staying the course: ways traders keep it together when the stock market falls apart. in today's cover story, seeing green. the lawn care business rakes it in as the housing market recovers. storm protection: new york's mayor bloomberg's $20 billion fight against climate change. plus, role reversal at the box office: will a summer blockbuster falter as an indie film gains fans? and martha stewart reveals her fountain of youth! first business starts now! you're watching first business: financial news, analysis, and today's investment ideas. good morning. it's thursday, june 13th. i'm angela miles. in today's first look: bp reports the u.s. tops the world in growth in the production of oil and natural gas. the number of people

refinancing their homes bounced up 5% even as mortgate rates on the 30-year fixed rose to 4.15%. h&r block missed on earnings, sending shares lower after- hours last night. and, the dow on a downward spiral: the blue chips have fallen 3 sessions in a row for the first time this year. the dow knocked back 127 points as the nasdaq dropped by 37 and the s&p by 13. gold and oil both rallied. jared levy of zacks.com joins us now for trader talk. it's been a while, and it's great to have you back on the show. - great to be here. - the market has been a real downer. what do you make of the sell-off? - you know, i think the sell- off was necessary - and needed. a lot of traders were looking for it. but now the question becomes, where do we put our money? are we going to buy bonds? well, probably not, because the treasury is going to begin dumping bonds. that

could drive those lower. housing also a problem, because remember, down the road, interest rates could increase, which would send home values lower. so traders are sort of at a turning point here. it really comes back to earnings, but the bottom line, angie, is, i think these pullbacks are great times to buy quality companies if you're holding for the long term. that's what i think the average person needs to know on these sell-offs. - before i get to your stock picks, i want to ask you about some of this information that's coming out early that traders are allegedly trading on. what do you make of this? what do you think? - you know, unfortunately there are always going to be bad people who do bad things. and while i don't have the inside scoop - no pun intended - on what's happening with these traders, there's going to be someone who has access to information earlier than everybody else. the markets do a pretty good job of flushing them out, but the bottom line is, as an individual, you can't worry about that too much. keep on with your trading, keep it consistent, and don't let it bother you too much. i know that sounds hard. - some of the stocks that traders have been enjoying with the ups and downs in it the market: definitely hewlett- packard, first solar, alta even getting in there. what would be your stock pick? - i think you need to be real

careful here. first of all, hpq, whitman, she is sort of in her own little world. it's a turnaround company, a little bit more high-risk. first solar, the easy money has been made. a company i actually like is akamai. it's a play on internet growth and our bandwidth useage and need, which is, by the way, increasing leaps and bounds. that would be a little bit more of a safe bet, i think, as an individual investor. - cody comes out with an ipo today. would you be a buyer on the first day? - probably not on the first day. usually it's a sucker's bet to buy any ipo on the first day, unless you got it ahead of time. coty is interesting, though. they're coming out at a pretty low valuation. i like the fact that they're going to be competing against higher brand types, like avon. coty, down the road, could be a buy - i would just wait a couple days until after the ipo if i were to get in. - jared levy, always a pleasure. thank you. - thanks angie. when beauty products company "coty" debuts on the stock market today, it will become the first consumer products company to go public this year. the conglomerate owns popular names including calvin klein perfume, sally hansen nail polish, and fragrance by lady gaga. and, it's drawing interest from average investors, according to money managers.

"there's retail interest, so if we have the rank-and-file everyday person on the street wanting to buy into this, it's good thing. i think what might be helping this stock is there is not a lot of hype around it, like facebook or companies like that, so from a money-mangement standpoint it's something worth looking into or more deeply." coty shares will conveniently trade under the ticker symbol that takes after its name: c-o- t-y. the ipo deal could raise up to $1.22 billion. the expected share price range was $16.50 to $18.50. other famous consumer-related ipos could happen this year - one from the container store, and also from teen accessory chain claire's. the ipo market is on pace to become the best since the financial crisis. fewer homeowners are underwater. the rise in home prices is giving a lift to people with a mortgage who owe more than their homes are worth. according to corelogic, 9.7 million homeowners remain underwater, making up roughly 19% of mortgage holders. it's also the first time the number has fallen bellow 10 million in more than 3 years, and down from

12.1 million in 2011. corelogic economists predict if prices ontinue to rise, more people will list their homes for sale. america's ceos are cautiously optimistic about the future. over the next six months, the leaders of some of america's largest corporations expect the economy to improve. in a study by the business roundtable, 78% of ceos think sales will rise. many believe hiring will move up as well. however, 2/3 of those surveyed say they plan to keep business investment at current levels or lower. the majority are still citing gridlock in washington for the sluggish recovery. a tire company from india is buying the second largest tire- maker in the u.s. apollo tyres will pay nearly $2.5 billion for cooper tire and rubber. the deal gives the indian company more access to gaining business in the u.s., europe and china. apollo already supplies tires for hyundai, volkswagon, gm and ford. cooper tire stock accelerated by $9 yesterday to $34. cooper tire shareholders

will recieve $35 per share in the deal. a milestone case for the drug industry: two companies are paying up in a patent suit involving pfizer's acid reflux drug. teva and sun pharmacetuicals will pay $2 billion in damages after marketing a generic version of pfizer's drug. pfizer is the first company to win such a case against generic drug- makers. it's expected to encourage more patent suits in the future. in an attempt to prove a naysayer wrong, the ceo of herbalife funded a survey to find out how many americans buy the company's nutritional products. according to herbalife, in a study by nielsen, close to 8 million people in the u.s. bought items in the last 3 months. hedge fund manager bill ackman accused the company of running a pyramid scheme with most independent salespeople losing money. ackman took a $1 billion short against herbalife shares at the end of last year. the stock rallied nearly $2 yesterday.

mark zuckerberg is facing facts. at the social media company's shareholder meeting, the ceo heard from angry investors who lost money in the company's ipo. the stock priced in at $38 and is now trading around $23. zuckerberg assured investors that mobile ads are going strong and that he still believes in the company. meanwhile, this week facebook is making big news with one little symbol: the site has added a hashtag similar to twitter's. union workers in milwaukee, wisconsin, are signing off on a contract with caterpillar. the equipment company offered steel workers a deal that was slightly better than the proposal they rejected in april. cat sweetened the pot by offering a $1,500 signing bonus, plus reduced the number of weeks employees can be laid off from 14 to 10. dead air in greece is triggering nationwide strikes. the government's decision to pull the plug on state-run tv and radio signals has launched a 24-hour strike. 2500 employees of a greek brodcasting company have been fired. the government criticized the broadcaster for

its "incredible waste." tv, radio, and print journalists all plan to strike today. meanwhile, tensions remain high in istanbul. violence erupted after police broke up protests in taksim square. it's now forced protestors to nearby gezi park. closer to home, new york is taking away lessons from superstorm sandy. mayor bloomberg is rolling out a plan to prepare for climate changes predicted during the next several decades. "hurricane sandy, which tragically took the lives of 43 new yorkers, made it all too clear that no matter how far we've come, we still face real, immediate threats. we've been working ever since to help communities rebuild and also to better prepare them and our entire city for what comes next." the 20 billion plan calls for zoning changes and more protection along the city's coastline. bloomberg says resources such as electricity and heat are not regulated by the city, which is a drawback

in desperate times. the ceo of power company con edison contends that the company is already making investments to protect infrastructure in the event of a future storm. let the debate begin! immigration reform is now up for debate in the senate, and a new study finds that many supporters of the bill have outspent opponents when it comes to political ad spending. kantar media finds immigration reform supporters spent more on ads by more than 3 to 1. backers of immigration reform shelled out a grand total of $2.4 million, while opponents spent $717,000. the study says it's rare for the pro side of an advocacy fight to be the dominant advertiser. members of congress are still airing concerns about the dreamliner. the 50 jets were grounded earlier this year after two lithium ion batteries onboard overheated. boeing has since corrected the problem. however, at a hearing on the hill yesterday, an faa official was questioned about the certification process giving clearance to the 787s. the official reportedly told

congress the agency has learned lessons from the incident and that a complete review on the jet will conclude this summer. cisco systems is getting up to speed. the company plans to double the speed of internet, as internet traffic is predicted to triple over the next five years. by modernizing its core routers, cisco says it would be able to provide streaming hd video to every person in new york city at once. the router, called the crsx, will go on sale towards the end of 2013. a new study is out that compares car repair costs state-by- state. new jersey ranks as the most expensive. some of the costs there were related to car repair work caused by hurricane sandy. the garden state was followed by dc, california, north carolina, and maryland. the least expensive states to get your car fixed are iowa, delaware, south dakota, west virgina and vermont. martha stewart, the million- dollar queen of crafting and cooking, is dispensing words of wisdom. stewart tells marketwatch.com her secrets to staying young are: don't retire,

be curious and keep very active. she believes the minute people stop doing what they like, they begin to age very quickly. still to come, why the recovery in the housing market is the best way to make the gardening business grow. plus, a film studio that is being ordered to pay up for its use of interns. first business continues right after this.

the lawn and garden business is growing, thanks in large part to the rebound in the housing market. in today's cover story, a sneak peak into what your lawn and garden center may be stocking to bring in more green. among sprinklers that look like flowers, insect zappers that use light and carbon dioxide to

attract their prey, and a handy outdoor shelf, the national lawn and garden show is where vendors get ten minutes to make their pitch to buyers from 90% of gardening catalogs and retailers. "it's a big deal because they get face-time with a buyer, which is hard to do at trade shows." there's jackson madnick, pushing his low-maintenance grass on a cart - stays green all year on 1/4 the water. "we grew 10,00 samples, and i call it pearl's premium, after my mother and 12-year-old daughter." we saw jimmy elder, an entrepreneur from dallas, whose pop-up yard art called garden gawkers comes in variations for every holiday. "right now, we're investing, but doing so wisely. we hope to turn a profit in the next 12 to

24 months." and while michelle miller, a buyer, pondered a rainbow assortment of nozzles, we realized this is the buyer- vendor equivalent of speed- dating. "they match you up with vendors who are relevant to your business. you have a short conversation - ten minutes." "it is a lot like speed-dating. it's completely different from other trade shows." business is better since the recession. the rebound in housing helps lawn and garden sales, along with the creation of new products powered by the sun. "anything to do with solar is big. things that used to run on batteries are being converted to solar." in march and april, cold weather across the nation dampened lawn and garden business by 10-15%. a lot of those businesses are working to make up for that right now. deals made at the national lawn and garden show range from $5,000 to more than $1 million each. a new movie gives us a glimpse into the world of jewelry theives. "the bling ring," in theaters this weekend, documents the true story about a group of teenagers that stole millions of dollars worth of

jewery from celebrities' homes in 2008. we talked to an insurer who warned us that as the weather gets warmer, jewelry theft rises, and it's not just about the price of the loss. "one of the things that is most important about jewelry is that people typically get jewelry for an event or a special occasion, so it has a lot of meaning. by making sure that those items are protected and insured, they're not just protecting the item itself, but the value and the sentiment that it represents." green says engagement rings are the most commonly insured jewels. in a case that could have large implications for interns in corporate america, a federal judge in new york ruled that fox searchlight violated the law by failing to pay two interns working on the movie "black swan." the judge said the interns were essentially regular employees, were not in an educational environment, and the studio benefitted. fox calls the court's ruling wrong and will appeal. meanwhile, newscorp shareholders approved rupert murdoch's plan to split the media empire into two publically traded companies: 21st cenutry fox and the news corp. newspaper and publishing. still ahead, the latest edition to the superman franchise hits the box office this weekend. we'll hear if our critic expects

soaring numbers. that's next. a low-budget film topped the box office over the weekend. our

movie guy, erik childress, joins us on set this morning. good morning to you. and "the purge" a big winner. it only took $3 million to make this

film. was it all about the marketing here? - apparently so. i mean, everyone is sort of talking about that. i didn't see a whole lot of advertisements for it. maybe it is just the shows that i watch, but it was advertised on wrestling apparently, also social media had a lot of talk about this. so, every once in a while you get a film like this with a high concept that sort of catches the public interest. and it certainly did. - comscore gave it a c. that's a very low rating, and yet there's a sequel that's coming out? - yeah, they already greenlit- well, when you have a $3 million film that makes $34 million in the weekend, they are going to be filming by the end of this year. so clearly it was a success. - here is a look at what else happened over the weekend. "the purge," as i mentioned, coming in #1 at $34 million. "fast and furious" at $19 million, "now you see me" at $19 million, "the internship" at $17 million, and "epic" at $11 million. coming coming out this weekend, a big one, "man of steel." also joining that will be "this is the end," and "before midnight" is expanding into 600 theaters. let's start with superman. - yes, let's start with

superman. the biggest disappointment of the year. - you've seen it. - for me. i have seen of it. it's interesting. there are people out there that think that it's the best of the superman films. i think there's kind of a disconnect between them sort of forgetting just how great the early christopher reeves films were, and i think the excitement over this might have hyped it up a little bit too much. but it's a mess. its flashbacks are poorly structured, i think it is going to do very well this weekend, obviously, but i think that word-of-mouth is not going to be great on it. - budget-wise, how will it do? - it's a $225 million-budgeted film, so this film is going to have to make $550-some million worldwide - which it's very capable of doing. although, the last superman film from warner brothers back in 2006 didn't even break $400 million. so i think this one is going to do better, but it is going to be curious to see the long-term prospects of it. - what are you recommending for this weekend? - "this is the end," which opened on wednesday. comedies have been in very short supply this year - good comedies, anyway - and this is certainly one to take a look at. people have spent their money on "identity thief," and "the hangover part 3" and wasted

their money on those films. here is a comedy that actually makes you laugh. so, i am recommending that very highly. and also "before midnight," you mentioned, is expanding. we've talked about that a couple weeks in a row here on this show. it's expanding, going out a little wider to your local theaters. it's the best film of the year. go see that. go get the previous films, "before sunrise," "before sunset," as well. - we will leave you there. erik childress, thanks for coming on, as always. - thank you. still to come, a trader stock play connected to the rising cost of food. that's coming up in chart talk!

alan knuckman of trading advantage joins us on the show now for chart talk. and he has found a way, he believes, to make money on the rising cost of food. good morning to you. - good morning, angie. it's kind of a play like we saw in

smithfield. food is in action right now. the world has to be fed. - and, we've been noting on this show that prices are up for things such as wheat, corn, and even fertilizer. so what is your play here? - i am looking at adm, the supermarket of the world. adm has been trading between $31 and $35 for the past three months, so an upside break-out projects a move up to $39, which is about 20% above where we are now. i am looking at a call option, a january call, has about seven months until expiration. looking at the january 29 call. it costs about $5, so it is $4 of real value, $1 of time value, so the break- even is $1 higher. - something i noticed about this stock, however, is that it really has not participated in the overall rally. it is only up about 5% over the past year. why is that? - over the last 52 weeks, though, we have seen a big bounce off the lows at $24. and what i'm leaving on here is a solid support level at $29. $29 is the halfway support between the highs and the lows for the last 52 weeks. and if you look at the charts, $29 is also a major pivot for the last five years. so i'm leaning on that as a support point, and buying that $29 strike, which gives me

the right to be long from that level for upside movement. - and counting on the stock to go higher. good to have you on the show. we'll see you tomorrow for traders plugged. - thank you. - thank you alan. tomorrow's traders unplugged promises to be a gas as the guys figure out how to make money on the sudden surge in prices at the pump in the midwest. that does it for today. from all of us at first business, have a great thursday!

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