>> tom: bargain hunters looking for doorbuster deals and holiday savings pack stores all across the country. >> we're expecting to see the strongest holiday season in five years. >> tom: the frenzy may not be only at big retailers. small stores hope to catch the twaef of spending this weekend. ifts "nightly business report" for friday, november 25th. 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 and thanks for joining us. susie gharib is off tonight. it's black friday, the day many retailers hope to move out of the red and into the black. shoppers in huge numbers hit the stores early in search of bargains. consumers are expected to shell out nearly half a trillion dollars this shopping season. overall, the crowds are larger and younger, as a new generation of consumers got in on one of the biggest sales days of the year. >> reporter: the sound of early morning shoppers at a best buy in charleston, north carolina. more than 150 million americans are expected to shop at least one day this holiday weekend, spending almost $500 billion. the shopping started earlier than ever before, with some stores such as wal-mart, target and toys "r" us opening their

doors even before thanksgiving day had ended. we're expecting a 2.4% growth on top of last year's 2% same store sales. which shows that consumers are still spending out there despite all the negative macro economic news. >> reporter: deep discount items helped bring in the crowds. even if those door buster deals lose money, many retailers have only a limited number of them. smaller stores have a tough time competing with huge discounts. for those, the competitive edge comes from service. kenny sager is vice president of men's wear shop austin burke of florida. >> we've been doing real well. all the local guys: the lawyers, the doctors. that's what we go for. we go for business suits. we're a business operation, we're family. we give a lot of service that the others just can't do. that weekend is really good for us. it starts off the season, and hopefully, it'll be good. >> reporter: look no further than the book business to see the effect of competition.

this season is the first in more than a generation without borders group. it went bankrupt after the last holiday season. at independent chain books and books, store manager march swanberg anticipates a good weekend. >> for saturday, it's going to be big. today is going to be big. we've had customers all throughout the week saying well be here. we'll be here for you on saturday supporting you. so, the expectations are big. very promising. >> reporter: one reason for that optimism may be an effort called small business saturday created by american express to spark shopper activity. >> if small businesses start to fall like they have in the past, everyone's just going to be dealing with internet type businesses that are so impersonal. i think it's very important to keep things rolling, especially for the small businesses and for their families. >> tom: this is the second year for the small business saturday effort. i recently spoke with ed gilligan, vice chairman of american express, the company behind the strategy.

i began by asking about overall spending trends the company is seeing as we enter the holidays. >> well, you know, we ended the third quarter at american express with really strong numbers on consumer spending as well as small business spending. so we feel like we have a lot of good momentum. but the next few weeks will tell the story for the year, on how the shopping season unfolds. but we feel very good about that consumer spending is still strong. >> tom: any sense of a change in seasonal spending patterns? a sense pushing out some of that third quarter spending into the fourth quarter or maybe prespending some what was you would normally see in the holiday season has been spent already? >> you know, i still think it's a little early to call the trend yet. but certainly people are very value conscious, they are spending, their dipping less into their savings, and they are borrowing less money. which is all good for their economic health. but it's still a little early to tell how this spending

season will play out between now and the end of the year. >> tom: you mentioned small business spending and your concentration on the saturday after black friday, is to get consumers to spend, at small businesses. second year for this, ed. what do you anticipate the results to be this year? >> well, we're hoping it going to be a big day for small businesses. this is the biggest shopping weekend of the year, 150 to 160 million americans will be shopping this weekend. and what american express is trying to do is to create a movement now for the second year in a row to get people to raise the level of consciousness around supporting small businesses. to shop small, to shop local. you know, black friday is the day for all the big stores, you know, for the major sales that are going on. but saturday is going to be about shopping small and supporting local businesses. >> tom: is this a good business for transactions for american express, has this been good for your transactional business? >> last year we did it for the first time and in about three

weeks we were able to make about 40% of americans aware of small business saturday. and american express did make an offer to our card members that if you shop and spend $25 at a local, independently owned merchant, we'll give you a $25 credit. we're doing that again this year. last year, with american express card members we saw their spending at small businesses go up 28% on the day. so we do think we can en current our customers to shop small, and we're giving them an incentive to do just that. >> tom: as you know there's been a big debate on the regulatory side of things of interchange fees, and you speak about giving card holders maybe an incentive to spend. what about the merchants themselves, any incentives or giveback on amex fees for using amex cards? >> the most important thing, there's a few points. when american express prices differently than visa and master card. they have an interchange system and hey don't negotiate with merchants. american express doesn't operate that way. we own relationships directly

with merchants as we do with our card members and we do negotiate price with merchants. the most important thing american express can do to help these merchants is to get more people shopping there. and we certainly do hope if you have an american express card you use it. but it's well beyond that. it's about thinking about the local establishments, supporting them, putting some of your holiday budget to work locally. and when you do that, small businesses will prosper. >> tom: ed, certainly a very interesting en kefr here, year two. wool find out the results in the days ahead. best of luck. ed gilligan, vice chair at american express. >> thank you very much. >> tom: there's been plenty of attention on the american shopper, also in europe, new worries about a debt crisis, once again the focus for the markets on this short trading day here in the u.s.. italy paid nearly 8% to borrow for two years at a debt auction. that's the country's highest yield on record since the launch of the euro. late today, s&p lowered belgium's credit rating citing a threat to exports. meantime, hungary's credit was downgraded to non-investment

grade by moody's. the ratings agency attributes the move to rising uncertainty about hungary's plans to reduce its budget deficit and public debt. on wall street shares ended lower. the dow lost nearly 26 points, the nasdaq fell more than 18.5 and the s&p 500 was down three points. >> i don't know what job could be more fun than this. >> tom: still ahead, how this young c.e.o. is branching out his family's christmas tree business. black friday ended in the red for the major stock indices as they continue to lose steam over europe. let's get to tonight's market focus.

it was a half day of trading in the u.s. due to the thanksgiving holiday. after slim morning gains, the market continued adding to its losses this week. the dow industrial average was down every session in this holiday shortened trading week for a net overall loss of 564 points or almost 5%. this is the worst performance by the dow during a thanksgiving week since the market began observing it in 1942. the nasdaq followed the same pattern for a net overall loss of 131 points or 5%. and the s&p 500 shed almost 57 points on the week or 4.7%. energy was the worst stock sector today, and chevron was the worst dow industrial stock, falling more than 1.5%. chevron is at a six week low. the energy giant was suspended from all drilling activity in brazil. this action comes after chevron

took responsibility for a spill off the coast of brazil that lasted a week this month. that leak spilled about 2,000 barrels of oil. today's best sector was the traditionally defensive utility sector. this exchange traded fund is made up for power utility stocks. it closed up just a fraction today. what's interesting is it hasn't benefitted this month from a flight to safety as it was at a six week low on wednesday. power companies from two different regions led the gains. wisconsin energy and consolidated edison were up 1.3% each. xcel energy from minnesota gained 1%. a.t.&t. is less optimistic it will be able to get government approval for its planned $39 billion buyout of t-mobile. the deal was announced in the spring, but faces a department of justice lawsuit among other government reviews. on thanksgiving, a.t.&t announced it will take a $4

billion charge if its takeover of t-mobile fails. a.t.&t lost about a half percent today. that drop puts it at its lowest price since march, right before it announced its effort to buy t-mobile. the deal would make a-t-and-t the largest mobile phone service provider in the u.s. finally, a mixed day for big retail stocks on this black friday. walmart fought the weak tone in the market to add 1%. but macy's fell a third of a percent and best buy found more sellers than buyers of its falling by a third of a percent. and that's tonight's market focus.

>> tom: credit, debit or cash aren't the only options for shoppers these days. pre-paid debit cards are gaining in popularity. they look just like credit cards and can be reloaded again and again. they may be convenient, but as darren gersh reports, that convenience sometimes comes at a cost. >> reporter: it swipes like a credit or debit card and is accepted in most of the same places. but these cards are a category of their own-- reloadable prepaid cards. consumers can load the card using cash or direct deposit their paycheck onto a card, which isn't attached to a bank or credit account. >> in 2010, there was about $41

billion loaded on these cards, and we project that it will be about $57 billion in 2011, and if you go out a few years, that number climbs to $167 billion. >> reporter: ben jackson tracks pre-paidinancial products. he says the cards are marketed mostly to those who can't afford a bank account and want a cheaper alternative to payday loans or check cashing fees. but, consumer advocates warn these cards aren't always backed by the fdic and can carry hidden fees. >> you have populations with very little financial resources, scarce financial resources. and with these fees, that they don't know what they're getting into, they can be nickled and dimed, they can be gnawed at, they can be basically eviscerated. >> reporter: we found a few examples in the fine print on some of the cards' service agreements. the fee structures vary by company, but many include balance inquiry fees, customer service fees or dry swipe fees,

meaning a fee for every time a customer swipes a card and doesn't have enough money to make the purchase. >> the amounts can be pretty significant. so if you load up your card with $100, by the time you go through these fees, you may have lost anywhere between 10% or 20% of your money. >> reporter: senator robert menendez plans to introduce a bill in coming weeks that would impose a strict set of rules on pre-paid cards. his bill would require fdic insurance on all the cards, outlaw some types of fees, including activation fees and balance inquiry fees and would require transparent disclosures of the card's fee structures. >> many consumers simply don't know of all the fees where they'll lose a good part of their money, of all the risks where they could lose a card or have it stolen and lose everything. >> reporter: mercator's jackson says excessive regulation could strangle the market, and expects the fees will sort themselves out as the market grows and becomes more competitive. >> so, i think what's going to

happen is you'll see more and more disclosure around the pre- paid card fees, and it's going to be a case of consumers doing comparison shopping and sort of driving the fees down through that action. >> reporter: the key for consumers is to do your research, shop carefully and read all of the fine print before you load your money onto a prepaid card. darren gersh, "nightly business report," washington. >> tom: here's what we're watching for next week: our friday market monitor guest is james paulsen, chief investment strategist at wells capital management. we'll also get an update on the housing market with data for new home sales and home prices. it's been ten years since enron's collapse. on monday, we begin a week-long look at the meteoric rise and dramatic fall of the energy company. there's a new wave of downsizing in the airline industry that will impact smaller airports.

planes that connect smaller cities in america are being phased out. it's due to the lack of fuel efficiency and the high cost of fuel. many big airlines are expected to scrap or sell jets with 50 seats or less. propeller planes are also meeting the same fate. the loss of those planes will leave some cities with fewer flights or have service discontinued. give yourself extra travel time

>> tom: the stock market has limped into this holiday season, weighed down by europe. but tonight's market monitor says the biggest risk is that despite the worries, there is still too much optimism around the banking sector. bernie schaeffer is chairman of schaeffer's investment research and publisher of the "option advisor market letter."

happy thanksgiving. >> thank you. >> tom: why focus on the optimism around the banking sector? >> because it kind of remarkable, the banking sector as measured by that -- on which i recommended back in june is off by about 20%, yet the percentage of analysts who have buy ratings on the banking sector has gone from 32% to 40%. only 5% have cells, so i'm concerned about an overall level of complacency in a sector that has issues from a fundamental standpoint, has been performing poorly, yet again the analysts love it and option traders are not too scared about it. >> tom: couldn't you argue that's when there's value, perhaps at a bottom of an economic cycle, perhaps with all the risk out there maybe now is the time to go optimistic with banks. >> well, i would say it could be a good time for the market or it could be a good time for other sectors. i look at the banking sector as a potential sector that could weigh the market down. the picture on the broader market is much more compelling. you've got bearish magazine covers, multiple magazine covers from the economist in october, you've got hundreds of billions of dollars that

have retreated to the sidelines from equity mutual fund investors, hedge funds are under exposed. big short position, pretty much going back to the market bottom in 2009, that's how big that short position is. so we've got the potential to pop higher. it just that we need a reason for money to come in and for shores to cover. >> tom: there's no reason to look at that for banks, you're bearish on the banks, and you mentioned your put option strategy back in june last time we visited. let's take a look at how that performed, it was the i shares exchange rated fund xlf, january 15 puts bearish call the option position is more than doubled. you've done very nicely with this, and you're still negative on the banks, urology this over for another six months, looking to buy the june 12 puts, this will profit if the underlying etf goes lower. how much lower? >> for this trade to make sense you'd have to be in single digits on the xl, to make sense in terms of being

worth the risk, because you start to make some nice profits if we move into single digit. >> tom: so a pretty bearish call there overall for banks. but for the rest of the market you're pretty positive, including for the consumer, appropriate for this time of year certainly with consumer spending likely on the increase. let take a look at the position you had back in june of this year. it was the exchange traded fund xrt. you were long january 15, that position lost half its value because the underlying stock hasn't performed. but you liked site much, positive on the consumer, urology this out for the summertime again looking at the june 49 call this profit goes higher if the underlying exchange traded fund moves higher as well. how much? >> that's correct. i think you double your money roughly at about 60 on the xrt, which is about a 20 or 25% increase. leverage isn't is a great this time as it was back in june, it was a lot lower volatility, the viks has increased since

then. >> tom: and options were for the price of the option, that is much higher now because the market has been a lot -- >> that's correct. >> tom: how much are you willing to prifk? do you put stop losses in here as well? >> if you've got a one on one hedge in options the beauty of that is your profit potential, let's say the market makes a big move one way for the other, your profit potential on the right side of the big market move is such that it can more than offset any loss you have, as evidenced by the trade that we put on in june. >> tom: exactly, for the retailers. how about yourself, do you have these option positions? >> no, i don't of. >> tom: great to see you, good luck. great to see you. bernie schaeffer, market monitor research. the official christmas tree was delivered to the white house today. it is an 18.5 foot tall fir grown in wisconsin.

christmas trees are a $50 million business in that state. sandhill christmas trees in central wisconsin has been growing and selling trees for three decades. in tonight's "all in the family" segment diane eastabrook shows us what started as a father's hobby has turned into a son's mission. >> reporter: it's crunch time for john brussock and mother nature is messing with him. >> the snow is kind of weighing some of the branches down at the top of the tree, so it's kind of difficult to see if there are problem spots or if it's just snow weighing it down. >> reporter: this is brussock's second season running sandhill christmas trees-- a 200 acre farm in central wisconsin his family started 30 years ago. the 25-year-old has his work cut out for him. he and childhood friends luke and mike gray are racing against the clock to chop, haul and bail 6,000 fraser and balsam firs for sale this holiday season.

that's 20% more than last year. >> we've been just calling around to garden centers, hardware stores you know businesses that generally sells tress and asking them what their needs are and trying to beat other people on quality and price. >> reporter: becoming a christmas tree farmer really wasn't what brussock had in mind when he graduated from college a few years ago with a degree in economics. he wanted to become either an investment banker or a trader, but some how fate and family had a way of changing those plans. >> when my dad started this farm it was always more of a hobby. he had a construction business in the chicago area. my dad got sick shortly after i graduated from college and he needed help running the farm and i came up and helped him do that and he passed away about a year ago. >> reporter: brussock's mission is to make sandhill synonymous with christmas trees. since joining the company, he's expanded sales from local lots

to a website he developed called delivermychristmastree.com. >> you can go on that website and select the size of tree that you'd like to purchase and we can ship those trees via ups anywhere in the country. this tree looks nice and even all the way around. >> reporter: brussock says everything he knows about christmas trees he learned from his father. still, there are things brussock's father can't help him with now. >> from an emotional standpoint it's difficult to be up here without him because it's a place and an activity that i associate so closely with him. >> reporter: brussock admits this isn't the career he envisioned, but he says he's much happier working here in the great outdoors than in an office. >> i don't know what job could be more fun than this. >> reporter: diane eastabrook, "nightly business report," westfield, wisconsin.

>> tom: that's "nightly business report" for friday, november 25. i'm tom hudson. goodnight everyone and have a great weekend. we hope to see all of you back here next week. "nightly business report" is made possible by: this program was made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by wpbt captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org