this means physical activity can help your kids in the most important game of all -- life. christmas comes early for drivers as gas prices fall around the nation. in today's cover story..... a famous flame from the kitchen goes out. a look back at the life of celebrity chief charlie trotter. and.... from broke to the big time. how an "upstart" company is lending millions to young entrepreneurs for their startups. plus....a twitter tutorial. a money manager shares his advice for early investors. first business starts now! you're watching first business: financial news, analysis, and today's investment ideas. good morning! it's tuesday, november 12th.i'm angela miles. in today's first look: the dow rockets to its 35th record high

of the year. but - hey who's counting. yesterday the dow added 21 points for a record level close.the nasdaq and s&p 500 finished the session around the flat line.gold lost 2 dollars and oil made a small change. disney is merging its interactive games and media groups to re-focus its business strategy. if you are tracking twitter since its ipo last week the shares ralled 3% yesteday to -- in its thrd day of trading. and health care enrollment numbers are due out this week from the obama administration. lincoln ellis of green square capital joins us now. he gets us up-to-date on the market action for the day. good morning to you lincoln. > >good morning angie. this is one hot market. do you see any signs of a slow down out there? > >not really. we made new highs across most of the major equity markets here in the united states and we seem to be peaking across europe. the only place it isn't is in the emerging economies and those have been back and forth. in terms of the end of the year, probably a little bit of melt up

and then flatline for 2014. > >what about the bond market which reopens today. it was closed yesterday for veterans day and we just had the jobs number out on friday. will they be buying in bulk? > >3, 10, and 30 years are up for auction this week in the bond market. that combined with janet yellen's testimony up on the hill on thursday could put a bit of volatility into that bond market. keep your eyes peeled. > >what about the syria situation? are you seeing anything intensifying in the market? anything starting to boil up? > >we really haven't seen or heard from syria in quite some time but the degredation of those peace talks would definitely put some volatility back into the energy market. keep our eyes in particular on the brent crude and that would be the place it would show up if anywhere. > >is there anything we have to watch with the situation in the

philipines? > >it's very sad and obviously the currency and the equity markets being crushed last night. we just pray for their safety and a fast recovery. > >good to have you on the show. take care. > >thanks angie. scenes of horror in the phillipines are in the wake of typhoon haiyan. the situation is so intense there is reportedly no time to count the bodies -- the death toll, according to local officials there however, is expected to top 10-thousand. the storm affected the area much like a tsunami with waves two -stories high. according to bloomberg, losses will be in the $12 to $15 billion range. that's 5% of the island nation's economic output. by comparison, superstorm sandy caused losses of about 1% of gdp here in the u-s. back in the u.s. budget talks resume on capitol hill. this week lawmakers will make an attempt to find common ground on the farm bill. also, on wednesday-- the house budget committee and the senate budget committee will hold their second congressional conference. it's becoming clearer that the a so-called grand bargin on taxes

and spending cuts is not likely to come out of the talks. it could be a win-win for both amazon and the beleagured united states postal service -- sunday deliveries. the world's biggest online store has long wanted to be able to deliver its goods on sunday and now just in time for the holiday rush, it will. according to the associated press, financial terms were not disclosed for the deal but it is expected to give a boost to the usps which lost $16 billion last year. the new service is free to amazon customers. johnson & johnson is said to be pulling certain products from amazon.com. the wall street journal reports-- j&j no longer has "some" items on the amazon site-- because the e-tailer was not aggressive in stopping third party merchants from selling damaged or expired j&j merchandise such as tylenol or rogaine. there is no comment from either company. the erosion of thanksgiving as a national holiday continues, as more stores announce they will remain open on turkey-day.

target says it will start welcoming shoppers at 8 p-m thanksgiving night -- its earliest opening ever. and toys r us says it will open at 5 p-m on thanksgiving and remain open until 10 p-m friday. best buy's hours are 6pm on thanksgiving through 10pm friday. retailers say it is crucial to keep up with peers. branding specialist david johnson says it could hurt the image consumers have of big name brands, even if shoppers are snapping up that brand's merchandise on the holiday. "i mean it might seem contradictory but it occurs. we see that they have less loyalty to the brand, less warm feelings. which means if the brand gets caught in a scandal, gets hit with something....there's less loyalty in the long term." johnson says this could be a preview of what is to come, and expects brands to try and push the envelope next year..... by opening on christmas. falling gas prices are turning into an early gift for

consumers. the current national average for a gallon of regular unleaded is $3.18. prices have fallen 16 cents just in the past month. and are at the lowest level since 2011. among the factors driving down prices... the cost tends to go down as states shift to a less expensive winter blend of gasoline. oil production is at the highest level since 1989 according to bloomberg. and, brent crude prices are down about $10 dollars since august. china's cyber shopping day -- turned into an outrageous spending spree. originally started as a holiday for singles , 11-11 has morphed into everyone getting in on online bargain hunting. by yesterday afternoon totals of $3.1 billion dollars spent on shopping sites easily surpassed last year's totals. on just one company's shopping sites -- alibaba, sales were more than double the entire u-s's cyber monday totals. and, in the first minute of november 11th 10 million people visited tmall dot com, china's equivalent of amazon. college students who are brilliant, broke but will want to startup a company are

finding hope through a relatively new website. it's called upstart. the ceo dave girouard joins us this morning. good morning. how this work? > >good morning. upstart is a site that helps people raise capital---typically people early in their career---which they repay as a small and fixed fraction of their income. and that capital comes from investors who are actually investing in a person rather than in a business or in an idea. > >if their idea does not work, do they still have to pay the money? > >well, it's not an investment in the idea. the first idea might fail but the repayment is actually defined as a fixed fraction of income irrespective of where it comes from. so if the idea is great and successful and they build a great business, that's good for backers. if they actually fail the idea and move on to something else that's even better that's good for their backers too. the fundamental notion of investing in the person more than in the business. > >how much money have you been

able to raise to date and how do you find these large contributors? > >wel, it's a marketplace. we're kind of the guy in the middle. but so far about 2 and a half million dollars has transacted between the investors---what we call the backers---and the upstarts in about the first year of our operation. and that's probably 1500 unique from a backer to an upstart. > >what's your greatest success story? > >we love to see when people launch companies. we've had probably 5 or 10 at least that have got funded, taken the money, launched a business, and is successful. and they've gotten it funded by venture capitalists, etc. so somebody being able to do something that they otherwise wouldn't have been able to do to us is the primary success of the company. > >dave girouard, great speaking with you this morning and best wishes with upstart. > >thank you. apple is reportedly developing an iphone with a screen that

curves. according to a bloomberg source, the new models -- planned for release in 20-14 - have larger screens plus sensors that detect heavy or light touch. meantime, activist investor carl icahn tells cnbc-- he had a "good conversation" with apple ceo tim cook- and both believe apple shares are undervalued. cook is said to be still studying icahn's very public view the tech giant should buy back $150 billion of stock. icahn owns 4.7 million apple shares. apple closed down a dollar to $519 yesterday. federal investigators are in communication with tesla after a third car is destroyed by fire following an accident. the national highway traffic safety administration issued a statement friday its gathering details of the latest accident and in close communication with the electric car maker.. in the latest fire- a tesla driver hit a trailer hitch on the highway.but says he would buy another one in a heartbeat. bank of america is back in the headlines. the government is asking the bank to pay a 863 million dollar fine for the sale of subprime mortgages during the financial crisis. the fine sums up losses that fannie mae and freddie mac incurred from countrywide's -- which is owned by bofa. "also" bank of america is asking a federal court to throw out two lawsuits that accuse the bank of fraud.

the suit was filed by the sec and justice department this summer. bofa argues it informed investors of the risks they faced by buying the securities. a number of banks including jp morgan chase reportedly are considering banning traders from electronic chat rooms. the wall street journal says large banks are considering blocking employees from computer chat rooms as the scrutiny grows over ways traders could potentially maniuplate the market. computer chat rooms allow traders to communicate with each other and clients. its "the end" for a controversial book. publisher simon and schuster is halting the release of a new book in light of a flawed 60 minutes report. the book "the embassy house" was written by now discredited source dylan davies. davies appeared in a 60 minutes report detailing his account of an american mission in bengahzi libya. however, it was later found davies told the fbi a different story than he told 60 minutes. cbs owned simon and schuster is now asking stores to return copies of the book, to the publisher.

the days of having to follow strict rules when bringing liquid on board flghts-- may be coming to an end..overseas. ccording to a report a non- profit research and development organization in ohio.. has installed a screening device at london's heathrow airport to test shampoos, bottles of water and other liquids carried by passengeners. heathrow will test the screener in january. however, the tsa in the u.s.a says don't expect it to happen here in anytime soon. a slippery subject has been resolved at oil drilling company -- transocean. after a months-long proxy fight-- the company is closer to handing a victory to billionaire investor carl icahn. icahn is the third largest shareholder of the oil drilling company. transocean has agreed to icahn's proposed 3 dollar dividend, and has said it will reduce the size of its board. shareholders still have to vote

on the proposal. transocean stock rose 3 and a half percent in trading yesterday. a california company is recalling ready to eat salads and wraps potentially linked to e-coli. the usda says the pre- packaged salads and sandwich wraps were produced by glass onion catering. the products were produced between september 23rd and november 6th and distributed in arizona, california, nevada, new mexico, oregon, texas, utah and washington. still to come: tips--on why small business owners need to get ready now to cash in on economic growth. plus... the culinary industry says good bye to a world renowned chef. a look back at his life in the kitchen. and a money manager-- studys the options for investors who bought the twitter ipo. first business continues right after this... i'm going to pass chemistry, and i'll take it from there. i'm going to do what makes me happy. i'm going to work hard.

be independent. live large. make the most of every opportunity. i knew i wanted to go to college. but figuring out how to pay for it? i didn't have a clue. the u.s. department of education has over $100 billion. and that's a lot of money. to help students pay for college. and the free application? you mean the fafsa. i did it online. it was easy. i'm never giving up on my goals. i will make a difference. i'm going to find out how to pay for college. i'm going to college.gov.

it might not "feel" like it.. but the economy is improving.and one business leader is speading the word that small businesses better get ready now.joining us on set-- emilia dimenco-- president and ceo of the women's business development center. great to have you back on the show. > >it's wonderful to be here. thank you. > >so do you think that most small businesses are under the impression that the economy is actually growing? > >i think people are still thinking that we're in this horrible recession but no. we have growth. it's 2 1/2%. it's not as robust as we'd like it to be. but it is growth and

there are people out there hiring people and buying. so if you're a small business owner you better be out there selling. > >what are some tips? what can you tell them to do now? > >number one, they really need to focus on their strengths. decide what they do well. use that to open doors. they have to target. they have to be diligent in looking for where the greatest opportunities for them are. and they have to invest 18-24 months to win a large customer. when someone is paying you to do something for them they have to trust you and get to know you. that takes a while. > >so preparing financially is important but how far out should people be looking? should they look for next year or start to build that business plan for the next 5-10 years? > >i think a 5 year plan is very good. but they have to have the next 12-24 months really spelled out who they're gonna target, what type of business they're gonna go after, and

deliver solutions to those companies. > >do you think a lot of people are going to get caught off guard by the improving economy? > >no. i think people are not ramping up for that expanding economy and that's my greatest concern. that they're still waiting for it to occur and it's here. > >thanks again for coming back on our show and i'll look for you at the women's business development center. good to have you here. > >thank you for having us. coming up: how to tweak your investment if you are worried you bought twitter too soon. and chuck coppola will be here with a special tribute to one of the world's most famous chefs after the break.

charlie trotter, who died last week at age 54 ad-libbed his way into becoming a world famous chef. he played duets with unlikely combinations---hit the high-notes, each evening. and as our cover story shows you, leaves a legacy that is anything but leftovers. on a stainless steel morning-- gray as any kitchen, chefs from the around the world, paid

their last respects to charlie trotter, their mentor and colleague who put not just chicago but american fine dining on the map. "it's all about the hospitality and he was the master at it." long before cable tv's explosion of celebrity chefs, trotter, self-taught in the kitchen, opened his first restaurant in 1987 and brought the best in the world to your plate. "in a time before fedex, he went out and got a rare wasabi from japan and other stuff and put it under one roof." "we have the black olives. just a few of those." even the seemingly-tame chicken shared billing with israeli cous-cous, morel mushrooms...and a drizzle of curry, artfully arranged as any jazz quartet. "just a little bit to accent the flavors." "it's like watching miles davis play jazz." trotter venerated the farmer. when lee jones delivered his produce to trotter's restaurant, the entire kitchen staff lined up outside in chef

whites as if on military review. "every one of them applauded as we arrived. it was unbelieveable to have that connection." trotter inspired homaro cantu who's restaurant "moto" makes liquid nitrogen playfully appetizing. cantu's new book explores what's called "miracle berry," which converts sour to sweet, at least in the mind...and may rid desserts of sugar and fat to fight obesity. "take my two daughters--they want dessert so they get lemon and miracle fruit, add sour cream and think it's cheese cake." trotter gave money for students to go to culinary school, and

pushed terri rogers, who's riff on noodles from yam flour is now a business story she shares with others. "charlie trotter insired me by his creativity and he was incredibly humble." more than a decade after winning "outstanding chef", by the james beard foundation and best restaurant in the nation" by wine spectator, trotter closed his restaurant, last year. in january, he suffered a seizure as a result of an aneurysm. the cause of death at his home, last week, still not precisely known. we'll be right back.

joining us now from the trading floor of cboe is matt shapiro, president of mws capital. he's here to talk about twitter. always a pleasure to have you on the show matt. > >thanks angie. > >i think some early investors may be getting nervous. the stock has lost some of its steam. what do you think? what should those people do right now? > >well, i'd say stick with it if you bought it. if you bought it around 45-46 the first couple of trading days, you obviously wanted to just get in and have it in your portfolio because you liked it. so to those people i say stick with it. obviously the valuation of these social media stocks are just out of sight. you don't know what they're gonna be

worth. if they are worth this money or not. but at the same time, you gotta enjoy your investments. so if you like twitter, you use it, and you want to have a little bit of the stock, i say stick with it in here about 42. if a client asked me if they wanted to get in i'd say sure buy it here. > >and you're a money guy so do you have people coming up to you and asking you about twitter? > >not yet to get in. but i did have a guy say man, how do you make the big money? how do you get in at 26 and sell at 50? and he was referring to of course the ipo price at 26. well, the reality is you had to get an allocation from one of the lead underwriters such as goldman sachs. and of course you had to have a profitable large investment or trading account to get a sizeable allocation. but even those people, i was trying to explain, got some of it. they probably flipped it. but remember at the end of the day that is just a small piece of the action even if it was profitable. here it is 42, trading on it's own merits. this is the real money. remember you could have bought google on

the opening day and still made 10 times your money. > >right and those guys that did price in at 26 dollars they have no problem selling this stock. they're making money right now. what about the options? we have the options coming out on friday. > >there's 2 ways to play it. if you really like it and think it could get back up to 50, i would say buy some out of the money calls after they come down in price. but that's gonna be tough. alternatively, probably a lot of investors are gonna bet on a selloff and buy those puts. but honestly i think those puts are gonna be very expensive so even if the stock grinds down to 30-33 initially. i feel like it's gonna be tough to make money even on the put side of the market. so my point is that if you like the stock buy it and especially if it starts trading down a little bit. buy it as they sell more shares over the next year. > >hey, if you love it, you love it. thank you matt. > >thank you. coming up tomorrow...ways part- time traders make money-- without taking the full-time plunge into trading. we hope you will join us. from all of us at first business, thank you for watching.

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