this is "nightly business report" with tyler mathisen and sue herrera. >> in like a lion. stocks fall sharps on thi first trading day of march, as the white house promises steep tariffs on steel and aluminum, sparking fierce ining fears of routwo. the fed chief back on capitol hill today. a new , toough. the economy is not overheating. tapping the brakes. auto sales slow, but few in the industry appear worried. igose stories and more tonht on "nightly business report" for thursday, march 1st. good evening, everyone, and welcome. it is hard tooverstate just how much wall street had its eyes on washington today. and toda washington made wall street blink, hard. stocks tanked after the esident said he plans to

impose steve tariffs of 25%n steel imports and 10% on aluminum, across the board. the announcement caught investors justiinvestor omoff guard and raised concerns about retaliation ome of our major trading partners. such a move, experts say, could ripple through the economy, and affect t number of sectors, given that the u.s. is the world's largest steel importer. and that is why stocks took such a tumble. the dow industrials shed 420 points to 24,680. the nasdaq off 92. the s&p 500 fell 36. stl stocks,though, went in the opposite direction pb rising on the idea that tariffs could be p in place. kayla tausche is in washington tonight. orter: president trump told steel and aluminum executives he's made up his mind to slap tariffs on imports. trump sayshat's the way to end years of unfair trade practices. >> so we're bringg it back a we're going to bring it back

relatively rapidly. >> reporter: the president's decision clashed with some of his top aides and gop lawmakerse they're ced about higher prices of goods made from those evoducts. everything fromages in aluminum cans to farm equipment to cars and trucks. but century aluminum ceo michael n.ess says concerns of higher prices are overbl >> if the worst case happened, unlikely, history says it won't, but if the whole tariff got translated into the price of that motor car, $37. >> reporter: auto executives scoff at that claim and free iffs wouldrts say t be a drag on the economy. >> historically, when we've protected these industries with high tariffs or high restrictions, we find that it ends up losing more jobs than it produces. >> reporter: the news well received outside the u.s. the world trade organization said the levees broke its rules and european allies as well as china have considered retaliating on products like bourbon, motorcycles, and grains and >> this is certainly a huge

intensification of trade conflicts. it reverses, really, 70 years of the u.s. trying to open markets around the world. >> reporter: t president is expected to sign the tariffs next week. there is sll work to be done. and that means uncertainty,,n the meantind potential pressure for a change of heart. for "nightly business report," i'm kayla tausche in washington. >> the other big story today was also out of washington. fed chair jerome powell was back on capitol hill, testifying on the economy, just days after suggesting that a strengthening o morey could lead interest rate increases than expected this year if but today, his comments appeared much more measured.es steve n has the details. >> reporter: on the second h da testimony, fed chairman jerome powell struck a more dovishtone. while he warned on day one that the economyheould ov, on day said, there's actually no evidence that it's overheating. and whit the mar worries

about wage inflation, powell seems less concerned, at least for now. >> we seey wages a couple of measures trending up a little bit, but most of them continuing to grow at about 2.5%. so, nothin that suggests to me that wage inflation is at a point of acceleration. and so, i would expect that some continued strengthening in the bor market can take place without causing inflation. >> reporter: powell stuck to his generally upbeat view on the economy and the tax cuts. he suggested they will help spur economic growth and capitalen ng along with productivity and maybe even wage growth. but the new fed chairman in his firstmo congressional tes followed his predecessors in warning about big deficits. he said the t fiscal paththe united states is unsustainable. tid powell weighed in delicately on the cl issue of trade, tariffs, and >> i think the record is clear that over long periods of time, for many, many countries, it's a

net positive, it stieads poty and forces our companies to compete. the tariff approach is not the thst approach. best approach is to deal directly with the people who were affected rather thang fallack on tariffs. >> reporter: next major stop for powell? ing, hish 30th fed me first as chairman, will perhaps rise interest rates by aer qua point and provide clarity on where rates go fm here. r "nightly business report," i'm steve liesman. >> let's turn now to our two guests. in light of news today, art hogan is with b. reilly fbr, and joe berswails. welcome, mr. berswails. let me ask a simple question, from an economic perspective, are these tariffs a good idea? >> no, they're one small ste towards a trade war and one giant step backwards for the economy. if they're fully implemented at the levels mr. trump is o see ting, you're going job losses, higher prices,s and

disruption of critical supply and value chains that both we and our major trade partners in nafta rely upon. while i'm definitely concerned with what's said today, i'm much more concerned with the larger spillover in terms ofpoow the cy is designed and whether it's broad or narrow. and ift hits canada or mexico. >> and art, i think you share some of those same concerns, do you not? specifically how it relates to the north american free trader agreementnafta? >> yeah, i think the biggest concern i have going into 2018 is the successful renegotiation of nafta. it hasn't been easy. there's been a lot of bumps in the road. we're continuings.he proc these tariffs could blow that up. we could absolutely destroy the ability to get this negotiated, especially if the tariffs are broad rging and adversely affect our two most important trade partners, which are canada and mexico. knso, you , unfortunately, this is a small step, but it's really the beginnig of somethuch larger, especially if it adversely affects our ability to stay in nafta. >> joe, you mentioned the possible impact on trade with canada and mexico. canada is the number one steel

exporter to the united states. mexico is number four. and in what the president said today, my sense was that there was not going to be any exception for any steel exporter d states.i so it will hit canada and mexico. >> well, that's right. canada and mexico account for 36% of our overall market. the way they talk about it, though, it looy' like t targeting china. china has captured about 3.3%f our market. we really only import about 200,000 tons of metric steeler year. so i'm hoping the trump administration reconsiders the broadnes the way they've shaped the policy, at least in the early phases. i do not see any economic or financial logic to any of this. this looks to have more to do with mr. ump's own interests than it does with u.s. policy. >>o let me follow up, any might there, and sue, indulge me. >> mm-hmm. >> peoe in the steel and aluminum industries make a very strong and anguished case that

hey have been victimized by unfair competition from lots of countries, including china, which as you poi out, is a small, direct exporter to the united states. but in a conversation we had earlier today with the forme head o newcorps, he said, that is a mask raquerade, because a of tt chinese product i coming in through other countries. what about the legitimacdof the steel luminum industries who make a very impassioned case on this? >> okay, so there's three things here. just quick. first is, they're using national security as a fig leaf. that's simply not the case. we only absorb 9% -- excuse me, less than 1% o of chinerall exports, twokay? newcorp, ak aluminum, ak steel, what they're doing is they're asking for protection, right? they want protection from foreign markets, because they're not competitive. and what they're aing essentially american consumers to do is to accept higher prices in terms of autos, aerospace

products, and overall transportation. they're asking to be favored over gm and boeing, which, you know, if you take a look at our economy, that's simply not -- that's a simple non-starter from the get-go. the third thing here is that i think isreally, really important, okay, that these companies as currently constituted are simply not competitive on a global basis. and they do not deserve the protection. >> art, let me turn you to the what this all portends for the market going forward. because we saw a fairly vehement reaction in the market this afternoon. and there is some talk in washington that these tarifth or suggestion of them might be expanded. what does all of this rhetoric out of washington and possible significant actiongtut of wash mean for wall street? >> well, sue, that's a great question. and we should take it one step . at a ti so, obviously, tariffs in and of themselves are a tax and they'rt innary.

so one of our biggest concerns is rising inflation and what would t it mean forerstates and monetary policy. so if you combine all the things we're concerned about, rising a interest rates, rising inflation, an aggreive fed. all of that spells trouble for the markets and spells trouble for the economy. i think this is the exact wrong move at the exact wrong time to acerbate concerns we have with this market to begin with. the best thing to do on trade is posture like we've beendoing, try to get better deals, try to get better deals, tut not to support an industry that employs by a factor 100imes fewer people that use the raw material they're producing. i think fou ought toor the people that are steel users, not the people that are steel producers, because there's a hundred timesore jobs created that way. >> art hogan with b. reilly and joe busuelos with rsm. thank you, guys. well, exxonmobil says the implementation of tariffs ort imteeld could impact the proposed expansion of an oil

refine . according uters, the world's largest oil producer has been weighing adding new capacity to a large texas plant, but a final decision has not been mad >> and add automakers to the list of industries rejecting the president's tariffs.ul one said it raise the cost of vehicles and hurt the kp competitiveness of u.s. automakers. and the news worries comes just as the industry reported a slowdown in sales for february. but there is one trend that is not slowing down. buyers continue to shift out of cars and into crossovers a suvs and pickups. phil lebeau has the details. >> reporter: walk into a showroom these days and it seems ke buyersre only looking to drive away with a bigger model, like a crossover or an suv. last month, jeep salespe j

12%. at nissan, sales of crossovers, trucks, and suvs climbed almost 10%. the move into higher priced and more profitable suvs andpickups is one reason few in the industry are worried about overall sales edging lower. with gm, ford, and fiat chrysler all seeing a drop in business last month. >> the pie is shrinking. we're in an off-peak era, and so everybody is vying for a piece of the pie. we're seein a lot of incentives around trying to keep loyal customers, as well as nquesting the competitors. >> reporter: general motors hopes to meet the growing demand for pickup trucks with a redesigned gmc sierra denali that will h showrooms later this year. hile pickups continue to be in demand, the hottest market is with crossovers and suvs. they now make up 40% of all vehicles bought in the u.s. partially because there's now a slew of newodels to choose from. but also because they are more fuel eff sient thans and

crossovers in the past. still, with gas prices expected to rise this spring and summer, we could see prices at the pump reach their haguest level in years. that may finally prompt american to finally hit the brakes on their growing appetite for larger vehicles. phil lebeau, nightly business ch report, ago. >> it is time to take a look at some of today's upgrades and downgrades. wendy's saw its ratings raised from neutral to sell at ubs. the analyst cites better sales trend and an attractive valuation. was increasedet to $17. the shares rose fractionally to $15.98. macy's saw its rating lifted from buy toold at gordon has ket. the firm expects improved sales over the next couple of years. the call comes just days after the department saw a reported better-th better-than-expected earnings. the stock fell half to $29.25.

>> crock's ring was listed to overweight. the rating upgrade follows its most recent earnings lk and a disappointing outlook. the target price was increased to $15 a share. croc stock, i love saying that, croc stock was up 5% to $12.92. the industrial com eaton saw its rating lifted from neutral to underweight at jpmorgan. the analyst there says the risks andewards are more heavily balanced. therice target, $82. the stock down more than 1% to $79.59. >> and still ahead, why share buybacks have surged over the past few months.

a new develtoment in a that we've been following for you. georgia lawmakers overwhelmingl approved a sweeping tax bill that was stripped of a provision that would have befited delta and other airlines. that provision would have eliminated sales tax on jet fuel, saving the companies millions. this comes just days after the state's lutenant governor threatened to punish delta for cutting its ties with the nra. walmart taking steps to limit its firearm sales. the world's largest retailer and biggest overall gun seller will no longer sell any gun to aone under t age of 21. it will also halt sales of items resembling sexual assauassault including toys and air guns. separately, a -okroged fred meyer will ban gun sales to anyone under 21. kroger and walma both said that the tragic events in parkland, florida, led them to take a look at their policies for firearm sales. the decision by both retailers

follow's a similar move by dick's sporting goods. ab imbev is raising a glass. the world's largest beer company says improved perfilmance in brone of its key markets, helped that company grow profits at a faster clip than analysts were expecting. the company expects salnd profits to remain strongye this . ab imbev, which uses aluminum in its products, also said the trumpadministration's plan to slap tariffs on aluminum could hurt the beer industry. shares rose 3% to 109.45 sotheby's says private sales right. total profits the auction house expects its performance this year to be strong.so eby's shares finished up nearly 10% to $50.78. best buy said improved inventory management led to stronger-than-expected sales and profits during the holiday period. the electronics company said the majoamty of its sales from purchases of mobile phones, gaming devices, and appliances.

the shares rose nearly 4% to 75.30. >> the cable channel company amc network said a drop in advertising revenue caused sales to slip and miss the company did, though, top profit expectations. hose results were helped by the new taxlaw. shares of amc networks, though, off nearly 4% on the session at 50.51. kohl's reported better thape ed same-store sales, but said it figures growth to slow this year. the company missed analyst profit expectaons and it is forecasting earnings for the current quarter to come in below estimates. kohl's shares off 5% to 62.75. and after the bell, nordstrom's id more customers made more purchases online in the holiday quarter, helping same-store sales top expectations. investors and analysts focused on the retailer's total profit and revenue. both below expectations. nordstrom's shares initially fell in the extended session. ey ended the regular day down more than 1% at $50.48.

also out after the bell, american outdoor brands. it said sales fell in the latest quarter is a result of what called challenging market conditions. the gun maker, previously known as smith & wesson, said it expects demand to weake the company gave a down babeet profit outlook.sh es initially plunged in the extended extension and ended the regular day up 4.5% at $9.41. you may have noticed that big u.s. companies are aggressively buying back their shares. according to the "wall street journal," companies have announced more than $200 billion the are buybacks in just past three months. that's thanks to the ctsporate tax and this has created a boon and is raising some questions about how those savings are being used. acony otanny wrote about it for the "wall street journal" and joins us now m with somee details. welcome. nice to have you here.

>> thas for havingme. >> put this in perspective. we've been tracking this for a while. and it does seem abnormally high. is that, indeed, the case? this number of buybacks? >> yeah, i mean, already putting it intoerspective from- compared to last year, we're seeing the amount of buybacks that have been announced in this ble what more than d we saw over the same period in 2017. and s&p dow jones indices, which also has been tracking buybacks fo apl cof daecades now, estimates it could actually turn out to be a record year for buyback authorizations. >> who's doing these buybacks? is it the companies that are bringing capital back from overseas under the tax provisions that give them an advantage for doing that? or is it justmp every y? >> yeah, we've so far heard froe a nof large companies across industries. cisco is one of the biggest, has authorized one of the biggest buyback programs so fa this

year, as well as alphabet and wells fargo. so we're seeing itcross industries and it really seems to be when you listen to the earnings calls, about the tax overhaul, about the fact that there is now an incentive to bring back some ofs that overs cash to the u.s. >> will shareholders ever reap the benef all of this? >> i think that's where the debate liesin i some people would argue that shareholders are actually going to be one of the bigger beneficiaries of the tax ovfhaul, as a result a jump in buybacks, whereas people who are hoping may be this would trickle down into tec omy, this would result in higher wages might be left a little bii ppointed. that's really where the debate has been lying. >> yeah, and it does point to the idea tngt when you b back this money, if it goes back into buybacks, that is a tacit acknowledgement on the part of the cpany that they don't have any better investment use for those dollars than no buy back their own stocot they're going to build new plants with that money then. >> yeah. and i think you've realized that

companies have been somewhat perceptive of thi. argume we heard amgen on their earnings call say bg that this wa no means them ignoring the health of their workers, but rather, they were going to be iiresting in t workers, as well as in their buyback program. so certainly, it's something that companies are sensitive to, i think, especially with folks in washington sort of debatin right now, the efficacy of buyback programs. >>here's more t this story to come, i'm sure. acani, thank you so much for joining us. >> and coming up, a new concern for mexico's tourism industry. just ahead, spring break. >> it looks beautiful with rugged terrain and children walking along the sand but there is murder and mayhem mexico. i'm contessa brewer in cabo san lucas. ahead, what the business community here is doing to stop

cartel violence ahead of spring break. nearly 2.5 million more americans were impacte by the ta breach at equifax. the company says they had less information hestolen, just names and a partial driverless. the original 145 million americans had their social security numbers exposed. but nonetheless, this remains the largest breach of personal information in history. mexican beach resorts on both coasts are hot destinations for spring break, but over the

g.st year, something ominous has been happen a drug cartel violence has been on the rise. in cancun and cabo, murders have skyrocketed, crime has riseat the tourism business doing now to keep vacationers coming back?sa san brewer is in cabo lucas. >> reporter: last year in los ka boabo kat, there were some 300 murders, a nearly 500% job from the previous year. the drug cartels fighting over turf are t blame here. but you're talking about public executions on a beach, bodies genging from a br and a gunfight in a hotel. >> my first trip here was 1978. >> reporter: cheryl rumberger loves cabo san lucas. she along with 2 million otherl ye international tourists come here for the rugged beauty and the wildlife, the surfing ndd other water sports, high level of service and luxury. >> our surprised to hear tcat el violence was a factor at all here?

>> absolutely. yes. because it scares me to death anyway. with what's been going on in the last year, as you all know, it was a factor. it was. but not enough to keep us away. >> reporter: 90 of the economy here is dependent on tourism. $1 billion h in newel investments, 3,500 more rooms are scheduled to come onlee in thext couple of years. so when visits droppedn 2% august and group bookings canceled 35,000 rooms, it en grabbed the aon of business leaders. >> we face some challenges that we have never faced before. but the important thing is that we -- how we react. >> reporter: business leaders partnered w h the government and committed $7 million or more of private investmen to fund public security. they came up with a five-point acon plan. a rapid response network for reporting suspicious activity, enhanced surveillance with 200 new cameras along highways and tourist areas, a new marine base opens in august. ay hotel secur committee meets

bi-weekly. and u.s. standards by the overseas security advisory council have been implemented. >> we want a full presence of the navy with the marina, which is the armada in mexico. because tha brings stability and intelligence. >> reporter: hundreds of federal police are now patrolling the area, as well. >> we feel very safe here. love the mexican people. eryone's been super nice to us. and laike my wife said, there'sa heavy security presence. feel very comfortable here. >> reporter: so when rita pete was considering another vacation to cabo with h sister, she didn't hesitate. >> i feel safe here. and you know, i know tourism is this community's life. that's how they survive. and so they are going to keep you as safe as they can. >> reporter: despite the spike in violent crime last year, there was also an increase in international visitors to cabo, up 16%vi over the pres year and most of those coming from the united states. the state department has issued travel advisories for the spring break destinations of cancu and cabo. in cabo san lucas, contessa

brewer, "nightly business report." >> before weer go,s another look at today's market sell-off, driven by the threat of steep tariffs onteel and aluminum imports. the dow shed 420oints to 2 24,608. the nasdaq was off 92. the sta 500 fell 36. fasten those seat belts. that'll do it for us tonight. i'm sue ksrrera. thor joining us. >> and i'm tyler mathisen. thks from me as well. have a great evening, everybody. we hope to see you right back here tomorrow night.

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