rain delay: how heavy late- season showers are watering down farmers' profits. in today's cover story, why the summer job market has a few surprises in store. plus, new jersey has high hopes for the summer travel season as it reboots tourism following superstorm sandy. and, should investors head to the bargain bin when it comes to retail stocks? first business starts now! you're watching first business: financial news, analysis, and today's investment ideas. good morning. it's wednesday, may 29th. i'm angela miles. in today's first look: walmart could be in play today after pleading guilty to transporting and disposal of

hazardous waste. the retailer will pay a $110-million penalty. wicked weather continues around the country. california fireifighters are hoping for a break in the wind patterns as they battle wildfires. in the midwest, the forecast calls for a blast of high heat. investigators are looking into what caused a train derailment in maryland. and the tradition lives on: for the 20th tuesday this year, stocks staged a rally. long live tradition. we are turning to tony harris of performance trust, who is watching the bond market for us today. good morning to you, and yields had a 13-month high yesterday. do you suspect there will be follow-through today? - that's right, the benchmark 10-year treasury yield hit 2.17 in yesterday's session. that is as high as we have seen since april 2012, and certainly the highest we have seen this year. really, traders were looking at

it at 2.08 support level in terms of yield, and it blew through that, so there is really nothing holding it back until it reaches about 2.40 in yield. so you certainly could see some continued moves up. - what are bond traders saying behind the scenes as the stock market continues to head higher? - i think what the stock market is looking at is threefold. at least, tuesday's session they heard the comments from the ecb and the bank of japan stating that they are going to continue with their easing policies, so that kind of set the tone for risk-taking early on. you also had the stronger fundamental data in terms of the case- shiller and consumer confidence data, which came out much better than expected. you also had the equity investors interpreting the comments that bernanke made last wednesday in his fed testimony to congress, where basically, i think what they're seeing is that, yes, bernanke is confident enough to potentially begin tapering the purchases under qe-3 in

september of this year; but, he is not going to be actually outright tightening monetary policy, he is just going to slowly reduce the purchases they are making. so, i don't think that anybody is expecting a major shift upwards in yield, but more of a gradual move upward. - we have been talking to a number of stock traders, and they do believe that this market is headed higher. do you feel the same, even though you are watching the bonds? - you certainly do have the underpinnings for that. nobody thinks the rates are going to move up precipitously in a very quick fashion, and the fundamental data certainly is positive for now. the case- shiller data was extremely strong with 10% year-over-year growth, and the consumer confidence number was as strong as we have seen since february of 2008. so, you certainly could see that continued strength. - good to have you on the show this morning. thank you, tony. - ok, thank you. in our cover story, summer hiring is expected to be up this year, with a suprisingly high number of summer jobs available in manufacturing and information technology. nearly a third of companies surveyed by online job site career builder say they will hire additional employees for the summer, not only in traditional summer jobs - retail and restaurants - but also in manufacturing, information technology and other

sectors that used to work short- handed when employees went on summer vacations. "companies are choosing to bring more people to keep up with demand, and those summer jobs can turn into full-time, permanent staff." helpful tips to stand out from the crowd of applicants: share an example of something that you improved or how it improved you. "those kinds of explanations show you as a person and also what you bring to the table that will benefit an employer." "don't dress like a thug. lose the dredlocks. your first impression is your best impression." in addition to better odds at picking up summer work, 2/3 of employers say they'll pay more than $10 an hour, an increase from last year and the year before. for teens who'll go back to school in the fall, john challenger of the outplacement firm challenger, gray and christmas, says do more than fill out online applications. "that means getting out now and

physically seeing the store manager. too many teens stop looking if they get one 'no.' they get that, then they're too concerned about that job to go out and see about the next one." another job category in which a lot of companies are looking for summer help - office support. its being dubbed paypal for criminals. founders of digital currency business liberty reserve have been indicted. authorities believe it to be one of the largest online money-laundering organizations ever. reports say the organization laundered about $6 billion in 7 years, and has millions of customers all over the globe. users included drug dealers, hackers and traffickers of stolen credit card data. the site's founder has been arrested on charges of money laundering. more negative headlines for the cruise industry: this time it's royal carribean's 'grandeur of the seas' ship. more than 2,200 passengers are being flown home to baltimore after it caught on

fire on its way to the bahamas. no serious injuries were reported, but several passengers were treated for fainting, high blood pressure and sprains. the cause of the fire is not yet known. the company says it will cancel the ship's next voyage while the ship is being repaired. royal carribean's stock closed down yesterday at $35.71. rainy weather is putting a damper on late-season planting of corn and soybeans. phillip streible of rjo futures joins us now. good morning to you, and how far behind are farmers? - it looks like we are quite a bit behind. the heavy rainfall has hindered some of the plantings, and where that hits this market is back in the back months. if we get an early frost that could really hammer the yields. right now, iowa is getting about 3-4 times their normal precipitation. the 6-10 day forecast is a little bit drier, but if you go out to 8- 14 days, it's going to be a little bit wetter. you do have support on the corn down at $6.49, and your resistance will be closing on a gap up at $6.76.

- will this affect prices at the grocery store? - i don't think so initially, but you may see that further down in the summer months. where it could really impact things is in gasoline prices. - phillip, thank you for that update. - thank you. new jersey is open for business. yesterday, president obama and new jersey governor chris chirstie toured the jersey shoreline, following rebuilding efforts seven months after superstorm sandy caused $38 billion in damage to the region. as americans head into summer travel season, a $25- million marketing campaign has been launched in hopes of bringing tourists back to the garden state. "i saw what thousands of americans saw over memorial day weekend. you are stronger than the storm, after all you've dealt with, after all you've been through. the jersey shore is back and open for business." meanwhile, christie discussed the state's recovery efforts. "i also made sure that he understood there is a lot more work to do for the people of our state. and i am not going to let anything or anyone get in

between me and the completion of the mission to restore and recover our great state." 59 million people visit the new jersey shoreline each year. beach tourism is a $40-billion industry in the state. the housing market continues to build strength. standard and poor's case-shiller home price index of 20 cities increased 10.9% into march - the largest bounce in 7 years. the hottest markets are phoenix and san francisco, with 22% growth, followed by las vegas at 20%, tampa by 11.8%, and miami prices increased 10.7%. the weakest sections of the nation... boston, cleveland and new york. angela merkel is committed to electric. the german chancellor says she will bring 1 million electric vehicles to germany's roads by 2020. however, drivers have yet to make the shift. fewer than 3,000 electric cars were sold in germany last year, as the country does not offer

tax subsidies to drivers. meanwhile, shares of electric car maker tesla popped this week, breaking the $100 mark for the first time. shares closed at $110. tall orders are coming in for tablet computers. so much so that reserach by idc predicts tablets are on pace to overtake laptops for the first time. tablets cost far less than personal computers, and according to idc, consumers who own tablets are content enough to hold off on buying new laptops or desktops. it's estimated by 2015 tablet sales will surpass laptops and all pcs. beauty and perfume company 'coty' seeks to raise as much as $1.06 billion in an ipo bid. the company is the maker of such fragrances as calvin klein and marc jacobs, but also manufactures color cosmetics under several different brand names, including rimmel and sally hansen. coty said in a statement that 57.1 million shares will be offered with a per-share price between $16.50 and $18.50

it's turning into a busy week of mergers and acquisitions. valeant pharmaceuticals is buying bausch and lomb from private equity firm warburg pincus. the canadian drug company is paying $8.7 billion for the eyecare company. the nation's largest title insurance company is acquiring lender processing services. that deal is valued at $2.9 billion. it allows fidelity national to build up its mortgage analysis business. it was a record-breaking memorial day weekend at the box office. $316 million in receipts beat the previous record holder, 2011's memorial day weekend box office total of $278.6 million. "fast and furious 6," "the hangover 3," "star trek into darkness" and "the great gatsby" were the big titles that drew in crowds. nike is kicking out the livestrong foundation from its sponsorship list. nike cut ties with cycylist lance armstrong back in october following revelations of a doping scandal. now it's ending 9 years

of supporting livestrong, the charity armstrong founded. the organization said in a statement: "we expected and planned for changes...." the group will now focus on patient-focused work. still to come, stocking up on retail stocks - should investors go upscale or the discount route when filling up their cart? but first, chuck is back for a look at why childcare businesses are facing new hurdles. that's next.

it's not easy being in the childcare business these days. state budgets are cutting early- childhood education grants, often in states facing a pension crisis. hedy ratner from the women's business development center joins us today. hedy, how large a percentage of the budget that goes into running a childcare center is dependent upon state monies? - the majority of our providers, both home-based and childcare centers, utilize reimbursements from the state of illinois to support the children and their childcare centers. so it is critically important. - and without childcare centers, what business opportunities would there be for women? - well, it's more than that. it's not only business

opportunities, but it's employment opportunities. without childcare, mothers and fathers cannot go to work. they have to be home to take care of their children. but there are still opportunities in childcare, and there are other opportunities in small businesses that can be developed. but it's difficult. - so someone watching this wants to know, is this a good time to go into the childcare business? - i think it's still a good time to be in childcare. it is critically important. early childhood education is really critically important for children today, and childcare now provides that. the new guidelines require that. yes, it is still a good time, but you do need to look at ways of generating funds, generating revenue, and getting the training needed. - so you've got a business expo coming up on childcare business. it is the 15th anniversary, in fact, of this - you have been doing this for many, many years now. what will people learn that is relevant to the business climate today to opening a childcare center? - best practices in childcare, what are some options for diversifying the revenue sources, what are some ways to find new ways of bringing in

your clients, which are the children and thee families? maybe changing the hours that you provide. they will learn that, they will learn best practices, and they will meet other resources that can help them be successful. - how's the lending environment these days for that? - awful. it's absolutely awful. but, our organization, and another organization called accion, provides micro-lending, and much of our micro-lending does go to childcare providers. - hedy ratner, thank you so much for joining us today. you are the founder of the women's business development center, a terrific organization here in chicago. we want to give you some information about the upcoming childcare business expo as well: it is this saturday, june 1st, from 7 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. at the university of illinois at chicago. the cost is $35 per person. you can network, you can connect with other people doing this sort of thing, you can get marketing tips, ways to improve the quality of your business. for more information, log on towww.wbdc.org. thank you, chuck. still ahead, is sears dangerously close to running out of money? we'll go

behind the numbers, next.

another tough quarter for sears: the retail chain recently reported a loss of $279 million, 4 times more than analysts expected. margaret bogenrief of acm partners is on set with us this morning. you are a retail turnaround expert. you've been looking into the numbers: is sears likely to soon run out of cash?

- well, i think eddie lampert, while he is not necessarily a great ceo, i think he knows the risks involved. if you look at the numbers, if they keep operating the way that they are, in about five months, sears is going to be cash-negative. i think eddie lampert obviously knows that. he is doing everything he can to both generate cash and curb the bleeding. so, could they technically ran out of cash? absolutely. but i think lampert has definitely taken measures to not have that happen. - and about mr. lampert, some people are saying there is no way he would want this company to go bankrupt, because he is the major shareholder, and he is sitting on an awful lot of real estate. but is it just the real estate he really wants at the end of the day? - well, what's sears taught us was that lampert's good at one thing, and that's turning real estate and making money off of that. what i think he's realizing with sears is that that is not the case. it is a different real estate market, there are different competitors in the market. you have j.c.

penney, which people are talking about selling their real estate as well. i don't think he will let sears go bankrupt. he owns 55% of the stock. that is certainly not going to happen. but, i don't necessarily think he is doing everything he can to increase shareholder value either. - is sears in as much trouble as j.c. penney, or who has it worse at this point? - at this point i think they are just drowning at the same rate, it is just through different methods. so, if you look at j.c. penney, they took a lot of different roads to get to where they are at, but they are certainly very understandably under the gun and know that they have to do things to really prop up the stock and prop up the company. sears is slightly different in that i think actually not enough attention has been paid to sort of the culture of sears as there was to j.c. penney. by all accounts it is an incredibly divisive and very slow-moving, ineffective culture. i think ultimately lampert's going to have to act quickly and swiftly

to curb that, so really everybody can be on the same page, kind of like they are at j.c. penney right now. - it's all about the culture. thanks for coming on the show this morning. pleasure to have you here. - thank you. coming up next, housing and retail stocks that might be worth a buy or trade. stay with us. i wanted to be in the military since i was a kid.

i served in the united states air force. i served a total of 16 years. i was deployed 13 times. on my second deployment four bombs hit my vehicle. and at 19 years old, that was the first time i ever saw somebody die. coming back, i was raging. i started having pretty horrible nightmares. i would wake up in middle of the night sweats. i started drinking a lot. i felt worthless. i guess i never recognized it in myself. eventually, one day i just walked into the va hospital and said i'd like to see somebody. don't suffer alone. you've got to find that link with somebody that will make you let it go. it all starts with going to the va. there's a whole community of veterans that just want

to help you out. it's for the guys who couldn't come back, you owe it to them to live well. because they're not here with their families. and there's a big advantage parents can give their kids -- making sure they get active at least 60 minutes each day. studies show that physical activity not only helps kids stay healthy, it can enhance important skills, like concentration and problem solving, which can improve academic performance. this means physical activity can help your kids in the most important game of all -- life.

tim biggam of trading block joins us now for chart talk. he is watching the retailers, and he says there is a correlation with the housing market. good to have you on the show on this wednesday morning, tim. - always great to be here. thanks angie. - what do you see as a connection between what is going on with housing stocks and what is going on with retail stocks? - absolutely. the high-end retailers, the michael kors of the world, the tiffanys of the world, have been racing straight up almost unabated here, similar to the kind of high-end housing market - you look at new york, san francisco - those markets are red hot. you

look at the low-end retailers - target, wal-mart, both kind of reporting some pretty bad numbers and having trouble even getting going, and some of the low-end housing markets - vegas, phoenix, parts of california - also really not participating. so, this market, as we go higher and this free money continues to flow in, i think it will be more of the high-end kind of haves, and the lower-end have-nots. - so which stocks would you buy, and which ones would you use merely as a trading vehicle here? - absolutely. if you want to look at a high-end stock, certainly tiffany in the retail side is the bluest of the blue chips. certainly that stock has been performing well, to say the least. you could maybe hedge by selling some wal-mart against it in a kind of a pairs trade here, just in case the market takes a tumble or the retail space gets hit. look for tiffanys probably to continue to be an outperformer, given the fact that the free money doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon. same time with the home builders, buying toll, which tends to be the higher end, and maybe shorting a stock like horton, which is at the lower end. - one last question: we've had a string of up tuesdays. will it

continue? is the trend is your friend here, tim? - it is beyond "the trend is your friend." 20 out of 20, i kind of did the math, we are looking at over 300,000:1 odds of this happening 20 times in a row. we'll see what happens next tuesday, but until it doesn't happen, i guess stick with the trade. that is the momentum way to trade. - thank you, tim. - you bet. thank you, angie. that's a wrap for now. coming tomorrow: as we mentioned earlier, it was a record-breaking holiday weekend at the box office. was the weather or great films to see the driving force? find out on the thursday show. from all of us at first business, have a wonderful day!

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