Claw its way back to a new record high. Analysis is coming up with our trader. Venezuelan president hugo chavez has died. He had been ill for a number of months. There is no word as to a successor or what the opporition plans. Venezuela is an opec country and sells oil to the united states. And with president obamas cabinet nominations adding up, Senate Confirmation hearings are underway. Yesterday the Senate IntelligenceCommittee Approved john brennan as head of the cia. The Banking Committee holds its first hearing next tuesday for Mary Jo White to be head of the sec. Our trader today is jared levy with zacks. Com. Jared, where is your party hat . Its big news today. Congratulations you are part of this historical moment. Let me ask you, though, are we now into the irrational exuberance zone that Alan Greenspan warned about years ago . You know, there are a couple ways to look at this. Some folks are saying and this is the truth that a lot of Retail Investors havent yet gotten into this market yet, they are still reluctant. And if you buy that and you believe that Retail Investors are now going to storm in and push this market higher, then we arent irrational yet. But at the same time, you have to realize investors not just u. S. , but around the world have been putting a lot of money into equities, obviously, as we hit multiyear highs now and the dow eclipses its 2007 highs. But i am sort of caught in the middle. I think right now, what we have to look at is earnings. I think there are a good amount of stocks that have reached irrational exuberance levels, but there are another group that is still of value, and that is where you want to focus your energy. It is funny when you contrast this with what is going on in the rest of the economy jobs are weak, we dont have strong growth right now, and yet, is this corporate profits and the fed that we have to thank for this . Really i think it is mostly the fed and a lack of an alternative investment. Again, when you look around the world, where is the average investor going to put their money for a decent yield . You are not buying bonds, you are not buying europe, you are not buying china. You are coming here to the u. S. To buy u. S. Equities in quality companies. If you look at earnings, too, earnings were flat. They werent that phenomenal. I think the fed has helped driving this, housing stability has helped driving this, and at least its the best of whats out there, which, in my opinion, isnt great, but you have to ride the tram while its here. Let me ask you about that train moving forward what does it take to keep this going ahead now . Psychologically, a lot of people think, oh, weve crossed this important barrier uncertainty. Well, todays adp report is going to be a key one to watch, and also fridays bls report. Remember, from here, it is all about Economic Data. What we have on our side right now is momentum, and i think traders shouldnt be jumping in with all their money trying to buy stocks, but wait for those pullbacks, buy on the dips, and make sure that the Economic Data continues to at least be flattish to positive, because that is all the market really wants. But right now, the trends your friend, and you have to follow it. All right jared levy, you have fun out there today. Thanks. Thank you sir. It is technically illegal to unlock your cell phone purchased through a carrier such as verizon or at t at the end of your Service Contract and switch the same phone to a different carrier. Its considered a matter of copyright infringement. But as our cover story explains, that may change. Its considered by some a peculiar interpretation of copyright law. The librarian of congress, james billington, determined that locking cell phones is an essential part of the wireless industrys dominant business model. It prevents us from legally buying one cellphone at a subsidized rate through a carrier and even after the Service Contract expires taking that phone to another carrier for use later. Michael hodel tracks carriers for the Financial Data firm morningstar. This is a situation where a technicality has been used to do something it was never intended to do. The obama adminstration says copyright law was never intended to be this restrictive. Its asked the fcc, Commerce Department and others to look into changing the law. If that happens, some predict the price of cellphones and smartphones may rise quickly. It is no secret that consumers will pay more for phones, because the carrier isnt going to absorb the cost. Theyll frontload the contracts so youll pay more upfront and the value of the phone will die at the end of two years. Verizon, at t and other carriers have backed the restriction as it stands now. The wireless association, known as ctia, a trade Group Representing cellphone companies, says an exception is not necessary because carriers have liberal unlocking policies anecdotally, cell phone users say this often comes with a fee. This week, the library of congress issued a statement saying that the matter should be reviewed by congress. The sequester is about to feel a lot more real for some. The first furlough notices are in the mail and on their way to federal agency employees. The total number of days off without pay differs agencyto agency, but its expected that more than half of all federal workers thats more than a Million People will have to take some unpaid time off. Unless the people we elect to run the government fix things, this wont be the final round of furlough notices. Meanwhile, the case is still not closed on jp morgan. A new congressional subcommittee is delving in again, to find out what caused the banks Major Trading losses last year. The New York Times reports the investigation will likely point fingers at jp morgan executives. Toplevel execs could be called to testify before congress. However, jamie dimon will likely not be called to testify. Jp morgan has no comment on the matter, but is cooperating with the subcommittee. The report on the investigation will be out march 15th. Its not just the dow that is posting record numbers home prices are too. In january, the average price rose 9. 7 when compared to a year ago. Thats the biggest increase since 2006. Data just released by corelogic shows phoenix saw the biggest gain, up almost 23 . The january numbers are the 11th straight monthly increase. Only illinois and delaware saw no price increases. Microsoft is bracing for a big fine from european antitrust officials. Those officials accused microsoft of not allowing its users to access any competing browsing software. Microsoft and european antitrust officials had reached an agreement about the issue in 2009, but Officials Say microsoft did not follow the terms of the settlement. It will be the first time the European Union has singled out a company for failing to adhere to a previous settlement. More than 212 million not a bad take to leave a company. And thats just what the ceo of heinz could get if he leaves once Warren BuffettsBerkshire Hathaway and another investor buy the ketchupmaker. Bill johnsons golden parachute would include cash, equity, bonuses and more. Hes been ceo for 15 years. He oversaw 40 acquisitions and an expansion into emerging markets. Buffett has said he hopes johnson will remain. But at 64, johnson says hes too young to retire, though he hasnt said what his plans are. Charismatic Dallas MavericksTeam Owner Mark Cuban didnt have a winning day. A federal judge says the securities and Exchange Commission may continue its fouryearold case against cuban. The billionaire is accused of Insider Trading for selling his 8 million of shares of mamma. Com before news about the Company Became public. In doing so, he is accused of avoiding 750,000 in losses. Cnn says the average College Freshman takes more than 5and ahalf years to graduate. Thats a major hit on the family budget. Some schools say theyll cap costs at 4 years. If you cant get your diploma in 4, the school will pay the extra tuition. Sounds like a great deal, but theres fine print. If parents read it, theyll find lots of qualifiers. You cant change your major, no study abroad, and you may be forced to take classes at inconvenient times. Also, the money doesnt cover dorm or living costs. Ikea is getting into the hotel business. The swedish chain famous for its unassembled and inexpensive furniture is teaming with Marriott International to bring 150 hipbutaffordable hotels to cities across europe. Called moxy, the first one is expected to open in milan, italy, in early 2014. No word on whether youll have to assemble your own bed. Mcdonalds has invested plenty in coffee. Now, its turning to coffee beans. Bloomberg reports that the Worlds Largest restaurant chain will spend 6. 5 million over 5 years to help 13,000 growers in guatemala. They will be taught best practices in how to produce more highquality arabica beans. Farmers will also be trained in sustainability practices. Mcdonalds premium coffee sales have more than doubled since 2006. Europes financial crisis hasnt stopped luxury from living on in the auto market there. This week at the geneva auto show, car makers rolled out cars with class. Chevy, which is trying to ramp up sales in europe, released its 2014 corvette convertible. Meanwhile, lamborgini is introducing its veneno. With a 3. 9million price tag, it is one of the most expensive cars ever made. Auto analyst kelsey mays says despite the glitz and glam, car makers are looking at a tough road ahead. The euro crisis has affected a lot of automakers in the region. Consumer confidence is down. Auto sales have dropped 5 years in a row. Now theyre at a 17year low in 2012, and theyve continued to fall even in the countries where things arent supposed to be that bad countries like germany. In february, auto sales fell year overyear by 10 , so even the stronger markets are starting to crack. French carmaker renault told reporters this week that its likely the european auto market will not pick up for the next 3 years. The Television Landscape continues to shift, and internetdelivered tv is the coming thing. Netflix has found huge success that is, profits in producing and distributing original programming like house of cards. Its following up with 4 more series. Soon youll also be able to watch shows through the xbox video game console from microsoft. Analysts expect programming to eventually come from aol, sony even twitter. In a few months, amazon will release the 1st of 4 comedies through its amazon prime instant video service. Coming up, more and more careers can be found in technology. But where in technology . We talk with a top futurist. And the unintended consequences when Congress Tries to put a stop to corporate welfare. Thats next on first business. 7,000 Highschool Students drop out every school day. Lets catch them before its too late. To start helping students in your community, visit boostup. Org. Talk about unintended consequences. It was in 1986 when congress overhauled our nations vast and complex tax code. One aim was to do away with fat corporate giveaways through the use of certain tax exempt federal bonds. Not only did this write off not go away its use has grown. Louise story wrote about this for the New York Times, and louise, you talked with a number of analysts, and they said these bonds are nothing more than a goverment subsidy for corporations. The bonds are often part of Economic Development programs where localities are trying to incentivize a company to expand and create more jobs. The problem is, for a lot of these bonds, there isnt tracking of whether there are jobs, and a lot of analysts we talked with said that a lot of these companies would have done these projects even without the bonds. So therefore, that is how they came to say that its really more like a subsidy. What kinds of companies are taking advantage of these bonds . We did an analysis looking bondbybond, and we could see which companies the money was for. And in fact, we found the company that has received the most of these federally tax exempt bonds is chevron. So, chevron, they made 26 billion in profits last year. So it is not a struggling company. We think of these taxesexempt bonds really as being something to help out cities and states meet their public needs. But the companies we found were chevron, exxon mobile is a big recipient, shell, Goldman Sachs here in new york city, bank of america. All of these big Major Companies have benefited from these sorts of taxexempt bonds. All right, louise, if the intent of congress in 1986 was to get rid of some of these corporate subsidies, and if the intent of Congress Today is to cut spending, what is being done to get rid of this once and for all . There are some really prominent analysts and economists out there who are calling for reevaluation of this. The bipartisan policy center, which is run by some veteran people from the federal reserve, they have said that if you got rid of Companies Using these taxexempt bonds and other private entities using them, that it could save 50 billion over 10 years thats 50 billion with a b, so it is a lot of money. It is on the order of some of these cuts we are talking about. And this is part of a much Bigger Picture of ways in which we subsidize companies through local and state budgets as well as the federal budget. It is coming at a time of tight budgets, so that is why it is so important to evaluate what the public is really getting from these deals that go to companies. Louise story with the New York Times. Thanks so much. Thank you. What if you could look into the future to find where the good jobs will be . Well do the next best thing and talk with a futurist about that, next on first business. Hit a landmine when i came here, i couldnt move. [male announce david was broadsided on the highway. They werent very hopeful that he would survive at all. [male announce their traumatic brain injuries have yet to heal. The way i describe it is youre just afraid. Am i going to start forgetting things . [male announce tbi is as serious as any battlefield injury. Thankfully va has made important advancements in tbi so if you think you or a veteran you know has sustained a brain injury, get screened. While there is no degree or certification for the position, there is actually a job in being a futurist one who analyzes what was, what is, and gives a pretty good educated guess as to what will be. Their wisdom is greatly prized by corporate executives. One of the top futurists, with a pretty good track record in his predictions, is this guy. Hes New York Times bestselling author and advisor to some of the Biggest Companies around the planet, daniel burrus. Ceos use your good analysis and wisdom. You are now coming forward with some insights that can benefit the rest of us. Tell us about this in terms of technology. Absolutely. What i am launching today, based on my book flash foresight, is a list of 12 certainties that will impact every career and create new ones. And i use the word certainties very intentionally. You see, we live in an uncertain world. We dont know what is going to happen with europes economy, we dont know what is going to happen with the stock market, we dont know if you are going to get laid off or not. So with uncertainty, you dont have the confidence to move forward, invest, start a company, hire people, or know what courses to take. Certainty, on the other hand, gives you confidence. Let me give you a quick example of certainty right now it is winter. We know next will be spring, followed by summer. We know there is 3g wireless, 4g wireless, and we know thats not it, there is going to be 5g wireless. And we know that smartphones are not going to get dumb, they are going to get smarter. And 78 million baby boomers are not going to get younger, they are going to get older. So if you really look at all the things you can be certain about, you have some amazing power. So today, i launched a list of 12 certainties again that will absolutely shape every career Going Forward. And its important, of course, to take a look at that list and make sure you know whats on it. Thats interesting, because as you go through the tea leaves as a futurist, i would have thought you were looking at sort of the complexity of science and technology and social behaviors and whatnot. These certainties almost seem like common sense. Well, you know, when you hear the future, you know it. For example and i just gave you some simple ones so again, i work with the Biggest Companies and ceos on the planet, and yet most people think the world is uncertain. But it is not. There is so much certainty it is amazing. As a matter of fact, when ive launched this list, i got together with Devry University to help launch it, because they are one of a number of universities that are actually integrating this list of certainties into how they prepare students for the future so that they know they will be having a good future verses preparing them for the past. As a matter of fact, if you want to even look at that list of 12, you can go to the devry website, devry. Edu certainties, take a look at that list, and what you will find is an amazing list of certainties that can help you know what