learn more at earnings scorecard...traders prepare for the last half of corporate numbers. in today's cover story....it's history in the making as northwestern university players vote on whether to unionize. plus.. ford evaluates it's finances... is the company losing touch with american carbuyers? and.... bollywood stars shine on florida's economy... first business starts now. you're watching first business: financial news, analysis, and today's investment ideas. good morning! i'm angela miles. it's monday, april 28th. in today's first look: as new week gets underway...... corporate america with stocks in the s&p 500 is more than half the way through earnings season..

friday, the the stock market caved on earnings jitters and concerns about mounting trouble in the ukraine. the dow fell141, the nasdaq 72 and s&p 16.gold rallied back about 1,300 and oil dropped $1.30. citigroup plans to meet in may with the justice department to talk settlements over shady mortgage backed securities.and criminal charges have been filed against former ebay executive.christoper saridakis.he's acccused of insider trading involving ebay's purchase of gsi commerce. let's get down to it now with trader alan knuckman of one stop option. good morning to you. >>good morning angie. >>you're watching the market for us today as well as the ukraine crisis. what do you think here alan? >>you always have to pay attention to geopolitical concerns but that adds

volitilityit doesn't change the fundamentals. so unless something serious happens i think it's just hiccups in the marketplace and i have an old theme we want to stick toit's called show me the money. eventually with what we're seeing with the stock market in russia, that's going to put some serious pressure. they are 25% off their highs from october and they're down near 5 year lows. that's going to cause a change over there more so than any military issues that we may come across. >>we begin the back half of the earnings season today. what's on your list? >>i'm happy and i'm more happy with the market reaction than anything else. that's how we measure things. the markets have reacted very well. just a couple days ago we were within 10 points of the all time highs in the s&p. keeping that kind of scorecard, the markets respect and enjoy what's going on with earnings and what i like is the fact that we're not seeing a whole lot of downward guidance for next quarter which reflects well. that's what's held the market back a little bit here recently and i think that's very much a positive. what apple came out withnothing

but positive news. that can add another layer of support to the nasdaq because it's such a big component when it comes to tech. >>what do you think about the overall market conditions? is this a time to buy, sell, or trade the market? what's best? >>i'm always positive. you've got to be selective and i like the fact that we've got energy taking leadership away from technology now. we had the nasdaq dip 10% and then bounce back halfway very quickly. you've got to be able to take advantage of it. the key is control risk and be selective and use good risk reward. be buying when the market has sold off so you don't have to risk as much on the upside and look to buy things at a discount. and i know people don't like it but buy stocks when they're on saleyou buy everything else when it's on sale. >>alan, good to have you on the show. thank you. >>thank you. diana moca is filling for chuck coppola this morning and has more on the ukraine crisis... good morning angie...it's a packed agenda for president obama and german chancellor angela merkel. the two will meet at the white house on friday. the telegraph reports early this week u.s. and european leaders are expected to reveal an extension to russian sanctions, as the conflict between ukraine and russia escalates. the white house says the sanctions will be targeted on russian individuals and companies.

washington has been pushing for tougher economic sanctions on russia, which would have a direct impact on europe. a preliminary report on missing malaysian flight 370 is coming out this week. contents of the report are under wraps, but it's expected to include a safety recommendation for the aviation industry.after nearly two months, the search for the jet has turned up nothing.all leads have hit roadblocks, and a u-s defense official told reuters the search could take years. in today's cover story... college athletes could be one step closer to unionizing... after an historic vote at northwestern university that could allow student athletes to earn more than just thousands of twitter fans.but experts say... we won't see college q- b's going on strike anytime soon. "it think the end game is years away." the national labor relations board -- or nlrb -- dashed passed ryan field with secret ballots that could hold the key to a new era of college

football. "it's a long time in the making. it's become a multi- billion dollar industry." former northwestern quarterback kain colter led the effort to classify athletes as employees... so they receive medical coverage for sports related injuries beyond college... scholarships to finish degrees despite injuries... prevention of concussions and excessive work hours... and more funds for college expenses. but a university spokesman says students are not employees. "is the university in general a commercial enterprise? no, we're a 501-c3, not-for-profit." the university lost ground when an nlrb regional director ruled that the wildcat football players had a right to unionize.... clearing the way for a vote of those who receive sholarships.but the votes won't be counted unless the nlrb upholds the regional director's ruling... which could take months as both sides present briefs. "if the timeline ends today, it's been an enourmously

successful effort, even with a no vote. it has stirred a national debate and controversy, and that's a big win for the union." so who are the losers? "ncaa is in trouble. member schools are in trouble. and non-revenue sports are at risk, because football players are saying, we make the money, so we want a bigger cut of the pie." though the university and the coach openly opposed the collective bargaining effort... the school said it will not remain on the sidelines in the national debate over player treatment. "there is a need to have a stronger student voice in the discussions." analysts say it's likely the nlrb will rule in favor of the union... but unlikely the players themselves will.but the professor says even a yes vote by both.. would only cover private institutions and potentially affect 5 to 10 percent of college football players. a general motors union worker could become the first to make it onto the automakers board of directors. uaw vice president joe ashton has been nominated to a board seat controlled by a uaw trust fund. the fund pays health care bills of retired gm employees. the vote takes place june 10th.

bank of america's legal tab may soon be on the rise, and it could be a threat to earnings. bloomberg news is reporting that the justice department wants the bank to pay more than 13 billion dollars in fines for mortgage backed securities that were sold prior to the financial crisis. that is on top of a 9 and a half billion dollar fine it agreed to give the fh-fa earlier this year. reports say the deal could come within months. bofa shares were down 2% on friday. amazon's warns of an operating loss this quarter as it add new product lines. the stock dropped like a rock friday. falling--- $33 dollars. some of the money amazon is spending is for its fire tv streatming box, games and pilots for tv shows.amazon reportedly is also testing its own delivery service.the tech company could face a drop in sales this week as the state of florida begins to collect sales tax from amazon thursday.

i-b-m could be a stock to watch this week. it's rumored the company will launch the latest development of its "cloud marketplace" at an event in las vegas today.ibm acquired cloud computing company softlayer last summer.the company is now getting ready to launch it's first new cloud portfolio since the takeover. ibm is trying to compete in the cloud computing arena against h-p and dell. the apple-samsung patent trial continues this week after hitting a snag. on friday the court upheld a ruling over samsung's infringement of apple's '647 "quick links" patent.testimony was supposed to be wrapped up friday, but both companies must present more evidence today. closing arguments are expected tomorrow. manhattan is becoming a real estate magnet for chinese investors. as prices explode in hong kong and shangai, chinese buyers are sinking money into new york city. many of china's wealthy buy

property in the u.s. so they can send their children to a western school. previously russians were the biggest foreign buyers -- but sotheby's reports the recent political tensions between the u.s. and russia have slowed that behavior. a new study finds the pay gap is much smaller between men and women in the tech sector harvard university reports women in tech make anywhere from 89% to 99% of what men make. in finance , a woman on average makes 66% of a man's salary, and in medicine... 71%. the study finds flexibility within the tech field helps eliminate the pay disparity. however--- only 23% of computer programmers are women. hadi partovi of code dot org says it's an astonishing minority given the quality of the jobs. "there's roughly three times as many jobs as there are graduates in this field every single year. and these are literally the best paying jobs in the country. so filling those jobs is helpful whoever fills them. but i especially hope we get a lot more women filling

those jobs to reduce that gender gap." code dot org is a non profit working to add computer science classes to the mainstream curriculum in schools across the country. china is enforcing strict pollution penalties. in response to growing enviornmental concerns, the government is enforcing new enviornmental standards. companies found violating the laws face higher fines, and even jail time. the sweeping changes also holds local governments accountable. china's air quality has been declining for years, due to a rise pollution related to manufacturing. the drought in california is reaching an epic level. for the first time in 15 years, the drought is effecting the entire state. national climatic data center reports extreme drought conditions are happening in 76.6% of the golden state, while the rest has an "exceptional" level of dryness. scientists warn people who live in california need to conserve water as much as possible. in irwindale california-- a decision about the production of a popular hot sauce has been

delayed. cbs news reports-- the city council has received 70 complaints of strong strong chilie pepper odors... and may declare the sriracha factory an official public nuisance. however,david tran, the man who created sriiracha hot sauce says he installed carbon filters on the roof -- the local air quality agency inspected the plant, and it did not find any violations. call it a well done quarter at burger king. investors sent the stock up 2% friday as the chain reported earnings that sizzled 69%. major cost cutting efforts helped offset a revenue decline. profits and same store sales rose...as customers chowed down on bk's low fat fries and "the big king burger" still to come: oil stocks that could benefit from a shakeup overseas... plus... puttin' on the ritz in florida. how bollywood's biggest night is giving an economic boost to the state of florida. and.... a ford executive addresses the recent rumors

that there will soon be a new ceo in the drivers seat .... stay with us!

ford's stock stalled out friday.. as investors focused on the car company's weak sales in the u.s. joining us for a look at the road ahead for the automaker.. bob shanks cfo of ford. good morning to you. >>good morning. >>your sales were strong in europe and china but what's wrong with the american car buyer? >>our sales were up 6% globally. in the north american market they were down a bit and that was in line with what we had expected for the full year. that's largely around the effect of the 16 new product launches that we planned this year as well as the fact that in the first quarter we pulled back a bit on rental sales and we

also had somewhat weaker sales in share performance in terms of our small cars. >>so you're doing a lot of investing right now. you are rolling out 16 new cars or so. what should the investor watch for? somebody who wants to buy your shares? is it really a 2015 story here? >>we set this up year as, which is how we're viewing it. it's a critical building block and is a bit of a transition from the last 4 years into what we think is going to be a step level improvement in 2015 and beyond because we've got a lot of capacity that will be coming this year and next year outside north america. we've got 23 global product launches and 16 in north america. so clearly we'll get the full effect of that in 2015. we've also got a great dividend right now. so the yield is very good. i think there's actually a pretty good story for ford this year. but clearly looking for much stronger performance in terms of growth in 2015 and beyond. >>the ceo alan mullally is stepping down but we're hearing

reports he leaves with $300 million in a nest eggnot too shabby. isn't that a capital amount? it seems enormous. >>well, i don't have the details on alan's compensation but alan has done a wonderful job and to the extent that that is share based as all investors. what you're seeing is if you go all the way back to the low point it was just about a dollar at one point and today we're sitting at about $15.80 so the return has been fantastic. we have seen margin improvement. we've seen revenue growth. we've got the dividend out there which is at very healthy levels. so all the things that drive share performance we're hitting on and expect that to continue going forward. >>thank you for coming on our show. we appreciate your time and best wishes to you and your business. >>thank you very much angela. coming up...how tensions in ukraine are playing out in oil stocks... and after this break...is bollywood outpacing hollywood? we'll find out next!

affleck, and many actors have played the part of u.s. servicemen in the movies, but for veterans like james crosby their service and their sacrifice are real. and too often when they come home, their struggle continues. for over sixty years, paralyzed veterans of america has been fighting to help our injured veterans get the benefits they need, and have earned. paralyzed veterans of america was there for me when i came home. join me in supporting our paralyzed veterans. visit p-v-a dot org.

top honors were handed out over the weekend at the so called bollywood oscars.and for the first time, the awards ceremony's red carpet-- rolled out in the u.s.-- in none other than -- tampa, florida. jackie keenan takes us there. one of the biggest events of the year for indian film fans is the iifas (i-fah) - otherwise known as the bollywood oscars. and the event is being held in the united states for the first time. jackie keenan reports from florida. if you've seen the movie slumdog millionaire, anil kapoor might look a little familiar to you - but to indian audiences, he's one of the biggest bollywood stars - but this crowd he's riling up isn't in india - it's tampa, florida. the international indian film academy hosted the 15th annual iifa awards in the united states for the first time . and after being held in internationally well-known cities like singapore and london, the iifa committee didn't choose a large u.s. like new york - they choose tampa. it's often hard to rationalize tampa bay, but we're obviously very happy they choose us.

the three-day celebration of indian film and culture included dozens of events, and the award ceremony itself drew 30,000. but even more will see a replay of the world-wide telecast. when you talk about 120 million people watch the super bowl, and 800 million people watch this around the world the amount of media impressions that we've had is dramatic. and it's the kind of international exposure we've never had. city officials lured iifa to this area with pretty beaches, an array of venues and of course, tampa's vibrant indian community. in fact, over the last three decades indian families have grown from just a few dozen to a population of more than 35,000 in this city. it's a well-involved, indian community, very philanthropic. it was the desire from those representatives from our community that really wanted to make this happen. they were willing to invest private finances on the front end and that was very important. tampa expects an economic impact of 30 million-dollars the city

is also counting on a 20 to 35 percent spike in tourism after the event, as well as strengthened business ties with indian companies. but for fans, they were just looking for a little fun. even if the fun came at a steep price. these bollywood film- goars paid more than 1,000 dollars for tickets to the week's three main events. it's the first time in the united states, it's just so exciting. for first business news, i'm jackie keenan. you can see the april 26 telecast of the award ceremony at iifa.com. just ahead-- the oil rush that's happening in the options market that could turn into black gold for smart traders... plus---our viewers have few thoughts about our monday song selection in last week's traders unplugged. do not miss this..

n flk, and many actors have played the part of u.s. servicemen in the movies, but for veterans like james crosby their service and their sacrifice are real. and too often when they come home, their struggle continues. for over sixty years, paralyzed veterans of america has been fighting to help our injured veterans get the benefits they need, and have earned. paralyzed veterans of america was there for me when i came home. join me in supporting our paralyzed veterans. visit p-v-a dot org.

andrew keenepresident of keeneonthe market.comjoins us this monday. andrew, you are watching a number of stocks in the oil patch. what are you seeing mostly? let's start with chesapeake. >>we see unusual call activity to the upside. someone out there has bought 35 thousand of the october 35 40 bull call spreads then about 50 thousand of the january 15 35 40 bull call spreads. we also see call buyers in june 30 calls, july 31 calls. it has been crazy in chesapeake. almost every single day this week besides friday we saw call buyers come into the market. chesapeake's chart looks great. i think it's going to break out higher. >>are you seeing this kind of momentum in other names as well? >>i've been on the show before and brought up random stocks people probably never heard about. i talked about nu starns. 52 week start in nu starthey were buying june 55 calls. so watching the institutional order flow combined with the chartthen i put on a risk vs. reward trade. on thursday in apc we saw a 2015 the 120 135 call spread buyer. they bought the 120's and sold the 135. they spent about $8

million cash outlay for the spread. also, mpcthese are may options. they report earnings next week. i'm long mpc right now. i might take off my position before earnings. a big buyer of the may 92 ½ calls in mpc. i'm long all these names via calls. >>isn't it interesting that there's so much call buying going on in all these oil names? we have the situation escalating between russia and ukraine. does this tell you something? >>it just tells me i think these stocks are going higher. i've been on the show beforeeca, valero, tesero. now we have a new batchwe have apc, mpc, and chesapeake to look after. the call activity looks like speculation. calls are bought either as hedge against a short stock position or speculation to the upside. all these charts look great. i think they're going to break higher. it sold off a little bit on friday due to the ukraine and russia tension. i think things will get panned out by next week and i think the market and these stocks specifically are going higher. >>thanks for coming on the show andrew. >>thank you. before we take off today..some of our viewers let us know we should have expanded our song playlist.. on traders unplugged last monday- we had the guys name as

many song as they could with the word "monday" "monday monday" "new moon on monday" well our viewers came up with two more good ones. rainy days and monday's by the carpenters and come monday, by jimmy buffett. thanks for writing in...with those terrific suggestions... and to our newest affiliate: kndl - abc 30, in st. louis welcome to the first business family. from all of us at first business -- have a great monday!

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