>> announcer: this is "nightly business repor tyi ty and sue herera. up, up, and away. the dow closes above 23,000 for the first time ever. and it is led by an unlikely stock -- ibm. stepping down. long time american express ceo plans to retire early next year. and the stock initially falls. housing headache. there aren't enough houses. there aren't enough workers to build them. and the problem appears to be getting worse. those stories and more tonight on "nightly business report" for wednesday, october 18th. good evening, everyone, and welcome. the wall street bull pushed its way through a big round number. for the first time ever, the dow closed above 23,000 after one

day after briefly touching that level. and it did so with confidence, surging triple digits. this is the blue chip index's 4,000-point milestone this year. ibm played a big role in today's advance. shares of big blue soared nearly 9%, its best day since 2009. on the back of its quarterly results that we told you about last night. solid earnings and improving global growth have also contributed to the market's seemingly uninterrupted rally. when all was said and done the dow jones industrial a gained 160 points to 23,157. nasdaq rose just fractionally. the s&p 500 was up nearly two. bob pisani takes a look at why nothing seems to s >> reporter: stocks seemed to be racking up record highs. the dow grew 5,000 points in 18 months. that means the dow has advanced 1,000 points on average every 3.6 months. at this rate we'll hit 24,000 at the end of january and we'll be

celebrating 25,000 in the middle of may. the markets keep rallying because everyone has come to believe that all the problems of the market will resolve itself. why? because it's worked so far. under this logic, the market believes there's not going to be any real conflict with north korea because everyone believes the chinese will work with the u.s. the market believes tax cuts will pass because everyone believes the market impasse will somehow be resolved. the market believes the record earnings will continue because the global economy will keep expanding and tax cuts will add another 2 or 3 or 4%, pick one, to earnings next year. and finally and most importantly, the market believes the fed will not make any policy error because everyone believes the fed will remain just dovish enough not to rattle the market. call it stoner logic. that's what i call it. dude, chill out, it's all going to work out. and maybe it will. but my bet is the biggest risk to the market is the last one, the fed overshoots its target.

markets have been disrupted by the great ocean of liquidity that the global central banks have provided. and who knows what will happen when that starts to recede? i'm bob pisani for "nightly business repor at e new york stock exchange. ibm's stock soared nearly 9% today despite being down about 4% for the year. some investors are betting that the worst is behind it. but is this really a turning point for ibm? david holt is an equity analyst at cfra research. david, welcome, good to have you with us. ibm has been a wounded duck for a long time. is i? >> you know, really after looking at q3 results and digesting those, it's a step in the right direction. we saw some positive momentum d recovery for key segments that have been lagging in the past. if that momentum carries through to q4, that could set the stage

nicely for 2018. >> and you think that some of this has been overlooked by others in the market, correct? >> absolutely. i think the overall theme has been overlooked by many investors. but really, when you've had a look at it, this actually led to our upgrade in july 2017 from a hold to a buy. we saw signs of that civilization, solid growth from strategic imperatives which delivered in q3. again, questions do remain, if that can carry through. we are believers at this time. >> you've got a buy on it, you've got $175 price target on it. what it there? >> consistent execution. strategic impervious, delivering at least high single digit growth, as well as that recover, again. from those key segments, whether it be consulting or technology solutions. >> you say that cloud, i'm

looking at my notes, you saw cloud growth rise 20% in q3. do you think it will carry over into the next quarter? >> you know, you hope so. really, whether you look at it kind of to the back half of 2017 and definitely into '18, just that normalized level, at least high double digits, you know, mid-double digit growth, as long as that's intact, you know, i think you could definitely see some positive progress for the company. >> i'll put you on the spot, david. i have no idea how many stocks you follow. is ibm in the top quartile right now of your choices? is it one of your favorites? >> yeah, i would definitely say it's compelling. look, you ha rock bottom valuation, trading 17, 18 times earnings, yielding 3.5%, definitely a defensive play. if you catch the market volatility into '18. >> david, thanks very much.

david holt. >> thanks for having me. >> you bet, thank you. the ceo of american express will step down early next year. ken chenault has served as chairman and ceo since 2001 and is one of the country's most prominent african-american e leaders. he will be succeeded by stephen squeri, an american express veteran who was in charge of corporate cards. the move follows a difficult period for the company, which saw the lost of its costco partnership and increased competition from jpmorgan's sapphire reserve card. late today the company reported a rise in quarterly profit offsetting a rise in costs. you can see the immediate rise in the stock when the earnings were released and then the initial decline in the stock when the ceo announcement was made. investors attention today also turned overseas where china's president spoke about the world's second largest economy, at the country's key meeting of the communist party

congress. eunice yoon reports from beijing. >> reporter: president xi is ushering in a new era for china, mentioning the phrase "new era" 36 times today in his 3 1/2 hour long speech. president xi praised the party's achievement for the past five years and outlined his vision for the next five years in his second term. in his work report, he says he sees china's future as socialism with chinese characteristics. he signaled there would be no political reforms, that the party would continue to fight against corruption, and that china would reemerge as a mighty force on the world stage, politically, economically, and militarily. >> translator: today compared to any time in our history we have never been this close to or confident and capable of realizing our grand mission of revitalizing our country and culture. >> reporter: on the economy, president xi continued to present himself as a defender of

globalization, saying china would become more and more open. for foreign investors he promised greater market access, services in the financial sector, and pledged to protect their rights and interesy watchers believe president xi still favors a state-led approach to the economy. in his work report, president xi promised to reform the state's sector by making them stronger, better, and bigger. it's that last word, "bigger," that raised flags among foreign investors who had been hoping to see the state sector drop from the economy here. for "nightly business report," i'm eunice yoon in beijing. economic activity here in the u.s. is growing despite the impact of the hurricanes. the federal reserve describes growth as somewhere between modest and moderate in its latest snapshot of the economy, known as baeige book. the report did show little evidence of inflation despite a

tight labor market. that tight labor market is a problem for housing. starts dropped more than expected in september. some of that can be attributed to the hurricanes down south. the real problem nationally is an acute labor shortage. that's only getting worse because of those natural disasters. diana olic >> reporter: the number of houston homes destroyed by hurricane harvey surpassed the number expected to be built in the city in all of 2017. and in california, the damage isn't done yet. if the labor shortage in this country was bad before, it is now acute. >> all the resources are being drained to the rebuilding effort. that's going to increase the cost of housing and renovation across the nation. >> reporter: just after hurricane harvey, the chairman of the national association of homebuilders implored the trump administration to ease up on immigration, saying a successful guest worker program will help alleviate the current labor shortage in the residential construction sector, quicken the rebuilding efforts in texas, and

support the overall economic growth of this nation. so far, no answer. >> the housing market can't take the shock of a natural event. it can't take any shock. it's because we are so tightly wound with inventory, any change is a big change. >> reporter: the number of existing homes for sale nationally is at a record low, and single family housing starts like this one are still 19% below their historical average. curiously, homebuilder sentiment jumped this month despite drops in both ne. in that release, even the nahb's chairman warned his own constituency there would be more difficulties ahead. ea olick in washington for "nightly business repo >> head to our website, nbr.com, to read more about labor and construction. ahead, on the eve of the anniversary of black monday,

investors are wondering whether a cr house speaker paul ryan opposes a short term fix to shore up the health exchanges under the affordable care act. a spokesman for the speaker said he believes the senate should keep its focus on repealing and replacing the law. as for the president, he initially signaled support for the bipartisan deal but appears to have reversed course over concerns that the agreement might benefi >> we'll see the bipartisan. we're going to see the bipartisan. and lamar alexander's working on it very hard from our side. and if something can happen, that's fine. but i won't do anything to

enrich the insurance companies because right now, the insurance companies are being enriched. they've been enriched by obamacare like nothing anybody's ever seen before. i am not going to do anything to enrich the insurance companies. >> separately, 19 state attorneys general are asking a federal judge to force the white house to make the health care subsidy payments that the president abruptly halted last week. president trump's recent executive order could usher in health care changes. the most significant might involve more short term insurance plans that offer fewer benefits than were required under the affordable care act. one broker, for instance, is already offering plans with cheaper options. but as bertha coombs reports, the plans are not without risks and gaps. >> reporter: john conley has friends who benefitted from those plans. he says he earns too much to get a subsidy and not enough to pay for premiums which have tripled

from 190 to $670 a month. >> it became too expensive for me to afford. it made us have to get creative in the way we approached buying health insurance. >> reporter: online broker e-health says it's a problem for many of their off-exchange customers. next month it's launching limited coverage plans in partnership with two private insurers, targeted as consumers looking for cheaper coverage. >> it's a combination of short term insurance, gap insurance, fixed indemnity. >> reporter: e-health will streamline the billing and filing of claims. >> one place to manage all their benefits. we're trying to do the work for our customer. >> reporter: president trump's executive order this month could pave the way for more of these short term limited coverage plans in the off-exchange market. under the aca, they're intended for people to use between jobs or outside of open enrollment. this year, they were limited to just three-month contracts. still, some consumers are finding ways to use these plans

as their full-time health insurance. >> it's a temporary plan. i think it renews every three months. and the health insurance plan is a pretty standard 80/20 plan with a 20% co-insurance, $1,000 deductible. i added dental and vision to it and it costs me about $150 a month. >> reporter: the plan has a lifetime cap of about $1 miion. health care advocates caution that type of coverage can leave consumers underinsured in the event of a major illness like cancer or a major heart attack. and it does not include obamacare protections for preexisting conditions. >> for individuals that can afford an obamacare plan, that's what they should buy. that's a major medical, it's guaranteed issue, it covers everything from maternity care to mental health. our plans cover less but they're also at about half the price. >> reporter: because the plans are noncompliant, enrollees could be on the hook for the obamacare penalty for not being covered at tax time. a risk john conley is willing to

take. >> i would rather stay out of the government insurance. and i can keep that money in my pocket through the year and use it for myself. >> reporter: for "nightly business repor" i'm bertha coombs. wholesale revenue jumps at super value. that's where we begin tonight's market focus. the supermarket operator posted a loss. but adjusted earnings beat estimates by a dime. super value said its recent acquisition of unified grocers contributed a big chunk of that revenue gain. but super value said it isn't done, saying it is buying associated grocers of florida, a retail food distributor. still shares lost 11%, closing at $17.09. profit and revenue grew at abbott labs as rising sales in in the company's medical devices and generics business.

shares were up 1%. spectrum pharmaceuticals reported encouraging preliminary results from a study of its long cancer drug. the biotech company said all the patients who were given that treatment saw some degree of tumor shrinkage. spectrum shares rocketed higher by 36%, to finish the day at $19.67. the insurance company assurance said it is buying the protection plan provider the warranty group for $2.5 billion including debt. assurance said the deal will grow its global footprint, add to its existing services. assurance shares up 6% to $101.80. after the bell united continental reported stronger than expected profits and revenue despite business disruptions from those storms. shares of the airline rose in the extended session, then fell. they ended the regular day up fractionally. ebay was out with results after the bell. sales at the online marketplace

grew in the latest quarters. the company attracted more active buyers to its platform. those results beat estimates while earnings fell in line. shares were initially lower, as you see there, in afterhours but finished the regular day up more than 1% at $37.97. the dow's first close about 23,000 comes nearly 30 years to the day since black monday. the blue chip index drop of roughly 23% remains the biggest ever. many investors are wondering if it could happen again. dominic chu takes a look. >> reporter: the investing world today is a lot different than it was back in 1987. >> the dow off more than 500 points. paper losses more than $500 billion. >> reporter: but that hasn't dampened the debate over whether another market crash like black monday could happen again. >> with respect to the massive drop seen on black monday, it is

obviously of a very low likelihood. but we would never say tha i couldn't happen in today's markets. in fact there are a lot of factors in place that, if anything, make it potentially more likely than it wo back the. >> reporter: among the factors that could make a big market crash more likely, the rise in electronic computer-based trading that has accelerated the pace of market action, as well as that move towards index investing and exchange traded funds or etfs. if everyone is in the same investments, what happens if everyone but there are also a lot of reasons why we won't see a big market crash anytime soon. >> the first is that there's still massive liquidity in the system. even though the fed looks to be potentially raising rates in december, the u.s. is still supplying liquy at a massive pace. same thing for europe, same thing for japan, same thing for china. the second thing is the aggregate global economic picture is strong and improving.

>> reporter: trading systems and and robust today than they were back in 1987. and the recent trend has been for investors to continue to buy even relatively small market drops. could another black monday happen? ofg is possible. but most on wall street don't think it's a likely scenario. for "nightly business report," i'm dominic chu. coming up, falling in love or falling for a scam? now, that's a teas and here's a look at what to watch for tomorrow. weekly jobs claims will give us

a look at the labor market. we'll find out how manufacturers are feeling about business activity. and more big name earnings are due out with dow components verizon and travelers reporting. there you have it. there's what to watch for on thursday. ford will recall more than 1 million trucks in north america to fix alatch. that fix will cost the automaker more than $260 million. it will be reflected in fourth quarter results. the door latch issue is on some f-150 and f-250 trucks. not even billionaires are safe from scammers. sir richard branson, founder of the virgin group, was the target of a fraudster posing as britain's defense minister michael fallon who tried to get him to contribute millions to a supposed secret ransom payment. branson had been told that a british diplomat had been kidnapped and was being held for ransom by terrorists. >> the government wouldn't allow him to put up money for

blackmail, for extortion. he was coming to a number of businessmen to put up $5 million each to get the person back out again. and fortunately, i mean, it was very real, i mean, i double-checked and found that sir michael fallon hadn't phoned me. >> sir richard branson suspects the later person impersonated him to steal $2 million from a friend of his by pretending to raise fund for hurricane victims. another well-known scheme involves a nigerian prince. it's been going on since before the internet was a thing. but now the game has changed. cyber criminals are hooking in victims and stealing cash using far more sophisticated methods and raking in billions. andrea day looks at why investigators have their eyes on lan used a and why you with one person after another.

>> reporter: just take a look. according to investigators, these are the scripts con men use to reel in lonely victims. >> it didn't matter if it was male or female. >> reporter: the script blasted out at dating sites, strategically designed to start relationships and keep them hooked. "i'm totally new to this dating stuff, i feel like you're right here beside me." >> hundreds of thousands have been defrauded. >> reporter: she fell hard for a man who called himself sam west. >> it was like we knew each other. >> reporter: he said he was living overseas for work. but he wasn't who he said he was. >> i felt embarrassed. >> reporter: we found the real sam west, a former government agent whose name and locations were used in the scheme. we're keeping his identity secret. they were both victim to a multimillion dollar nigerian crime ring. according to prosecutors, they have operated in the u.s. for

years. >> nothing would have happened to them in nigeria because it was americans who were their targets. >> reporter: here in gulfport, mississippi, her online boyfriend sent her a box filled with cellphones and told her to ship it to africa. she called police. >> that one phone call took down a massive fraud network. >> reporter: the mississippi southern district ausa. >> we're a small branch office in mississippi. everybody is like, what the heck are you doing in mississippi with this stuff? >> reporter: the team discovered loads of other victims across the country, all conned into worked for fake boyfriends and girlfriends. >> 360 e-mail accounts, a million e-mails. >> reporter: a virtual network of american e-mules as investigators describe them. she says those mules were then shared by the entire nigerian organization. >> do you have somebody that can move this money for me or mail

this package for me. and they would say, sure. >> reporter: investigators say the victims unwittingly helped carry out a bunch of money-making schemes like cashing fake checks and shipping goods bought with stolen credit cards. and ultimately, wiring the laundered money back to africa. >> it probably moved through four different hands before something went overseas. >> reporter: the nigerian criminals? investigators say living large by local standards. homeland security investigations agent todd williams. >> bragging about the money they were stealing from americans. >> reporter: investigators spent years tracking down the criminals behind the con. that's when they found the real sam west. unknowingly mixed up in the . >> i got a call from my wife that someone had come onto our property looking for me. >> reporter: she wast alone. other victims sent letters, all in love with a man they never met. >> they were asking, why aren't i hearing from you, what do you

want me to do with the clothes, with the laptop? >> reporter: that nigerian organization was recently taken down with 12 pleading guilty and three others found guilty at trial. four are still at large. experts say the n game is far from over. >> that's just the tip of the iceberg. >> reporter: west africa, according to the security expert, a growing hotbed of fraudulent activity. >> it seems far more collaborative. cyber crime is a team sport there. >> reporter: a group effort like no other in the world. >> we've seen $2 billion in the last year. that's just in cash. >> reporter: don't think it's the same old nigerian prince scheme. >> these are finely tuned, sophisticated schemes that are targeted to separate you from your money. >> reporter: he says the west african attack is all about mind games. >> this region is far more focused on that social con, on that trick. >> reporter: he says those mind games are used by the area more than countries like russia or china who have more of a technical or scientific

approach. it's all about hooking you in with tidbits they find on social media and playing with your mind to send money versus sending out just a faceless malware attack. for "nightly business report," i'm andrea day. >> head to our website, nbr.com, to read more about scams such as this one. >> that's scary. that does it for us tonight on "nightly business report." i'm sue herera. thanks for joining us. >> i'm tyler mathisen. thanks from me as well. have a great evening, everybody. we'll see yo

>> this is bbc world news america. funding of this presentation is made possible by -- the freeman foundation, kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs, and fox searchlight. >> my mum says you are writing a book to stop people going to war. i would really like if you write a book for me. >> have you come to see my woods? >> i'm going to call my bear winnie. >> you should call him pooh. if he ignores you, you can pretend you were just saying "pooh." >> pooh!