In what may be the quietest day in the quietest year, or the quietest week of the year. And im sure people will be skeptical about it for exactly that reason. Nevertheless, its interesting to sit here. I remember when we had our dow 11,000 hats, we had repurposed one of those and here we are dow 17,000 and change and s p 2,000. Well, the top sector since the s p hit 1,000 back in 1998 is energy. Ah. In an hour of fast facts about the market, thats one. Yes, and they will be flying, so stay tuned. We will keep them coming. And if Atlantic City is dying, why is the borgata firing on all cylinders . Were also going to be speaking with boyd gamings ceo, keith smith. Thats the Parent Company of borgata, about what hes doing right and why others cant seem to catch on. And the king takes on the president. Burger king defying president obamas call for economic patriotism, pursuing an inversion deal with canadian coffee and doughnut chain tim hortons. Wall street seems to love it, the deal sending both stocks, at least talk of it, much higher, but what about the fallout from d. C. . Well have a much closer look, straight ahead. So, here are the numbers to watch as we had the last hour of trade upon us. The dow is all 83 points to 17,895. The s p, and thats the one were eyeing closely, almost up 10 points to 1,998. And the nasdaq looks to be underperforming again, up about 18 points to 5,586. Joining our Closing Bell Exchange is dine dooian garnick, david pearl, john manley from wells fargo funds, mark la sh n sheeny and our own rick santelli. John manuley sitting next to me are you impressed by dow 2,000 . I know its a psychological level, but its got to mean something. Im delighted, but i was also excited when i turned 60. Weve come a long way, but i dont think its a milestone. I think theres more to come. Most people turn 60 and are filled with remorse because they feel their best years are behind them. Thats not me. Its the new i cant live forever, but the market may be able to. So, mark la sheeney, what about you . Kelly, we kind of feel the same way. Obviously, its a milestone. Its also indicative to those who still are waiting on the sidelines for an opportunity to step into this market. How far weve come, not just in the past couple of years, but since 2009, were up a couple hundred percent on the s p 500. But like john, i also think that we have room to grow here as Profit Growth continues on the back of improving economic fundamentals. Rick santelli, i mentioned its been some 16 years since s p 1,000. More recently, some would say weve gotten here on the backs of the Federal Reserve and Central Banks around the world. What do you make of this talk today, that the reason we were able to push past 2,000 on the s p is because of mario draghi and the threat of doing more over in europe . Well, i would say that thats probably got a lot of truth to it. I dont think its a coincidence. To strip out away all the useless white noise and look at what evolved over the last several sessions. Jackson hole, mario draghi. And yes, you know, hes had a bazooka, now hes going to have quantitative easing. Im not so sure they can do it, but the words seem to be buying the central bank some time, and i think thats really at this point very important. I dont think its a coincidence. You know, i wish it was a friday and we saw a big jump in the Labor Force Participation rate, and thats why we were going through 2,000, but it isnt. But it is what it is. And ill tell you what, as a technician surrounded by other technicians on this trading floor, i dont care even with a light volume session, to see the way this markets trading, you have to be very careful. It easily could pop. I think that theres a lot of Global Dynamics that not only could support the cac and the dax in the face of really weak fundamentals, but what does that say about the u. S. Market . Believe me, if you can make a relative value argument for our Interest Rates based on theirs, think about it from an equity perspective. Some would say the thing that could very easily pop is whats taken place in treasuries, that if people look for whats overvalued, its bonds more than stocks. Well, ill tell you what, i really find it hard to see an overvalued treasury market. I know that the yeartodate total return of a 30year bond as of yesterdays close was 19. 2 . But to me, i think a lot of the dynamics that have pushed us there are counterintuitive but still somewhat logical when i see a 92 basis point bund. What i fail to put together is why the cac and the dax can do so well and especially why our equity markets i understand supply and demand of stocks, but it would be nice if there was a better fundamental story to tell. Its interesting to bring up the supplyanddemand dynamics, too. David pearl, as the journal notes, i think today, we saw the pace of corporate buybacks slow in the second quarter. Thats happened here along with the rally. So, if companies are buying fewer of their own shares, does that potentially mean that one of the props beneath the stool here for the market is wobbling . No. Actually, i think the market was driven in the last couple years by qe, which forced investors to look for yield and take more risk, so they bought dividend stocks and companies that return capital share buybacks. Now companies are feeling a little better about the market, and theyre reinvesting. Theyre spending some money on capex, or theyre doing acquisitions, which are very accretive in a low Interest Rate environment. So, i think youve seen a leadership change as of maybe july, where more economically sensitive stocks are leading in the s p because they are going to benefit more by the economic recovery. I mean, its still one of the worst recoveries since world war ii, but there is clearly an economic recovery. We can argue about the magnitude and the duration. But as long as the economys Getting Better, you are better off owning the economically sensitive stocks technology, industrials, consumer discretionary, and even financials if the economy gets better and, eventually, rates start going up. So, those stocks are undervalued right now. Theyre at a discount to the s p, whereas utilities and telecoms, reits are overvalued. Im reading through this, and its fascinating to the extent to which the u. S. Think its the only game in town. I think thats what scott was saying, it supports valuations of u. S. Bonds and equities, but overnight, at least for us, the bank of israel cut Interest Rates, surprisingly, because it cited some of the issues its having, of course, but also, the backdrop of a slowing domestic and Global Economic environment. If anything, it feels like more Central Banks around the world are cutting rates than responding, john manley, to better conditions. I think theyre cutting rates because they want to encourage the economies of the world to do better. When the Central Banks wants the economies of the world to do better, they push money towards them. That money flows through the Capital Markets and Everything Else being equal, it makes us go up, and thats been going on since i was born, for 65, 75, 85 years. It will keep going on, i think. Diana, i think this ones a bit different than the last 65 or 70 years. I mean, the Balance Sheets reflect that. Weve never seen Balance Sheets like this throughout europe or the u. S. Well, at some point in the future we have to talk, too, about the fundamental story, rick. Thats so key. One of the things were finally seeing from the 2008 crisis until today, lo and behold, we are finally seeing the recovery of the middle class. And thats why were seeing so many companies, like the jcpenneys of the world beating on top line, Housing Market finally Getting Better, and that tightening of the labor market. Its going to be very interesting to keep an eye on yellen and watch her comments when she talks about the labor market finally starting to tighten and were seeing these, you know, this mideconomy are you talking about the flow funds . What are you talking about, sort of the middle class, the typical American Family, that things are Getting Better . Were finally seeing a lot of Discretionary Spending coming into individual households, right . Were finally seeing Household Wealth increase. And a lot of that is because were seeing the house data improve. I think over time, its taken quite a long time for that middle class to finally get better, but now the datas convincingly improving in the middle, kind of middleincome so, new sales are 400,000 today. Ten years ago they were 1. Thats not the median home. Its certainly not improved in terms of history. And youre the first person ive heard try to peg the improvement to somebody in the middle class experiencing any of the sensations of it. Thats because the middle class doesnt own the milliondollar homes, right . We cant start with the milliondollar homes and wait for improvement exactly exactly the Central Banks are fixing those who can afford the milliondollar homes. That we agree on. Let me ask mark a question, and i think kelly raised a great point, youre starting to hear talk about, given the statistics, this idea of a financially engineered rally, with the buybacks, et cetera. If those start to dissipate, are you going to have a noticeable change in the ability of the market to keep up this grind thats largely been built on the back of a Federal Reserve that has certainly, you know, increased the liquidity into the market, and then obviously, Companies Buying back their own stock, among other things . Well, scott, i think that is like a support, that if it gets pulled away, its going to mean that much more is going to be reliant on the economic fundamentals and the backdrop for corporate earnings. And we know Corporate Americas in good shape from a Balance Sheet standpoint. Global growth, of course, is occurring. As we look around, we see 3 to 4 global growth. The u. S. Economy, to us, appears to be sturdy with job growth consistently now above 200,000 on a monthly basis. And thats indicative of, we think, the earnings power that is going to help to support current valuations, let alone allow equities to continue to advance. Now, that will, though, challenge multiple expansion, and i think from full valuations today, it means earnings are going to have to do the heavy lifting. We cant rely on further multiple expansion along with Earnings Growth to provide the onetwo punch to see equity prices move markedly higher, unless the economic fundamentals improve dramatically. I just want to make sure, diane, i follow what youre saying. Your argument is that whats happening right now in this country is that conditions are Getting Better for the u. S. Middle class . Am i understanding you right . Does anyone else here on the panel agree with her and think that thats whats going on here . I dont think anybody does. And i think thats the point that kellys in part trying to make, right . You hear from everybody who has come on this network i dont know of a single person, frankly, diane, who has made a similar claim, that the middle class of this country feels like theyre doing any better, and i think if you look at the recent statistics or data from retail sales or otherwise, except for the fact that people are buying stuff for their homes and maybe theyre buying cars, what else are they buying and whos feeling so good . Well, homes are a little better than they were, lets face that. It and i think hirings starting to pick up a little bit. So a lot of its define whos in the middle class . I think 95 of americans think theyre in the middle class. It depends where you look and where in the country you are. So, i am not saying its driving it, but i think hiring is getting a little bit better, i think the economy is Getting Better. Im not sure the middle class ever really does lead a recovery, unless its a little bit different. The point is, theyre not leading this recovery. Theyre finally participating in this recovery with their housing prices increasing and Discretionary Spending finally increasing. I think were at the point in the cycle where the recovery has been going on for quite some time, and we finally have greater participation, and that participation is happening in the middle class. Well leave it on that hopeful note. Again, acknowledging, its a contentious point, guys, and weve got 45 minutes to go. Thank you, everybody, for joining us this afternoon here. Watching the markets with the dow up 86, the s p up about 10 points, just shy of that 2,000 mark, and the nasdaq up about 19. All right, the drama at the close. Will the s p close above 2,000 for the First Time Ever . Were going to hear from one pro who worries 2,000 may be a top for the market. And the nasdaq, by the way, also on a run, storming to its highest level since march 2000. In a surprising twist, its some of the old tech names taking it there. Seema mody has a special report from the nasdaq. Plus, were going to discuss which tech names could take the in as to its next leg up. All right, theres a look at the market right now. The s p 500 has fallen below 2,000, trying to close above it for the First Time Ever. It did briefly cross that mark a few hours back. There it is. The Dow Jones Industrial average is still up 80 points, just shy of 17,100. Yes, it is. In the meantime, Atlantic Citys luck has been coming up snake eyes, as the once bustling gambling destination has been on a bit of a downward spiral, culminating with the failure of the revel casino that is scheduled to close next week. Well, but not all of Atlantic City is playing a losing hand. The borgata is bucking that trend, and that hotel isnt even oceanfront on the boardwalk. Here in a cnbc exclusive interview is boyd gamings ceo, keith smith. Boyd gaming is the Parent Company of the borgata resort in Atlantic City. Mr. Smith, welcome to the closing bell. Its great to have you on. Good afternoon. Thanks for having me on the show. So, you better than most should know whats happening in Atlantic City and why its having so many problems. Can you shed any light on why you are able to do well and the others seem to be struggling so much, beyond just what you guys are doing as a company . Whats the problem there . Well, look, i think when you look back at the history of Atlantic City, when it was started back in the late 1970s, it was a virtual monopoly for gaming on the east coast of the United States. And over the last couple of decades, gaming has expanded to places like pennsylvania and new york, massachusetts just recently approved it. Maryland has half a dozen casinos. And so, the product is a little bit closer to home. The borgatas been fortunate to be a Market Leader since the day we opened it in 2003. It has a lot to do with the product that weve built as well as a Tremendous Service delivered by all of our team members there. Yeah. And so, its interesting as well to kind of look at the backdrop of this industry, keith. Theres so much saturation, theres so much competition now. Theres talk i mean, we just spoke the other day with sam nazarian, whos open, or just opened over the weekend that First New Hotel casino in vegas in five years. Do you think this industry can stay healthy . Is the pie growing . Is it shrinking . What are the dynamics out there . Well, i think while the industry has seen a tremendous amount of growth in the last couple decades, growth isnt over. Were not fully saturated yet. I think the sls will do just fine. It is the first hotel casino to open in a number of years, but there are several other projects on the drawing board here in vegas, on the strip. Once again, i think well see a lot more growth here in the gaming industry. I want to take it back to ac and sort of stay on that story for a second. Sure. Does whats happening there scare you as an operator of a thriving property . When revel opened, people obviously thought it was going to be successful. They looked at it as a challenge to your business. It was similar looking, and you know, experiencetype places. Does it worry you . Well, certainly, we like to have healthy, you know, competitors. Were fine competing with those in the market, and we were hoping revel would be, frankly, an overwhelming success and it would grow out new customers into the market. It, unfortunately, didnt do that, in part because of the product that was built. It was just not attractive to the customer, to the consumer. And so, the borgata has continued to be the market share leader there. Look, we want healthy competitors. We want the market to grow, but once again, Atlantic Citys in a position where it could use a little less supply, a little less capacity for, you know, the number of customers coming into the market. So, the closing of the properties that will be happening in the next three or four weeks will help to rationalize the market. And keith, talk us through what the prospects here, whats next for boyd gaming in this kind of landscape . Yes, fortunate to have gotten to a point today doing better, especially in Atlantic City, than some of the others. Whats next fo