sachs estimates the change would be enough to boost the annual house price appreciation rate by up to one percentage point a year. >> while that might seem like not a huge increase on a national basis, it could be more important in some local areas so still worth doing, so we just don't think on a national basis it will have a huge impact. >> reporter: and it could help bring down rent inflation by half a percentage point a year, a welcome break for many households. darren gersh, "nightly business report," washington. >> susie: the auto industry is all revved up as it kicks off the annual north american international autoshow in detroit. hyundai in the spotlight, with its elantra winning top honors as the north american car of the year. the land rover evoque won truck of the year. but the big three u.s. automakers are the big stars at this year's show. as diane eastabrook reports, their comeback is capturing the attention of competitors from around the globe. >> reporter: putting a new twist on an old name, chrysler rolled out the 2013 dodge dart this morning at the north american

international auto show. built on an alfa romeo chassis, this iteration of the dart will be available with three different engines and transmissions. it also features a multimedia center inside with ipod connectivity and a navigation system-- all for less than $16,000. >> it's beautiful, it's powerful, but it's also very smart. >> reporter: at the motor city's big auto show, excitement is back in a big way. forget about the bankruptcies that rocked chrysler and g.m.-- detroit's big three have their headlights pointed toward the future. auto analyst john casesa calls this the silver lining in a very dark period. >> it had to happen, and i guess the show tells us they're investing in new capital from the u.s. government and from taxpayers in a very wise way. >> reporter: detroit also wants to look younger. g.m. is rolling out a new chevy sonic r.s., a hatchback version of its popular sonic subcompact

introduced late last year. the company also unveiled a concept called the tru 140s, a play on exotic italian sports cars. both vehicles are targeted to consumers under 30--a segment g.m. estimates could be well over 30 million potential buyers. north america president mark reuss says going after these buyers requires a completely different mind set. >> you see it with some of the smart phones, laptops, the internet, facebook. all of these things are competing for time and what is important to them in a car buying we have to understand that. >> reporter: this is a pivotal year for the auto industry because more americans appear to be in the car-buying mood after the long recession. last year, u.s. consumers bought more than 12.5 million vehicles- - a 10% increase over the previous year. industry watchers are confident they'll keep buying this year, although some think the pace could slow. one potential problem could be rising gasoline prices.

ford thinks it can combat that threat with new, more fuel- efficient versions of the fusion. the new model hitting showrooms this fall sports an eco-boost engine that promises 37 miles per gallon on the highway. a hybrid version will also come out this fall, followed by an electric plug-in next year. ford president and c.e.o. alan mulally says the company has the flexibility to make whatever version consumers want the most. >> the neat thing about the ford plan is they are made in the same production line. 75% of the parts are exactly the same. we can match the production of the vehicle to real demand and also offer them up more affordability than anybody else. >> reporter: a reinvigorated big three present a bigger challenge to japanese and european manufacturers. nissan chairman and c.e.o. carlos ghosn says everyone will have to be on their a game to win in the u.s. >> in order to prevail in the u.s. market you're just going to have to reinvent yourself. as a company, you are going to have to invent new products and new technology all the time. japan could the big wild card

this year. >> reporter: tomorrow that toyota, honda and nissan, will be rolling out new products here they hope will put them back in the driver's seat. diane eastabrook, "nightly business report," detroit. >> susie: as we reported earlier, investors were on alcoa watch today. a gain in the aluminum giant in anticipation of earnings helped put a small shine on the blue- chip average. let's take a look in tonight's "market focus." here at the n.y.s.e., the blue chips moved in a narrow range on an otherwise calm trading day. among the leading s&p sectors today? industrials, energy and financials, all rising less than 1%. apple stock was in the spotlight. the shares hit an all-time high of $427.75 before a late-session selloff resulted in a small loss. goldman sachs raised its price target for the tech giant to

$550 a share on expectations of strong holiday sales. goldman predicts apple sold over 30 million iphones in december and says a line of more affordable ipads is on the horizon. also in the tech sector, but this time in the minus column, google. the search engine was among the worst performers in the s&p 500 today. google shares fell more than 4% to $622.46 after motorola mobility issued a profit warning, raising concerns about google's pending acquisition of the smartphone maker. google's pending $12.5 billion buyout of motorola is expected to close early this year. neflix continued to prove today that fortunes can change almost overnight. you may recall the stock plunged 60% last year after the company raised prices and tried to separate its d.v.d.-by-mail and streaming businesses. so far this year, however, the shares are up over 40%, the most of any s&p 500 name. it rose nearly $12 a share today

to close at $98.18. netflix said it's launching service in the united kingdom and ireland. in a sign of improving consumer confidence, consumers are taking on some extra debt. the government reported that consumer borrowing surged by more than $20 billion in november, the largest monthly gain in a decade. not only were they buying cars, but also frequently swiping credit cards for holiday gifts. no surprise then that shares of american express and mastercard each rose while visa lost ground today. citi expects the u.s. card and payment sector to outperform this year, citing fewer regulatory risks and an improving economy. in the biotech space, a lot of interest in a linkup between bristol-myers squibb and inhibitex. over the weekend, bristol myers agreed to acquire inhibitex for $2.5 billion or $26 a share. inhibitex shares more than doubled today while bristol myers barely budged.

inhibitex is developing a oral treatment for hepatitis c. the buyout news spread to other biotechs with experimental hepatitis c therapies in the pipeline. idenix surged nearly 40%, a near five-year high. achillion pharmaceuticals rose more than 20%. and pharmasset climbed 3%. and that's tonight's "market focus."

gold prices fell almost $9 today to $1608 an ounce. prices have been falling in recent weeks, but investors are hoping gold will regain its luster in 2012. our next guest says gold bugs expect prices to rally more than 20% in the new year to about $2,000. tonight's "word on the street" is "gold," and joining us now? alix steel, markets reporter at thestreet.com. hi, alix, nice to you have with us. happy if you year. >> good to be here. >> susie: so you have been talking to a ot love gold experts. the ones that are predicting a gold rally what did they see going to drive prices higher? >> the biggest factor is going to be a weaker u.s. dollar. the dollar in gold tend to move incertificatesly to each other so when the dollar is weaker investors don't feel very good about the paper currency so they go to a hard asset, a good place to tore their wealth. now obviously the eurozone get issues have been take center stage.

if europe is able to resolve their issues and a spotlight is shined on the u.s. we may find that our situation is no better than greece, if that happens the dollar could fall off and gold could rally. the other thing is perhaps cuan tative easing, will central banks like the federal reserve pump more money not system. many analysts think that will happen in the first quarter or second quarter of this year. and the third reason is going to be central bank buying. they bought about 344 tons of gold in the first 11 months of last year that is huge. and a key support for high gold prices. >> all right. let's look at the flip side because there ra others that are saying that gold prices are go stock pretty much stay where they are right now, through the rest of the year. so what's the thinking there? >> yeah, absolutely. the worst risk here is actually just sentiment it was a very volatile, very scary year in 2011 for gold investors. you had gold plummet 18% from its intraday high of 1923 to its closing price of 2011, 1566.

that's leaving many investors, many big name investors on the sidelines an gold really needs them company back into the market in full force. also gold not really trading as a safe haven right now. >> susie: let's move along because we have less than a minute. and you have names of gold stocks for those people who are interested in investing, that you have heard from some our sources so let's talk about some them. at the top of your list you have barrick gold, abx. what is the thinking there. why would this make sense and we'll quickly run through the other two. >> barrick gold is really the safety gold miner, if you are looking for that kind of risky play t is 12% growth profile over the next five years and a dividend. doesn't have sexy growth but nice stability. >> and then another one gold corp. this is trading off the nyse. why is that popular? >> because this has a sexy growth this is going to grow about 70%. it's gold production will go to 70% in the next five years that is huge. but in order to do that it has to bring forward about six gold projects.

there is a lot of room for risk, room for error there. >> and in a few words moveal gold's resource up 2% today. >> yeah, junior gold minor won't have any gold produced out of the ground until 5 or 6 years but could be a takeover target. very risky but very interesting play here. >> all right, thanks a lot. lots of information. do you own any of these stocks personally. >> as a reportser i can't, unfortunately. >> i know the feeling. thanks a lot, alix, great having you. >> and we've been speaking with alix steel markets reporter at the street.com. let's take a look now at what we're watching for tomorrow. november's wholesale trade numbers come out. and "fortune" magazine's allan sloan tackles the latest go-to investment, dividend stocks. also tomorrow, voters in new hampshire head to the polls. we'll see who they're supporting in the republican presidential race. >> susie: macy's got a boost in

its credit rating today, thanks to strong holiday sales and an improved outlook. moody's investors service lifted the retailer's debt from junk status to its lowest investment grade rating and said the outlook is "stable". the move comes just days after macy's raised its earnings outlook for the fourth quarter and doubled its quarterly dividend to 20 cents a share. the head of the swiss national bank quit in a scandal today. chairman philipp hildebrand said he was resigning to protect the integrity of the central bank. hildebrand said it was impossible for him to prove that his wife acted alone in a currency trade last year. that trade was made just weeks before he oversaw steps to cap the rise of the swiss franc. her profit on the trade has not been revealed, but its believed to be around 75,000 swiss francs.

with partisan politics reaching new heights, tonight's commentator has high hopes for the new year. he's doug holtz-eakin, president of the american action forum. >> 'tis the season of hope as a new year stretches before us, but what should we hope for - besides the obvious-- the steelers win the super bowl? i say we hope that good policy becomes good politics. the u.s. desperately needs entitlement reforms, fundamental tax reform, and a path to avoiding a debt crisis. so lets hope washington fixes

social security, instead of continuing its paralyzing fight over whether to steal two months or a full year of its financing. it is a disgrace to have as its plan for solvency a 23% across- the-board cut in the retirement support of retirees. americans deserve a social safety that that is reliable and durable. fixing social security would meet obligations. it would signal world capital markets that america will address its oppressive debt burden, perhaps buying a bit of time from our creditors, and it would restore some faith in public institutions. lets hope washington recognizes the need for pro-growth tax reform. permanent low marginal tax rates, a broad base, and an internationally competitive code are keys to meeting our growth needs. washington has been consumed by temporary tax policies, targeted at key political constituencies. these are ineffective, unfair, and unwise. i realize that most new year wishes end up being the seeds of december regret, but if not 2012, i will wish for the same in 2013, because it is only a matter of time, and the u.s. doesn't have much. i'm doug holtz-eakin.

>> susie: that's "nightly business report" for monday, january 9. i'm susie gharib. have a great evening everyone. we hope to see all of you again tomorrow night. "nightly business report" is made possible by: captioning sponsored by wpbt captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org