>> the executive board of the international monetary fund today selected christine lagarde to serve as i.m.f. managing director. >> susie: france's finance minister becomes the first woman to lead the global finance agency. >> tom: her biggest and most pressing challenge-- navigating the greek debt crisis. it's "nightly business report" for tuesday, june 28. this is "nightly business report" with susie gharib and tom hudson. "nightly business report" is made possible by:

this program is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by wpbt >> tom: good evening, everybody. the international monetary fund has a new leader tonight-- christine lagarde has been chosen to lead the global finance agency, susie. >> susie: tom, she takes over starting july 5, and is now considered one of the most powerful women in the global financial system. lagarde is also the first woman ever to head the influential i.m.f. in its 67-year history. the 55-year-old french national has been her country's finance minster since 2007, and is an attorney by training. she replaces dominique strauss- kahn, who stepped down last month after being indicted on sexual harassment charges.

>> tom: lagarde will play a key role in negotiating financing for europe's sovereign debt bailouts. today, she urged greece's conservative opposition party to support the tough austerity measures needed to get that country's debt situation under control. >> susie: joining us now with more on lagarde and the i.m.f., scott macdonald, head of research at aladdin capital. >> susie: hi, scott. >> how you doing, susie. >> susie: good, thank you. let's begin with what is the most important job on christine lagard's to do list. >> she's got quite a list of thing to do and first is greece and contain problems and she comes at a period of time when you have a feeble and uneven economic recovery on the global basis and has to restore to some degree of morale to the imf but greece is very much front and center. >> susie: now lagard has a

reputation of coming up with solutions under pressure. do you think she'll come up with a unique way to solve this complicated greek process. >> the importance she brings to the table is a willingness to roll up her sleeve and get involved in the process. she already knows most of the players involved having served that's finance minister of prance since 2007 so she comes into the process knowing all the players both in the banking side who will have to be involved as well that's governments. so i think her unique aspect is she won't have to be a quick study. she's already there. >> susie: now in greece speaking on the topic today there were violent protests in the streets of athens once again about the austerity measures as the government will vote on the bill. do you think there will be a yes vote to get the next bailout. >> i think the likelihood is the

bill does pass. i won't rule out the bill could fail but i think the likelihood at this juncture is the bill may not pass with the five seats but it will squeak by. >> susie: another issue the imf has to deal with is the world has changed and the membership is still dominated with european and u.s. members and other coutries like china, india, brazil want a bigger say in how the imf is run and also in view of all the international crisis. how important is it for lagard to change the mission and leadership at the imf? >> she'll have to give more credence to the views of key emerging market economies. we've watched since 2008 a structural change with other

country likes south korea playing a much bigger more important role in maintaining global economic stability. for her so come into this position especially being a european she has to be very sensitive to how they see things and how they want to shape things. the world has changed and the imf structure and decision making is ultimately going to have to reflect changes. >> susie: as the we reported she is the first woman ever to be hegd up the global financial institution. to what extent do you think it will work to her favor to be diplomatic and deal with sensitive political issues. >> i think she is a very astute negotiator. we're in the early 21st century and it's about time the imf had a woman leading the organization and good for the organize morale of the organization. she brings a lot of strong skills to this process. i think having her there is good. >> susie: okay.

>> the fact she's a woman is a plus. >> susie: just to wrap things up a lot of people listening to our conversation might be wondering what does the u.s. get out ever having christine laguard head of the imf. put it in context, please? >> the most important aspect is she's a sure pair of hands. she knows what she's doing and exudes experience and confidence. if europe spins out of control you want somebody that has a very good idea of how to the international financial system works and how you need to bring people to the table to get negotiations going again. i think from the context of u.s. markets if greece becomes a bigger problem and if contain gone will lack confidence and markets don't like a lack of confidence and uncertainty. >> susie: absolutely. thank you very much, scott. we appreciate you coming on the program tonight.

>> my pleasure. >> susie: and we've been speaking with scott macdonald head of research for >> tom: here are the stories in tonight's "n.b.r. newswheel." as we mentioned, hope for a deal in greece helped u.s. stocks to a second day of gains-- the dow rose 145 points, the nasdaq was up 41, and the s&p 500 gained 16. trading volume fell slightly from yesterday's pace with 803 million shares moving on the big board and 1.7 billion on the nasdaq. a housing surprise added to the upside for stocks-- home prices rose in april from a month earlier. the s&p case-shiller 20-city home price index gained seven tenths of a percentage point from march to april. but year over year, that measure was still off 4%. meantime, consumer confidence hit a seven-month low thanks to worries about high unemployment and stagnate wages. get ready for another highly anticipated technology i.p.o.; social gaming web site zynga is

expected to file for an initial public offering as early as tonight. the site known for games like farmville and cityville is expected to raise as much as $2 billion. still ahead-- gold prices have held up better than gold mining stocks during the recent sell- off. the street.com's alix steele digs for value in mining stocks. >> susie: many financial stocks did not participate in today's broader market rally. banks sold off as investors worried whether greece's parliament will approve austerity measures tomorrow. without an agreement on that plan, greece could fail to meet debt obligations later this summer and strain many of the world's biggest banks. suzanne pratt takes a look at whether u.s. bank stocks will remain under pressure this year. >> reporter: it isn't easy being a financial stock these days. from big banks to investment banks to regional banks, the sector has gotten mauled this year.

since january, financial stocks as measured by this popular index are down about 6%, while the broader market is up slightly. experts say investors are nervous because banks are still in limbo as the dodd-frank banking reform bill gets sorted out. and then there's greece and what debt defaults there could mean for the global banking sector. and if that's not enough, analyst erik oja says there's the u.s. economy and its recent soft patch. >> it's a question of is it a temporary downturn caused by the japanese events, or is it something worse, a housing- related double-dip recession? >> reporter: many of the problems facing financials will not be solved any time soon. but the question now is whether the stocks are cheap enough to consider buying. analysts say that depends on what size we're talking about. some experts say large banks are still too risky. >> regulatory reform will be

much more harsh on them in terms of capital requirements and the stripping away of their most profitable lines of business. >> reporter: oja, however, likes regional banks because he says many are well capitalized and have already dumped their bad loans. analyst craig siegenthaler is also keen on regional banks, because they're almost the right price. >> we are secular bulls on the regional bank stocks. we believe march '09, over the next decade, will be a recovery period, a very long recovery period. but we want to find attractive entry points. if we get another 5% or 10% drop, many of them will be trading close to tangible book value. >> reporter: and there's one more reason some experts like regional and small banks-- they expect to see a wave of mergers and acquisitions in the next few years. and news of those marriages is usually good for shareholders. suzanne pratt, "nightly business report," new york.

>> susie: microsoft takes to the cloud and takes aim at google. the software giant today launched office 365, an online version of its iconic business software. the product is aimed at small to mid-size businesses, offering applications for communication and collaboration. office 365 also lets users in different locations edit the same word documents and excel spreadsheets.

subscriptions cost from $2 to $27 a month. microsoft c.e.o. steve ballmer thinks office 365 will help people work in new ways. >> we believe that effective collaboration is a lot more than good group dynamics. it's a matter of instant access to relevant information, of ideas flowing freely, and of the right people taking the right action at the right time. >> susie: the launch comes as rival google has chipped away at microsoft's dominance in business software. 30 million people are now using its google docs application. still, microsoft dominates the productivity software market, with nine out of ten business computers running office. >> susie: tom, microsoft gained ground on today's news, rising 65 cents, or 2.5% to $25.80. let's take a look at tonight's market focus. traders call it a "risk on" day-

traders call it a "risk on" day- - stocks and commodities up, the dollar drops and bonds fall. confidence that europe will successfully address the greek i.o.u. problem helped the major stock indices put up their second day of 1% gains. with the rebound over the past two days, let's look at the past 90 sessions of the s&p 500. the march lows continue to hold, and the drop we saw last week did not go as low as the drop we saw in the middle of the month. as oil recovered more than $2 a barrel, the energy sector led the way for the market. oil services firms national oilwell varco, fmc technologies, and halliburton saw the biggest gains in the group. each were up by at least 5%. as a sign of the building confidence the greek situation will not spiral out of control,

this is the year to date chart of the exchange traded fund following the euro currency against the u.s. dollar. it was up about a half percent today. that means the dollar fell. dow industrial stocks with big overseas operations were helped by the dollar drop. caterpillar led the dow with its 3% jump; mcdonald's added 2.5%; alcoa gained more than 2%. speaking of overseas business, that was one of the strengths of nike's latest quarter, which we reported on last night. here's the update on the share price, jumping more than 10%. volume was more than five times its usual pace. this rally takes nike shares back to where they last march before it reported disappointing earnings in its previous quarter. online networking site linkedin received a couple of strong endorsements today. the stock went public in may

with its first trade back then was $83 per share. ubs and bank of america merrill lynch both began coverage of the stock, calling it a buy. j.p. morgan rated it overweight. shares jumped 12%. merrill lynch and j.p. morgan both helped manage linkedin's initial stock offering. two other web stocks saw significant buying interest. jobs web site monster worldwide was up almost 10%. an analyst at oppenheimer voiced support for its facebook strategy called be-known and a new search product. chinese online television firm youku popped 30%. it launched a joint venture with warner brothers home entertainment. and that's tonight's "market focus."

>> tom: while gold prices have held up relatively well in he past two months, mining stocks have drilled lower along with the rest of the stock market. that brings us to tonight's "word on the street"-- "gold." alix steel is a reporter at thestreet.com. >> tom: alix, nice to see you. why the differ gens. what's going on? >> well, it's a good question and the biggest answer i have for you is miners are risky and investors are skittish. there are two other reasons. the first is the introduction of the backed etf giving invests

are a way to buy into the gold market that wasn't there before and in addition we've seen companies have issues shared to get cash to fund project. and between 2001 and 2010 their gold has increased shares outstanding by 86%. that takes awhile for it to shake out of shares. >> i want to ask you about that in a moment but a couple other factors about gold miners. you mentioned risk. it comes down to cost of production how much does it cost per ounce to get the gold out of ground and the location of the mines. >> in terms of cash cost here about 700 to $1100. an ounce. what that means is the gold price has to rise much faster in order for the companies to make money and expand profits but luckily oil is down and gold is down two percent and they may get luck there and in terms of

location you're right they need safe places and in north america and mexico and there's been the threat of nationalizing mines and that would be a big headwind. >> tom: one minute left and talking about barrett gold. you mentioned some of the share overhang that has plagued the stock within the past several weeks. what's the outlook from the mid-40s? >> hopefully things will be looking up for the year it's down 15% and the company is expecting to produce on the top end $18 million it won't have the same kind of leverage or juice as a mid term miner that is producing like an eldorado gold but for cash cost under $400. it's a trade-off how much risk you want to take on and growth you want. >> tom: any disclosures, alix?

>> no stocks just the jewelry, thom. >> tom: alix steele. read the article at thestreet.com. word on the street always great to have you. alix steele. . >> susie: here's what we're watching for tomorrow: quarterly results from family dollar stores, general mills, and monsanto. and we'll see pending home sales for may, along with the weekly updates on mortgage applications, and crude oil and gasoline inventories. also tomorrow, hilary kramer is our "street critique" guest. email your questions to streetcritique@nbr.com. we could soon see a sale of myspace-- newscorp could announce a deal as early as tomorrow. according to published reports, at least two bidders are still in the running-- online ad company specific media and private equity firm golden gate capital. specific media is seen as the frontrunner. the deal is expected to be a mix of cash and stock for around $100 million.

more than half of myspace's workforce is expected to be laid off after the sale. >> tom: a bankruptcy judge has signed off on a $150 million loan to keep the los angeles dodgers running while the team reorganizes. the approval came over the objections of major league baseball. commissioner bud selig called the loan from a j.p. morgan hedge fund "inferior" and said it carried excessive fees. he wanted the judge to approve a cheaper loan to the team directly from major league baseball.

>> susie: tonight's commentator says it's time for the white house to "walk the walk" when it comes to innovation and job creation. he's michael mandel, chief economic strategist at the progressive policy institute. >> president obama is always talking about the importance of innovation. in a recent speech in pittsburgh, he promised, "to help make sure america remains in this century what we were in the last, a country that makes things, a country that out- builds and out-innovates the rest of the world." yet, while obama praises innovation, his regulators seem to be following a search and destroy mission against some of the biggest innovators in the economy. for example, the federal trade commission just opened an antitrust inquiry into google, a company whose innovative accomplishments are the envy of the whole world. unlike many other large american multinationals, google is investing billions in the united states and creating jobs here as well.

the number of american jobs in the internet publishing and web search industry, of which google is the leader, has grown by 45% over the past four years. why would we want to pull them down? meanwhile, the food and drug administration has been slowing down the approval of new medical devices, another area of innovation where the united states has been the world leader. i recently wrote about a device called melafind, basically a computer vision tool for helping dermatologists identify potentially dangerous melanomas. despite a positive vote from its advisory committee, the fda is still withholding approval. president obama needs to understand that if he wants the economy to grow, his administration should be encouraging successful innovation, not punishing it. i'm mike mandel. >> tom: finally tonight, college graduates are entering a much different job market than when they began school. today's unemployment rate is almost twice what it was four years ago. do they have what it takes to get a job? anna olson looks at how universities and students are responding to the changing labor market. >> reporter: vanessa warmingham

dreamed of being a fashion designer. she even earned a college degree at new york's fashion institute. now, she's a graduate with an unpaid internship and worries about her job prospects. >> i know clothing inside and out, so anywhere else not dealing with clothing, i don't have as much knowledge. >> reporter: vanessa isn't the only college grad concerned about where she'll find work. experts say this could be a result of structural shift in employment-- that is, graduates not having the skills employers need. >> when you're talking about students right out of the box, freshly degreed, no, i don't think a lot of them have the skills that employers want right off. >> reporter: john thomasian of the national governor's association says schools need to guide students into fields with open jobs. >> i do think they need to do a better job of being aware of what's needed in the area, in the region, and in helping students see what their options are. >> reporter: states like tennessee, indiana, washington, and ohio are pushing universities to do just that.

they've all passed laws to give state colleges money if they graduate students in degrees with high demand. in ohio, that means majors like science, technology, engineering and math; in tennessee, it means nursing or health care. georgetown university professor terrence reynolds says majors in science and math might pay off, but the liberal arts are just as valuable. >> all those sorts of skills-- writing well, thinking well, being creative, imaginative-- those are all skills for the marketplace. the issue seems to be not what you majored in, but that you got a good degree and that you're a quality person with talents. >> reporter: thomasian says that may be true, but thinks it's realistic to tailor those skills to today's labor market. >> if your first love is english or something like that, don't abandon it, but build in other courses that will give you skills, like economics, financial management, other things that might be of use to you in your life after college. >> reporter: as for vanessa

warmingham, she won't settle for something she doesn't love. >> okay, i'd have a job and then i wouldn't be anxious anymore, but then i would be incredibly bored or unhappy. >> reporter: but more and more, students seem to be choosing majors based upon job prospects. according to the department of education, the most popular major now is business. meanwhile, the number of undergrads studying liberal arts is falling. anna olson, "nightly business report," washington. >> susie: that's "nightly business report" for tuesday, june 28. i'm susie gharib. good night, everyone, and good night to you, too, tom. >> tom: good night, susie. i'm tom hudson. good night, everybody. we hope to see all of you again tomorrow night. "nightly business report" is made possible by:

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