TOM SULLIVAN: After all these months of scrutiny, we still do not know how he did it, where all the money is located, or even much about him.   My best guess is we will not know for at least 10 years, if ever.

GREGG JARRETT: That he’s still lying… and prosecutors will step up investigations of wife and sons.

LIZ MACDONALD: $$ lost in the Madoff incinerator has caused historic upheaval at the SEC. Will the mkts now have a cop on the beat? Not that confident in that, but here’s what’s key–there are 11,300 inv advisers, but only about 10% are examined every 3 yrs by about 400 SEC staffers. That will change.

BRIAN SULLIVAN: nothing will change.  Zip.  Nada.   History says people are greedy and every 30 years get burned.

CHERYL CASONE: Nothing will change at the SEC.  They are more concerned about their new initiative from the President (the man who cuts the checks) on financial regulatory reform than with trying to find the next Bernard Madoff.

Once again, our esteemed Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke was on Capitol Hill, this time defending himself against allegations that he threatened Ken Lewis’ job and that of the Board at Bank of America.  He stayed true to his defense, but do we believe him? Or, was it really Henry Paulson, Treasury Secretary at the time that made these veiled or not-s0-veiled threats? I’m sure Paulson’s testimony will be on live television during the 12 ET time hour of FBN.  But, for now, here’s the Best Guess segment web version!

CC

CHERYL: The news out of Yahoo’s shareholder meeting will be their plans to change the branding and marketing of the site. They need to differentiate themselves from Google. Also, expect Carol Bartz to say they are open to a Microsoft deal. Steve Ballmer has already spoken.

ERIC BOLLING: Stock market is in a good mood lately…it is looking at the glass half full after 18 months of glass half empty….s&p with a few bumps in the road is on it way higher

STUART VARNEY: today’s hearings are all about Bernanke being confirmed for another term. The alternative is Larry Summers, waiting in the wings….

LIZ MACDONALD: The Paulson hearing will reveal that the then treas sec’y was the shotgun behind lewis’s chair, not Bernanke.

Today was funny because Liz Mac and I had the same best guess.  I didn’t even bother talking on the air about mine, but you can see below.  I wish I could say great minds think alike, but Liz is ridiculously brilliant, like an encyclopedia, and she must have sent me her best guess telepathically.

KATHY BOYLE: Market is setting up for another sell off into August so pare some gains and reduce exposure if you’re not ready to ride the downside again

TOM SULLIVAN: Goldman Sachs and others are racing to pay bonuses before new financial regulations are passed.  Unfortunately, by paying large bonuses now, it will mean the new financial regulatory system will limit future bonuses.

CHERYL: The FOMC is coming to the end of buying Treasuries.  When Ben Bernanke testified to Congress about the enormous debt the nation was taking on, I think it was his “hint” that the buying will end.  We’ll get proof this week….

STUART VARNEY: After the disgraceful behavior of drunken fans at the US Golf Open, corporations will be under pressure to look closely at what they sponsor, and golf authorities will have to acquire some back-bone and establish standards of acceptable public behavior. American corporations should not fund obscenity or racism.

LIZ MACDONALD: Fed won’t inc tbond purchases.

CHERYL: The changes being proposed for broker dealers and investment advisors will have little to no impact on the securities industry because it will be impossible for the SEC or whomever they appoint to oversee it.  Lawsuits will eventually happen but that is years away.

STUART VARNEY: It will be the Summer of the lobbyist…..every industry will want its piece of the federal spending pie, and every industry will be trying to avoid the taxes Washington will be levying….the best administration money can buy!

DUNSTAN PRIAL: In order to get something passed, the Democrats will slap together a bill and call it health care reform. And that will be a shame because the current system is bankrupting families and the country. But I’m not sure any president can marshall the disparate voices and agendas into a consensus that would really affect meaningful reform — the U.S. health care system just too messy and complicated, and there’s too much money at stake.

TOM SULLIVAN: Computer sales are down because people are waiting for Apple and Microsoft to release new operating systems.  Apple will have a strong 3rd quarter due to its release of its operating system, Snow Leopard, in September.  And, Microsoft, Dell, HP, etc., will have a strong 4th quarter with the release of Windows 7 on October 22nd. 

The top of the show was devoted to testimony from Tim Geithner, so only two best guesses were out today on the air.  Too bad, I really liked mine, so be the first to see/read it!

Tom Sullivan: Computer sales are down because people are waiting for Apple and Microsoft to release new operating systems.  Apple will have a strong 3rd quarter due to its release of its operating system, Snow Leopard, in September.  And, Microsoft, Dell, HP, etc., will have a strong 4th quarter with the release of Windows 7 on October 22nd.

Stuart Varney: My best guess is that the Obama reg. reform plan is running into big trouble on day one….there will be a tsunami of lobbying over the Summer, perhaps enough to gut it….

Jim Awad: second quarter earnings reports and forward looking guidance will be good enough to prevent the market from going down much but subdued enough to prevent the market from going up much so it will be a boring summer–but the bad weather rules out the beach so everyone is going to be grouchy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Liz Macdonald: Dow and the S&P both plunged to their 200 day range bottom on Monday, and stuck there. If bullish momentum were intact, the markets “should have” drawn buyers in this area. No snapback rallies sustainable yet, watch out for pressure to the downside

Cheryl: As the months drag on, private insurance companies such as Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Aetna, and others will begin to review and implement affordable health insurance policies to be sold over state lines.  As the Administration and Congress debate healthcare, companies will lobby and win the right to sell health insurance cross state.  This not only lowers premiums, but will decrease the amount of Americans who are currently uninsured.