a brain injury, get screened. corporations are fighting fire with fire. in today's cover story...reading between the lines for clues from the federal reserve. plus...a good deed at walmart turns into a pr nightmare. and the lengths retailers are going to ensure black friday is a hit...will consumers bite? first business starts now! you're watching first business: financial news, analysis, and today's investment ideas. good morning! it's wednesday, november 20th.i'm angela miles. in today's first look: stocks hit a wall of resistence. one day after the dow crossed 16,000 the s&p 1,800 the major indicies fell back a touch. with blue chips losing 9 points, the nasdaq 17 and the s&p 4. gold gained 3 dollars and oil settled 33 cents higher in

yesterday's session...among the stocks that soared yesterday-- united. shares flew nearly 4%. that's after united officials rang the opening bell tuesday morning-- including my cousin-- brett hart--an executive vp. and general counsel with the company. a proud moment for me. after the close: no reclining for la-z-boy shares. last night the furniture maker reported earnings that topped wall street's view-- causing the stock to rise 6%. and students working on the campus of university of california will stage a 24 hour strike today to support union allegations of unfair labor practices. school officials hope cooler heads prevail. there's our opening bell for today. larry shover of sfg alternatives joins us on this wednesday. larry is it a good time or a bad time for a first timer to get into the stock market? > >a tough question but slow and steady finishes the race. so dollar cost averaging into the stock market, being very diversified, not trying to chase the next best thing should

be okay. > >what hints will people look for today with the minutes coming from the fed? > >i think they're gonna look for are they gonna change the inflation threshold or the unemployment rate threshold. those are the things that bernanke hinted at last month that caused so much volatility in the market. so that's what everybody's gonna be watching today. > >why is there so much weakness in the dollar? > >i think a lot of it is just interest rate differential between europe and the u.s. it's persistent. the euro is up about 8% against the dollar since july. many people think that this is gonna end at some point because we are dovish, yellen is dovish. but with europe being in the baby steps of recovery at the end of the day they're gonna have to be more dovish than us. hence the euro should start to collapse against the u.s. dollar in the next six months or so. > >larry, always a pleasure to have you on the show. thank you. > >thank you. today, the fed will release

minutes from it's october meeting. it's expected that more details of the fed's decision to continue it's 85- billion-dollar-a-month bond buying program.as our cover story shows you, there was a lot of forshadowing yesterday from several fed sources. tuesday evening, fed chairman ben bernanke, who's term ends in january, spoke in washington saying the fed will likely hold rates near zero well after the economy reaches the 6.5% unemployment rate and timing of moving away from using its balance sheet to stimulate the economy remans an open question. earlier, bernanke's expected successoor, fed chair nominee janet yellen stressed the need to keep interest rates low. in a letter to massachusetts senator elizabeth warren. yellen wrote that unemployment reaching 6 and a half percent was not a trigger and that "monetary policy is likely to remain highly accommodative long after one of the economic thresholds... has been crossed." "the biggest challenge we have is credibility, that we will do

whatever it takes to get the economy back and get inflation up to 2%." speaking before a conference of bankers, charles evans, president of the chicago fed offered a total amount for the fed's asset purchase program but no time-table for tapering. "we're probably going to end up purchasing at least 1.5 trillion dollars until we finally end this, and it maybe more. " despite improvements in europe, global economic growth is expected to lag this year and next. to the organization for economic cooperation and development-- forecasts growth of just 2.7% this year and 3.6% next year.the group describes the global economy as "stuck in first gear". mexico is experiencing something of a renaissance after decades of stagnation. this

according to the new york times. foreign investment -- particularly by car companies -- coupled with more of a focus on education over emmigration is starting to pay off -- literally. higher wages and more opportunity equal an emerging middle class in mexico. the new york times reports that the country is at something of a crossroads. there will be challenges to continue the growth and optimism, including turning away from corruption and keeping up with global demands for an educated workforce. president obama admits-- his administration "underestimated the complexities" of creating the healthcare.gov website. he commented about the troubled website during an interview at the wall street journal's ceo council conference.the president adds he should have anticipated the lack of help from both side of the aisle that was need to overhaul health care. he adds that, the

government's system for selecting contractors for i-t projects is not very efficiient and is the root of the problem. a senior member of the obama administration was questioned about the rocky roll out on capitol hill tuesday. calise: what this report talks about is chaos at cms. nobody is in charge. waxman: is it accurate to say that cms is getting the website up and running? chao: yes. of course we are working around the clock to fix our performance issues so that the vast majority of users have a smooth experience with the site by the end of the month. lawmakers also learned the healthcare.gov still needs a system for taking in consumer payments to insurance companies by january 1st. we've all heard of the much- maligned largess of ceo "golden parachutes" but now comes reporting on a new trend -- golden hellos. more top u-s companies are using very generous signing bonuses as a way to lure talent, according to bloomberg. the number of companies that have done this has nearly doubled in the past

two years.this, despite high- profile examples of the big hello followed by a quick good- bye. an example--ron johnson -- he only lasted 17 months as the ceo of jc penney after being lured from apple with a 52.7 million dollar signing bonus. one of the biggest signing bonuses this year was handed out by zynga, which paid $45- million to lure its latest ceo. wal-mart is responding to criticism over what it claims is a good deed. one of its stores in canton, ohio is collecting food from sales associates to give to other sales workers. the incident shines a bright light on wal- mart wages -- generally between 15 and 20-thousand dollars per year.wal-mart says the program was "taken out of context" and that the drives are localized and part of the associates in critical need trust. home depot is raising the roof. the housing recovery has the chain raising its outlook for the third time this year. its

stock is trading higher after it reported earnings results that beat the street. the holiday season is forcing best buy to step up its game. it says it faces a lot of competition this holiday due to christmas promotions from rivals. still, best buy reported profits that topped expectations. however, shares still slid over 10% yesterday. and a soup snafoo. campbells says sales plunged 30% last quarter, as americans steered away from canned goods. shares fell 6% yesterday. jp morgan is re-assuring shareholders the bank can handle the $13 billion dollar government settlement. it's believed to be the largest amount ever paid by a financial firm in a settlement case with the justice department.it includes $4 billion to help 100,000 homeowners who were hurt by banks lending and securities trading practices.jp morgan and officials will not admit violating the law.an estimated 7 billion of the deal is tax- deductible. johnson and johnson will pay out at least $2.5 billion to settle lawsuits brought by thousands of patients because of faulty artifical hips. the company will pay $250-thousand for each surgery required to replace its faulty hip device.

so far, 8-thousand people in the u-s have had that surgery. j and j will also set up a $475- million fund to cover additional medical costs that patients have incurred because of the hips. the new york times reports that the settlment costs could run as high as $4 billion. the national highway transportation safety administration opens a formal investigation into tesla. this is after its model s electic car twice burst into flames after hitting roadway debris. an nhtsa investigation can lead to a recall but tesla ceo elon muskk has said his company has no plans to initiate one because he does not believe it is warranted. he also calls the media attention given to the stories a "gross overreaction." he says tesla will immediatley implement any changes mandated by the nhtsa. the ipo market this week is all about biotech. four companies in the sector are expected to go public. infection treatment biotech ruthigen, tetralogic pharmaceuticals, and vital therapies, which targets

liver failure, all are expected to price in thursday. trevena, which helps find treatments for acute heart failure, plans to raise 75 million, with shares expected to price between 12 and 14 dollars. that company lists on the nasdaq today. nokia gives the green light. at a nokia shareholder meeting, investors approved the 7 billion dollar sale of its mobile business to microsoft. it could help revamp microsoft's mobile business as the company struggles to compete with rivals apple and samsung. the deal is expected to close in the first quarter. more changes are ahead at microsoft.yesterday, ceo steve ballmer gave his final remarks to shareholders before he leaves the positions. his comments moved chairman bill gates to tears. united continental has its sights set on saving. united is cutting back in an effort to save 2 billion dollars.

the airline will re-route flights from asia to europe, to burn less fuel, and overhaul its website. there are no plans to reduce the workforce. united stock popped nearly 4%. on the news. a meeting on capitol hill proved beneficial to bitcoin investors. the virtual currency hit a new record high of 700 dollars in trading this week. after officials in a hearing on capitol hill backed bitcoin, testifying no new regulators will be needed to oversee it. some skeptics are wary the internet commerce is too complex. however lawmakers focused on "pros" of the system in yesterday's hearing. "some proponents -- now proponents believe that digital currencies can prove valuable to those in developing countries without access to stable financial systems. others believe it could prove to be the next generation payment system for retailers both online and in the real world." also at the hearing a treasury department official said the irs is "actively working" on its

own rules for bitcoin. wall street drama is taking center stage in paris. a new play "chapters of a fall: the saga of lehman brothers" debuts at the end of the month. theater fans will need to be fully invested for the full four hours...which chronicle the history of lehman through the bank's collapse in 2008. still to come: why corporations are staffing up on hackers. plus, retailers are reaching for the panic button this christmas. how consumers are poised to react. and after the break-- why stores are stepping up security on black friday. we'll be right back!

see these hands? they gripped the wheel of a humvee in afghanistan. these hands? six years treating soldiers. twelve years, flying choppers. my hands? they're here for the person who fought in afghanistan. i made the call and got support for my sister. my hands are here for the person who treated those soldiers. i helped connect my son with the care he's earned. mine take care of the person who flew those helicopters.

and if life gets overwhelming they're ready to dial the veterans crisis line. the veterans crisis line is here for all veterans and their loved ones. call 1-800-273-8255 and press 1. or chat online at veteranscrisisline.net the federal government warns retailers about controlling crowds on black friday. the occupational safety and health administration, or osha, is encouraging retailers to take measures to protect shoppers from stampedes. the agency has also reportedly sent letters reminding retailers to do so. this year is the fifth anniversary of the death of a wal-mart employee who was trampled to death when shoppers surged into a long-island store on black friday. it's called black friday-- because its the day retailers have a shot at going into the black for the year with profits from the shopping frenzy. however, it's the same day that can leave consumers in the red after spendng too much green. greg mcbride- of bankrate.com joins us via skype this morning. good morning greg.

> >good morning angie. > >there are six fewer shopping days this year and retailers are getting crazy. is it working on the consumer? > >the consumer is really hemmed in by the fact that for so many people, their incomes haven't gone up. so their ability to spend and spend more i think is restrained quite a bit and that's why you're seeing retailers becoming even more competitive than they typically are this time of year. > >it's so agressive. i'm hearing reports of people trying to get higher credit limits just for the holidays. is that a good idea? > >no it's not. i think that's a warning sign. if you find yourself having to rely on credit to make those holiday expenditures that to me is a strong indicator that you need to ratchet back your holiday spending plans. the idea here is you want to have accumulated the cash or have the savings set aside to incur these expenses. you don't want a hangover of debt going into 2014. > >what about the credit card situation out there? what are some great rates people can get now before they go shopping? > >if you have good credit then the world is your oyster. we've

seen a lot of zero percent offers right now for both purchases as well as balance transfers. these offers can extend for 12, 15, as much as 18 months. my cautionary tip here is, have a game plan. don't transfer a balance or rack up these balances without a plan to pay it off while you still have that zero percent offer. the idea is you want to use somebody else's money. you don't want to still have debt left over when that rachets to a higher interest rate later on. > >greg, you've been watching money matters for years. you track the consumer. what do you think is likely to be the outcome of this year's holiday season? > >once again, i think that we're going to see pretty modest growth in consumer spending this holiday season but i think it will be up. simply because people tighten the belt throughout the year and if there's one time of year when they tend to let loose it's the holiday shopping season. i think it will be pretty decent.

it's not gonna hit the cover off the ball but i do think it will be pretty respectable considering that for many people their incomes haven't gone up. > >thanks as always for your time greg. > >thanks angie. coming up...as hackers threaten corporate america-- the wild ways companies are fightng cyber attacks. and later on in chart talk...one trader says its not too late to get in on a hot retail stock. we'll be right back!

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corporations are losing money by the billions because of cyber attacks. but now-- some compannies are going rogue to stop hack attacks. kenneth geers, a senior global threat researcher at security firm fire eye joins us via skype. good to have you back on the show. can you ever really get ahead of these so called cyber armies out there? you watch what's going on everyday. > >you can't just be reactive in this domain and this discipline. you have to be proactive which means at the very least gathering great intelligence and at the extreme end actually hiring or employing hackers to go out and proactively figure out who is targeting you, why, and what they've stolen and see if you

can get it back. > >if you were consulting to a company what would you recommend? what are some out of the box ways that people can stop this at their corporations from happening? > >well it goes all the way back to sun tzu and the art of war. you have to develop, for instance, traps. honey traps that would mislead hackers. lead them in the wrong direction or you have to put for instance a banner just like people put on their home which says this home is protected by a security service. it's shown that deterrents can play some role in cyberspace. our website, our data is protected by good encryption or a good firm that employs professional certified cyberdefense personnel. you need the whole package. but companies are going to feel frustrated by the scope of this problem and the slow response of law enforcement and the difficulty that lawyers have in getting ahead of the problem in a legal sense. and so they're going to be employing their own hackers. at least on the defensive side to aggressively protect their data. > >what about hacker jobs? are

there enough people out there for them to actually hire to stop the hack attacks? > >there are not. it is a difficult discipline to hire in because the demand is so high. it's a technical discipline which means unfortunately really strong skills in math, science, engineering, coding. these people don't grow on trees. it's important that more people become better in technical careers and invest more in such education. it's difficult to hire in this field for sure. > >kenneth, thanks for coming on our show today. great information. > >thank you. still ahead--a trader who is coming in handy ahead of earning from lowe's. chart talk is next.

scott bauer of trading advantage is our handyman today. good morning to you scott. > >good morning angie. > >were traders impressed by those numbers coming in from home depot and what will it mean for lowe's today? > >i think we're going to see very similar numbers. this is a stock that has pretty much followed the trend of the market. we see this continual

grind up. in fact, if you look from a technical standpoint it's followed the 50 day moving average all throughout the last 6-9 months. i think it's gonna follow right in home depot's steps. i think we're gonna see a very solid earnings report and going forward most importantly pretty good guidance. until we really see some form of a bubble in housing---which there is talk about it but we're really not seeing it---lowe's is definitely one to have in your portfolio. > >is it too late to buy now though? > >i don't think so. i'd probably wait until after the report later today because we may see a slight pullback. but in the long run---six to nine months---stock to own, definitely. > >you're also watching deere which is connected to the construction that's been going on. we've heard some warnings coming in from caterpillar. so what do you think about deere? > >much like i said about lowe's following home depot i unfortunately think deere is going to follow in the realm of caterpillar. i think that the stock has really been mired in the mud for a while. i don't see a real positive outlook

coming out, not only for the first quarter of next year but really going through all of 2014. even though the option market is predicting only about a 2.5-3 dollar move, i think that move is gonna be to the downside. i think you're gonna see it sub 80 and i'm not real high on deere. > >good to have you on the show and thanks for the warning scott. > >thanks a lot angie. coming up on our show tomorrow-- it's movies money thursday. our critic will be here to tell us why executives at universal studios are breathing a sigh of relief. and i'll give my take on the new film best man holiday. thanks as always for watching. from all of us at first business, have a great wednesday!

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