Average. Nasdaq was weak for most of the session. We saw air coming out of the big momentum names. Nasdaq composite down 17 points today. S p was up just about one point, flat after giving up much of an earlier rally similar to the Dow Jones Industrial average. Despite todays uptick, the dow has wiped out more than 800 points since hitting a reported high three weeks ago. Lets check in with bob pisani. Why the optimism today, bob. If you take a look at the s p, it wasnt on the fed minutes. I think most traders feel it was an oversold bounce with two pretty rough days. Janet yellen may have helped on the margins. Lets take a look at sectors moving. Hewlettpackard, they gave commentary, better than expected. On the guidance. Meg whitman said theres a lot of work to be done but confident in the progress weve made. Those comments came out just before noon. We saw these names frequently traded, beta names. Biotechs have had a rough couple days. Some big names to the downside again. China net stocks, other groups high momentum stocks had a tough day. Most were down. A couple turned around in the middle of the day. Thats a very good sign for that group. A couple of positive points here. Put call ratio very high throughout the day. 1. 5 at one point, and ended 1. 3. The vix curve in backwardation, thats a sign generally that the markets are nearing some kind of bottom. Often weve seen rallies when you get this kind of backwardation. Thank you so much. The big story from the last hour coming from fidelity, taking real steps ahead of the debt ceiling fiasco. Steve liesman with the latest. What we know is fidelity is has instructed its money Fund Managers to basically dump any debt that matures while the debt ceiling breaches a possibility. What we do know, i just got off the phone with luke crandall, 61 billion of coupons mature october 31st and 16 billion november 15th for a total of 125 billion. This is the debt, tenyear debt, could be sevenyear debt, 30day debt, but anything maturing in that period would be candidates for what fidelity would come out. What they dont want to do, maria, obviously is get caught without a payment or debt that doesnt roll because these are money funds that have to maintain a 1 stable share value. I think, maria, if i could, the most important thing coming up in the next hour is youre asking that question of bill gross, if hes going to hang onto his debt around that mature time period, or is he also getting out of the way of this potential debt ceiling breach . Thank you very much. We want to get that reaction from someone with a big stake in u. S. Bonds. Pimco founder, bill gross, joining me right now. You see the news with fidelity. Are you doing this as well . Were doing just the opposite, maria, probably buying what fidelity is selling. I appreciate the problem they have with their Money Market Funds. And steve put it well just a few seconds ago. If, for instance, theres a technical default of a day or even a certain number of hours, then a Money Market Fund possibly has to mark down that debt to zero and it breaks the buck. You know, so a Money Market Fund, fidelity Money Market Fund might want to avoid that situation. Pimco doesnt have that particular problem. You know, our values, our asset values go up and down every day. Breaking the buck hopefully on the upside as opposed to the downside is our situation. So, when we see a treasury bill, you know, of a 30day nature or 15day nature, and a yield of 35 or 45 basis points instead of 3 basis points, which is where it was a few days ago, we become a buyer, certainly not a seller. What about the rollover debt, something i asked mo brooks earlier in the show, the fact that every thursday the country is rolling over approximately 100 billion in u. S. Bills. I mean, if we start seeing investors say, look, i want to be paid now, im not going to roll it over, this can be real chaos. Well, it could be. Like i suggested, its probably a Money Market Fund, you know, type of a problem. You know, the rollover and the debt ceiling actually provides for the ability to roll over existing debt. When you look at the situation from the standpoint of a potential default on the part of the treasury, you know, they have enough revenues to pay interest, so to speak, for, you know, eight times what their revenues actually permit. They have revenues per month of 300 billion. They have interest of only 40 billion. You know, the question really becomes one of prioritization. And the administration is speaking to this. Can they prioritize debts and debt payments like Social Security versus interest. We think they can. You know, to a certain extent, we think the administration is putting what we think a big foot type of argument. Investors and republicans should be afraid, you know, that they cant prioritize debt payments. We think they can. So, you know, aside from the money market problem, we think its no problem whatsoever. Okay. Let me ask you this, you said get used to rates this low or low rates for decades. Does that mean youre not expecting any tapering the rest of the year and beyond . I think so. You know, especially with the you know, the appointment and, you know, suggested confirmation of janet yellen. You know, from her prior speeches, for instance, march 4th of this particular year. You know, it suggests shes dovish with, you know, a capital d. Shes a proponent of quantitative easing and its effectiveness. Shes an actual advocate of 2 inflation and maybe more. And shes rather dismisses ive of jeremy steins view that speculation in Financial Markets is a risk. I suspect she holds a similar view today and the dovishness she has, you know, extends out into what you suggest is a more gradual taper and extended period of time for stable fed funds rated of 25 basis point for perhaps two to three years. Ultimately, yes, it favors front end positions for bonds and stabilizes bond marks. Were not so sure about the 30year bond but we like fiveyear treasuries as opposed to 10s and 30s. Its interesting youre hearing this fidelity story and not putting much credence into it. Not a big event, bill . Well, i do put credence in it for them. I dont blame them. If there was a technical default, their Money Market Funds would be at risk. For a pimco and a blackrock and fidelity in terms of their bond funds outside of money market space, you know, it really is no problem whatsoever. And a buyer in treasury space for the next 30 days would be advantaged. Pimcos been advantaged for 35 basis points as opposed to what existed prior to that for three basis points. Is it a lot of money . No. But its what an active manager should be doing and thats what weve been doing for the last few days. Fidelity sells, pimco buys. Lets ask you about the impact of all of this going on, whether it be the janet yellen nomination, what impact does that have on the markets . You touched on that a bit. More importantly, this debt ceiling debate. Lets say this debt ceiling shutdown, Government Shutdown, goes into next week, we see more panic in the market, would you be a buyer of stocks . I think stocks and bonds, risk assets, anything other than basically a treasury bill, which i suggested were buying, is at risk in terms of this you know, this growing lack of confidence in washington and the ability of republicans and democrats to come together with some type of resolution Going Forward. Is it affecting the possibility of default . We dont think so. We dont think that the treasurys going to default. We put the odds at a million to one. Is it affecting treasury prices . Is it affecting stock prices . Certainly. Because markets basically look at the fiasco in washington and recognize that if they cant come to some resolution in terms of a budget, in terms of a debt ceili ceiling, in terms of investment in this country Going Forward within the next 5, 10, 15 years, yes, we might have a problem in markets as well because markets are connected to the ability of an economy to grow. But, bill, i mean already were seeing an impact, just the uncertainty impact from the Government Shutdown. Thats likely going to impact gdp. So, you know, youre not expecting tapering. Tell me how to invest in the face of all of this going into year end. I think very carefully. Again, for a bond investor, i think what you want to do is bank on janet yellen for the next few years to basically transition from a taper to forward guidance, which basically means that policy rates, you know, stay put for the next several years. And that advantage in investments in three, four, five, sixyear treasuries as opposed to tens and 30s, risk markets, stock markets. Id be pretty cautious here because the stock market started a month ago at a relatively high level, a peak level. And to the extent the Economic Growth is affected by this problem in washington, and you said it is being effected, we would agree, perhaps by 0. 1 a week in terms of real gdp. So, if it continues for the next month, real gdp will probably be cut by half and corporate profits will be cut as well. Equity investors have a reason to be discouraged in terms of whats going on in washington. All owners of risk assets do. You know, we would be cautious when it comes to the bond market by the front end as opposed to the back end, which means buying short maturities as opposed to long maturities. You know, mo brooks saying its no big deal, the october 17th deadline. Youre sort of calm saying the fidelity move doesnt necessarily indicate the markets. Definitely a lot more calm than we would expect given the drama playing out in washington. Bill, good to have you on the program. Thank you, maria. Well see you soon. We appreciate your time tonight. Bill gross joining us. Much more headed your way in this special edition of the closing bell, coming to you live from Societe GeneralesTrading Floor in new york. Two years ago when i spoke with socgen ceo, we were suffering from the d. C. Dysfunction, and europe had its own mrobz to contend with Societe Generale was in the crosshairs. Were watching your stock fall. Dont you need to respond even further to this speculation in the market . Whats your next move . The perception is really false. Again, we have Just Announced that our willingness to adjust the Business Model. And now his bank is stronger than ever. But how could this mess were in now impact things . Well talk with scocgen ceo Frederic Oudea coming up. Bring back the gephardt rule. What is it . If we still had it, the debt ceiling wouldnt be an issue. Dick gephardt on what lawmakers need to do to get out of this mess. Thats coming up. And nike ceo will speak to me for his plan to take the sports giant to new heights. What it means to be a new dow 30 component at nike. At farmers we make you smarter about insurance, because what you dont know can hurt you. What if you didnt know that its smart to replace washingmachine hoses every five years . What if you didnt know that you might need extra coverage for more expensive items . And what if you didnt know that teen drivers are four times more likely to get into an accident . sup the more you know, the better you can plan for whats ahead. Talk to farmers and get smarter about your insurance. We are farmers bum pa dum, bum bum bum bum welcome back. Market closed way off the highs today. Lets get a market flash in extended hours on ruby tuesday. Maria, lets take a look at the stock. First of all, its down 13 after ruby tuesday reported a loss wider than expected and sales that fell short. They said Comparable Store sales in this quarter decreased 11. 4 with Franchise Stores dropping 8. 4 . Again, Comparable Store sales down. They also forecast Current QuarterComparable Store sales that will be down in the high single digits. So, that stock, maria, taking a real hit in the aftermarket. Back over to you. Thank you so much, dom. We want to look at nike shares right now on the session. Up today. The athletic footwear and apparel giant holding its First Investor day since becoming a component of the Dow Jones Industrial average. Jane wells is live at the event. Were joined by nike parker. Jane, kick us off. Hi. Nike announcing it expects revenues to grow to 36 billion from 25 billion last fiscal year to 36 billion by fiscal year, youre going after women, want to work on your dotcom sales. This is your new fly net shoes. This is all of one piece. How much are you saving in costs and labor . This is called the fly knit free and its a real gamechanger. A whole new way to manufacture product, a whole new way to design product. Incredibly comfortable. A new sort of visually iconic look. Its combining fly knit, the new technology in the upper, which is all done by computer and machinery, designed by humans. And then we have the free flat form on the bottom. How much does that cut down on waste and labor . It eliminates about 80 to 90 of waste. Its 160. When will that scale to a point people are willing to buy it and its meaningful to revenues . A lot of hype about it. A lot of hype. Actually, its thats happening as we speak. The scaling is going on at a very high level. We started out in running, like many of the innovations that nike started out in the running category. But were expanding the whole fly knit technology to other categories as well. Are you feeling competition . Under armour has huge ambition. My son wears nike shoes but under armour apparel. We thrive on competition. Thats what were all about. Were a sports company. We deal with athletes, the best in the world. We actually compete with ourselves in a sense. Were looking at our potential and what we can be. Not just how much better we might be than the competitors. Thats really the zone were in. As a leader, thats where we should be. Lets talk about the performance. I have investors watching the stock. Its had a great year. At the investor meeting you talked about 30 billion in revenue by fiscal 15. How do you get there . Well, we have a very diverse portfolio for nike inc. The geographies, developing nations around the world, you look at product types, both footwear and apparel where were somewhat undeveloped. You look at the categories. We have a category offense, the different sport categories that represent huge growth opportunities. Running has always led the charge there. We see football from a global standpoint. Womens is a massive Growth Opportunity for us. And then we have new Technology Like free and fly knit. Nike air continues to be a great platform for us. So on and so forth. Were really focused on Disruptive Technologies that can take the market to new technologies and expand our market. What can you tell us about the consumer today. You know, were all talking about whats going on in washington and the dysfunction. Are you seeing that impact the consumer . How would you characterize the consumer today going into this very important end of year shopping season . Well, the consumer as you know has more choice and access to choice today more than ever before. We to want be there from our wholesale business, online business, which were very bullish about, and of course our own stores. All of those in combination, along with our retail partners, large and small around the world, really creates an opportunity for us to transform and grow the marketplace. Consumer confidence today, i think, is starting to come back. And were seeing that actually affect our business in a positive way. We expect that to continue. So, you are expecting a good showing from the Holiday Season . Whats your xpgs expectations for holiday shopping, then . Were actually expecting a very solid Holiday Season. Were very bullish on whats coming, not only just for the Holiday Season, but whats coming for the full fiscal year. One of the things ive talked about is the innovation pipeline that we have. Its never been as full and robust as it is today. Is it really the Government Shutdown . Were 3,000 miles away. Is it just not a story here for nike yet . Its not really affecting will it be a story . I think its going to have to be a long, protracted shutdown for us to have a really any sort of Significant Impact on our business. Mark parker, thank you so much for joining us. I really appreciate it. Absolutely. Thank you. Great to talk with you. Thank you, jane. Appreciate that. Well take a short break. Ten then the debt ceiling battle in washington looms large over wall street and the rest of the country. Up next, former Democratic Congressional leader Dick Gephardt will weigh in on the gridlock. How lawmakers may be able to reach a deal. In a world thats changing faster than ever, we believe outshining the competition tomorrow requires challenging your Business Inside and out today. At cognizant, we help forwardlooking Companies Run better and run different to give your customers every reason to keep looking for you. So if youre ready to see opportunities and see them through, we say lets get to work. Because the future belongs to those who challenge the present. So i can reach ally bank 24 7, but there ar24 7. Branches . Im sorry, im just really reluctant to try new things. Really . Whats wrong with trying new things . Look mommys new vacuum cat screech you feel that in your muscles . I do. Drink water. Its a long story. Well, not having branches lets us give you great rates and service. Id like that. A new way to bank. A better way to save. Ally bank. Your money needs an ally. 20 years with the company. Hool. Thousands of presentations. And one hard earned partnership. It took a lot of work to get this far. So n