>> announcer: this is "nightly business report," with tyler mathisen and sue herera. pending showdown. the white house may have thrown a wild card into the negotiations as the deadline to keep the government up and running fast approaches. france's rust belt. why global investors will be focused on this european nation this weekend. a family dilemma. if the only insurance carrier in eastern tennessee pulls out of obamacare, what happens to those who rely on it? those stories and more, tonight on the "nightly business report" for this friday, april 21st. we bid you good evening, i'm bill griffeth in for tyler mathisen. >> i'm sue herera. we're coming to you tonight from

the new york stock exchange, where the market's focus is squarely on washington. we're now one week away from the government potentially shutting down. even though congress is in recess, leaders in both the house and senate are working to reach an agreement that will keep the government funded past the april 28th deadline. but those negotiations may have been thrown a curve ball. the white house budget director said one of the priorities of the trump administration is money for a border wall. >> when you talk about funding the government, there is an opportunity for us to work together. and what we're focusing on right now is we have our list of priorities, it won't surprise anybody what some of them are. we want more money for defense. we want to build a border wall. we want more money for immigration enforcement. >> the sticking points in the budget negotiations are border wall, of course, immigration enforcement, and as we've been reporting, insurance subsidies under the affordable care act. elon, walk us through some of those gop demands.

>> reporter: the hard line from the administration has really caught lawmakers in both parties off-guard here. again, you mentioned that money for the border wall, stepped-up immigration enforcement. those are two things that democrats have pointed to as poison pills in any spending bill. just a few days ago, congressional aides have been signaling that negotiations were going very well, they were expected to reach some sort of a deal. this really raises questions about how hard a line the administration is going to draw. >> we know what the democrats don't want, those two poison pills. what do they want in these negotiations? >> reporter: that last item you mentioned, insurance subsidies, that is one area that the white house has signaled that they might be willing to compromise, that's on payments to insurance companies that cover low income households that are called for you had been the affordable care act. but the problem with that is that democrats say that shouldn't be a bargaining chip, that those payments are due to

insurers anyway and it's something they're already due. democrats say any trade of insurance payments for border wall funding isn't an option. the president said today so far negotiations are going well. that is his interpretation of where things stand. and there is an informal consensus among lawmakers right now in washington that they will need more than one week in order to reach an agreement. they might push back that deadline by another week to continue the negotiations. and that would actually be a good sign that they are in talks, that they are in discussions. but if they cannot reach that agreement, guys, we could be faced with a government shutdown on our hands. >> thank you so much. meantime, president trump did reiterate treasury secretary mnuchin's comments of yesterday, namely that a tax plan is near. but today he put a date on it. namely, wednesday of next week. during an interview with the

associated press, the president said that the tax cut would be, in his words, massive. stocks pared some of their losses on those comments. but still lower on the day, dow fell 31 points. nasdaq dropped by six all off time highs. the s&p 500 gave back seven. for the week, the major averages and indexes were all higher, nasdaq up 2%. oil settled below $50 a barrel for the first time this month. the president is also directing the treasury department to begin new reviews of banking rules. the first review looks at the process of winding down large failing financial companies. that provision within the group of wall street regulations was designed to protect taxpayers from large bailouts like the ones following the financial crisis. the second will look at part of the dodd/frank law that identifies firms large enough to

merit more regulation. and before he signed those reviews, the vice chair of the federal reserve warned that any significant rollback of financial regulations could have consequences >> there are aspects of dodd/frank which if they were taken away, would have serious potential consequences for the economy. not immediately, but when times get tough. >> vice chair fisher also pushed back against the idea that banking regulations put in place following the financial crisis have gone too far. the treasury department will not give permission to exxonmobil to work in russia and drill in areas prohibited by u.s. sanctions. as we reported earlier this week, exxon reportedly asked if it could work on an oil project with russia's state oil company, rosneft. secretary steven mnuchin said the decision was made in consultation with the president. on wall street, large industrial companies were in focus, both general electric and honeywell reported better than

expected earnings and revenue for the quarter. that's important to investors, because these are companies that operate across the globe. bob pisani has more from the network stock exchange. >> reporter: three industrials and three good earnings reports today. after a big week for banks, industrials are beginning to report first quarter earnings. and the results, generally pretty positive. general electric, honeywell, and tool maker black & decker all recorded earnings above expectations today. more important was the guidance for the full year. general electric affirmed its full year guidance. honeywell and stanley raised guidance modestly. yesterday, dover and paint maker sherman williams both beat expectations. and they also raised their full year guidance. so it's a little bit early in the earnings season but a good start overall. these big industrial companies are important, because they sell a lot of product all over the world. they're a good gauge of not just

the u.s. economy but the global economy. honeywell gets more than 40% of its revenues outside the united states. they make they armostats and pa shredders and all sorts of things all over the world of an industrial nature. banks and industrials are off to a good start. but it's still not clear if these somewhat higher earnings are enough to really move the stock market forward, given that stocks are expensive right now. there's also significant geopolitical risks out there. and it's not clear when pump can get his tax plan together and get it through congress. a lot of unknowns right now. for "nightly business report," bob pisani at the new york stock exchange. there's a curious trend emerging in the market. those stocks are higher in the past few months but not all are participating in the move to the upside. dominic chu takes a look. >> reporter: stocks are near record highs again. but for many market observers,

the story isn't nearly as bullish as those headlines would suggest. that's because they're not seeing as many companies participating fully in the stock market rally. most of the heavy lifting in the market has come from mega cap technology related names. >> one of the things that's leading people to invest in these mega cap market leading areas of the market and stocks is that, you know, there is a lot of concern from a policy perspective. the reality is that they want to make sure they're hedging a little bit and buying companies that will be growth drivers. >> reporter: the s&p 500's five most valuable stocks make up around 12% of the total index. each of those five stocks is having a winning record so far in 2017. apple, google parent alphabet, microsoft, amazon.com, and facebook all posting gains. apple, amazon and facebook each up at least 20% year to date versus the 5% gain in the

broader s&p 500. experts start to worry when much of the market's gains are concentrated in just a handful of stocks. >> historically, when you do touch market tops, you normally see the breadth go down, and the market is led by a smaller and smaller subset of names. >> reporter: while there is an abundance of caution at current levels, it doesn't appear there's any reason to panic anytime soon. >> if you look at general investor behavior, it appears that investors don't necessarily seem to be acting in the way they do when the markets are near a top. but nonetheless, stocks are rich across the board regardless. >> reporter: the debate rages on. are economic and corporate fundamentals healthy enough to sustain the upward movement in stocks, or is the market ready for that long-awaited pullback? for "nightly business report," i'm dominic chu. the french presidential elections begin this weekend, as

you no doubt know. global markets are fixated on the vote because one of the leading candidates, marine le pen, wants to abandon the euro and return france to its national currency. michelle caruso reports from paris. >> reporter: 100 miles north of par paris, this historic town center has its storefronts shuttered and even more evidence of a long economic downturn. it's part of france's rust belt. >> the unemployment rate is 20, it's huge. >> reporter: the median household income, less than $18,000. for those reasons and more, this is national front territory. the national front is the party of presidential can the marine le pen. the people here voted solidly

for le pen in the first round of the 2012 election and they're expected to do so again. attracted to her platform of economic patriotism, that calls for the protection of french industries and also the protection of french labor unions. >> for many people, marine le pen will bring back employment. for example, and i think a lot of french people want -- just want to have the feeling that they are the priority of projects. that isn't the case anymore. >> reporter: not everyone in town likes her, though. green party member marine tondelere says le pen is merely selling celebrity and that she won't be able to deliver on her promises. >> it's like "make america great again." >> reporter: le pen isn't the only candidate making a push here. one block from her headquarters is that of communist candidate jean-luc melenchon.

in all, four contenders are running neck and neck, each focused heavily on security in the wake of the shooting on the champs-elysees last night that left one police officer dead. and in marseille, two men were arrested who intended an attack during the election. pundits say the heightened terrorism fears help le pen because of her strong anti-immigrant stance and her criticism of radical islam. >> the effect of the terrorism will be to inflame the right wing vote. at the same time, you have a state of mind to more get united, sometimes. so you don't know yet. >> reporter: she's a former writer for the paris magazine "charlie hebdo" which suffered a terrorist attack in 2013. she fears for her safety when she's in public. >> i'm avoiding being attacked from someone who can recognize me. it's part of the journalist'

life today. >> reporter: that's how many french people now. in france, it is a two-round election process. this coming sunday, there are 11 candidates for president on the ballot. the top two vote-getters go on to a final round two weeks from now. it is widely believed marine le pen will be one of those two. for "nightly business report," michelle caruso cabrera, paris. still ahead, health care's uncertain future. >> reporter: here in eastern tennessee, residents are frustrated by the impass and worried that next year they may have no obamacare options at all. initial filings in virginia

and kentucky show that health insurers are still thinking about offering coverage next year, despite uncertainty surrounding the future of obamacare. nine insurers filed to offer plans in virginia, that's one fewer than this year, and two filed in kentucky. virginia and kentucky have two of the earliest filing deadlines in the country. meantime, president trump said today there is, quote, no rush to get health care legislation done next week. but some residents in tennessee that get their insurance from the exchanges are growing nervous because they're not sure what will happen to their coverage next year. bertha coombs reports from knoxville. >> reporter: a bicycle accident left john nels in a wheelchair a few years ago. it happened a mile from his home in knoxville. >> the force telescoped through my back and burst three vertebr

vertebrae. >> reporter: now he's facing another health care challenge. he and his wife are self-employed and rely on their obamacare exchange plan. >> the biggest concern we have is what's going to happen going into 2018. we do have coverage for this year on the humana plan. but in 2018, there will be zero options in this county. >> reporter: humana is the only exchange insurer in most of eastern tennessee. but it's dropping out of the obamacare market next year. the state's insurance commissioner says with the uncertainty in washington over the repeal of obamacare, and overfunding for cost sharing subsidies which help out low income enrollees, other carriers won't step in. >> the most critical issue for us is funding of the cost-sharing reduction payments. >> reporter: julie mcpeak say if congress and the trump administration cut off subsidies, the problem will spread. >> we have five states that only have one insurer statewide, and

another nine like tennessee that have the majority of counties offering only one insurer for coverage. it would be a blow to those markets. >> reporter: cherokee health systems is seeing increased demands from patients worried that they'll lose coverage at year's end. >> the lack of charity, the changing every single day, in a way makes it harder, because one minute you're ready to deal with one plan, and literally two hours later or even the next day, there could be a different proposal on the table. >> reporter: here in knoxville, frustration with the political infighting is high, because the threat of no obamacare plan is real. and many here feel washington doesn't get it. >> do they realize what type of pressure that you face every day in making health care decisions? >> simply waiting to let the current law explode is going to

leave a lot of people hurt. >> reporter: and the longer the debate goes on, the higher the number of people who could feel the pain. bertha coombs, "nightly business report," knoxville, tennessee. weakness overseas hurts results at schlumberger. that's where we begin tonight's market focus. despite strength in its u.s. markets, the oil field service company said there was a drop in activity and sales in china and russia, causing overall revenue to miss its mark. the company's lower profit was in line with estimates, though. shares were lower by 2% today to close at $74.84. kansas city southern said its profit grew as the railroad operator benefitted from an increase in carload volumes. the results beat expectations. the company also reported a rise in revenue but saw shares fall on concerns that president trump's renegotiation of nafta will affect kansas city southern's mexico operations. shares were off nearly 3%.

when all was said and done, it closed at $87.99. united continental's ceo oscar munoz will not add "chairman" to his executive title next year. in a public filing, the company said munoz requested his contract be revised removing provisions granting him authority to become chairman. the shares were off a fraction to $69.56. shares of sketchers fell today as investors focused on weak guidance out after the bell last night. the footwear company posted better than expected sales and profit thanks to strength in international and retail businesses. but it also says it sees earnings for the current quarter below forecasts. shares were down to $25.48. americans are buying up homes at a quick pace. sales of existing homes rose to their highest level in a decade. the national association of

realtors says sales climbs nearly nearly 4.5% in march. tight inventory is the biggest factor. supply is lower than it was a year ago, prompting homes to stay on the market now just about 34 days on average. and it's time now for our market monitor who has some names of stocks he says will benefit from demand in the housing industry and any tax rate changes out of washington. this is his first time on the program. so let's welcome michael sansitara, chief invest officer and senior portfolio manager of a large cap growth fund which is up 9% this year. welcome, nice to have you here. >> nice to be here. >> you're talking about growth. but you say growth is a condition, not a category. so you want to look for companies that exceed those expectations? >> that's right. growth can happen anywhere, including in cyclical businesses like housing is a great example. the trick is really understanding what's already priced into the market, how long can those conditions persist, and will you be able to profit from it in a longer term

perspective. >> let's get to the stocks that you like this week. dr horton, the biggest homebuilder in the country, is that the only one you like? why do you pick this one? >> that's our favorite one, we own it from a homebuilder perspective. we like their ability to execute, first and foremost, in 27 states, at the low and medium range of the market. we like their ability to purchase land and raise price. what we've seen through dr horton through the years is really the ability to find places were homes are really needed, price accordingly, manage accordingly, and take market share. they're one of the fastest growing homebuilders in the country. that's because of execution. that's part of the reason why scale has been real important for them. >> also the remodelling trend. kitchens and baths. you've picked a company, fortune brands home security, that really has quite a bigfoot print in that particular area. >> they do. kitchen cabinets, faucets, as well as doors, windows, and

security. this is a company we've owned for some time. we've seen their kitchen cabinets business get consolidated. it's been a very fragmented market. they're doing the same thing now with plumbing, buying some smaller competitors. they're going to take their plumbing revenue from $1.5 billion to closer to $2.5 billion over the next four years. we think as they do that, they'll do it more profitably than many investors suspect, and at the same time take market share from the other smaller fragmented players in the space. >> and sort of in the same category there, ao smith in the boiler and water tank area. >> correct, decidedly not as sexy a business. it's a gdp plus a little growth business for water heaters and boilers 0 the residential and commercial side. what we like about ao smith is their china exposure. they've got 30% of the business in china. it's been growing north of 20% for the next ten years. for the next ten years it will probably grow in the mid-teen

range. we've seen their ability to sell ancillary products to the chinese, not just water heaters but water and air pure fictiifi. >> michael, thank you so much fo >> my pleasure, take care. coming up, the man who accurately predicted things in the past now looks to the future. >> reporter: i'm jane wells in los angeles where we have the worst traffic in the nation. where should america spend its infrastructure dollars? coming up, we talk to a futurist who predicted what los angeles would look like in the movie "blade runner." he predicted wearables, handheld devices, and driverless cars decades before they happened.

volkswagen will play a nearly $3 billion criminal penalty for cheating on diesel emissions tests. the deal was negotiated between the automaker and the justice department and approved by a judge. that pushes the fine past $15 billion. volkswagen recently pleaded guilty to conspiracy and obstruction of justice. wells fargo has agreed to expand its fake account settlement. the bank saying it will now include customer accounts all the way back to 2002. that increases the bank's total payout to more than $140 million. the larger settlement was agreed to after an internal report showed that the bank officials knew about the creation of unauthorized debit card accounts earlier than thought. and finally tonight, what does the future look like?

sometimes we would all like to be able to take a little peek at what's ahead. but one man has a pretty good track record at predicting the future. jane wells spoke to him. >> reporter: check this out. it's a painting predicting the kentucky derby in the year 2075. there's a man with a wireless handheld device. messengers on wheels like a segway. and the floating board over the infield is called the internet. this image was created in 1976, before any of this existed. it says internet, in 1976, you wrote "internet." >> yes. >> reporter: yeah, he did. sid mead has been accurately predicting the future for decades. >> my mantra is, if it's a good idea, it will happen eventually. this is from "blade runner." >> reporter: he's a legend in detroit for his car designs.

he came to hollywood 35 years ago to create the cars and the look for "blade runner." over the years he's predicted things like driverless cars and wearables. all came true. los angeles hasn't turned out quite as awful as "blade runner" predicted, but it still has the worst traffic in the nation. where does sid mead think america needs to put its infrastructure dollars? not in building more lanes. >> this is looking west on first street. >> reporter: in fact he sees a future with fewer people owning cars as millennials don't see the need. >> they're not interested in it. they have social media to talk to their friends, i mean worldwide. so you're going to have more people using the same car. and that of course diminishes how many cars you make. >> reporter: he says freeways will be used for driverless ubers or trucks delivering from amazon. what about the hyperloop? >> a good idea in terms of convenience. but the infrastructure cost, i don't know who's going to pay for that. >> reporter: he thinks in the future more of us will live in

cities. so infrastructure spending should bring nature into urban areas. things like the highline in new york. >> you create a country neighborhood in the middle of the met rropolismetropolis. you have to think of all this. >> reporter: he's been right before. for "nightly business report," jane wells in los angeles. >> he could be right again. >> he's got that picture of the kentucky derby. i want him to think about who is going to win the kentucky derby. then we've got something there. >> then we've got something. that does it for "nightly business report," i'm sue herera. >> i'm bill griffeth. have a great weekend, everybody. see you monday.