boeing investors face a new ground game, as all 787s are ordered to stop flying. in today's cover story, the loaded debate over the president's plan for gun safety legislation. what's causing a tug of war in the stock market. plus, riding the oscar wave. the flims that could get bonus bucks from oscar hype. and, will admiting to doping change the financial picture for cyclist lance armstrong? first business starts now. you're watching first business: financial news, analysis, and today's investment ideas. good morning. it's thursday, january 17th. i'm angela miles. in today's first look:

as apple goes, so goes most of the market. the dow was down, but the s&p 500 and the nasdaq made it into the green as apple had a much better day by rallying back above $500. some ups and downs from ebay. earnings were in line with expectations, but the outlook fell short. and the fed said in its beige book, the economy expanded across much of the country last month, but hiring was hampered by politcial uncertainty coming from washington. todd horwitz of the adam mesh trading group joins us on this thursday morning. good morning to you. a lot of traders are talking 1475 in the s&p 500. what is it going to take to get there? > > good morning. you know, we're close. right now the markets are in a tug of war between the bears and the bulls. they are trying to get to that level. yesterday morning we had big boxcar earnings from j.p. morgan and goldman sachs.

that was not enough to propel the markets through those levels. i think the market anticipated a lot of this good news ahead of time. so i think we are going to languish around here. you can see by the falling volatility and the complacent markets that we are probably a little ways away from pushing through that level. > what about citigroup and bank of america, which are now going to report in? > > i think those earnings will probably be just like j.p. morgan and goldman sachs. i think they will probably be pretty good. they brought their earnings down to a level where they could beat them. in the banks are doing very well based on the fed policy. so i think they will beat earnings. they probably won't rally too much, because they have already both had a pretty large move. so, the market expectation was that they were going to move, so i think they will probably sit here, and maybe even sell off a

little bit on their news. however, i expect the news to be very good. > what is on your buy list? > > right now i am recommending- there is nothing i want to buy right here. i think this is a time to observe the market. for me to want to get involved, i want to see the market break out to new highs here. i think there is a better chance that we could get a little bit of a correction before we get the next leg higher. > have a great trading day. that is todd horwitz of the adam mesh group. > > thank you. boeing gets grounded. in a major move, the faa has grounded all 787 dreamliners for safety checks. it was in response to an emergency landing that the dreamliner made in western japan following a reported burning smell in the aircraft's cockpit. reports say investigators are looking into the jets' lithium ion batteries. the timing couldn't be worse, as the aircraft has been under scrutiny for a slew of problems in recent weeks. a morningstar analyst says now could be the time for investors to think twice. "i think it's a big deal for investors. they should be worried when an airline operator that generates profits from one of your products voluntarily decides to forego using that product. it's cause

for concern." shares of the company dropped in yesterday's trading session, and in after-hours trading following the faa's announcement. the world will hear tonight what lance armstrong has to say about an alleged doping scandal. oprah winfrey's exclusive interview airs tonight on o-w-n and continues friday night. according to a tweet by oprah, armstrong came ready for the question session. the famous cyslist who once brought in mllions of dollars in endorsements has fallen from grace and been banned from his favorite sport. and according to a marketing pro we spoke with, tonight's interview could hit the skids. "well, ordinarily we would say confront and be contrite. unfortunately, in this case you are already starting to see some of that backfire for him. people are questioning his motives for coming out. people are saying this is purely an image-based effort on his behalf. that was kevin adler of engage marketing. going forward, he doubts armstrong will be able to collect endorsement dollars and is better served becoming an advocate of anti-doping

campaigns. chicago-born rock singer warren zevon's "lawyers, guns and money" sums up a day filled with remedies and reactions to president obama's legislative answer to a series of fatal shootings. a series during his first term that did not lead to sweeping action until a threshold was crossed at sandy hook elementary school in newtown, connecticut, last month. our cover story explains what's next. after a month of meetings with parents of victims, law enforecement and members of the national rifle association, president obama signed 23 executive actions that can be implimented without congressional approval. they include money for schools to hire a thousand security officers and restoring aid to research gun violence at the centers for disease control. "congress, too, must act, and congress must act soon." the president listed a half- billion-dollar effort that will need congressional approval to enforce universal background checks for anyone buying a weapon, reinstatement of the assault-weapons ban that expired, a ban on high-capacity

ammunition clips defined as more than ten rounds, and more aggressive prosecution of gun laws. reaction was swift. "the vast majority of americans support common-sense gun regulation, and clearly the white house was listening." the national rifle association, which is reportedly planning to launch a daily tv talk show, released an ad critical of the president. the nra also issued this statement: in the marketplace, gun manufacturers report sales are up and may not be hurt by the president's plan to ban assult weapons and high-capacity clips. "they make such a small contribution to the company's bottom line that what impact it'll have is yet to be seen." in st. louis, a part-time student at the stevens

institute of business shot the school's financial aid director in the chest wednesday, then turned the gun on himself. the wounded men were rushed to the hospital. the shooter, identified as 34-year-old sean johnson, reportedly has a history of mental illness. the victim, identified as greg elsenrath, is expected to recover. american airlines is upward- bound, according to the ceo. the airline just reported turning a profit in the 4th quarter, which was due in part to cost cutting. amr is said to be closer to wrapping up its bankrutpcy restructing. and, the airline plans to unveil a new look at its fleet this month. the ceo declined comment on a potential merger with u.s. airways. u.s. airways stock continues to gain ground. it was up 2% yesterday. problems are accelerating at toyota. the company will pay an undisclosed amount to settle

two class-action lawsuits that stem from allegations of sudden acceleration problems. it follows two high-profile settlements that the automaker agreed to pay. in december, toyota paid a billion dollars in a related case, while in november the company paid millions to shareholders after failing to disclose vehicle problems. jpm morgan ceo jamie dimon is taking a financial hit. jp morgan's board is slicing dimon's pay in half. it's due to the management's failure to stop $6 billion in losses from risky derivatives bets last year. dimon will reportedly take home $11.5 million in compensation from 2012, down sharply from the $23 million he earned in 2011. dimon says he "respected" the board's decision. goldman sachs and morgan stanley are the latest firms sending homeowners checks for wrongful foreclosure activity. in total, both firms will pay $557 million to over 200,000 borrowers. federal regulators have forced other banks, including bank of america, jp

morgan and citigroup, to pay similar fines. the fed says banks rushed the foreclosure process during the financial crisis. shares of hewlett packard shot up 4% on a report a buyer is interested in its "autonomy" division. autonomy is the software company hp picked up in 2011 for $11 billion. later, hp revealed that executives with autonomy allegedly fudged accounting numbers. autonomy execs deny the allegations. hewlett-packard won't say if the buyout offers are true. the federal trade commission will uphold a decision that popular juice maker pom used deceptive ads. pom wonderful advertises its pomegrante juices as being clinically proven to lower the risk of certain diseases. the ftc ruling classified 36 ads from pom as "deceptive." pom plans to appeal the ruling. a spike in emergency room visits tied to energy drinks is emerging. it's estimated er visits connected to the drinks jumped from 10,000 to 20,000 from 2007-2011. the majority of

the cases involved teens or young adults. a spokesman for emergency room doctors tells abc news drinking 3 energy drinks in an hour is the equivalent of 15 cups of coffee. the engery drink industry maintains the beverages are safe. two senators want an investigation. dunkin donuts is moving forward with expansion plans. the coffee chain said this week it plans on opening 360 new stores in the coming year. dunkin' plans to open franchises in colleges and supermarkets and also looks to grow in california. starbucks and mcdonalds will be its biggest competitors. meanwhile, a different donut chain is fighting off take-over attempts. krispy kreme doughnuts adopted a take-over- prevention plan known as a poison pill to discourage someone from taking over the company. similar to dunkin donuts, krispy kreme plans to increase the number of its shops by 71% in the next few years in the u.s. the stock is up 60% in the past year.

still to come, what films may see a pop at the box office with a little help from oscar buzz. that's later. but first, why luxury is going green at the auto show this year. that's next with bill moller.

the 2013 north american international auto show is now underwar in detroit. of course they've got green machines aplenty, but in some cases, i think some luxury cars are turning more heads than hybrids this year. let's talk with james bell, he is the head of consumer affairs for the number one automaker in the country, general motors. more than 50 cars debuting. i know you want to talk about the gm name plates, but give us a general overview - what are the manufacturers putting into showrooms this year in general? > > i think this year's showing off an interesting trend, and that is a result of the downsizing that is going to have to happen from the impact of all the asian, european, and american governments asking for higher fuel efficiency and lower emissions. a great example of that is the honda urban suv

concept. now this is a concept in the dairy loosest term of the word, because this is a car that you're going to see probably in the next year so. but what is exciting about it is, while it looks like a typical suv, it is actually very small. it has got a small footprint; it runs on the same platform as the honda fit, which is the smallest car in honda's line-up; and has a small, four- cylinder engine. so, i think this is going to be the big trend: small is going to be the new cool, and that is a result of the industry under pressure, but i think consumers are really going to enjoy the results. > let me ask you about that little baby standing behind you. 49 automotive journalists named that very car, the cadillac ets sports sedan, as the north american car of the year. is that smaller too this year? > > it sure is. you think small, sports sedan, and cadillac all in the same phrase, they didn't go very well for many years. but when cadillac announced they were going to go after bmw and mercedes and audi with a new sports sedan, a lot of people weren't so sure how that was going to result. well, when you spend some time in this car, you know why it won north american car of the year: it handles great, it looks great,

it has great power. it has a great interior. really innovative stuff. the screen on the dashboard is like a small ipad, where you actually touch and swipe and do things like were familiar with our phones. so, it really is an innovative car. but the fact that these 49 jurors all came together and voted it number one, i was really surprised. i bought the ford was going to win to be very honest with you, because this fusion was such a big jump from the old one. but here it is. cadillac, taking on the big boys. > real quick, let me ask you about pickups: i understand their sales are expected to pick up, and you have introduced- i guess the new silverado is out this year. > > we introduced the new silverado and gmc sierra last month at an event here in detroit, and it was very well received. the design is probably a little bit more evolutionary than revolutionary for some people, but it is really what's going on underneath. it has got a series of brand new engines. in fact, the carry-over parts from last year's model to the new one, you could fit inside a sandwich bag. it's a brand-new engine, brand new efficiency, and the structure of the truck is really tough. what we have identified is people aren't buying trucks anymore as commuter cars. they are buying them because they need them to work, like a tool in the toolbelt. i think these new gm cars really can deliver on that. > one reason, i understand, they're picking up in sales is because construction is picking up in this country. james bell, happy cruising to you. thanks so much. > > thank you so much. i appreciate that. as bill mentioned, luxury cars are turning heads at this year's auto show. while honda showed off its high-end concept suv, lexus revealed its 2014 i-s sports sedan. meanwhile, nissan released its infiniti luxury line, the q50. u.s. automakers

are preparing for growing sales as the auto market continues to gain traction. thank you bill and chuck. still ahead, the golden touch. what films may get a box office boost for being oscar-nominated. that's next.

fresh off the golden globes and ahead of the oscars, some films could get a boost at the box office. erik childress join us now for a look at some of those

films, and which ones would be on your list? > > you are looking at, "lincoln" has already made $150 million at the box office. got a slight bump after the oscar nominations this week. but a lot of these films, they have been out already. i think the one film that is going to get a bump is probably "silver linings playbook," because it's finally going to expand to about 2500 screens this weekend, and you are going to see that one, on the wave of eight oscar nominations, people are going to say, "oh, i haven't seen that one yet." and now it's going to be in more theaters, so people will probably catch up with that one. > i was wondering about "the beasts of the southern wild," as well. because it really wasn't talked about until now. > > it got- obviously, out of sundance last year there was a lot of praise, and when it opened over the summer it was actually one of the bigger arthouse hits. it did $10 million, but that's pretty good for a movie like that. it came out on dvd and blu-ray in december, and the critics picked up on it, and it just sort of spilled over into the oscars. and good for it, because it's a great movie.

> great movie. let's take a look at what happened at the box office last weekend. "zero dark thirty" coming in at number one. > > we thought- > you think this is a low number, right? > > i think it is a little bit of a low number. i kind of maybe overestimated a little bit when i thought this could be one of the biggest january openings of all time. but the film is actually only the eighth highest r-rated opening of all time. there are a couple of horror films- the "underworld" films are ahead of it for pete's sake. i am wondering if sort of the politics and controversy that we talked about last week is kind of catching up with it a little bit in a way. obviously there are some people who want to see the movie because "oh, we got bin laden!" and whatnot, but then there are the anti-torture people and whatnot who might be staying away. > also on the list, "a haunted house" coming in at $18 million, "gangster squad," "django unchained," and "les mis" at $9 million. so no surprises there. > > not really. "haunted house," the film didn't screen for critics. another bad spoof by marlon wayans. a really terrible movie. but people show up for these movies for some

reason. > > coming up this weekend, "broken city," which they are advertising like crazy right now; "the last and," and "mama," which has jessica chastain in it. > > yes, oscar nominee jessica chastain from "zero dark thirty." it's going to be an interesting weekend. i think "zero dark thirty" might still have enough in the tank to be number one. it has that martin luther king holiday coming up. and i think these three movies could kind of all split. we are going to see if whalberg, probably that "contraband" success from last january can get a good number. the return of arnold schwarzenegger in "the last stand." we will see if he's got any bite. i think that might be the low number this weekend. and the horror movies, "mama," we saw "texas chainsaw" and whatnot this month. a horror movie, people will show up for it in january. so, i think "mama" might do pretty well. > you do. ok. because if it's a flop that could maybe hurt jessica chastain? > > i don't think it is going to necessarily be a flop, but usually when you have got a fresh oscar nominee and they have a movie that comes out in between the actual

matt cavanaugh of cmz trading joins us now for an early look at intel ahead of earnings. what do you think matt? > > well, a lot of people are going to have their eyes focused on intel. intel is trading kind of near the bottom of its 52-week range. not a lot is expected as far as earnings from intel. the expectations have been lowered from about 54¢ a share down to 45¢ a share in the last few months. a lot of people are thinking pc sales are weak, and this is just the kind

of story that i like to play. > would you buy shares here? do you already own stock? > > you know, this is one of the first stocks that i owned with my landscaping money when i was a young teenager. so i have held this stock for a long time. i am pretty familiar with it. but i think that right here, when you look at a stock that has got lowered expectations, people aren't really expecting that much, everyone thinks it is a weak pc market, you have got a leader here that is trading at a fairly cheap multiple. they have got a really nice dividend that is going to help put a stock on the floor, and people aren't expecting much, i think you could definitely see a pop in the stock. you look at all the analysts, and they are all saying it's a hold. but, these are the type of stories were if you catch somebody off-guard, you could really profit. this was the big "it" stock back in the day. i know it has been replaced by apple and a lot of other names, but aren't pcs starting to die out here? i

know dell is running into trouble. a lot of people are having issues selling computers. > > absolutely. and i think that is one of the things that has held this stock back. if you look at their inventory over even the last year, it has gone up from maybe 28%, the percent of sales, all the way up to 39% of sales. so that is going to be a big key here. but, with the reduced expectations, that is going to help. so as long as inventory has gone down, or it looks like intel is dealing with their inventory, they are the type of company that can really make inroads into this tablet and smartphone market. so if they show combined, reduced inventory along with some inroads into the growing tablet and smartphone market, then you have got really a nice recipe for growth, and if there is a company out there that can do it, intel is going to be one of them. > we will be watching. thanks matt. > > thank you. d99 that's it for now. coming up on tomorrow's show: it's traders unplugged, with a check on computer stocks that have staying power. thank you for watching today. from all of us at first business, have a great thursday!