you were saying in this conversation that we have been having almost daily now, as to whether the fed lost its cred. There are times when mario draghi or a member of the fed needs to Say Something to get the market thinking, well, perhaps they could do this or whatever. But not on a day when youve got housing existing home sales down 7. 1 , judge. It just comes off like youre not even listening, like this is complete bs. I dont buy into it. Jeff doesnt buy into it. I dont think it is real. He says it is quite a statement three Business Days after what he calls, quote, a dove fest. Too much communication and lets go back to a second and talk about the possibility for april. The Federal Reserve is obviously concerned about Global Market conditions and volatility, correct . Unless we remove the dynamic that exists for june 23rd with the brexit vote, as a rule heightened volatility in april, in may. It does not make any sense to move 25 basis points ahead of that. They moved before when the economy was slowing. Globally. Okay. Well maybe theyre looking at the stock market rally and saying this gives us cover. They know there is going to be volatility when they they are looking at it. All right. Well take a quick break. Might not feel like it in the northeast today, but it does mark the first day of spring. Well do some Spring Cleaning for your portfolios coming up. Find out what you should throw out as the new season kicks off. Were back after this. Professor richard thaler. You are called the father of behavioral economics. Ive been called a lot of things. I have read all of your books. Did you learn anything . I learned that humans are complicated. Were emotional. Absentminded. And we make some really bad decisions. My tradeoff analytics can help Companies Make better decisions, but i am still learning what makes people tick. What makes you tick watson . Natural language processing, reasoning algorithms, statistical parsing. Now you are just showing off. All right, promised you our call of the day. Bernstein downgraded intel to sell, cut the price target to 26. Smack in the face to one Jim Lebenthal who owns the stock. I read the analyst report. Looks like hes focusing on the fact that pc builds were way down in january. I got two things to say about that. If youre in intel, youre not expecting anything from pcs and january was hardly a great month for business globally. So i really think this is missing the point, if youre extrapolating january forward, youre getting the wrong story. We move, spring has sprung, officially, so well do some Spring Cleaning of our own. What stocks should investors be selling right now . I was getting out of a bunch of energy stocks. The shortterm. I think theyll work later on, but i wanted to get out of them, so i did now. Josh . Small cap buyout, if youre still in some of the names people are still in those . If youre still in one of these things and you havent read the writing on the wall yet, now would be a good time. Im with john on the energy stocks, but i do want to point out that spring is no particular catalyst for selling stocks. Okay. Steel names. Steel names rallied significantly. U. S. Steel. Always has to ruin the segment. It is rubbing off on me. All right. That does it for us, guys, thanks. Have a great rest of the day. Countdown to apple is on. Power begins now. Scott, thank you very much. We have got several breaking stories happening right now. A busy two hours ahead. Key apple Conference Begins in cupertino, california, any minute. Valeant shares are popping as the controversial ceo is out. And we have two ceos from the Oil Patch Today on where they think the sector is going, apaches top man will be here in 15 minutes time. Meantime, Michelle Carusocabrera is with president obama in havana on this historic day. Mr. Obama and the cuban leader raul castro going to speak soon and we will carry it live. And what would a day be without donald trump . Hes in washington. He may be making