this is "nightly business report." brought to you in part, the street.com, founded by jim cramer, an independent source for stokt analysis. home to his multimillion dollar portfolio. street.com street.com/npr. >> google and amazon, the number one online retair had the busiest day of the season. we have the key takeaways. >> snowed in. the housing market went cold in december because of the harsh winter. >> health care checkup, a new study says the prices on health care exchanges are pretty good

and that's making companies take notice. change is in the air. all of that and more on "nightly business report" for thursday january 30th. >> good evening, the u.s. economy is growing, earnings are coming in strong and that inspires investors to buy stocks today. stocks came roaring back on news of the u.s. economy grew at 3.2% in the final three months of 2013. it was one of the strongest quarters in eight years. and credit goes to solid spending by consumers and businesses and jump in exports. another batch of healthy earnings contributed to the rally. today was the busiest day with reports from exxon-mobil and visa and 3m and dozens more. let's rundown pt closing numbers from wall street. the dow rose will 110 points and nasdaq surged 71, a gain of 2%, thanks to a 14% jump in facebook shares and s&p was up 20 points.

>> good earnings across the board but a different story for amazon after the closing bell shares of the world's biggest online shopping site plunging initially after a big profit miss. in the fourth quarter which included the holiday shopping period, the company pulled down 51 cents a share, far short of 66 cents. revenue disappointed too, just missing forecasts as you see there. add to that a weaker outlook for the current quarter and shares came under pressure right after the report. sheila joins us now from the nasdaq exchange with more on those amazon numbers. what do you see? what's the biggest takeaway. >> bottom line, if you are priced to perfection as they have been, you have to deliver results. if you don't, investors have no problem punishing you up. the results are raising questions about the retail sector in general. we heard bricks and mortars were losing shares to amazon. a lot of questions now of where those retail sales are going.

are they going to other smaller e commerce players or is the consumer not spending as much as we thought they did. >> sheila, thank you very much. stick around though. >> google shares rose as much as 4%, even though earnings came in below analysts estimates. the company's court internet search business grew but grew $12.01 a share. revenue was higher and better than forecast, just under $17 billion for the quarter. now ahead of the news, shares were up 2.5% of the regular session to $1,135. once again, let's turn to sheila. what was the key takeaway from this earnings report? >> google's core business online advertising on a role but we are starting to see pricing pressure creep in. the volume of online ads is up 31% but pricing fell 11%, that is certainly not a trend that investors like to see.

google is investing heavily into new businesses, we learned about their nest acquisition, they are on the sidelines what this means for google's future. that trend of volume up, pricing down not the greatest news when it comes to google. here's another things investors should pay attention to. google is ready for a stock split with shares going more than $1100 each they are slated to split the stock this april creating new shares that's have no voting power. this comes after they settled a shareholder asset that allows co-founders to retain control of the company. >> more google news. google is selling its motorola mobility handset unit to lenovo. but the failure of the acquisition won't stop google from putting its money into new and risky ventures. >> at the time of the motorola

mobility acquisition, larry page said a combination of the two companies would quote, offer consumers greater choice and wonderfulser experiences. it didn't exactly work out that way. motorola released smartphones powered by google's android operating system that captured a tiny share of the market. motorola's performance dragged gown google's results. in the future didn't seem brighter. motorola would have lost $800 million this year. >> google made this bet and unwound the bet on motorola, isn't a bad thing. it was a stretch acquisition they made. a company like google, especially given its market cap but presence across internet, they should be making a series of these relatively big bets and hopefully they have the judgment to know when to unwind them when they are not going their way. >> google paid $12.5 billion for

motorola and sold it to lenovo for $2.9 billion. one potential challenge for the deal, the worry about chinese cyber spying could raise red flags in washington but if the deal does go through, google will keep most of motorola's patents value the at $5.5 million. it doesn't mean google is getting out of hardware. the focus will be on two emerging markets, wearables and home automation. google glass the compute earized internet connected glasses. >> they remove friction between users and internet applications they want. >> page says another priority is home markets. google recently bought nest labs that build thermostats to create a customized temperature schedule. a dynamic company like google

should invest in all kinds of industries to get a foothold in the next hot sector. there are all risks. >> when their core business slows down, if it starts growing below the 20% and the company is still layering expenses faster than revenue, you go from exceptional to more of an average company. as google's revenue has slowed down they have not tapered their expenses. they are growing faster than revenue. for a company that size, that's not a trend you like to see. >> analysts expect google to continue on its continue acquisition path in putting its $56 billion cash hoard into what the company sees the next big thing. nightly business report, silicon valley. >> we now have more on the strong earnings for dow component visa. the ceo warned on the risk of data breaches.

mary thompson reports. >> reporter: visa profits rising to $1.4 billion. behind the increase, continued growth in consumer spending. visa calling the growth tepid and consistent with the pace of the economic recovery. >> i think as the year progresses and jobs get better and wages get better as well, we should see steady to better performance as the year progresses. >> visa, which makes money by processing debit and credit card transactions confirmed double dif it revenue growth for this year and warning of higher marketing due to olympics and world cup. >> visa issuing another warning, this one to retailers. charlie sharp saying many are being unconstructed in blaming others for recent data breaches at retailers like target.

>> we share the same customer going through this adult experience and our sales and long term relationship will suffer if we don't work together. >> in an e-mailed response, the national retail federation saying it would work with visa and others and customer security is one of the highest priorities. visa wants retailers to adopt cards with chips to limit the creation of counterfeit cards and scrambles card information reducing the chance for fraud. retailers reluctant to change because of the cost, reluctant security expert says will come at a price. >> what we can say is that the cost of protecting an asset are min is xul compared to the beach. pay a little more or whole lot more later. >> i'm mary thompson. >> exxon-mobil out with earnings before the bell today and even though profit topped $8 billion, that's down 16% from a year ago.

morgan brennan has more with why energy giants are seeing their net income get drilled. >> reporter: the fracking boom powering america to energy independence is not powering the big oil company's bottom lines, two of the lashlgest reporting earnings that fell short of wall street expectations. each seeing profits plunge in the fourth quarter as lower oil prices declining production and mounting cost for new projects wait on their earnings. analysts say these companies face a number of challenge. they have long dominated the sector rewarding with dividends and stock prices for decades. big oil was late to the fracking boom, higher values or passing on opportunities all together. that's led companies like exxon and chevron which reports on friday, to invest in complex

mega projects. many offshore in search of new reserves. a number of these massive projects have been plagued by delays and higher costs. take the natural gas complex in australia, a joint venture cost haves ballooned 45% to $54 billion. such big spending has not been rewarded by billig growth. production fell even though the companies usually see a seasonal increase in the fourth quarter. still not every integrated oil corporation disappointed, conco phillips reporting a 74% jump in earnings as it sold off its algeria business to focus on the fast growing fracking boom. analysts say over the long term these companies could once

again deliver strong growth as mega projects begin to come online and capital spending is reigned in. i'm morgan brennan. >> later in the program, we'll tell you if dow component 33 and under armour and eli lilly had any surprises. good news if you're looking to buy a new home. mortgage rates fell again last week. freddie mac says the average on a 30-year is now down to 4.32%. that's cheaper but to put it in perspective, about a full percentage more than it was a year ago. but the housing news wasn't all good. a sharp drop in contracts to buy existing homes in december has realtors crying foul. foul weather. but is it fair to blame the slump in sales on the cold? diane has answers. >> getting tired of this. >> reporter: below average temperatures and above average

snow kept potential home buyers at home. >> you have to go out and look at a house. if people are unable to get out of their houses and into new houses, they aren't interested in hosting open houses because they don't want to be in a place by themselves. >> signed contracts fell nearly 9% from november and from a year ago to the lowest level since the fall of 2011. >> we need the demand to be coming from a strong home buying base. and what we see is that while there is improvement in the economy again, overall we're really lacking a broad demand base of workers. employment levels are increasing but they are actually still not where they were five years ago. >> the northeast saw the biggest drop in so-called pending home sales, the west wasn't far behind and it's hard to blame that on the weather and easier to blame it on weak wage growth and more americans moving out of

the labor force. >> the sales do not bode well for january when the weather got worse, especially in the south with its usually moderate climate, sales in that region do well in winter but will likely get walloped this year. this was the scene from ben hirsh's office, he was digging neighbors out trying to save his pending sale. >> one of the side effects is people being able to move out of their homes on schedule. and therefore the closing being put off because the home is not yet vacant. so you know, i could see maybe 5 to 15% of closings for january getting bumped into february. >> we may see a sales bump in february and march. still, as investors who initially drove prices so high start to slow down, regular buyers will need to pick up the slack. and the demand is there but red hot prices are already putting a

chill on people's pocket books. >> still ahead, why the cold outside has been very, very good for shareholders of the sportswear maker under armour. the search for microsoft's ceo may be coming to an end and that the job will go to inmicrosoft insider replacing steve ballmer. they are discussing the possibility of replacing bill gates as chairman.

>> and switching back to more earnings news, the biggest day of the quarter with more than 10% of the s&p reporting. and the results were pretty good. here's a look at some of the other big name fared. >> some like it cold. no complaints about the winter chill from under armour. it's cold weather gear pushed up fourth quarter revenue by 35%. that warmed investors to the stock and kevin plank's stake in the company is now worth more than $2 billion. >> when the weather gets cold, everybody in our industry gets a little bit smarter but there's a lot more going on than cold weather with the under armour brand right now. we're proud of the results and team that made it happen. >> reporter: the cold weather and higher mortgage rates may slow home sales but one of the biggest home builders posted a win own the top and bottom line thanks in part to higher prices on the homes it did sell. defense krlter northrop grumman

posted earnings of 18% above expectations despite a big drop in government spending. 3m also beat with fourth quarter earnings up more than 11%. even though sales of its post-its and glues were a little lower than expected. colgate and maker of almost half of the world's toothpaste came in one penny better than expected. a stronger dollar hurt its margins but cost customering and sales of organic products were pluses. eli lilly sold $5 billion worth of sim balance at a making it one of the all time best sellers. sales fell after the u.s. patent expired opening the door for generics. but demand for other products grew and earnings came in as expected. in march, lilly loses another patent on avista that treats bone disease. the ceo is confident about bringing new cancer and diabetes

drugs to market. >> we've been investing in our pipe line and have four medic e medicines under regulatory review and could launch as many as three this year. this is the nflection year and we hope the launches will put us back on a growth track. >> under armour and pulte homes and northrop grumman rose with under armour up 23%. 3m fell as did colgate and eli lilly. we begin the market focus with strong earnings out of viacom, cost cutting made up for a big decline in movie revenue. it expects to add revenue to improve this quarter and that sent shares up to $84.01. time warner cable saw a rise. the revenue from its business

services and residential high speed data kept those results afloat despite a drop in overall subscribers. the company rebuffed now three takeover offers from the smaller rival charter communications but the ceo says they haven't completely ruled out the possibility of a buyout. >> what was important to us was to make clear we weren't just saying no. we were saying the offer, the charter made under valued its company but there was a price at which we would transact that maximized value for share how olders. >> shares up to $124.30. the biggest distill drinks company says slow growth in emerging markets is taking a toll on liquor sales. johnny walker and smirnoff saw sales rise 2%, only half of what analysts were looking for. but investors had a sweet tooth for hershey's, earnings rose by 24% with market share

for candy and mints and gum rising in every measured channel for the third year in a row it was up 2.5% to almost $100 a share. whirlpool, thanks to strong business in north and south merks, earnings came in below estimates because sales in saz i can't -- asia fell. $132.22. facebook hit a record high after we reported better than expected quarterly earnings and revenue. strong revenue from mobile ads is the reason for the beat. the social media company said overall more than half of its ad revenue now comes from mobile. that's an impressive move since facebook introduced mobile apps just recently. shares jumped 14% to $61.08. and the justice department wants bank of america to pay up for selling bad mortgages ahead of the housing bust. they are asking a judge to order the bank to pay more than $2

billion in penalties after a jury found its countrywide financial unit libel for fraud over defective home loans. >> and the changing of the guard at the federal reserve is now official. janet yellen was elected to be the fed's next chairman after a formal vote by the board of the nation's central bank. tomorrow is ben bernanke's final day at the fed. yellen will be sworn in on monday. coming up, a new study says those on the public health exchanges are getting a pretty good deal and that may be very appealing to your employer.

. a warning about those heated seats in your car. toyota is halting sales on thousands of top selling late model vehicles because the fabric used on heated seats may not be entirely flame resistant. they are working on a fix for the problem and says there have been no reported incidents. many american businesses are taking a fresh look at the government's health exchanges. it now appears that consumers who have purchased health insurance through a state or federal exchange are getting a pret thank you good deal. lower insurance rates are one reason business owners are thinking about making a switch as well. bertha coombs has more. >> reporter: starting in april, target will stop offering part-time employees health insurance. it said buying government subsidized plans will likely be a better deal for them. target isn't the only large employer eyeing the new public

changes according to a new pwc study. >> many people have wondered how would our cost compare to what's being offered in the public changes. if they are able to manage the costs over time, if they get the right pool of people into the exchanges and sustain these level of premiums, they would be pretty attractive as an alternative come 2017. >> for now only small employers can offer coverage on the public marketplaces but large companies could gain access in 2017. and prices could be a big attraction. pwc found large employers are paying an average of $6,119 to insure a single worker this year, ai comparable plan on the exchange averages $5,844. the lowest cost exchange plans average $1,000 less than that. >> i think every employer is going to be different. many employers will continue offering the plans they have. all employers are concerned about the cost and they need to find options that maintain the

benefits for their employees on a reasonable basis. >> we're already seeing a trend of companies such as sears and darden moving full-time employees to private health insurances to stream line their benefit programs. they get money to choose among a range of insurance plans. insurers have focused on growing that business so it's unclear whether they'll undercut that effort by offering lower pricing on public exchanges. >> in the public exchanges it's set by the government. there's defined benefit levels and certain percentage that you have to contribute. it's more into 9 government control, what's attractive to employers is having more control. i think we'll see a very vibrant private exchange market. >> what does that mean for those of us who get insurance through our job? >> in the same way companies shifted from pension plans to 401( 401(k) they will shift the decision-making to us.

big question is whether we'll reap the savings or pay more? bertha coombs, nightly business report. >> a hometown pride tore seattle seahawks who take on the denver broncos in the super bowl. a boeing 747 freightliner, normally used for testing has been decked out for the big game in the full seahawks colors including the team logo and 12 on the tail. that's a salute to the fan's noisy fans who are often referred to as the team's 12th man. boeing a long time sponsor of the seahawks and many of the planes are manufactured in plants there along the puget sound. it sounds like they are going to get a break on the weather. it's going to be 45, maybe 50 degrees. >> all worried about doing it in cold new york city. >> i live not far from there, i'm not going near it. it's going to be interesting to see how the traffic works. they said they'll have route 3 ready for the traffic.

it's still under construction. >> we'll talk about that on monday. >> that's "nightly business report for tonight, thanks for joining us. >> i'm tyler math sen, thanks for joining us. "nightly business report" has been brought to you by the street.com, it is an independent source for stock analysis, cramer's action alerts and plus service and home to hisho multimillion dollar portfolio. street.com/nbr.

>> the following kqed production was produced in high definition. [ ♪music ] >> yes, check, please! people! >> it's all about licking your plate. >> the food is just fabulous. >> i should be in psychoanalysis for the amount of money i spent in restaurants. >> i had a horrible experience. >> i don't even think we were in the same restaurant. >> leslie: and everybody, i'm sure, saved room for those