this is "nightly business report" with tyler mathisen and sue herera. >> offshore bombshell. leaked documents from papapanam show how some of the world's power players use offshore accounts and the fall out goes global. product or profit? should investors buy companies based on a hot product or can hype get in the way? how one man took his passion for america's past time to a whole new level. all that and more on "nightly business report" for monday, april 4th. good evening, everyone. welcome. tyler mathisen is on assignment this evening. tonight we begin with a story that continues to unfold, and is having ripple effects around the

world. m talking about what some are calling an unprecedented leak of more than 11 million documents from one of the biggest offshore law firms that shows how some of the most richest and powerful people use tax havens to their advantage. no americans have been named, so far. one trail seems to lead to russian president vladmir putin. the others include presidents from iceland and pakistan. the biggest revelation show how some created shell companies and secret investments. there's still much we don't know. first off, these structures are not necessarily illegal, is that correct? >> that's right. under u.s. law, any way. we're dealing with people around the world. under u.s. law it's not necessarily illegal to have an offer shore company. you have to disclose the assets

when it's time to pay your taxes and presumably a lot of people did it to avoid paying taxes. you have to go on a case by case basis to determine that. >> why no americans on the list, at least so far? >> that's one of the great mysteries here. one of the things we don't know is why haven't we seen many american names coming forward just yet. looks like there's a big global trove of documents. just one american name i've seen so far and that person is not a household name at all. we don't know why not, but it is a big question. >> and why this particular firm? >> another great unanswered question. looks like the leaker, in this case, had access to these documents. it's more than 11 million documents. it's billing records, e-mails, spread sheets. all the daily work product you would have in an office where you're putting together shell

companies. a lot of that is very revealing. the only way to know who owns a lot of structures is to look inside the law firm where they are documenting who they know or the real ordinary reason and prudence even as they are putting together a document trail that suggests that somebody else actually owns the shell company. >> do we have any idea who had that kind of access and therefore could have leaked the documents? >> that is the third bigami mysy tonight. so much speculation swirling just around who is the person who leaked all this information. who was that person and why did they do it? we don't have any indication right now, but it seems clear that there is a financial edward snowden out there, to coin the time. we don't know who that person is. was it a hacker or a disgruntled insider. was it part of some other

shenanigans. we have no idea. you can imagine a whole lot of people want know the answer to that question. >> where did they release the documentation to or to whom? >> initially, they gave the information about a year ago to a german newspaper. that newspaper shared it with a investigative journalists around the world. those folks have been working on this story for months and months digging into the documents. the rest of the world just found out yesterday. >> thank you so much. we mentioned the creation of those shell companies. what are they and how do they work? dina explains. >> reporter: offshore accounts and shell companies have long been used by wealthy individual, government entities and large corporations. the recent leak of a trove of documents from a panama company shows how it works in much more detail and who is benefitting from having so much money overseas. >> creating an anonymous company is very, very easy.

if i, as an american, wanted to create an anonymous company in panama, i would call up a corporate service provider. in many cases, you'll see companies doing what they can to make it as difficult as possible to figure out who was behind an anonymous company. that makes a bank's job that much harder. >> reporter: oftentimes one can register an anonymous company online. there can be what's referred to as a registered agent involved. that's the person that would receive all the mail for the company. if there's legal action taken against it, that person would notify the appropriate party. >> i can use the company for any number of things. i can use it to stash my kickbacks or official government corruption. i can use it for tax evasion. >> reporter: moving drug money

can be done this way as well by sending cash through tax havens. there's no shortage of reasons to try to hide money. sources we spoke with say a lot of people in america take our banking system for granted. this places where money is not safe like in politically unstable companies the incentive to park money overseas becomes that much more real and urgent. some don't want the publo how much they are really worth. if they can get away without filing tax return, that makes panama more enticing. >> reporter: american names and companies might come under the spotlight next. >> those ties have been very strong for a long time. i expect to see u.s. names and u.s. anonymous companies part of the network and fabric. >> reporter: in panama the customer is often times shrouded in mystery just like he or she prefers. billions of dollars from

offshore accounts make it back here to the u.s. as robert frank explains, much of that money goes into what's called hard assets. >> reporter: the world's rich and powerful have stashed trillions of dollars offshore and some of that money has washed up in the miami real estate market and the global art market. the leak of the so-called panama papers reveal the offshore structure detailing the shell companies used by dozens of world leaders and billionaires. press reports say 29 billionaires on the forbes list use offshore structures. very few of the billionaires are named but forbes says many appear to be from russia and eastern europe. no american billionaires or clients have been named in the document leak, at least not yet. u.s. assets have become a

favorite destination for some of that money. the miami herald reporting 19 foreign nationals created offshore entities that purchased miami real estate. eight have been linked to corruption and tax evasion in their home state. half are cash deals and overseas buyers bought $6 million worth of homes in southern florida last year. that's about a third of local spending. u.s. treasury has imposed new rules in miami and manhattan requiring buyers using llcs and offshore entities to disclose the real owners. offshoring is perfectly legal in many cases, but it has support the art market. reports say russian billionaire created trusts in the bbi to purchase more than $2 billion more than art. that was sold by billionaire steve cohen. these trusts were disclosed last year and created for estate

planning purposes but it shows that growing scrutiny could lead for cause for more regulation and add further pressure on the art and real estate market. for "nightly business report," i'm robert frank. stocks started the week on a down note as a 3% slide offset gains. the dow dropped 15,000. the nasdaq falling 22 points and the s&p 500 was off six. new orders for factory goods fell in february with business spends much weaker than originally thought. orders have fallen 14 out of last 19 months. manufacturing accounts for 12% of the u.s. committee. boston federal president said the markets have it all wrong. he said the markets are too slow and pricing in interest rate hikes and a rise might be better suited earlier saying quote, i

believe it will likely be appropriate to resume the path of gradual tightening sooner than implied by financial market futures. as of last friday the first month priced in with a better than 50% chance of a rate hike is september. how do americans feel about the prospect of the economy and investing? how do they feel the presidential front runners might have on both? we get answers with the results of an exclusive poll. >> reporter: americans head into the heart of the election season with mixed views on the economy. the cnbc survey finds above f average attitude on the current state of the economy but below average on where things are headed. only 31% think this is a good time to invest in stocks. meanwhile, most national polls show democratic front-runner hillary clinton beating

republican leader donald trump in a head to head contest. the cnbc survey tells a different story. when asked who is best for the economy for your wages or personal financial situation, clinton and trump are tied. 24% say clinton and 24% say trump have the best policies for the overall economy. 21% say none of the above. >> there's no clear advantage for either one of these two leading contenders going into the general election. a lot of it will be fought at the margins where they do have their advantages. >> reporter: clinton shows stronger support on health care, middle class and trade while the two are tried on immigration. trump has the best on having best policies for the wealthy and regulating businesses, banks and wall street. the electorate is angry. nearly three fourths of the public is angry and dissatisfied with the political system in

washington. >> the economic anger that's out there is very, very wise spread. it's across both parties. i think more than any other survey we've done, we're seeing those economic anger and a that economic feeling being influenced and pushed and driven by partisanship and also in another way by the economic haves and have notes. >> reporter: the angry and dissatisfied favor trump over clinton 28 to 21%. trump appears to have a profound impact on american attitudes of trade. just 27% said trade helps the u.s. 43% say it's hurt the country, up 12 points. more than half say immigrants strengthen the nation. little change from august of 2013. aside perhaps a nation of

immigrants hasn't forgotten where it came from. >> donald trump is weighing in on where he thinks the economy is heading. it's not good. in an interview with the washington post trump said we're on the verge of a very massive recession, end quote. thanks to high unemployment and an economic bubble. his comments were met with skepticism from economists questioning his math. he put real unemployment at around 20%. the broadest government measure of unemployment currently sits at about 10%. still ahead, how the government is trying to make shopping for your broadband connection as easy as reading a cereal box. we'll explain, coming up next.

a federal judge granted final approval for an estimated $20 billion settlement over the 2010 bp horizon oil spill. it was announced last summer. it will be paid to five gulf states over 16 years. the rig explosion killed 11 people and spilled more than 130 million gallons of oil. the federal communications commission wants to make it easier for customers to comparison shop for broadband service. julia looks at the new rules. >> reporter: the federal communications commission is breaking down the fine print of broadband service. turning confusing jargon into what looks familiar. taking the page from a nutrition label you'd find on a cereal box. until now users had to call

internet service providers to get much of that information. >> hidden fees have no place to hide. they're all laid out there. the surprise of when you open your first bill and say that wasn't what i was expecting. won't happen anymore because everything is laid out. >> these changes are part of the fcc's open internet order signed last year requiring transparency. the stakes are high ranging between 60 and $70. the price is paid for broad band service as much as 40% greater than advertised after taxes and fees. this according to consumer complaints. that means today what i thichan win. analyst michael points to comcast. >> i think that that gets standardization and clarity is a

win for comcast and a number of other cable companies. >> with streaming video on the rise thanks to the explosion from services from netflix to youtube. the focus on efficient broad band will continue to grow. we can expect it to be quickly adopted throughout the industry. >> comcast is the parent company of cnbc, which produces "nightly business report." alaska air group buys virgin america for more than $2.5 billion. that's where we begin tonight's market focus. the proposed merger kpeen the parent company of alaska airlines and virgin america will still need to be approved by regulators. earlier what made alaska the clear choice over jet blue. >> i will say price was a primary thing here. we understand what our duty is. we're both qualifiered buyers.

ultimately it came down to price. we thought the alaska plan was a good plan. it was about establishing a power house on the west coast that would have strong presences in seattle, san francisco and l.a. we like that and they came in with a very strong offer. >> shares of virgin america soared more than 41% to 5511. alaska air fell nearly 4% to 78.92. jet blue shares down 4% to 20.41. investment research firm downgradesed general electric over concerns of valuation and risk of competition. shares fell 2% to 31.23. network service provider will buy rutcus. they create wireless internet

system. yahoo attracts more bidders. media coming time ink is exploring the possibility of partnering with a private equity firm. yahoo is reported to be in talks with the japanese company soft bank about a potential sale. they own part of yahoo japan. shares of yahoo up more than a% to 37.02. tesla orders for its new model are still rolling in. ceo tweeted over the weekend that the company has received 276,000 preorders for the new model three. the car isn't expected to hit showrooms until the end of 2017. after the bell the company said in the first quarter it delivered fewer cars than expected because of a parts shortage.

that sent shares lower and extended trading after closing up 4%. whether it's the newly unveiled tesla model three, investors are buying the hot new products instead of stock. is this the best way to invest the money? we're joined to talk about that. good to see you again. >> good to see you. >> what do you think about that? you get a hot new product. that doesn't necessarily translate into good stock market performance, does it? >> no. actually, often ends in tears because with companies who have a single really hot product, it's usually not a secret. it's usually part of it is marketing. it's a great marketer. the stock over the last several years has done spectacular. it's up 65% from the bottom earlier in the last 12 months. buying stocks in companies like

this, you have a huge amount of enthusiasm which means the valuation probably reflects that. the tesla stock hasn't done all that well over the last several months. it's valuation is still something that lose money. they don't make money. how do you value companies that don't make money? so often with new companies that have the hots product it's tough to value them. it's quite difficult to make money in those. every once in a while an apple comes along. >> i was going to say what about apple. >> we all remember forest gump. there's no question it happens. it is a lottery. it's not the way warren buffet invest. it's fun to do. smart friends who own tesla stock and tesla cars. i think they're probably going to get more enjoyment out of cars than the stock. >> is apple an exception to that

rule because of steve job's vision for the future? does it have -- you know elan has some of that as well. how much has to do with a visionary the head of a company like a tesla or like an apple? >> at least 100%. >> okay. >> there's no question that the person at the top in those situations is the do or die fortfor the company as well as for the investor. you look back at the history and so few of them had anyone like. it's a wonderful marketer. he looks to be a pretty good ceo. he looks to be a pretty good visionary and maybe a good engineer. he's done a lot of interesting things. it's possible that several years from now that will be one of the extraordinary, unusual events in this situation. quite often, single hot product

companies are not a great place to be. >> thank you so much. we appreciate it. late this afternoon the machinist union representing 30,000 workers at united said it's reached seven tentative deals with the airline. it calls for a 30% pay increase over the term of the contract and a 25% hike in pension benefits. coming up, how one man turned his love for baseball into a fortune. here's a look at what to watch for tomorrow. trade numbers will show the trade deficit widened last month. we get read on the biggest part

of the economy, the services sector. it's expected it expanded slightly last month. we get a snapshot of the jolt monthly report comes out. this will show how many job openings there were in february, how many were filled and how many people quit. that's what to watch for on tuesday. while basketball fans will be zoned in on tonight's ncaa men's championship, baseball fans have a lot to be happy about too. three games kicked off the major league season yesterday. the rest of the teams kicked things offer today in earnest. as robert frank tells us, one man turned his hobby into treasure. >> reporter: this briefcase is bt particularly fancy. don't be fooled by appearances because it's holding a rare investment worth millions. we'll take a peak inside soon but a little background on the white glove multimillionaire

construction mogul who is carrying it. he's a huge baseball fan. >> i buy the items just to collect. >> reporter: and sometimes just to wear them with his fiancee watching, jim is casually sporting rare hundred-year-old baseball uniform. the hat alone is worth $200,000 because it was once owned by legendary slugger babe ruth. it's taken jim decades to collect thousands of very valuable pieces of sports history. >> i really have no idea how much money i've spent. >> reporter: this is just some of what he spent it on. he paid around 50,000 for a nearly 100-year-old baseball signed by hall of famer christy matthewson. n bucks. valued at a quarter 15 years ago he spent 65 grand on thisnd babe ruth baseball ba.

it was notched by the bambino himself. price tag today, around $1.5 million. of all purchases jim's ever made, the one he's most proud of is hidden in this hand crafted wooden briefcase. memorabilia expert dave hunt is here to tell him what it's worth. inside the case, a collection of 19 balls dating back to the early 1900s. all signed by presidents. >> theodore roosevelt. that's impossible. >> reporter: from teddy roosevelt to barack obama. not one chief executive is missing. it took jim 20 years to hunt down each autographed ball. harding cost him 50k. jfk cost about 18,000. obama's he got for free as a gift. all in, jim spent around 200 grand on the balls. >> this is literally

breathtaking. >> reporter: dave estimates the ultimate commander in chief collection could be worth between 1 and $2 million. he puts the value of all the memorabilia jim's amassed at around 20 million bucks. jim has no plans to part with any of his collection. in fact, he's only expecting his children to cash in once he's gone. >> my goal is when i pass away to have an auction for my seven children. >> reporter: an auction that will keep them living in style for generations to come. for "nightly business report," i'm robert frank. >> that does it for us tonight. i'm sue herera. thanks for joining us. have a great evening. have a great evening. i'll see you tomorrow.

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