hi, everybody. welcome to "the wall street journal report." i'm maria bartiromo today reporting from the consumer electronics show in las vegas. we have a doubleheader of big time ceos for you. the man who runs the only american auto company that did not need a government bailout, and a rare interview with the ceo of microsoft, steve ballmer talks the stock price and getting to next year. plus, all the buzz about the hottest new gadgets here, tablets, mobility. but that's just the beginning. you want star power, we got it. by lady gaga is saying picture this. "the wall street journal report" begins right now.

>> here is a look at what's making news as we head into a new week on wall street. it is one of the most important barometers of the economy, and it was mixed news on the employment front for the month of december. 103,000 new jobs were created. the unemployment rate fell to 9.4%, down to 9.8%, the largest one-month percentage decline in more than a decade. the new of new jobs created was below economists' expectations. they had prediktd between 150 and 175,000 new jobs. the unemployment rate of 9.4%, though, the lowest since may of 2009. the market started with sizzling success for the new year. the major indexes hitting two-year highs on monday. then mixed midweek. the markets fell on friday. the federal reserve's open market committee released the minutes from its december meeting this week. the fed said the economy was still weak enough to warrant monetary support. but did see some growing signs of strength.

auto sales are kicking into high gear, gm up 16% from last december. ford rose nearly 7%. crhrysler 16%, toyota sales fel almost 6%. starbucks brewing up a face-lift. the world's largest coffee company changing its logo, dropping the word starbucks coffee around its iconic sea creature. company wants to be known for more than just coffee, instead just a little nip and tuck for its favorite lady. he has been described as a rock star among ceos, the man who runs the only american car company that did not need a government bailout during the financial crisis, he is alan mulally, the ceo of ford motor company. he joins me now here at the consumer electronics show. it is great to see you. >> great to see you. >> thank you very much for joining us. interesting that you gave the keynote at the consumer electronics show, you're announcing a new car at the consumer electronics show, the ford focus. talk to us about the ford focus, the new electric car. >> it is fantastic. to your point, you know, usually you make your announcements and

reveal your car at an auto show. to be able to do it here at the consumer electronics show and show this is the car application of choice, it is fantastic. and not only do we reveal the new ford focus electric, we alsoalalso revealed all the apps you'll have with the car to manage your electricity and your life as you go ford. >> you're going fuel free with the first zero emissions passenger car from the company. talk to us about how this works. >> well, what is really neat is that in ford we developed a technology, road map of how we think the world is going to progress. the key assumption is we think energy prices will increase over time. we have a technology road map that has improving internal combustion engine and more plug-in hybrids and all electric. and this vehicle will have nearly 100 miles of range and it will be the most efficient, but most importantly it is built off this dynamite new platform which will make worldwide 2 million vehicles with this platform with

ten different configurations so we'll be tibe able to offer thi electric vehicle. >> do you think this has finally taken off with consumers? we have talked about this so long with going green, electric cars, will consumers buy into this? >> it is a good question, too. henry ford had electric vehicle many, many years ago. i think the key things are happening now is one, the technology is more capable, size is getting smaller, also the weight is getting less and the capability is improving. i think the other thing is that we are now have more of a public-private partnership in building the infrastructure that allows us to get access to electricity. the interest in using electricity clean and generating the clean as far as the energy policy is allowing all this to come together where we're working on a system solution to make electric vehicles available for all of us. >> let me ask you about the broad economy, what people are seeing. what are you seeing in terms of

this economic recovery from your standpoint? >> we are recovering, a slower recovery from a recession we ever have had. but we're seeing consumers start to come back, credit starting to become available. the average age of the vehicle is over ten years. so we have this tremendous pent-up demand in addition to the fact that people want the capability of the vehicles and want the fuel efficiency that we have available now. it is a slower recovery, but a very positive recovery. we even updated our guidance last week that we think the u.s. gdp is going to be around 3 1/2 to 4% this year. if that happens, we think the automobile industry will move to 12.5 to 13 million vehicles in the united states, which will be a very positive thing for our economy. >> let me ask you about jobs. unemployment numbers out on friday. is ford hiring full time staffers now? if not, what would it take for you to get hiring accelerated? >> we are and we're going to continue to as we expand the business. we just announced that we're going to do the new explore, a

fantastic, a 30% improvement in fuel efficiency, do it in our chicago operation, hiring 1,200 employees for the new car. also, we're going to employ another 600 employees with 100 suppliers around the united states, same thing in louisville, kentucky. as this economy comes back, we're going to be able to offer just great jobs and great careers and be part of the recovery. >> let me ask you about oil. i mean, here we are watching oil move higher, predictions that it is going to continue going higher. one of the reasons you're coming out today with the ford focus electric, what do you expect with gas and oil? >> i think that -- we think we're going to pay more for energy in general going ford, especially in oil where the larger pools have been found, it takes more time, more money to bring it to the marketplace. that's why we adopted a portfolio project for small, medium and large vehicles all fuel efficient so we can support the consumer as we move in that direction.

because i think smaller and medium sized vehicles will be even more important to the consumers worldwide. >> i spoke to someone the other day who said, look, my auto shop is to clean, you can eat on the floor because it is all run by technology. give us a teaser of what it will be in the ford focus electric, really, i mean, in terms of technology and innovation. >> now we're talking. >> yes. >> after 37 years at boeing and, it is technology and innovation. just to give you a couple of neat ones. on the connections of the internet, for example, we have a great application of sync in my ford where what we're doing is allowing us to be better driver, but be seamlessly connected to all of the wired world. so we use five system controllers on the wheel, you have your eyes on the road, we do everything voice activated so you can manage all your applications, all your car, plus all your information, your entertainment, navigation, and now you're a better driver

because you're spending more time focusing on the road. on safety, we have what we call cross traffic alert now. two antennas in the back of the vehicle, you pull into a mall, in between two cars, when you start to back out, within six inches of getting past the cars, it is looking 90 degrees down the row, two car widths wide to tell you there is cross traffic coming so you can manage it. the neat thing about the consumer electronics show is this marriage between the technology of consumer electronics and the design and operation of an automobile. it is really, really exciting. >> very exciting. so wonderful to see such a fantastic story in the auto business. congratulations. >> thanks a lot. >> thank you so much for joining us. >> glad to be here. >> appreciate it. alan mulally. up next on "the wall street journal report," a window into microsoft's future. i talk to the ceo of the technology giant about that is on the table in entertainment and information. and the greatest hits of this year's ces, the products getting the biggest buzz. look at how the stock market ended the week.

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products. >> we will make entertainment more interactive, more social, and more fun for everyone. >> you get any of the other smartphones, wall of eicons, se of icons. that's not what you want. you have two screens all working in this environment. full pc, weighs just over 2 1/2 pounds. >> all i have to say is x box and connected listening. >> this is differentiating you in the marketplace. you don't need any device in your hand. this is totally sensor. >> this is an xbox with a kinect and internet connection and bringing you full tv, movie experience. this kinect sensors are really quite amazing, the ability to just sit back and control your tv with your voice, with your body motion, with your hands, pretty exciting. >> that's amazing. now, there is a perception, as you know, you've been run over

on some of these bigig consumer trends. but over the last year, amazing what has happened. you look at the success of android, the success of iphone, what happened? >> well, a lot of work to do and i can go back over history, but i kind of like where we are today, with big opportunity and big challenge in front of us, but the windows phone 7 that we just brought to market, 60 to 80 days ago, people are loving them. people get their hands on them. we see them. nine out of ten are recommending, which is unheard of, phenomenal. i'm pretty excited about where we can go there. >> what stopped you from making really bold and aggressive new bets on technology? for example, why not acquire? you have more than $40 billion on the balance sheet. you want a substantial market share in smartphones, why not acquire rimm? >> let's distinguish between bold acquisitions and best. we bet on our cloud and our enterprise business is going fantastic. we made the bet on xbox and

kinect, they have gone super, super well. we have made the bet on bing and we have come from nowhere, growing like a weed in that business. i feel pretty good about the bets. when does acquisition make sense? that's a complicated subject, probably best not addressed in this interview. >> let's talk about the general relationship going on in the world today, away from pcs and more toward wireless and portable devices. how are you going to get the microsoft brand to really resonate with the younger consumer out there, the way apple and google does? >> the most popular young consumer brand in the electronics business is ours. the xbox. you can say, okay, apple can go at it, let's make no mistake about it, for young people today, the exciting things they're doing, the things they're doing in the -- let me call it the entertainment side of their life, every kid grows up with microsoft office to do their homework, but the exciting part of their life is what they're doing online, what they're doing with their friends, gaming, tv.

and xbox is square in the middle of that. i like our seat at the table, if you will. >> do you need a transformative move to really make sure it is in people's face that you are in that space in terms of these different consumer trends, in terms of this move away from the pc model and toward wireless? >> let me first disagree with you. there is no move away from the pc. there is an embrace of other new form factors which i think is fantastic. people aren't stopping one thing and doing another. they're doing these things more or less additively which i think is important. >> let's talk about windows 7 and really how important it is to the bottom line. obviously your enterprise business is off the charts. and the analyst community, investor community, knows that you are the leader there. how are you going to move the needle really? you have investors watching. your stock hasn't moved in a decade. how are you going to move that stock, get microsoft's mojo back? >> well, at the end of the day, moving the stock, always a

complex topic. moving the profits, i understand that a lot better. i got to always remind myself, the thing we control is our ability to innovate, to get winning products, and to drive revenue and profitability. heck, we sold 8 million kinects, people came out of nowhere, $150 a pop, you do the math. it is a phenomenal opportunity invented for the consumer out of nowhere. >> my thanks to steve ballmer. up next on "the wall street journal report," a special look at the gadgets and gizmos garnering attention at this year's consumer electronics show. and an iconic brand partners with an icon uc

the thing that has become the hot button on those tablets is media, streaming media, movies, television. that's what's driving more this you can see such a high quality film experience on these wonderful 7 and 10 inch tablets, it has been a block buster. >> welcome to the studio that brought you shrek, megamind and kung fu panda jeffrey katzenberg there on the rise of the tablet computer. more than 10 million sold in 2010. that number expected to more than double in 2011. new tablets and new applications for them are the hot topic here at the consumer electronics show in las vegas. joining me to talk more about it is brian cooley, editor at large for cnet. brian, great to see you. >> thank you, maria. >> thank you for joining us.

2010 gave us the year of the ipad. >> the ipad. it is synonymous with tablets so far. that's what's changing at this show, everybody is gunning for it. it is the hottest new category and a real one. a lot of us didn't think there was room between the laptop and net book and consumers have surprisingly said, yes, there is. a lot of the companies want to go after the market. here is one from rimm. this is called the blackberry playbook. this tethers or partners with your blackberry device. that's where it gets its e-mail, calendar, two of them on the exact same page if you will all the time, talking to each other wirelessly. >> this has more functionality. >> much more. look at the real estate and i can go through various screens here and applications and multitasks. high performance. this is a corporate device, you could argue. this is the first pickup. but there is no such thing as a business device or personal device. it is a blend of both. rimm is saying we're going to get more into a media device that partners with your blackberry. >> how much does that go for? when will it be on the market?

>> it is still tbd. they're not trying to undercut apple by very much. most coming in at the apple price points, $500, $600, $700. but a lot of these brands allow discounting, apple doesn't. >> what else do you have? >> motorola, this is the highest horsepower device we have seen in the ipad category, the zoom. this guy has so many different bells and whistles. the first one on the back, you'll see most of these, cameras. the ipad doesn't have a camera. >> that's right. >> the ipad 2 comes out, we expect it will. one thing you look at the tablet for is it will be great for video conferencing, but on the ipad, you can't do it, there is no camera. all of thee these devices are saying we're going to be in the camera space, we can play high def video and have faster processors. it is about giving you more than apple does in the physical device. >> what else do you have? >> this guy i love here this is from seuss, huge in net books. it is a tablet, why is this one so interesting? open the back and flip it

forward like so. and you get the keyboard. >> that's nice. >> right. >> that's nice. that's what's missing in all of the tablets. >> these are consumption devices a lot of us believe, more than creation devices. you want to tap out a two, three paragraph e-mail on a touch screen, i don't. this guy, in a relatively compact form factor not terribly thick, gives you that actual tilt out key bard and that's something we see on a couple of other devices as well. samsung has a similar device running on windows. this guy runs on android. many are running the android operating system that was previously known as a smartphone challenger to the iphone. an dried droid is huge on cell and tablets. >> that is interesting. what is this? >> this is a new version of an existing competitor, the samsung galaxy tab, out for a few months. one of the smaller tablets. android based again. what is new on this one that we announced at the show is it is on verizon on 4g. it is one of the very first tablets that will be able to run

super fast networks. a lot of people ask me, super fast means i can download movies quicker? yes, that would be part of it. the key to this is when any of the devices have a faster network, 4g, six to ten faster than 3g, everything works better. >> so exciting. great products. brian, thank you very much. we so appreciate it. up next on "the wall street journal report," a look at the news this upcoming week that will have an impact on your money. it is enough to make you go gaga. lady gaga's head turning appearance at the consumer electronics show. >> wit camera of the future, gaga. i went like this. stream hd video. verizon 4glte. rule the air on the fastest 4g network in america. access lightning speed with the 4glte usb modem for only $99.99 after $50 mail-in rebate.

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now look at the stories coming up in the week ahead that may move the markets and impact your money this week. fourth quarter earnings season begins. we'll hear from alcoa, jpmorgan chase and intel among other large corporations. wednesday house republicans plan to vote on a repeal of health care reform. and the federal reserve releases the latest beige book numbers. that tracks u.s. regional economies. thursday, the producer price index is out. ppi shows price inflation at the wholesale level. and on friday, the consumer price index comes out, telling fuss there is any consumer inflation. plus, the commerce department is releasing total retail sales for december's holiday season. well, finally today, the lights in las vegas got a little brighter thanks to some star power here at ces. from the stage to screens of all sizes, recording artist lady gaga tops charts and attracts

consumer attention. i spoke to the musician and entrepreneur about her newest image as polaroid creative director. it is no bad romance. >> the grey label is my label with polaroid. and i originally began working with them as a creative director and decided to create my own line of products that encompasses my dreams, my vision as an artist as well as the dreams and visions of polaroid. the best thing we could do as a company is combine instant film with something that is digital. >> can we do it? i would love that. >> what we'll do is we'll pitaka photo of you and i together. >> okay. >> okay. so there is you and i being real. >> look at that. this is great. >> this is a very exciting day for me because this is a kind of -- a nerdy project for me to be so techie about cameras.

but this is a way for my fans to be more connected to my brain. >> for more of my conversation with lady gaga, check out the website, wsjr.cnbc.com. that will do it for us today. thank you for being with me. my guest next week, jamie dimon. have a great week, everybody. i'll see you next weekend. ♪ let's go out to the dmv

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