new rules restricting trading by big banks-- are on the way to wall street.... in today's cover story...super stars in the classroom. the group of young people who really "could" change the world. plus- why the american airlines merger with u.s. airways might be "good" for consumers.. and, tips on fishing for investments. first business starts now-- you're watching first business: financial news, analysis, and today's investment ideas. good morning! it's wednesday, december 11th. i'm angela miles. in today's first look: a budget deal is reached on capitol hill. lawmakers negotiating the agreement have a two-year budget=- that sets

spending levels for the federal government and replaces spending cuts with other savings. there's light market action as traders get set for next week's fed meeting. in trading yesterday-- the dow fell 53 points- closing below 16,000. the nasdaq lost 9 and the s&p pulled away from its all time high ending down 5 points. gold was up 27 dollars.. and oil added another $1.19. mastercard plans a stock split. the stock closed last at $763 dollars. the 10-for-1 split would lower the price to $80 potentially making it more attractive to investors and ending hopes it would become the next 1,000 stock. and hilton hotel's ipo is expected to price in tonight. larry shover of sfg alternatives joins us on the show now for some trader talk from cme group. good morning larry. > >good morning. > >what tapering trends are you noticing in the market right now as we prepare for that fomc

meeting coming up next week? > >at least yesterday, with all the tapering fear we're getting from the headlines, we had 3 asset classes actually respond in a way that they shouldn't respond if people are worried about tapering. that would be gold, u.s. treasury, and homebuilding stocks. all of them rallied quite significantly yesterday. > >oil is bouncing. does that mean the oil market is telling us that the economy is getting better and there will be more demand? or is it something else? > >i think that's part of the story.i think they are looking for the eia inventory report this week to have 2 consecutive drawdowns. that supercongestion issue in oklahoma is going away. pipelines are starting to move that oil. so the economy is getting better and it's being able to be refined. > >my colleague chuck coppola will be along in just a minute to talk about the volker rules. what do you see in the market? > >the funny thing with yesterday is that nobody's had a chance to dig through the whole document and really no one even knows what the implications

are. however, financial stocks after getting hit pretty hard early actually responded quite well in the afternoon. > >larry, thank you. > >you're welcome. angie, with four banking regulators now approving the volcker rule, bank c-e-os will have to attest in writing each year that their bank is in compliance and not taking part in risky bets that triggered the 2008 financial crisis. those agencies include: the f-d-i-c, the federal reserve, the s-e-c and c-f-t-c. they'll now seek more transparency in bank activities and put up more hurdles for banks that buy and sell securities. "volcker rule says banks can't 'play' with their own money. they can't gamble, they can't invest in hedge funds or private equity companies of speculative trading unless a customer requests it." financial analysts say a key part of enforcement will be to identify market-making apart from proprietary trading. a new ceo is named at general

motors and it makes for an historic appointment. become the first female ceo of a major automaker. barra has spent her career at g-m and is currently executive vice president of global product development, purchasing and supply chain. g-m's current ceo, dan akerson, moved up his retirement date after his wife was diagnosed with cancer. lululemon is making changes at the top after months of controversy. founder and chairman chip wilson is stepping down. c-e-o christine day will be replaced by laurent po-dev-in, former president of toms shoes. lululemon is hoping the new leadership will help the brand expand globally and put a series of quality issues and other gaffes behind it.but will investors follow? david johnson of strategic investors says it's going to be a long, but necessary process that starts with building trust with former customers. "what they're going to be

looking at, and it's going to take a while, is: how is the company moving forward, how is this new management working? and they have to demonstrate in their reports to investors, in new initiatives they're announcing, that they are moving forward, they are getting past this, and they have a more cohesive team now that these changes have been made." johnson said that before the new team makes changes, leaders need to issue a formal apology for past mistakes. wal-mart promotes another insider to a top spot. david cheesewright has been named the company's new international ceo. wal-mart international is the chain's second largest operating segment. cheesewright has been president of walmart's europe, middle east, africa and canada region since 20-11. the position was left vacant when, doug mcmillon, was promoted to president and ceo of wal-mart late last month.

mel watt is the new head of the federal housing finance agency. watt cleared a senate procedural vote earlier in the day yesterday and because of new senate rules, republicans who voted 'no' were not able to block the nomination from the full senate confirmation vote. his nomination was confirmed by a vote of 57 to 41. the fhfa has oversight over fannie and freddie mac. a two day hearing into the crash of asiana flight 214 is being condensed into a single day due to wintry weather in dc. hearings were supposed to start yesterday. however, t federal offices were forced to close because of a massive snow storm. today-- the national transporation safety board will take testimony in a marathon session on what caused the the triple 7 jet made by boeing to crash in san francisco last july, killing 3 people. consumers may pay more for airline tickets in the short- term. that's according to airline analyst joe schwieterman, who says it may be awhile before passengers see any price savings after the latest consolidation in the airline industry between american and u-s airways. "in the short run, they'll be some pain. consumers won't see on expedia, us airways undercutting the big carriers anymore, now that us airways is

part of american. // long-term though, it means these companies survive and it just fuels money into low-cost carriers. schwieterman predicts allegiant air, spirit and frontier airlines may get a boost in the low-cost carrier now that there is one less competitor in that niche. two prominent lawmakers add momentum to the idea of banning cell phone calls on planes. representative bill shuster, the chairperson of the house transportation and infrastructure committee, has proposed legislation banning cell phone calls -out of concern for travelers sanity-- senator lamar alexander is also pushing for ban. in the market for a new home? it may be an older model. according to a survey, 71 percent of u.s. single-family homes were built before 19-90. in some states, pre-1990 houses make up 80 percent of recent sales. it might not be a palace of dreams, but major rehab on an older place - though sometimes costly - could bring a bigger bang for your buck. earnings from home builders are being closely watched by traders...yesterday, toll brothers revealed profits collapsed by 77%

compared to last year. the luxury home builder's revenue however was above $1 billion dollars which was better than expected. homebuilders are showing signs of growth from pent-up demand and low interest rates. office depot has chosen florida for its corporate headquarters. the building materials chain merged recently with naperville, illinois based office max but no announcement had yet been made about which of the two states would be home for the newly combined company. office depot says it based its decision on operation and employee costs as well as tax implications and government incentives. a generics giant is born...pharmacy chain cvs and drug distributor cardinal health signed a 10 year agreement to form the largest generics sourcing operation in the u.s. it will start next july. cardinal shares rallied more than $2 dollars on the news. a new product that would revolutionize the treatment of both type one and type two diabetes could be here as early as spring. mannkind corporation has developed an inhaled insulin that it hopes will get a federal greenlight in a matter

of months. the insulin would alleviate the need for injections. inhaled insulin has been tested before but mannkind's version has a much smaller device that delivers more accurate doses. shares trade around $5 dollars. an "extremely" disturbing video obtained by the chicago tribune-- showing cows being tortured is causing nestle to cut business ties with a wisconsin farm. it's so traumatic-- we will spare you from seeing the video...the trib reports-- the cows at wiese brother's farm supplies milk to foremost farm which makes nestle cheese. a nestle spokeswoman tells the paper the company is outraged and deeply saddened by the mistreetment of animals in the video. wiese brothers responds its shocked and sadden to see a few employees not following the farms policies for proper animal care. a new low-cost 3d printer is in the works - for the average consumer to make objects out of steel. commercial 3d metal printers are already available, but cost more than a half million dollars. the new printer, developed by a design team at michigan tech, uses

under $1,500 in materials. critics say metal 3d printing raises the issue of homemade firearms. apple reportedly has a curve touch screen in queue. tech crunch reports apple has received a patent for the curved screen. last month bloomber news reported the tech company is working on a curved glass iphone that could be released late next year. the next leaders in business or public policy may be getting their start in a competition sponsored by the siemens foundation. as our cover story shows you, it applies some of the sharpest young minds toward solving problems that affect us all. at george washington university, three high school students from hewlett new york heard their names when winners of the siemens foundation's competiton in math, science and technology were announced. a competition that seeks to find solutions to contemporary problems. in the case of the three young winners---crop damage. "we wanted to study different types of environmental damage to crops. a lot of people don't realize that enviconmental damage from ozone, for example,

costs billions of dollars." their project was one of nearly 16-hundred submitted by more than 24-hundred students--an all-time high. it won them a check for a hundred thousand dollars that they will split. "each of us specialized in something and that allowed us to work at our own pace, then come together, later. it made it not as stressful." siemens foundation provides more than seven million dollars each year to support science, technology engineering and mathamatics at schools throughout the u-s. and through competitions such as this one, the foundation hopes future leaders will be encouraged and inspired. "these kids go on to great things. they become leaders in academia and as science becomes more a part of popular culture, they're the ones affecting public policy and business strategy." all three are headed to study either engineering or medicine. and they've already got a very

good start. though women have historically been outnumbered in the number of science and engineering degrees received, that's changing. in the last 20-years, the approximate percentage of women earning those degrees increased to 20%. computer science has seen the percentage more than double to 21%. still to come: why a star of desperate housewives is hanging out with one of the buffets. plus-- a fishing expedition for investment ideas..with bill moller. and a case where it paid off to hear what traders have to say on first business.

a rare partnership has formed between the son of a famous billionaire and a woman famous in hollywood. together they are fighting hunger around the globe. joining us now is howard g. buffett and eva longoria. how did this friendship begin? > >we actually met through a mutual friend and our first trip together was to arizona and we went to the border. we wanted to understand the border issues a little more and so we did a ride along and we talked to farm workers. we talekd to farmers on this side of the border and on the mexican side of the border. it was a really educational trip and it was a lot of fun. and then we did the same thing in central america and el salvador, in guatemala, and nicaragua. we just share a really strong bond when it comes to improving the standard of living for marginalized people all over the world. > >mr. buffett, how much of your money is going into this hunger project? > >this year our foundation will spend about $130 million and eva always wants to know why

she doesn't get more...i'm kidding. we're doing a couple different projects with eva and we have ideas to do a lot more and when we travel together we always get ideas. > >can you tell that you are making a difference? > >we have a great program down there, the world food program that eva got to see firsthand helping small farmers get trained and learn how to sell into the market place and that permanently pulled them out of poverty. it's a great exit strategy. when we go home, they don't need us anymore because they're selling into the marketplace. > >will it change the overall global economy? > >well, eva is the economic expert...

> >this is a good question because what you are asking is kind of a macro view of what happens in the world and sometimes when people approach philanthropy or charity that way it seems overwhelming and it will make a difference. all of these little programs not only will they work within their own communities and hopefully regionally and hopefully in their country but it's also interesting to see what's scalable. > >thank you both for your time. mr. buffett thanks for coming back on our show. > >thank you. > >thank you, it's great to see you again. coming up...how to turn the catch of the day into a profitable investment play. and later -- why traders and the social media industry are all a- twitter. we'll be right back.

changes are coming on fast in the 390-billion dollar global seafood industry. for millenia fish were caught but in a few years most of the fish we eat will be farmed. aquaculture it's called. but, in this lightly regulated industry there have been a lot of public health & environmental health problems from pollution and basically

bad practices. magdalena wallhoff is a vice president of regal springs tilapia. you've grown up in this world. your father started this business, now it is the largest non- salmon aquaculture company in the world. so what is the state aquaculture? > >aquaculture as a whole there are a few issues with it. consumers are very confused, what is good? what is bad? what is dangerous? what is safe? in terms of producers, there's many small producers throughout the world, especially tropical areas. and there's large scale producers producing salmon, barramundi, tilapia---which we do. > >how about regulation then? would you be an advocate for regulation as a producer? > >yes and no. we personally do it well enough that we didn't need regulators to come and tell us how we do it. on the

other hand, we realize that the earth's resources are finite and we need to have some protection there. we welcome the regulators to establish good practices as long as they are educated and actually come see. there needs to be more communication between the certifying bodies and the actual farmers because often the farmers know what works. > >there's conflict there naturally. it's universal, it's global, there are some bumps along the road. i saw a huffington post piece about investors that recognize there is a lot of money to be made here as well. so are they also an impetus for regulation or at least changes within the industry? > >i would hope so. i think money always talks. i think as middle classes are growing throughout the world, seafood consumption is going up. i think it still has a long ways to go up in the u.s. but yes, there is a lot of money to be made. > >people are concerned. you talked about some confusion in the public. what do i need to know if i want to buy farm- raised fish? > >first off, there are fish that are very well suited for farming and those that are not.

tuna and salmon are not ideal for farming. they are farmed, but it is not ideal. tilapia is very easy to farm. it's an omniverous fish. it can live off pretty much anything. > >vegetables... > >vegetables. so it doesn't require capture fisheries to feed that fish. and it's a warm water fish. it grows very quickly and well. and it's endemic throughout the tropical areas. > >i've got them in my refrigerator right now. i love them. magdalena, thanks so much. > >thank you. thanks bill.investors are big on twitter...shares are up 26% this week. what's behind the sudden run up in the stock is next in chart talk.

and now, the man that clued you in that sysco is about to go for a rapid run to the upside. james ramelli of keene on the market.com. good to have you back on the show. > >good to be here. > >you noted some call buying in sysco and then we got the news that there was a merger and it lifted that stock higher. > >right. so huge news on monday's session in sysco. the stock trades as high as 25% higher from friday's close. it

did pull back quite a bit though. we saw this get kind of telegraphed when we saw huge institutional money coming into sysco that i highlighted when i joined you guys a while back. they were buying the december 35 straight calls and the january 35 straight calls. now, i was long both of them. the december's for 35 cents, i was able to sell them for $7.30 on monday's open. and january's for 50 cents i was able to sell even higher. this is a huge winning trade and a great example of why we follow unusual option activity. this stock popped on a merger and acquisition announcement. did this trader that bought all of these calls know something? it's very possible. they might get a call from the sec. but i won't. i picked this up off of reading the tape and all orderflow is public information which shows us just how valuable reading the tape and following unusual orderflow can be. > >what do you see in twitter because those shares are up 26%

already this week. > >we're seeing huge moves in twitter on monday and tuesday's session. i've been trading twitter to the long side on an intraday basis. i haven't been taking any home with me overnight. i think there's a lot of risk in twitter to the downside because it has come up so much so fast. however, i think the only way to play twitter for me going forward is to the long side or flat. i've been making good money being long twitter and trading in and out of it on a daily basis. looking at technical analysis levels doesn't really do too much for us because the stock hasn't eben trading for very long and we don't really have too much data that we can work with. so when that is the case i like to look at momentum. and momentum is clearly to the upside here and that's what i want to stick with. > >thank you james. > >thank you. that's it for now. coming up tomorrow in movies and money-- 2 highly anticipated films hit theaters this weekend-- the hobbit and tyler perry's a madea christmas. why our critic thinks tyler perry maybe in for a big win. we hope you will join us. from all of us at first business, thank you for watching!

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