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Signups Surge Ahead of Obamacare Deadline; Business Trends to Watch in 2014

Aired December 25, 2013 - 09:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you very much for joining me, and merry, merry Christmas.

Checking our top stories at 33 minutes past the hour.

New fears about information stolen during the Target credit card hack attack. According to "Reuters", the hackers also were able to steal the encrypted personal identification numbers or PIN numbers on those cards during the security breach. Target confirms that some encrypted information was stolen, but would not say if that included PIN numbers.

Mailing that letter is about to get more expensive. The postal regulator has approved a 3 cent increase for first class stamps. The new rate includes a 1 cent hike for inflation. The 3-cent jump goes into effect at the end of January, but should only last two years.

If you missed last night's deadline to sign up for Obamacare, you may still have time. The Obama administration announcing it will work with people who tried but failed to complete their enrolment, specifically if their issue deals with technical problems or delays. Heavy traffic on the Healthcare.gov Web site recently as people trying to make that Christmas Eve cutoff.

Joining me now to discuss Obamacare and all things political, CNN political commentator Ben Ferguson.

Good morning, Ben.

BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning. Good morning. Merry Christmas.

COSTELLO: Merry Christmas to you. Thank you so much for being with us on Christmas Day. This means a lot, especially to me.

Let's just touch on Obamacare, because we've talked a lot about Obamacare over the last several days.

Two million people apparently, at least went on to the system and it set a record yesterday. That's good.

FERGUSON: Yes. It's good. The majority of people that are getting on these plans are somehow going to be involved in Medicare. That's concerning the young people that they needed to sign up for these algorithms to work correctly, that did not have pre-existing conditions, that were low risk patients that these insurance companies needed to offset those that were really getting on their yesterday. They had pre-existing conditions. They're desperately needed care. They're not signing up.

And so, there are going to be some major obstacles going forward in 2014, because if you only have those sign up that are sick or that need a lot of care, are on a lot of prescriptions, this thing is going to be a disaster, I think, waiting to happen because so many young people are just saying, these premiums, they're too high, I'm not going to pay it. I'll deal with the penalty this year I need to. I'll get it if I need it with a preexisting condition because they can't turn me away.

And so, that's going to be a biggest hurdle moving forward.

COSTELLO: Yes, definitely so.

I like to switch gears now and talk about something else, if you don't mind, because it is Christmas, right?

FERGUSON: Sure.

COSTELLO: Because we always like this think that our politicians will be kinder and gentler into the New Year.

A Republican and a Democrat reached across the aisle, they compromised, they came up with a budget that both the House and the Senate eventually passed. And that was a good thing.

So, we're hoping for that kind of thing to continue into 2014.

The question is, will it?

FERGUSON: Well, I mean, you certainly hope that they're going to get along better. I think the president this year realized that saying I will not negotiate, I will not step down from this, this is what I'm going to do and I'm doing nothing else is not the way that he's got to act moving forward. I hope they get together.

I mean, I think when you saw this budget deal done, at least it showed that we're not going to have another government type shutdown, standoff on some issues. And that is a positive thing.

I mean, if you look at most Americans right now that are watching this morning, they really do want government to get along and they want it to move forward because that's their job. I mean, everyone's cynical, whether you're a Republican or a Democrat on Congress not doing their job.

And so, this next year, you know, maybe they put some of this behind them, maybe this is a good step in the right direction. I don't think it's going to be perfect by any means. But I certainly hope they can finally say, OK, us not talking to each other, unless it's yelling at each other through the media, having a press conference talking about the other side 's terrible, is not the way the government's supposed to work. And the president of the United States of America is the biggest leader in the room saying, "I'm not going to negotiate," I think he's got to change that stance next year.

COSTELLO: Well, we hope.

CNN political commentator Ben Ferguson, thanks so much and merry Christmas to you.

FERGUSON: Merry Christmas. Have a great day.

COSTELLO: You, too.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, 2013 was a banner year for your 401k, so what's ahead for next year? We've got stock market predictions and the top business stories to watch in 2014.

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COSTELLO: It has been an up and down year for business, the health care Web site was a flop, the Internet currency bitcoin exploded with growth, the stock market broke records and the entire federal government shutdown, just to name a few.

So what will be the big business stories for 2014?

Earlier, I spoke with Rick Newman, a Yahoo finance columnist and author of "Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback", and Mark Zandi, chief economist from Moody's Analytics, to talk about what's next.

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COSTELLO: You have very different picks, so this is really fascinating.

So, Rick, let's start with your first pick for 2014. You are predicting that the stock market will suffer a big drop, explain.

RICK NEWMAN, YAHOO FINANCE COLUMNIST: If you talk to Wall Street analysts they almost seem surprised that this hasn't happened already. I mean, we've just had a terrific bull market, up about 175 percent since 2009. There have been valid reasons for that, but we just began this transition from this sort of artificial stimulus from the Federal Reserve to something that will require the stock market to depend more on the real economy.

It started off smoothly. I think there are going to be some bumps along the way. It's not at all clear how companies are going to react, how investors are going to be react. And we could get in a situation where there are going to be a couple of changes, interest rates go up a bit. And one or two unpredictable things happen and I think that might be all it takes to rattle investigators.

I think some people think if the stock market did go through a correction like that, it might be sort of a healthy thing that would get some of the froth off the top.

COSTELLO: Maybe so, that's looking at it from a glass -- that's looking at it from a glass half full.

But, Mark, do you have sort of an opposite view? Am I wrong? You're predicting strong growth?

MARK ZANDI, CHIEF ECONOMIST, MOODY'S ANALYTICS: Yes, I'm optimistic. You know, just to give you a number, the economy in 2013 grew about 2 percent. In fact, that's what it's been growing since the recovery began four or five years ago, which is just OK.

But in 2014, I expect growth of 3 percent and in 2015, growth of closer to 4 percent. And those are pretty good numbers. And so, yes, I'm a lot more optimistic and I actually think that will put a nice floor underpinning to stock prices. Yes, there will be ups and downs in stock prices. But I think, in general, they'll move higher.

COSTELLO: OK. So, Rick, your second prediction is that bitcoin will just absolutely crash.

NEWMAN: Bitcoin is going to go one way or the other. It's sort of a binary situation. it's either going to be a terrific success, worth a lot -- probably a lot more than it's worth now, or it's value is going to go to zero, I think we're going to find out in 2014.

There certainly is some validity to bitcoin. Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, and other people have said, yes, we think there are some uses for a digital currency, but we have seen things such as the government in China has said, nope, we're not going to allow transactions in bitcoin.

I think if regulators in only some countries come out and say, nope, we're not going to tolerate this, we're going to squash it, even if it's for the wrong reasons, I think that will put bitcoin on ice.

It's something that's very complicated. Ordinary people don't understand it. I think that works against it.

And I -- my guess is that we're going to see the end of bitcoin by the end of 2014.

COSTELLO: OK, on to Mark's second prediction. You say there will be no political gridlock over the budget, and, man, I hope you're right about this.

ZANDI: Yes. So do I. This is key.

You know, of course, we just got a budget, and that means there will be no government shutdowns over the next couple of years, so that's really very good news. But we do have to get over the treasury debt limit. That's the amount of money the Treasury can borrow and that has to be increased early next year. I think Congress and the administration will get it together. There will be some brinkmanship and some back and forth.

But I don't think there's any reason why political reason why they'll fight over this, at least not to the degree they have in past showdowns.

So, I suspect that while it won't be painless, it will feel a lot better this go around and that Washington will fade from the front pages and that's key to my optimism with regard to the economy next year and the year after.

COSTELLO: Interesting. OK. So, Rick, your third prediction is --

ZANDI: I hear you laughing.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: I know. I'm hopeful, I am. I think they have got to get something done and work together. That would be great for 2014, right?

So, Rick, your third prediction is that the Democrats will do very well in the fall midterms. This flies in the face that Obamacare was such a bust, and Republicans think they're going to do well in part because of that.

NEWMAN: Well, let's say they'll do better than expected, the Democrats in the fall midterms. And I think Mark is probably right about his predictions.

And, by the way, you can have a growing economy and a stock market correction at the same time, which is what I -- which is kind of what I'm suggesting will happen in 2014.

But let's say Mark is right, we do get, you know there's less that Washington can screw up in 2014, the economy does better next year than it did this year.

This is all a good news for Democrats. Because, you know, they have the White House and if there are fewer things to worry about and it finally feels like ordinary people are starting to get ahead, I think that will help Democrats in the midterms. I don't think that necessarily means they're going to retake the house -- that seems like a stretch.

But that means the big question for Democrats is Obamacare. And the only thing I have to say about that is, could it possibly be any worse in 2014 than it has been this year? I don't think so. I think Obamacare at least image wise probably bottomed out in 2013. And it may just -- it may just do a little bit better so a little bit of tail wind for Democrats in November.

COSTELLO: We'll see. Ok, the only pessimistic prediction you have, Mark, is that the wage gap will increase and that's a sad thing.

ZANDI: Yes, you know, it doesn't mean a lot for the broader economy in any given year, but over a period of years, the next decade or two, this is going to be our biggest problem. The folks in the top part of the distribution of income in terms of income and wealth are doing much, much better than those in the bottom. And this gap is now as wide as it's ever been in the data that we have. We've got data already back over a 100 years and.

All of the trend lines pointed to that getting worse, and that is not something that's good for our economy longer run. So this is something we're going to have to struggle with and hopefully policymakers can start to address this in a reasonable, credible way going forward because if we don't, this is going to be a big problem.

COSTELLO: Mark Zandi and Rick Newman, thanks so much for your predictions, I appreciate it.

NEWMAN: Thanks Carol.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM Santa is back at the North Pole, but what if you have family members still traveling today? Jennifer Gray has some info you might want to hear. Good morning.

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh good morning to you. That's right most of the country is very, very calm on this Christmas day. There's only one place in the country you'll find some snow and we'll talk about where that is in just a bit.

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CAPT. KEHMES LANDS, KUWAIT NAVAL BASE, KUSAIT: Hello, this is Captain Lands from KNB Kuwait. I want to say hello to my family members, my wife Tamara, my daughter Kashia (ph), my daughter Corey (ph), my beautiful mom and dad, Wayne Adams, hello. I'm enjoying the season here and I hope you're enjoying the season there. I would love to see a care package, but anyway, happy holidays.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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COSTELLO: Hopefully you made it home safe and sound this Christmas. The trip probably took a lot longer for drivers involved in this multicar pileup in I-90 in Ohio. Oh, that's ugly. Isn't it, is that near Cleveland Lake County, Ohio -- yes that's lake effect snow. More than two dozen vehicles were damaged, several people taken to the hospital, none of them were hurt seriously -- thank goodness. Drivers complained of whiteout conditions on the hi-way, but hopefully that's all gone now.

Let's check in with Jennifer Gray. Good morning.

GRAY: Good morning to you. Yes most of the country considering it's Christmas Day a lot of people traveling we had a big storm during the weekend, the country is much, much calmer now. We have quiet conditions all across the south, could see a couple showers in south Texas as well as south Florida, but we are still dealing with some of that lake-effect snow to the north. And this is really the only area where we're seeing some activity.

Anywhere from Green Bay to Grand Rapids, seeing some of that snow and it's continuing to fall. We could see a couple of inches additional snowfall.

In Michigan, this is an iReport sent to us from Sarah Hadley. You can see the ice on the tree. And we've seen some power outages. And folks up there are still without power in areas of Michigan. Grand Rapids could see anywhere from one to three inches of snow as we go through the rest of the day tonight. The majority of snow will be up in Canada, but we still could pick up a little bit of snow in Michigan.

The problem is temperatures haven't gotten above freezing, and so the ice from the storm this weekend still there. It hasn't been able to melt, temperatures 19 in Grand Rapids; Milwaukee around 19, 15 in Green Bay, so a very, very cold Christmas day.

And across the rest of the country seeing temperature in the 30s and 40s from Kansas City to Denver, seeing temperatures a little bit more mild in the south; 50 degrees for you in New Orleans on Christmas day.

COSTELLO: Oh, that sounds great.

GRAY: Yes.

COSTELLO: Thanks so much, Jennifer. Merry Christmas.

GRAY: Same to you.

COSTELLO: Checking our top stories now at 53 minutes past -- about 100 residents evacuated due to a California wildfire, have been allowed to return to their homes or at least what's left of them. The 900-acre Big Sur fire destroyed 34 homes. The fire started December 16, it was contained over the weekend.

Eliot Spitzer and his wife Silda are divorcing. Though married for 26 years, the couple had been living in separate apartments for months. Eliot Spitzer resigned as New York governor in 2008 after admitting he paid prostitutes for sex. The couple has three grown daughters.

You may not have finished opening your presents, but the after- Christmas sales have begun. Some online merchants are already offering deals and shoppers heading to the stores tomorrow will find deep, deep discounts on closing. The Web site dealnews.com predicts sales will be better than expected, especially on TVs and Christmas decor.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM an NBA players shaves his head -- not fashion, just friendship Joe Carter.

JOE CARTER, CNN SPORTS: Hi. Good morning Carol. Yes, this NBA player is Chandler Parsons and the haircut is a very simple one. He shaved his head but it's a very touching gesture. We'll get into that coming up next in the "Bleacher Report".

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CAPT. JEANETTE LUCAS, ARMY: This is Captain Jeanette Lucas, stationed with the office of Security Corporation in Baghdad, Iraq. I want to wish my wonderful mother Angeline Brown in Columbus, Georgia, a very merry Christmas and happy New Year. I love you so much, mom.

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COSTELLO: The Houston Rockets' Chandler Parsons will be sporting a brand new hairstyle on the court tonight. It's not a fashion statement, it's a show of support for a young boy fighting cancer. Joe Carter is here to tell us about it.

CARTER: It's a great story. It really is. Chandler Parsons, of course, is a rising star in the Houston Rockets. He's recently become friends with a 10-year-old boy who is dying from terminal cancer. The young boy's name is Patrick Hobbs-DeClaire -- he has neuroblastoma which is a form of cancer that attacks the nervous system. The boy's father said that Patrick is not scared of death, but he's more worried these days about the fact that he doesn't look exactly like his twin brother because he's lost his hair.

And after meeting Patrick, Chandler Parsons said that he's become so close to the boy and so inspired by his determination that he too decided to shave his head to look more like Patrick. He did it as a Christmas surprise, so the boy is going to see it for the first time tonight when he and his parents are going to watch the Rockets play the Spurs on TV. So just a really nice story -- way to go, Chandler Parsons.

And Merry Christmas for John Kitna -- (inaudible)

COSTELLO: John Kitna is back -- oh my God -- with the Lions.

CARTER: Yes. Back to the NFL. He's going to be with the Cowboys. The 41-year-old just signed to play with the Cowboys. He's been brought in to be the third string quarterback. He's really been brought in to be more insurance for the Cowboys because they're still not sure if Tony Romo will play this Sunday against the eagles. He's going to be -- as in Kitna is going to backing up Kyle Orton, who's the backup to Romo.

Now, Kitna's been gone for a while. He's been retired from the NFL since 2011. He's actually he's been teaching at his old high school, believe it or not.

COSTELLO: He's been doing awesome things. He teaches to underprivileged kids. He gives back a lot to the community.

CARTER: John Kitna -- they're hoping maybe he's going to give them a few plays for the Cowboys. That's a great Christmas gift, though.

COSTELLO: He's a tough guy.

CARTER: And how many of you out there would love to be spending your Christmas there in beautiful Hawaii?

I like snow, but come on, I love Hawaii. Oregon State and Boise State -- they were both there, and, well, Boise State had two very costly mistakes yesterday that turned into two big touchdowns for Oregon State. Rashard Reynolds not only scooped up both fumbles but he returned both fumbles for touchdowns, so Oregon State would go on to win 38-28. Don't want to pile too much on Boise State, because you know, it's Christmas. They ended up winning the game yesterday.

And there's no bowl games today, but there's four NBA games for those at home that are for looking for some sports to have onto the background when they're enjoying family and Christmas.

COSTELLO: The best kind of Christmas to have, isn't it? With the sports on in the back -- yes.

CARTER: Taking a little nap at 2:00 in the afternoon, maybe eat again -- who knows?

COSTELLO: Loving that.

Joe Carter thanks so much.

CARTER: Thank you.

COSTELLO: The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.