a summer place. the best place to travel this summer if you are on a budget. in today's cover story.....*pomp and fortunate circumstance*. why the class of 2013 is headed into an improving job market. plus.... no sure bet. why the chips are down at some popular gambling destinations. and.... in traders unplugged.....is it time to go long on stocks that are attracting shorts. first business starts now. you're watching first business: financial news, analysis, and today's investment ideas good morning.it's friday.april 12th.i'm angela miles. in today's first look let the good times roll.. the dow and s&p once again broke through to a record close.gold edged up a dollar. while oil had a dramatic pull back of $1.20. mcdonalds is one of the stocks

making all time highs this week. the ceo of netflix is using his facebook page to share news with investors. ceo reed hastings posted that netflix members watched 4 billion hours of video in the past 3 months. new federal rules allow corporation to use social media to keep investors informed. and here's a nibble of freebies availble on tax day....cinnabon bites. curly fries at arbys and free small popcorn at amc theaters starting today through monday. a very busy trading day. tim mulholland of china america capital joins us now. tim, good morning to you. > >good morning. > >we've been talking this week about earnings coming in from wells fargo and jp morgan, but how significant overall do you think the numbers will be to the market? > > other than for maybe a trade, i really don't think that's what the real focus or

impetus of this rally is right now. because i think the real impetus behind this rally is what the fed's doing with their quantitative easing and zero interest rates. and i think that's the real story i think the market's focused on. so any setback whether it be a weak employment report like last week. or whether it be weaker economic data will use that as a setback to buy because they are more focused on the 85 billion a month the fed is purchasing and what that's doing and what liquidity that's providing to the market. > > and how significant is this? cyprus is being forced to sell off some of its gold for the bailout money. does that matter to the market? > >maybe if you're long gold but i think at the end of the day gold is probably backing up some for an accumulation. i would not call this by any stretch of the imagination the end of the bull market in gold. so again that's a short term effect in my view. > >what do you think was behind the oil slide yesterday? > > the weak demand. and this is the real dichotomy of the market. they lowered the global demand for oil and of course oil has been near its high so it cause a bit of a setback. but the market takes weak economic data and in perfect stride. why is that? because weaker economic data means the fed keeps in play. it keeps

their quantitative easing in play. so, i'll be a little counterintuitive here--- stronger economic data, and god forbid, higher inflation data will take the fed out of the game and that will spell trouble for bulls. so as long as you get economic data not too hot, not too cold, inflation data stays the same the fed's in the game and i think the market is going on that wave of liquidity and zero interest rates and i think that's really all we have to know. > > thanks for the information. that's tim mulholland. thank tim. this year's class of college graduates have a slightly better chance of landing jobs than their predecessors who found a deep recession waiting for them. our cover story found work for graduates not only picking up but also paying more, if--as always-- you've got a skill in demand. this year, nearly two million college graduates will enter a job market that's added an average of 190-thousand private sector jobs each month for more than a year. the best advice seems to be to network and be willing to accept less than the ideal job. "they're expectations of what they want should come down a little bit." everyone wants to get out of law school and make $150,000. that's not gonna happen." "what i always do, i just ask, put me in touch with someone. that helps." "definitely add any

specific capabilities that nobody else has and any relevant work experience always helps." though the job market is improving, the outplacement firm challenger gray and christmas reports that this year's graduates will be competing for entry-level jobs with others who graduated during the recession and still haven't found that first job in their chosen field. "the market's better but competition is tough. be aggressive and don't wait until the end of summer to look. a lot of graduates go on vacation and have a great time but come back and don't have a job." the competition might suppress some salary increases, but in general, they're going up--as much as 5.4%. starting teachers now average $40,668. engineers--$62,655. new specialties are in demand--- supply chain managers--a direct result of the rise in global

trade. "as we're seeing more companies importing their goods, it stretches the supply chain. it's become more technical and more expensive." the jobs report from challenger gray and christmas adds that college graduates likely to have the most success are those willing to go wherever the jobs are located. the president's proposed $3.7 trillion dollar budget is already facing an up hill battle. republican house speaker john boehner says he's encouraged by the president's plans to save money from entitlements but that's it's nothing close to what we need. along with cuts to social programs the president is also calling for $580 billion dollars in new taxes from the

wealthy in the his 2014 budget. also on the hill... the senate approved a motion allowing a debate on gun legislation to get underway. as the nation awaits legislation on immigration...mark zuckerberg is doing some "forward thinking." the facebook founder, officially introuduced his new political group "forward us" -- in an op ed in the washington post. the group includes executives from google, netflix, yahoo and groupon.tech companies are pushing to make the path to citizenship easier. zuckerberg calls the current immigration policy "unfit for today's world." the insider trading scandal at kpmg grows more interesting by the minute.. scott london and his golf buddy bryan shaw face criminal charges.london is accused tipping off shaw with insider information about 5 kpmg clients such as herbal life and skechers.federal prosecutors believe the two made a million dollars in the scheme-- with shaw paying off london with bags of $100 dollar bills and a rolex watch.in a statement to reporters bryan shaw says .. i cannot begin to apologize for my incredibly

stupid actions. some of the world's top automakers are issuing a massive recall of 3.3 million vehicles. it includes 1.7 million toyotas, 1.1 million hondas. 480 thousand nissans and 45 thousand mazdas automakers say passenger side air bags could cause injury with too much force. 2000 through 2003 models are mostly affected. popular models like toyota's corolla, matrix and camry are included. kelsey mays of cars dot com says he does not see the recalls hurting sales numbers in the months ahead. "it might effect things for these automakers but their momentum has already been pretty strong at least two of the major ones for the first quarter of this year, so i don't see it effecting things that much in the remaining three quarters. " no injuries or deaths have been reported. the recall has been traced to a japanese supplier of air bags--takata corporation.

foreclosures are inching up again. repossessions rose 2 percent in february, compared to a slight drop in the last three months. florida leads the u-s in foreclosure starts, followed by nevada and illinois. reports say foreclosure- prevention efforts are wearing off and causing delays. and new legislation in some states is making it harder for banks to foreclose, which could show up in the numbers later on. the government's program to aid underwater homeowners is getting an extension.the home affordable refinance program set to expire at the end of the year --will continue through 2015.harp has helped 2 million homeowners who were struggling to pay their mortgages. you can avoid re- fi scams by going to whitehouse.gov. there is no cost and you do not need a mortgage expert. three more high level executives are "out the door" at jc penney. reuters reports similar to ron johnson who exited jcp this

week, the latest three execs to leave also previously worked at apple. jcp penney shares tumbled earlier this week.. but have been a on the rebound since johnson's departure. casino developers are taking a gamble on regional locations. gambling destinations located "outside" of major cities are becoming popular.real estate titan david cordish, of cordish companies just opened "maryland live", a luxury casino half way between baltimore and dc.he says local casinos are gaining popularity, as las vegas and atlantic city are losing luster. "i think what you have to look at when you're doing a financial analysis is breakdown the united states casinos by destination resorts which is atlantic city las vegas and mississippi. there they have casino after casino just next to each other - and people have to get on an airplane, they have to stay in a hotel, and those destinations like atlantic city are hurting badly." in march, revenue at atlantic cities' "trump plaza casino hotel" were down 31 percent.

cordish is concerned politicians may "overdo it" with gambling as a state revenue source -- which could eventually increase regional competition. burger king's c-e-o is ketching up to a new job.bernardo hees is heading to heinz.hees was known for cost custs at burger king, including layoffs.3g capital owns b-k and finalizes a deal with berkshire hathaway to buy heinz this summer.both say there are no immediate plans to trim expenses. mcdonalds is trying to make a fast fix with its employees. according to the wall street journal, the chain is pushing for employees to improve customer service. the journal says 20% of mcdonalds' complaints are about "rude employees" and also say the problem is increasing.watch for mickey d's earnings april 19th. buying girl scout cookies won't score brownie points for most people at tax time.if you pay for and eat the cookies, it's not a deduction.but according to the irs, customers who pay

for the cookies but don't actually take them, can treat the purchase as a charitable contribution,it's a question that comes up every year.. our traders tell us which popular stock they would commit too....thats later. but first.....if weddings and graduations threatened to take a toll on your travel budget this summer.. bargain deals are right around the corner. this neighborhood sure has changed a lot over the years.

you know there was a time when people like me couldn't live here. i'll never forget being told i wasn't welcome in this neighborhood. well i own this building now, the fair housing act made a difference for someone like me. so i can choose where i want to live, free from discrimination. glad you could make it, right this way... retailers report sales numbers

today.. but early indictions shows the data may have a "chill" factor. research firm retail metrics predicts a gain of 1.5% in march for retailers. down from 3.9% of march last year. snowy weather, an early easter and sequestration effects are all cited as reasons.also, analysts say some consumers may still be adjusting to the fewer dollars in their paychecks due to the payroll tax--which returned to 6.2% at the start of the year. between wedding season and family reunions.. americans are bracing for a hit to their wallets with travel expenses. clem beson, president of hotwire is here to help navigate.good to have you back on the show... > >thanks for having me. > >how much money do people spend on trips they are obligated to take? > > a crazy amount. $197 billion dollars a year. people are taking trips that they

don't actually want to take. and they're not taking the trips that they do. > > if people do want to take a trip, what do you recommend? how can we save some money and offset that $197 billion? > > at hotwire we help people save money with last minute trips. so i always advise, if you're going to a city and you know that its not full of people traveling, you can get a great last minute deal---even the day of. and save up to 50% off. > > give us some names. > > right now i would look at orlando, las vegas, and my pick for the summer is washington, d.c.. the hotels are emptier because of the sequester. > > interesting take on that. what is you overall outlook on summer travel? > >we expect higher prices so airlines are still cutting seats and car rental fleets are shrinking so we expect travelers to be out there traveling more but there's gonna

be less stuff to travel in so prices should go up anywhere between 5-10%. > > and people will spend a longer time in line perhaps, going through security. > > we are hearing that sequester related news as well. so i expect it to be a little more stressful and a little more expensive. > >is the best way to get a deal still just to go on your website or should you get a mobile app involved? > >these days you have many choices. you can go to our mobile website via any mobile device you have or you can download our app for the iphone or just hit our normal website-- www.hotwire.com. > >thank you clem. we look forward to your next visit. > >thanks so much. still ahead trader chews over the government threat to take a bite out of popular employee perk at tech companies. traders unplugged is next..

time for some friday fun with traders unplugged... joining us from the trading floor of cme group... alan knuckman and scott bauer. good to have you guys on the show this morning. let's get you going with topic #1---it's a fantasy trade. which stock is it better to go long with? first solar or green mountain. > >i call these unicorn stocks because the price action is not to be believed. i like gmcr. i think the patent issue has been overdone to the downside and i think that with the coffee price being cut in half in the last year gives them greater margins. and you've gotta realize this was a $100 stock just a year ago. > > i really love first solar. take a look at what this thing has done over the last three days. monumental. up 40 percent. but that doesn't tell the story. the story is in what

the chairman came out and said yesterday. their costs--solar costs are gonna be down almost 50% over the next year. and he gave guidance for the next 3 years which was almost triple what the street was looking for. this stock---albeit that it's up 40% in the last 3 days. stay on the roll here. look for this thing to actually trade higher than gmcr in the next 6 months. > >moving on to topic #2---a currency clash. the dollar is up. so is the euro. which is likely to crash first? > >i'll start with this one and not because i'm patriotic, i really think it's gonna be the euro. there's just so much uncertainty right in that general vicinity. you have france, you have cyprus, you have everything going on. you have the italian elections going on. so the contagion risk is really in the backyard for the euro. in addition, our printing presses are a lot bigger than theirs are. > > the dollar, even though we have been printing dollars, our dollar has increased in value

15% over the last couple of years so that has an added impact on the price. the euro is coming back. the euro is still 1.30 vs. the dollar. it's still worth more than the dollar. we could see a move---if we get above 1.38 we could see a quick move above 1.45 and 1.50 in that euro currency. > > and if we don't see it hit 1.32 if falls right back to that 1.20 level. > > topic #3---tech tax. facebook, google, and yahoo all serve free lunches to employees but now the government wants to tax those lunches. which stock is the better buy? and i can tell you the food at google is awesome. > >i love facebook. and looking at the chart it held that 25 support level and it was the halfway of the june range that we've been trading between 32 and 18. so i love it---we bounce up 25. i like the price action. > >i hate to admit it but i agree with alan. i really like facebook. i really like facebook for two reasons--- first, fundamentally what alan just said. technically right there at 25 bounce back. more

importantly, i think they have it right now in the mobile space. mobile is the way to go in the next couple of years. this thing should be trading back at its ipo price by the end of this year. > >bonus round time---what olympian is causing a stir at this year's masters? > >olympian? > >charles barkley. > >think tiger. > >lindsey vonn! the skier. > >lindsey vonn! and she is amazing. i actually was with her about a week and a half ago when she was getting an award in vail. tiger was not there. he was probably practicing. she is awesome. i hope she causes a great stir. because face time for her is just awesome. everybody loves lindsey vonn. > >thanks for being on the show guys. first business continues right after this.

if the rising market is making you nervous you are not alone. trader tim biggam of tradingblock joins us now and tim, good morning to you on this friday. > > good morning angie. > >i know you have some concerns about the record levels we're seeing this week. as a trader, what is the best way to position so people don't lose money in case the market comes down?

> > one easy way is to trim out some of the gains around here. you mentioned nervousness, certainly the options market isn't nervous and the level of complacency overall is rather high here to say the least. sone one wasy to play to protect the overall portfolio or take a speculative position is vxx. which is in essence a bearish sort of trade. the vxx trading at its all time low, somewhere in the mid-18's so this thing will perform well if we get that sudden sharp pullback and sort of protection for the portfolio and given the fact that its never been lower and the market has never been higher, i kind of like that combination here to blend it in as kind of a way to protect the portfolio but leave some of that upside open. > >let's break this down a bit more. so people have money in their portfolio and they don't want to lose the gains that they've already made. so do they just call up the broker and say i want some vxx? what exactly do they do here? > >absolutely. it's a way to put in a protective position

into your portfolio. kind of like buying insurance. simply buy vxx and again depending on how much protection you want to have adding it in here i think makes sense given the fact that this market doesn't seem to ever want to go down. from a contrarian standpoint, that's when i get the most worried. > > because it is involving options, what is the risk? > >the risk here obviously we continue to go up you will lose value on the vxx but your overall portfolio will continue to go up. this is a way to protect against that 5-10% pullback that will be coming i think some time soon. > > thank you for the helpful hint. that's tim biggam. that wraps up the week for us.come on back monday for last minute tips on filing your taxes-- from all of us at first business.. have a great friday.