the nasdaq makes a major move...is it too late to get in the game? in today's cover story...is a college debt hangover about to deal a blow to the housing market? plus...the obamacare deadline that nobody seems to know about! and...why more marriages are falling apart as the economy rebuilds first business starts now! you're watching first business: financial news, analysis, and today's investment ideas. good morning! it's wednesday, february 19th. i'm angela miles. in today's first look: the nasdaq break out! the tech heavy index has now been up 8 consecutive sessions. the best run in 7 months. the

dow lost 24 points under as coke shares went flat under the weight of disapointing earnings. the nasdaq rallied 29 and the s&p 2 gold gained more ground up $22. and oil surged $2.33. herbalife gets a lift the stock rallied more than a dollar after the close on earnings that topped wall street projections. and the ftc wants more info on the sysco us foods deal.. before agreeing to the merger. larry shover joins us on this wednesday morning. there has been an economic chill that has been running through the market. what do you anticipate for the housing numbers coming out today? >>just more of the same. and it seems like right now the investors are giving the economy the benefit of the doubt just given the horrible weather we've seen east of the mississippi. i know it's getting to be an old story but it's true. yesterday we had two bad numbers come out and the market just shrugged it's shoulders and continued to shrug higher. >>gold is making gains. is that a safe haven play or is something more happening?

>>right now i think it's a lot of short covering. we've seen that since the very beginning of januaryjust on some of the unknowns. especially with the fed chair changing overis tapering really going to happen. and the slow down in data and emerging markets. so a lot of short covering and at this point you're seeing a lot of stay long selling. gold needs to stay above $13.25 an ounce just to gather more support for the next resistance of $13.60. >>and on to earningsherbalife reported last night. this was closely watched. what do you think? >>what a unique story. people that buy the product also sell the product. it's a very interesting thesis. they continue to ratchet up their sales 18.5% for 4 quarters in a row. one thing that troubles me is their long term debtabout $875 million compared to a cash balance of about $900 million. also, the volatility of all the hedge fund managersa good story, but i think i'd stay away from it right now.

>>thank you larry. >>you're welcome. traders are tense about tesla's earnings due out after the close today...the stock cruised to a new all time high tuesday of $206 closing at $203.70. much of what was driving the stock in yesterday's session was a story that broke over the weekend by the san francisco chronicle that the ceo tesla and the head of apple's mergers and acquistion met last spring.here's what morningstar analys had to say about a possible deal: "i think it's very important to consider the timeframe of that deal. a year ago tesla was a $35 stock and a $4 billion company. now it's a $200 stock and a $25 billion so a deal could have been possible, and apple sniffed around a year ago, but because of tesla's run-up a deal becomes increasingly unlikely." brian colello adds that apple is still actively searching for innovative mergers - including plans to add its operating system panel to dashboards in cars made by other auto

manufacturers. here's chuck coppola with what's happening at toyota-- angie-- toyota is hoping to help electric vehicle owners "unplug." it is testing a new technolgy which would let drivers charge electric cars simply by parking on top of a charging station. the "plug" free stations use a magnetic technology, using a coil to transmit energy from the station underground, to the car. toyota will run the test for about a year. president obama is launching his ambitious plan to double the distance cars and light trucks can travel on a gallon of gas... because what it means is, you've got to fill up every two weeks instead of one week, and that saves the typical family more than $8,000 at the pump over time. the president made the comments from a distribution center for the safeway grocery chain in maryland tuesday. the chain has upped spending on cleaner fuel burning trucks. pepsi, coke, ups

and fedex are joining 23 other companies intending to reduce oil consumption and replace old truck fleets. the obama administration will issue tougher fuel standards on trucks in march 2016. more shakeup in the auto industry is expected, after a major vote at volkswagen. workers at the german auto maker's chattannooga tennessee plant voted against joining the united auto workers union. an "anti union" fight is now said to be brewing in the south, as a conservative group aims to bring the anti union efforts to u-a-w plants in mississippi and alabama. the manager of the volkswagen plant in chattanooga says workers did not vote down the idea of a works council to represent themselves. but the idea faces legal pushback. the strike by faculty continues at the university of illinois at chicago. more than a thousand professors and lecturers are protesting over wages. the union - chicago united faculty - is asking for a four-and-a-half percent raise for 2014, while

the university is offering 3.25%. raise amounts for the next two years are unspecified. tuesday, about 300-people attended a rally in support of the chicago-based faculty "the university seems to be sitting on a slush fund of billions of dollars that could be spent to lower tuition or raising faculty salaries." a university spokesman says the school values it's faculty, has made a fair contract offer and will work now with the help of a federal mediator. negotiations resume friday. the congressional budget office is out with its view on the cost of raising the minimum wage. the c-b-o determines increasing the minimum wage from the current $7.25 to $10.10 per hour could cut employment by a half-million workers by the end of 20-16. it would also lift 900,000 americans out of poverty. boeing is choosing everett washington as the placec to

build the wings for its 7-7-7-x. it's close to the site where the rest of the jet will be manufactured. in january, unions approved a contract to keep production of the new jet in washington state. the company's clash with unions had about 20 other states bidding for boeing's business. kickstarter is tightening security following a weekend hack attack. the fund-raising site's customer data was breached. according to reports, client information such as user names and email addresses were stolen. but the company claims no credit card data was stolen. a new study by cyber security firm norse claims hundreds of healthcare businesses, including hospitals and insurance companies, are in danger of being hacked. a candy coated ipo is coming to the stock market... candy crush is all the rage-- people get hooked on the game that is about trying to lineup 3 or more matching types of candy. game maker king digital entertainment based in ireland filed for an initial public offering in the u.s. tuesday. and plans to raise $500 million.

bitcoin kiosks will show up in a handful of stores in seattle and austin, texas. later this month, according to robocoin, the machines are similar to atms but have scanners to read government-issued identification, such as a driver's license or a passport to confirm users' identities. a bitcoin is currently worth around 636-dollars. bankers on wall street are cashing in on hot stocks. as the market soared in 2013...bank stocks outperformed the s&p 500. prompting people who managing large banks to sell their stock for a profit. among them the coo of jpmorgan, and the cfo of wells fargo, according to the wall street journal. all told, bankers sold $26 million in stock in january. the national association of home builders and wells fargo say lousy weather this month has made home builders less

confident about the market for new, single-family homes. and as our cover story explains, there's even less good news for recent college graduates---many of them are paying off student loans and are unable to save for a downpayment on a home or condo. it's bad enough that builder confidence as measured by the national association of home builders and wells fargo is down ten points to 46. anything below 50 is considered 'poor" in expected sales and home buyers looking during the next six months. the lowest in nearly a year. much of it due to the worst february weather in years across much of the country. but there's also a lack of first- time buyers from among recent college graduates because many of them are still paying off student loans. "student debt, my loans are almost as much as my rent, which i have to pay each month. it's overwhelming " each month, lucy lindgren pays

500-dollars chipping away at her student loan. "i can't see owning one in the short-term." chris scott, pays 525-each month to pay off student loans. part of a generation paying an average of nearly 30-thousand dollars, more than triple the debt college graduates faced just 20-years ago. "between rent and student loans and car payments, the money pile dwindles by the end of the month." "i think we need to focus on the economy and get salaries up so there's a better balance in the debt-to-income levels of these students." the mortgage bankers association says young adults' inability to save for a downpayment is "a huge issue....that's going to impact the housing market..." "more young people will rent longer than owning. and the construction industry has responded to that demand. in 2013, construction of rental properties hit a 15-year high." and in these times after the

housing bubble burst, lenders are said to be less likely to create a financial tool to help millennials weighted down with student debt. some believe only the entry level of the housing market will be affected.---that the middle and upper levels will still contain a pool of potential buyers. activist investor carl ichan proves he has money make power tuesday forest labs revealed it was being bought out byl rival drug maker act-avis. ichan who has an 11% stake in forest labs and has campaigned for change at the company --was quick to take credit for the $25 billion dollar done. tweeting -- since our involvement $frx sharehodlers enjoyed gain in market value of $17 billion. forest labs stock double during the past year and gained-- 27% yesterday. moving on to corporate earnings...duke energy hit it's stride in 20-13, after profits and revenue both topped expectations. it extended its outlook through 20-16. coca cola -- however, fell flat. sales in north america slipped, as global sales also delivered a disappointment. the beverage maker will ramp up cost cutting efforts to save a billion dollars this year, including some job cuts. it says it hopes to reinvest those savings into advertising efforts.

earnings are also in for a couple of popular sandwich chains. potbelly earnings topped estimates however, revenue came in light and, panera bread earnings beat estimates. but it's outlook failed to rise as much as predicted. analysts expected the eatery to fall behind as other fast-casual restaurants surge ahead. under armour stock is on the rebound after a blip at the olympics. under armour's uniforms for the u.s. speedskating team -- are being blamed for the athletes' poor performance. the team even switched out the new gear, for an older version. the company however, says it does not believe the suits were to blame. under armour stock gained one percent yesterday, after a two and a half percent drop last week. each time an olympian medals in competition--it's more than just the thrill of victory-- they also get a bonus. according to forbes-- the u.s. olympic committee pays a $25,000 bonus for gold, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze wins. however, russian atheltes take home $114 for gold , and kazakhastan tops them all at $250,000 per gold medal. still to come: why breaking up

is easier in good times than in bad...plus ... trending now...health care stocks. how some investors are still getting rich on obamacare. and after the break...why more americans are procrastinating on signing up for health care coverage. bill moller steps in next...

though the news media have been brimming with stories about the march 31st deadline to sign up for health insurance under the affordable care act - a bankrate survey found 55 percent of americans actually don't know that's the deadline. ladies and gentlemen, the time to sign is now. let's talk to john divito. he's president of the private insurance exchange, flexible benefit. it's the law. don't they understand? there's a serious penalty if they don't

sign. >>no i don't think people truly understand that there's a very serious penalty that sits out there if they do not buy insurance by april 1st. >>or by midnight the 31stso they hear this $95 penalty and they think that's it. >>$95 would represent someone who makes $9,500 a year because that is 1% of your pay. so the story is it's $95 or 1% of your pay. the average college student graduating today is making $40,000. 1% of 40,000 is $400so that's a stiff penalty not to have insurance. >>yeah, then they have to wait until the next enrollment period which is when? >>november 15th, 2014. and that would be in effect to january 1st of 2015. people need to realize that they have to go out and purchase insurance. what we tell people is one thing or anotheryou're going to pay. whether you pay a tax, or you pay for insurancewe need to have people sign up. we need the younger generation to sign up and realize the cost of insurance is affordable, there are subsidies that they qualify for, and they need to just seek it out. >>some of them probably thinki

just won't get caught. how would they find me? >>someone said to me it's like car insurance, the only way that i get caught is if i get pulled over. this is not like car insurance. when you file your returns and you don't have proof of purchase you're gonna have a penalty on your tax return. you'd be paying a tax penalty based on your income. >>a lot of young people are thinkingi don't really need it. why shouldn't i wait until the last possible minute? and i suppose they could still sign up on the last few hours of the 31st of march >>they can. and we try to encourage people to sign up as early as possible just because of so many issues that have happened on the federal exchange because of the subsidies and some of the issues there so we encourage people to sign up today. >>you don't have to sign up with the federal exchange. there are options. >>there are many options. they can go to a private exchange. what we try to do is educate people about the penalties. we have a subsidy calculator

sitting on there. people don't have to get the subsidy today. they can actually purchase the insurance and file for that on their return next year and get money back from the government should they qualify. john divito with flexible benefitthanks so much. >>thank you. bill-- obamacare is bringing health and wealth to savvy investors. the exchange traded fund-- health care spider--xlv is at all time high. and while that can signal it's too late to get in...the head trader and strategist for the steady trader-- tells investor place-- he believes--humana is still on an upward trend. along with gilead sciences and united health group. coming up...will the other indicies take a cue from the nasdaq, as it heads higher? but first...why the improving economy has more couples headed for divorce court. that's next!

hi, i'm ben affleck, and many actors have played the part of a u.s. serviceman in the movies, but for veterans like james crosby and so many other brave men and women, his service and his sacrifice for our country are real. outside baghdad, a rocket attack blew up my humvee, killing one of my marines

and leaving me paralyzed. [ben affleck] when james returned home, he, like many others, was in no condition to cope and advocate for the services he needed. fortunately, paralyzed veterans of america's trained experts were there to help him so he could concentrate on getting well. for over sixty years, paralyzed veterans of america has worked to ensure that our injured veterans get the medical, housing and auto benefits they have earned. i'm so thankful paralyzed veterans of america was there for me. surely those who sacrificed so much deserve no less. join me in supporting our paralyzed veterans. visit p-v-a dot org. as the economy improves, so is

the rate of divorce. joining us on set this morning to talk about money matters behind break ups--gemma allen divorce attorney with ladden and allen. welcome back to our show.

>>thank you. good to see you. >>why is it so true that the better the economy does the more people are likely to break up? >>they can afford to. sometimes people were just waiting until the house came up from under waterwhich is not a good thing. or until the 401k returned from being a 201k and now they can afford to do what they've been waiting to do. it's sad but true. >>you have also noticed a trend that's happeningpeople are willing to put out more money for financial consultants and psychiatrists to get the most out of their divorce. tell us how this is working. >>it's true. consultants in divorce used to be used for war. now i see them being used more for peace. if consultants can shed light on the assets and the best way to divide them around a peace table or conference table rather than each side having their own expert and spending that money twice and then spending the money on trial. the divorce consumer is a better, more sophisticated consumer nowadays. >>is it necessary to bring in a

financial expert? are these cases becoming so complicated? >>i think the better the economy, the more complicated the financial assets are.people are getting buyouts from firms and getting all kinds of complex real estate transactions they entered into that they now want to revisit. there are issues of the retirement money and how to use itand of course always custody. >>what about a psychiatrist? why would somebody pay a psychiatrist to come in? because your spouse is crazy? >>that sort of goes without saying for both sides usually. but what happens usually in custody casesyou really want to shed light and not darkness and try and do what's best for the child of divorce. so either a lawyer can use a psychiatrist consultant to help them see the case or maybe even the couple could jointly see if at least on the childrens issues they couldn't get through them together. >>well i'm all about the kids so that could be a smart move. thanks for coming on the show. >>good to see you.

from break ups to break outs...still ahead--is it time to stock up on shares of tech stocks as the nasdaq breaks out... find out next in chart talk. hi, i'm ben affleck, and many actors have played the part of a u.s. serviceman in the movies, but for veterans like james crosby and so many other brave men and women, his service and his sacrifice for our country are real. outside baghdad, a rocket attack blew up my humvee, killing one of my marines and leaving me paralyzed. [ben affleck] when james returned home, he, like many others, was in no condition to cope and advocate for the services he needed. fortunately, paralyzed veterans of america's trained experts were there to help him so he could concentrate on getting well. for over sixty years, paralyzed veterans of america has worked to ensure that our injured veterans get the medical, housing and auto benefits they have earned. i'm so thankful paralyzed veterans of america

was there for me. surely those who sacrificed so much deserve no less. join me in supporting our paralyzed veterans. visit p-v-a dot org.

dan deming of stutland equities joins us on the show for some chart talk. good morning dan. >>good morning angie. >>let's just give our viewers a look at what's been going on over the past 5 years in the nasdaq. look at this chartit's a stunner. is it too late to get in on the nasdaq stocks? >>right now what i would like to see is some confirmation from some of the other indexes that we follow pretty closely. the spx is close to its all time high but still the dow is lagging. if you look at it from a sector standpoint the nasdaq is outperforming the rest of

the market. >>would you buy individual stocks here or would you go ahead and just buy the index? >>i'm more of a macro guy especially when i follow the vix as closely as i do. right now i think if you're gonna look at the nasdaq, you're gonna look at the underlying etf's that mimic the nasdaq. also, if you're looking for another play in that space, you could look at the smh as well which is the semiconductors holders etf. you're looking at very positive strength therevery similar chart to what you're seeing in the nasdaq. >>so you're liking that. what about the vix? we have options expirations today. any scary moves projected? >>right now we're seeing the vix kind of find a bottom here just below 14. the market stilleven though yesterday we didn't see much movementbut basically we're still seeing some pretty heavy realized vol in the market. so nothing of any consequence as we saw some rolling of positions but we have seen a little bit of call spread buying as we see in the vix now back down around that 14 level. >>steady as she goesthank you dan deming. >>thanks angie. that does it for now...coming up tomorrow-- it's a movies & money thursday. find out if lego will continue to build a mega million audience...or will it be toppled by pompeii. from all of us at first business... thank you for watching.

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