>> tom: big changes at google-- if you search, use g-mail or youtube, the web giant is tracking your moves. it's all about advertising and strikes a sour note with privacy advocates. >> susie: consumers were shopping and spending at the malls last month, boosting sales for many of the nation's retailers. >> i think the consumer confidence is better, and i think people are willing to spend more money. >> susie: it's "nightly business report" for thursday, march 1. this is "nightly business report" with susie gharib and tom hudson. "nightly business report" is made possible by:

captioning sponsored by wpbt >> tom: good evening and thanks for joining us. stocks rose on this first day of march, as investors welcomed good economic news. more signs today the job market is improving-- claims for jobless benefits fell to a four year low. susie, this shows that employers are slowing the pace of layoffs. >> susie: tom, another positive indicator-- retail sales. many of the nation's largest chain stores rang up strong numbers in february. target sales rose a better than expected 7%;, macy's and gap also had strong gains, up 4% or better. but kohl's disappointed-- sales there fell slightly. looking behind the numbers, analysts say there's a lot of pent-up demand in the economy.

>> people are spending money because they haven't for the last couple of years. they haven't had to spend more money, so now they have a little more money. they want to spend it, and with the sales taking place at the retail level, people are willing to spend their money now. >> tom: investors were also spending money on wall street. the dow rose 28 points, the nasdaq jumped 22, and the s&p up eight points. over in the bond market, prices fell on the ten-year note, sending the yield higher to just over 2%. >> susie: those paltry bond yields have caused investors to look around for other options. real estate investment trusts, or reits, are viewed by some as a savvy alternative. suzanne pratt reports on why the sector is so popular. >> reporter: this may come as a big surprise, but lately, real estate has been a pretty good investment. we're not talking about this

kind of real estate or shaky u.s. homebuilders. we're talking the stocks of real estate investment trusts, or reits. reits manage portfolios of commercial properties, including office buildings, apartments, and shopping centers. according to a widely watched index, reits returned almost 9% last year, more than four times the broader market. real estate expert kevin lindemann says reits have done well because they're a bet on america's economic future. >> commercial real estate is impacted by broader economic growth. and as investors are looking out into the future for where and when the economy is going to grow, real estate is going to participate in that. >> reporter: and then there are those sexy dividends. reits are required by law to return 90% of their taxable net income to shareholders. right now, reits yield an average of 3.5%, and as the

economy improves, those pay-outs could really pick up. >> we had 10% dividend growth in 2011; we're expecting another year of about 10%. so, positive dividend growth really gives you a better favorable backdrop versus bonds. >> reporter: some experts believe investors have already missed much of the run-up in reits. but others say the sector can still do well this year, too. one big reason-- the lack of new building in commercial real estate in the last several years. >> when demand does pick up for space, the companies that do own building today are going to be really well positioned to capture that demand. >> reporter: there are, however, risks for reits. after all, they are stocks. if the job market stalls or europe's debt crisis heats up, reits could stagnate just like the rest of the stock market. suzanne pratt, "nightly business report," new york. >> susie: those worries were not on the minds of investors today

buying into american realty capital trust. it's the biggest reit to go public in years, with a portfolio of 500 retail properties across the country. the stock surged almost 75% on the nasdaq, closing at $10.49, up $4.49 from its opening price. joining us now, nicholas schorsch, chairman of american realty. well, congratulations on that terrific performance today. >> thank you very much. we're really proud of what our company accomplished on the exchange today. >> susie: well, even though you did really great today investors are leery of investing in real estate, investing in reits y should they consider your stock? well, i think our stock specifically is focused as a triple net lease reit, its focused in the essential good, the retail conners, walgreen, federal express, cvs, those type of retail stores that the income comes

to us without any exposure to operating expenses. and because we're primarily focused on investment grade credit, we really drive safety, security and durability in the income stream with a long haul. because our average lease is about 13.5 years. >> susie: but so your properties are retailers, like you said, walgreen's, fedex, a lot of that depends on job growth, it depends on attitudes towards consumer spending. if any of those sectors weaken what are the risks to your business? >> well, that's really the point of the longer duration leases. because our leases are so long and our tenants are so strong, primarily again investment grade credit, we see that as the economy recovers, and we expect it to be a gradual and continuous recovery, probably over the next four to five years, our portfolio will get better, buying it in a post leeman environment, all of our assets were bought in the last four years, so we bought them after market corrected and

it really gives us a chance to build something new and different in this industry, which is a reit with newly acquired assets, our average property is only about five years old. so real upside. >> susie: so how big dow expect the company to be in let's say two years? >> well, right now we are about two and a half billion dollars of total enterprise value. we anticipate reasonably that we should be able to grow that sufficiently to get to about 3.9 to 3.5 billion over the next five years. >> susie: and what will we be saying about american realty stock let's say two years from now. close over $10 today. >> well, we believe that we should trade actually to a superior trading price than many of the other companies that have been in this sector for many years, primarily because the quality of the tenancy, the newer location, the moderate amenities on the properties and more importantly the investment grade focus with very little lease rollover in our portfolio is going to drive our stock price significantly as we lower our cost of capital as a

public company. >> we have just 30 seconds left. what kind of dividends can investors expect from your company. >> currently our dividend 170 cents a share and we expect to be able to grow that over time as we increase easternings and acquire more property notice this environment it is a great time to be buying properties sudz good luck to you and thank you so much for coming on our program. >> thank you very much. >> susie: and we've been speaking with nicholas sho orsch. >> tom: did you notice anything new if you used google to search the internet? new privacy rules went into effect today for its one billion users. critics worry google users could gradually lose control of their personal information, but the company says those rules are still safe, allowing for a more intuitive user experience. as darren gersh reports, one reason behind the change is to help position google for a changing online advertising race. >> we love a bit of google! >> reporter: jamie oliver is the example google offered up today for what the online world will look like under its new privacy policy.

if you do a lot of searches for the celebrity chef on youtube, google says it will now be able to suggest recipes or serve up ads for cookbooks when you're using one of the search giant's many products. technology strategist bill whyman says google has two goals for the privacy change. >> when they have a more accurate view of who you are and what you are interested in, they can target ads more precisely, get users to click on them more frequently and, hence, get paid more money. >> reporter: whyman says google's other goal is to make a better pitch to advertisers trying to target a sale. >> "we have more and better than what facebook can give you." >> reporter: analysts say google is trying to make sure people spend less time on sites like facebook and more time using google products. that would generate more targeting opportunities for advertisers and more revenue for google, assuming users still trust google with their personal information. and for now, s&p capital iq's scott kessler thinks they will. >> we don't see any risks over the near term, but obviously a lot can change over a short period of time.

the internet basically guarantees that. >> reporter: which is what concerns privacy activist rainey reitman. she says facebook and google are launching a new era in online advertising, testing powerful tools to track behavior and social activity online. >> unless companies are willing to prove they can be a little stronger on privacy, they might be in a place where users might begin to be leery of sharing data with them at all, or congress might think that the current self-regulatory world we have online isn't doing a good enough job of defending user privacy. >> reporter: it's not just congress-- regulators in europe say google's new privacy rules are illegal, a reminder that companies like google and facebook must navigate cultural and legal perceptions of privacy around the world. darren gersh, "nightly business report," washington, d.c. >> tom: the chief executive of w-- the world's biggest advertising firm joins us from that firm in new york city. welcome to nightly business

report. >> delighted to be with you. >> tom: how will your industry, the ad industry use the data that is now being collected and has always been collected by google? >> well, i think the answer to that is carefully because clearly the rise of new media whether it be google who you mentioned or whether it be a yahoo!, facebook, twitter, a microsoft, this data is extremely valuable. but it's extremely personal and the issues of privacy and koubt balance the issue of access. and i think the first thing to establish is what the consumer will permit and what he or she will not permit. so whether it's an knock opt out system or opt in system i think the consumer clearly has to decide first,. >> tom: with the policies at

google changing, do you accept that changing how you work with your clients in on-line advertising. can it change the messaging, change the kinds of purchases you do on some of those key words. >> yes, i think it will do in time. i think it just changes the nature of our business. i think the other thing that we are concerned about is that these new media companies are really new media owners. they're not technology companies. they're media owners massacre aiding in a way on technology companies. and it's a bit like a traditional television channel or radio channel or newspaper or magazine going directly to some clients and working directly with them. if is a question of independence. if you own the channel, obviously your bias towards the channel and you try an drive traffic, consumers, advertisers to that channel. so having that independence, we think is important.

>> tom: sir martin, your firm reported record revenues last year. what industries are fueling that ad growth that you anticipate this year? >> well, it broadly spread. if you look at the categories that drove our growth last year, obviously it was automobiles was one, packaged goods, food, the travel industry, airline industry, all the major categories fueled it. what really drove our business more than categories was geographical locations and technology. >> tom: on the geography part, you are a u.k.-based firm. what is your assessment of the european economy, in recession, close to it or growing? >> well, it's certainly not growing rapid leigh but obviously europe is very heavily challenged. we knows what's going on in

greece. we knows what's going on in portugal. we know the dangers of that for, and ireland. we know the dangers of that for countries like italy. >> sir martin sorrell, along with us, c.e.o. of advertising giant wpp. >> thank you very much. >> tom: with fresh signs of a strengthening u.s. economy, oil prices resumed their rally.

crude for april delivery rose almost 2% to $108.84 a barrel in new york trading. it topped $110 a barrel in late electronic trading after rumors of a pipeline blast in saudi arabia, something the saudi's deny. meanwhile, pump prices continue their five-week-long march higher, rising to a national average of $3.74 a gallon. some areas have already topped the $4 mark. >> susie: those higher gas prices lead to big sales of small cars last month. and chrysler led the pack-- february sales jumped 40%. its tiny fiat 500 posted its biggest month ever. ford rose 14%, as sales doubled for its gas-sipping ford focus compact. but general motors was the exception, up only 1%. japanese auto makers finally had small, fuel efficient cars to sell, recovering from those supply issues after the floods in thailand. toyota and honda both up 12%, and nissan rose 15.5%.

>> reporter: still ahead, i'm erika miller at the ferrari showroom in manhattan. the global economy may be weak, but ferrari sales are at record levels. i'll tell you why. >> so tom, what is it they say about march, comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb, well, things weren't roar on wall street but markets were up on this first day. >> tom: we did see a bit of relief buying on this first day after a decent february came to a bit of a quiet end yesterday. let's get you updated with tonight's market focus. we saw modest gains in stocks as energy prices heated up late in the day. here's the past five sessions of crude oil. until this afternoon, pricing had been cooling a little, but rumors a pipeline explosion in saudi arabia, which saudi officials deny, was enough to trigger buying. meantime, it didn't spook the s&p 500. it was helped out by more encouraging signs the economy is

strengthening. the index closed just shy of a multi-year high. banks were back in the lead, with the financial sector rising more than 1%. the materials and energy sectors also added about 1% on the backs of the stronger jobs and retail sales data. goldman sachs was the best in the banking sector on the heels of an acquisition and some optimistic analyst comments. goldman shares jumped 5%. volume almost doubled with the stock trading over $120 per share for the first time since august. goldman is buying an insurance and re-insurance operation based in bermuda. meantime, normura securities bumped up its earnings estimates for several banks, including goldman. improving economic data and the growing comfort level with the greece debt trouble get the credit for the optimism. speaking of greece, an important technical distinction was made today. a group called the international swaps and derivatives association, the group for derivatives that are not traded on exchanges, decided greece's new law forcing private lenders to accept losses on their bonds does not trigger pay-outs

covering what is essentially insurance on those government bonds. banking stocks also helped the dow industrials. j.p. morgan rallied almost 3%. bank of america was up almost 2%. today's improving figures on fewer americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits wasn't necessarily behind a big jump in monster worldwide, the online jobs site. instead, the c.e.o. says he's considering strategic alternatives. that's wall-street speak for the company may be for sale. shares shot up 15% on very heavy volume. the company did not elaborate on the c.e.o.'s comments, but they come as the share price is half what it was one year ago. competition from facebook and linkedin has hurt its traditional market. another company suffering from tough competition-- blackberry device maker research in motion. shares sank 4% after an analyst speculated the company will issue a warning about slower demand for its blackberries. the company's quarteends saturday. it's warned about profits twice in the past year.

we mentioned some of the stronger february retail sales reports earlier, and those translated into stock gains. the gap jumped more than 7%. this is a new 52-week high. macy's is at a four and a half year high, up more than 2%. but kohl's stock fell more than 1.5% after its disappointing february. one more note from a retailer of sorts-- grocery store chain kroger. the stock shot up almost 3%. volume more than doubled as the company predicted higher earnings this year than wall street expected. the company reported steady sales volume in the fourth quarter, despite higher gasoline prices, higher food prices, and other grocery stores seeing a drop in sales volume. and that's tonight's "market focus."

>> tom: building an investment portfolio is tough for even the most seasoned investor-- that's why so many people turn to professionals for help. tonight's commentator spotlights key differences when it comes to getting a pro's advice. he's eric schurenberg of inc.com. >> most investors assume that the pros who advise them have to act in their best interest. in reality, that's true of only some advisers, known as fiduciaries. the others? they're happy to let you think they have to look out for you, but they don't. now, the s.e.c. is about to order all advisers to live under one uniform fiduciary standard. simple? no. you see, many advisers work on commission. the conflict of interest is obvious-- they have an incentive to sell investments with high commissions. more money for them, less for you. a fiduciary would have to recommend equally good

investments with no commission, of which there are many. so what about those commissioned advisers? do they have to change? the s.e.c. is likely to say no. commissioned advisers just have to tell you sometimes they act in their interest, not yours. are brokers really going to say that? no. okay, but then they could be forced to give written disclosures. but you've seen those-- when was the last time you actually read one? we could be about to abandon a standard that requires fiduciaries to be trustworthy and replace it with one that allows them be whatever, as long as they tell you. does that sound like progress? i'm eric schurenberg. >> susie: here's what we're watching for tomorrow: stocks have been on a run higher for weeks, but trading volumes are very low. we look at just who's buying the market. and our "market monitor" guest thinks stocks and metals are poised for a modest correction this spring, but he sees new highs in the summer and fall. he's mark leibovit, chief market strategist at vrtrader.com. and finally tonight, it's been a

tough few years for many companies, given weakness in the global economy. but one auto maker has seen sales surge to unprecedented levels. erika miller takes a closer look at why ferrari is going full speed ahead. >> ♪ i don't want your love i don't want your money ♪ i just want the key to your ferrari... >> reporter: ferraris are the ultimate status symbol. but from the start of the company in 1929, every car has been designed to race. even today, every ferrari on the road can hit 200 miles per hour. i couldn't wait to take a test drive with north american c.e.o. marco mattiacci. my first shock-- no more stick- shift cars in the u.s. >> we realize very few customers were asking for this, so it's not worth it. >> reporter: driving along park

avenue, we passed several luxury car dealerships like mercedes and audi. but ferrari is in a different price league. its entry-level car, the california, starts at $200,000. customizing it usually adds on another 40 grand. how has the mindset of the affluent consumer changed as a result of the financial crisis? >> people try to have a much more cautious approach to spending on luxury. >> reporter: ferrari sold over 7,000 cars last year. that may not sound like many, but remember these are cars have six-figure sticker prices. >> these are not necessities, these are very emotional purchases. and car buyers who have the ability to buy ferraris are really motivated by what's new. >> reporter: so what is the company's biggest weakness? >> one of the demands, in the future, i think is for vehicles to be more fuel efficient. i think that's really going to

force them to think about performance in perhaps a holistic way. >> reporter: after testing out that performance, mattiacci showed me around the ferrari showroom, which is part retail store, part museum. he wanted to show me the 458 italia, which currently has a two-year waiting list. is that common, to have a waiting list for a car? >> no, not at all. but its very common for ferrari. >> reporter: we also looked under the hood of the f.f., the same model i test drove. >> it's a work of art. this car can be used in all types of weather conditions. >> reporter: although it bears no resemblance to an s.u.v., the f.f. is actually an all-wheel drive vehicle with room for a family four. maybe you are wondering what i thought of my test-drive? well, clearly, the car was fun to drive. but at $300,000, it's not coming home with me. unfortunately, even the die cast

versions are also outside my budget at $388 apiece. but i don't feel too bad-- marco mattiacci doesn't own a ferrari, either. >> i have three children, twins three months old, and a daughter and a wife, so sometime i drive a jeep cherokee. >> reporter: that won't stop both of us from dreaming. >> ♪ i just want the keys to your ferrari... >> reporter: erika miller, "nightly business report," new york. >> susie: that's "nightly business report" for thursday, march 1. i'm susie gharib. good night, everyone, and good night to you, too, tom. >> tom: good night, susie. i'm tom hudson. good night, 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