pain at the pump as oil prices gain. when are crude futures likely to top off.. in today's cover story...is corporate america setting up for a spending spree.... plus....fixer upper. tips on how to get top dollar when selling your home. and.. .the crazy items hotel guests take away.. first business starts now! you're watching first business: financial news, analysis, and today's investment ideas good morning!it's tuesday july, 16th.i'm angela miles. in today's first look: trading ahead of fed. federal reserve chairman ben

bernanke is to set to testify about the economy on capitol hill tomorrow and thursday. it's not detering the stock market. monday the dow and s&p rallied to record highs.the nasdaq lifted 7 points higher.while gold gained 6 dollars and oil added on 50 cents. the mercedez benz c class sedan is under investigation for potential risk of an electrical fire.200-thousand cars built between 2008-2009 are being checked.21 owners reported issues.and, executive search firm heidrick and struggles.. is losing its ceo.kevin kelly steps down. we hare checking on the bond market this morning with tom boylan of performance trust. tom, good to have you back on the show. the fed is back in focus with testimony happening on the hill this week. how is the bond market likely to react? > >for the last couple of weeks since the unemployment report came out a week ago friday the ten year treasury traded off to a 275 on a stronger than expected number from non farm payroll. subsequently we've rallied about 20 basis points so 275 was the cheapest we've been this year, cheapest in 2

years. now we're at a 255. this week we've got the humphrey hawkins testimony. the fed chairman bernanke will be discussing the state of the economy in front of the senate and the house. the senate is on thursday. the house is on wednesday. so as far as what the fed chairman is going to be discussing, it all depends on the tapering conversation. we've heard for a couple of months now that the fed might be reducing stimulus from the economy by tapering their bond purchases. this could happen as early as september some pundits think and as late as the end of the year. as far as the economic numbers go going forward will the stronger economic numbers that come in will push tapering forward---which is simply reducing stimulus and the weaker the numbers are will push the tapering discussion further out the calendar. > >what about the economic news coming in from china? there was anticipation that maybe the gdp would grow only 7 percent. now

we're looking at closer to 7 and a half percent. what do you think? > >i don't think that really effected the numbers too much. retail sales numbers this week were a little weaker than expected. the american consumer is the driver of the economy and they also are a pusher of the economy when it comes to china. so i don't think that was a big market mover. it was actually in line more or less with what the markets expected. > >good to have you on the show this morning. thank you tom. > >thank you. there is now at least one indicator that corporations hording more than one and 3/4 trillion dollars in assets since the recession are getting ready to part with some of it. our cover story takes a look at where that capital may be spent first. the business roundtable, an association of ceos at leading u-s companies says the auto industry and housing are doing so well that corporations in other sectors are beginning to spend. one analyst says its because interest rates are starting to rise. "with interest rates rising, corporate borrowing for buy-

backs is less and less attractive." three chrysler plants are skipping their traditional summer shutdown. most of ford's assembly plants will be idle for just one week, instead of two. "it was great in june. we saw this breakout of nearly 16- million vehicles sold and that bodes well for the rest of the year. and pickup trucks to best in q4s." fedex, the world's largest air carrier of cargo plans to spend about four-billion on facilities and aircraft. it's chief financial officer saying: "we've got to start investing now so we can be ready for what traffic we're expecting." still, there are skeptics. "i certainly don't see growth in business spending booming in the next six-to-12- months." despite rite-aid's plan to remodel 400 of its pharmacies. and pier 1's plans to spend 75-million on its

stores and for technology, robert johnson of morningstar does not see it nudging g-d-p or unemployment. "yes, some of the equipment and software looks better but it's not robust and a key driver of theat is tech spending." though spending on information technology is up four-percent as compared with two percent last year, some say it needs to be higher. a05 corporate "giving" is expected to grow modestly this year.. a survey from chronicle of philanthropy shows-- donations from corporate america increased 2.7% last year.. to $5.3 billion. only 16 % plan to give more, 6% less and the rest will stay about the same. in a surprise move -- wells fargo topped walmart in charitable giving last year. the bank's donations spiked nearly 48%. until now walmart had been the top giver for 7 years.rounding

out the list of the top 5... chevron, goldman sachs and exxon mobile. traders are expecting gains from goldman sachs earnings today. goldman reports in this morning. analysts are expecting increased profits and revenue, despite lower forecasts for its trading business. meanwhile, traders applauded citigroup yesterday, when the bank reported results that beat wall street expectations. profits rose 41% on the heels of rising loan volumes in emerging markets. the stock gained 2% yesterday. boeing shares rallied out of relief the latest fire on a dreamliner was "not" related to its lithium ion battery. shares plunged 5% friday, after a fire broke out out on a 787 parked at london's heathrow airport. on monday, the stock bounced back nearly 4 percent. british authorities ruled out the battery as the cause of the fire. investigators are now said to be looking into the dreamliners emergency locator transmitter. sears employees have signed,

sealed and delivered. sears workers have delivered a petition to the company's headquarters, calling for higher wages, and a more consistent work schedule. employees protested in front of sears in chicago's loop, yesterday.sears tells first business the company will review any documents presented and respond accordingly. it also notes scheduling is based on business needs and associates availability, and that it does provide extra earnings opportunities for hourly employees. apple is investigating claims a bride to be in china-- was electrocuted while using her iphone 5. according to a report the phone was re-charging on an official apple phone charger at the time. apple put out a statement saying "we are deeply saddened to learn of this tragic incident and offer our condolences to the ma family." "we will fully investigate and cooperate with authorities in this matter." china is the second largest consumer of apple products after the u.s. details are emerging on a massive drug scandal in china.

four glaxosmith kline employees have been identified by chinese officials.they are accused of funneling millions of dollars in bribes to doctors in an effort to increase drug sales in china.the scandal reportedly dates back to 2007. glaxosmith kline is reviewing all third party agency relationships, and is conducting its own investigation. consumer groups are voicing concerns about wireless giant at&t's plans to buy the much smaller regional provider leap. the $1.2 billion deal gives at&t more valuable spectrum space. but several public interest groups--say it means less competition in the wireless marketplace. last year, the federal communications commission... scuttled at&t's attempt to acquire t-mobile citing competiton.the fcc must still approve this deal. the ceo of tesla is a man with a high speed plan. elon musk tweeted this week that he will publish a design plan for his futuristic transit system "hyperloop" by august 12th. musk says the high-speed transit system will drastically cut down on travel time, getting passengers from san francisco to la in just 30

minutes. the cost of filling up your gas tank is rising quickly.. prices at the pump jumped-- 14 cents during the past week.going to $3.61 from $3.47 a week ago.. phil flynn of price futures group and a fox business news contributor is here this morning.. phil-- have we seen a top yet in those gas prices? > >i think we're getting close but i don't think the pain is over. believe it or no, despite that sharp 15 cent jump we saw at the pump wholesalers weren't able to pass on all the costs that they've seen---that they paid. and believe it or not there was panic buying at the end of last week and because of that sharp spike up we'll probably see those prices go up more at the pump maybe another 5 to 10 cents. but after that we're already seeing signs those prices could come back down as refiners start to come back online and demand starts to dwindle. > >what's the driver behind the price moves? > >i think in gasoline, it's a combination of what's going on

in the middle east on top of the fact that we've had all these refining issues and strong demand. despite the fact that refiners were producing almost the most gas they have in history the supplies fell because demand in the united states was on the rise and we're exporting more gasoline than ever before. add to that the middle east. risk premium. it's driving up the cost fo crude oil. the risk is higher. the price of crude is higher. you're gonna pay more at the pump. > >and quickly---what do you think about this call that we could go to $50 per barrel for crude? > >i think fundamentally it's possible. we have oil! we're the saudi arabia of oil but you're gonna have to get real lucky for a call like that to come in. yesterday we heard opec talk about a production cut. so i think before we talk about $50 a barrel i think opec is gonna try and have some influence to make sure that does not happen. > >thank you for that update phil. > >thank you. americans buying cars and trucks was a significant

accelerator of retail sales in june. but overall sales were a mixed bag. sales rose 0.4% last month, a slightpull back from 0.5% in may.car and truck sales kicked up 1.8%.the largest increase since november. economists say if you strip out auto sales-- americans actually spent less at department stores and restaurants. they also purchased fewer computers, electronics and items to spruce up their homes. microsoft has market momentum. shares rallied to a one year high yesterday on a report from the verge-- the microsoft team that created the surface tablet is testing a "smartwatch". the tech giant is slashing the price of it's surface tablet by $150 to $349 to better compete against the apple ipad. hotel guests are walking away with more than just mini soaps and shampoo. a new survey from hotels dot com sheds some light on sticky fingers. 35% of global travelers admit to taking things such as towels, lamps and even artwork.robes and beds have also gone missing after guests leave.

still to come spend money to make money. and its never been more true in the housing market. more on that later. plus...workplace fears. how to keep your cool if you think are about to be shown the door. but first....twinkies with a twist....what consumers have to say about the return of the snack time favorite...thats next.

the two private equity firms that bought the rights to twinkies, apollo global management and c. dean metropoulos and company are bringing back the snack cake, but with a few changes. the snack cake that returned to stores this week is smaller and has a shelf life of one-and- half-months. that's nearly twice as long as before.also, some stores will be receiving frozen twinkies that retailers will thaw and restock as needed, thus lowering delivery costs. "i'm not really a processed food person so anything that lasts more than a week, i wouldn't eat." "i think i've had a twinkie once every 6-7 years but it's nice that they're around. i'm excited that they're coming back but i don't eat them regularly." "i've never tried them. don't know what they taste like. now's your chance)

no, too unhealthful. no thank you." at one time, hostess employeed 66-hundred bakers at 33 bakeries nationwide. now, the scaled-back snack will put 18-hundred people back to work at four bakeries. a fear of being fired-- may be ruining your odds of moving up the corporate ladder. dr.sam sanders-- who has 20 years experience as a human resources executive joins us now..good morning doctor. > >good morning. > >..and you recently did a survey. what did you find? what are people telling you? > > in the recent university of phoenix survey found that 6 out of 10 workers feared losing their job. and 1 out of 5 felt that this was a concern of theirs they thought about every week. half of them said it actually impacted their behavior at work. they were less likely to speak out. they were less likely to disagree, less

likely to volunteer, and less likely to compete with co- workers. > >how do you turn that situation around? > >you can turn that fear into confidence by doing a couple of things. number one: be knowledgeable. make sure that you understand what the company needs and that you are the go to expert. number two: see the big picture and how you fit in the big picture and make sure that you understand how what you're responsible for aligns with that organization. number three: be a problem solver and not just a problem identifier. organizations are seeking individuals who are critical thinkers. at university of phoenix, in our classroom, we teach critical thinking and i had an employee that was experiencing being downsized in his department and he was a supervisor. instead of him going to his manager with how do i get the work done with very few resources he went with a solution that he learned in the classroom and how to reallocate the resources which made him more valuable to the organization. > >who's getting hired? what specifically are companies looking for? you mentioned that being a problem solver is a big critical issue. > >absolutely. organizations are looking for individuals who have the skill sets, who can keep up with technology, who can go outside of the box and be a critical thinker as well. and anything that they can contribute that can help them increase the revenue for the company and save money for the company improve their processes. > > dr sam sanders thanks for being on our show today. we appreciate your time. > >thank you.

technology is growing on the farm. researchers are designing robots to become farm hands. including-- the lettuce bot -- a machine that is in the testing stage that can harvest a field of lettuce faster than 20 workers. another crop of robots is in the works to handle fruits and veggies. farmers say robots could cut costs and help ease a shortage of workers in the fields. trucking along....some lesser known transportation stocks that may deliver profts --- plus, - ..project priority. the best improvements to make around the house before you sell. ....that's next with bill moller.

th a deadly disease. i was one of them. i'm a nurse and i knew how damaging the disease was to my life. nothing i tried seemed to work. my brother died. from complications of the exact same preventable disease and i knew i had to do something to get healthy. my disease was obesity and after consulting with my doctor, i received the effective treatment i needed. obesity is a second leading cause of preventable death

in the united states. but it's a treatable disease, and there's effective treatment options available. now is time to get help. please join the obesity action coalition and acknowledge obesity as a disease for acceptance, for access to all effective treatments, including diet and exercise, pharmacotherapy and weight-loss surgery for obese adults with at least one obesity related comorbid condition. visit obesity action dot org and sign an open letter pledging your support and for more information about how to talk to your doctor about your weight and your treatment options. together we can make a choice to end obesity now. a public service from the obesity action coalition. 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. if you read the newspaper or watch the news you know the real estate market is picking up speed both for home sales and values and prices. sellers are now debating, should we remodel a room or two? which ones? which ones bring the biggest returns? let's talk to

paul dacosta. he's out of florida. he's a real estate investor and agent. so it used to be bathrooms and kitchens. still the case? > >yep. kitchens are number one, bathrooms number two. closets number three. > >closets, that's a new one. is there a rule of thumb as far as returns one can expect from a remodeling? > >you can expect anywhere from 65%-85% and maybe up to 90 depending on what it is. > >how can you determine whether or not first of all you want to do a remodeling and then how much to invest in it? > >you have to look at the neighborhood your home is in and the condition of the particular room that you're looking in. if all the homes are nice, and your kitchen is outdated, you must update it so you do not lose it on the sale on the other side. > >but you don't want to overdo it either. > >no, because then its the same thing---the house is overdone and people aren't going to pay for it. so you wasted your money. > >if somebody is selling an older home and it does look kind of dated sometimes they'll think i'll just let the buyer deal with that and they don't invest in new drapes, or floors,

or painting. > >that's correct. and what they do is in their mind, they start deducting that from their offer and they always deduct more than the actual cost that it does to do the job. always. so, you should probably do it yourself then to increase the likelihood of a sale? does that mean some buyers will just pass your home by if it looks dated? > >yes sir they will absolutely because they don't want to do the work themselves. > >tell me about this google search you can do to help understand the kinds of jobs you should undertake for a home sale. > >sure. just go to cost vs. value and google and it will break it down from the whole entire country, to regions and big cities. it tells you exactly what the costs are and the returns for the job you're looking to do for your area. > >tell me about the types of mistakes people make determining what to remodel in a home? > >they kinda always just try and do the smallest things first and they try to skimp on it. the biggest mistake you see is painting but not painting the whole house, they'll just paint certain rooms. if you're

gonna paint, paint the whole thing. > >paul da costa, thanks so much. > >thank you. have a great day. thanks bill-- still to come--- matt shapiro hits the roads for a look at investing in trucking stocks. chart talk is next

matt shapiro, president of mws capital is trucking for us this morning. good to have you on the show as always and we've been hearing from fedex and ups but are there any great names

out there in the trucking industry people are not talking about so much? > >absolutely. fedex and especially ups last week had that downbeat assessment of the economy. but if you look at the entire transportation sector, the economy seems to be doing better than they maintain. for instance, yesterday jb hunt came out with earnings. that's about the biggest publicly traded trucking company. they missed by a little bit. the stock was down in the morning but then traded back up so it seems that there is resilient strength in many of these transportation names. one i like is a smaller trucking company called knight transportation---about $17 a share. it's gonna have earnings next week expected to make about a dollar over the course of a year. so a 17 pe is pretty reasonable and if you look under the hood of the trucking companies, they're doing quite well notwithstanding fuel costs and the like. > >the price tag at 17 is so much different compared to a fedex or even a jb hunt. should investors consider that as well?

> >lower price means often times accompanied with samller amounts of earnings. they don't have rge net value of earnings to get that stock up to 70,80,90. but on the flip side, if it's a really good company that has solid results and a modest pe like a knight does that means there is more upside for you. so, be aware that you're investing in a smaller company but there's definitely potential if its a good name. > >matt, thanks for stopping by. > >you're welcome. that does it for today. coming up tomorrow-- an update on manufacturers that producing products in america. and how to tell if an item was made in the u.s.a. from all of us at first business.. thank you for wathing and have a tremendous tuesday.

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