>> announcer: ts is "nightly business rept" with bill griffeth and sue herera. stocks rocket higher.ar the mket rallies as hiring surges suggesting gnat economy may be healthier than some had thought. there is no preset path for policy. the fed chair pledges patience when it comes to interest rate increases, mhiking in tone, which eased concerns among investors. meet and greet.ll overg customer service is no easy task. but one entrepreneur found a way and turned his bright idea intoed a growing business. knows stories anduch more tonight on nightly business reportor thisfriday, january the 4th. and we do bid you good evening, everybody. and welcome. sue is off tonight.

but theenter of the action todayen a all week was again right here at the new york stock change. stocks rallied big time aft a string of good news on the job market, interest rates and possibly trade as well. the combination created intense buying, offsetting the intense selling we saw yesterday. by the close of trade today the dow was up 746 points back above 23,000. the nasdaq was bhe winner adding 275 points or more than 4% while the s&p was up 84. in fact the broad rally sent small cap russell 2000 index up by more than 3.5%.ut let's begin with jobs. employers added a lot more than expected last as it turns out, 2018 was the best for job growth since 2015. and wages posted one of the biggest annual increases in decade. as ylan mui reports now the labor market is showing its

strength in different ways. >> zach mueller is unemployed. but he is not stressed about it. >> the economy has been nice and strong. f andl like for someone here in d.c., someone with a graeeate deike there are a lot of options available. j mueller quit hisob three weeks ago. he has ha n job lined up but didn't want to start right away. that makes him what the labor dbt calls a job leave. v someoneuntary ending employment to try something new. roughly 840,000 workers fell into that category in december. that's a big jump from the previous month. and it helped drive the unemployment rate up from 3.7 to 3.9% even though kpps were hiring like crazy. the economied added a whopping 312,000 jobs in december almost twice that eected. busine owners like barbara martin who runs a mechanicing firmay ner desperate to fill positions. >> we are doing a lot of jobpo

ings across different website than we have in the past. e are engaged with a couple of recruiters for key positions. we are posting the jobs on social media. and we are just doing a lot of glad handing out in the market and meeting lots of people. >> job gains were strong almost every sector of the economy. manufacturing added workers. restaurants and bars were up 41,000 jobs. and it was record month for the health care industry. it gained 50,000 jobs, the most since the government began tracking that data. wages were also up, average hourly earnings rose 11 cents or 3.2% over last year. call it a job seekers dream. mueller is making the most of his time off. >> it was a nice time to just kind of reset, refresh and kind of start a new job, like ready to, you know, go in there and crush it from day one. >> on monday, he starts his brand-new job. for nightly business report, i'm ylan mui in washington.

and fed chair jerome powell also boosted investor enthusiasm for stocks today when he said the central bank is not necessaril a fixed path to at push interestes higher. steve liesman has more on that tonight from atlanta. >> reporter: a superstrong jobs report would norlly raise fears of more interest rate hikes from the federal reserve but n with today's report of 312,000 jobs created in decemberas the , a dovish sounding fed chairman jerome powell m tellinkets what they wanted to hear. he is flexible and not he-bent on raising interest rates. >> we will be prepared to adjust policy quicklyxi and fy and to use all of our tools to support the economy should that be appropriate to keep the expansion on track, to keep the labor marke t strong and keep inflation near 2%. ak >> reporter: sg at the american economic asmoerks in atlanta flanked by former fed leaders powell tried to counter

critics who said that the fed is not attentive to market and fierce of slower growth. >> markets were expressing concerns again about global growth in particular. i think that's bnoming the m focus. and trade negotiations which are related to that. and i'll just say that we're thaening carefully to listening sensitively to the message that markets are sending. and we're taking those downside risks into account as we make policy going forward. >> inha the biggeste powell said the plans to wind down the balance sheet boosteduring the financial crisis to keep interest rates low can also changed. the questions markets have to ponder is powell just telling them what they want to hear? or has h tly become more dovish? if the data don't confirm the dovish sentiment t fed could be talking about more rate hikes later this year. well let's talk more about the economy, jobs and t markets. joining us tonight brian levitt,

a senior investment strategist as open heimer. >> thank you. >> you had a big jobs report and a dovish fed chairman. >> that's right. and the first thi is the jobs report is proof that this is not an economy that's heading into a recession. the concerns about u.s. slowdown were way ov tstated. yeah economy is slowing. we pumped a lot of stimulus in preponderates go up, the economy slows. but this was not a collapsing environment. >> what has theke stock m been telling us then with the big declines we see in october, november and december. >> what the stock market is telling us is that it was concerned about how financiig conditionsened significantly. that was on higher rates and higher prospects for rate hikes from the fed. a stronger dollar, credit spreads blowi out a bit. that was tightening financial conditions and wghing on sentiment. that's why it was so important for the fed to bk off. but if we continue with this kind of job growth, i mean, even

november and october werese re higher. >> right. >> in terms of job growth. the average job growth was about 254,000 per month which as we said is ie stronge three years. that sounds like the fed would need to continue to raise rates. >>well, look, it's the first time in a while we've bn above 3% on wage growth for a bit of a iod.ainable p and so to try and kill that now with interest rate hikes seems ill timed. the market right now i saying well the fed given powell's at a talk about flexibilitys more likely to back off. if the economy continues to remainrong, long rates will go up and the fed will be able to slowly raise interes rates but it's data dependent. the fed is going to be flexible. in my opinion this economy will likely slow through 2019 primarily because the starts to fade. as we slow i think it's arp for the fed to not >> and the trade dispute as well. >> yes. >> i mean, we know the chinese

economy is slowing down and doesn't help we have the tariff active going on. >> what ultimately ends a cycle is a policy mistake. from our perspective given that inflation isenerally benign in could go on far longer than most investors expect unless we have a policy mistake. step one, powell, seemingly backing off today, step two, we need to have some clarity on in trade spat. hopefully thate would moder the dollar, ease financial conditions, stabilize chinese owth and that creates a nice back drop for equities. >> before you go then your expectations for stocks this year. >> i actually think 2019 is going to be a very good year for stocks globally. not only in the united states. last year wasrhe y in which we had good growth but bad policy t this is goibe a year in our view that's more modest but better policy and paradoxically that's actorlly better equities. stocks are now as cheap to bonds as they've beenince 2016 and

before that 2013. he will with he certainly got off to a good start in week didn't we. >> we did. >> w brianh open heimer funds thank you for joining us. investorsy were encouraged b a small piece of news on trade, which as we've discussed isn issue that's been dogging the markets for months. china today did confirm a two-kay meeting with u.s. representativees tove the dispute. taking place this monday and tuesday. th news probably helped caterpillar and boeing. two stocks that are proxies for china trade relations both up more than 5% in today's session. eantime in washington, republicans, democrats and federal workers are bracing f at could be a lengthy shutdown after president trump confirmed today tt he told house leaders that the partial government closing could last for months maybe years. he was asked about that by pennsylvania reporter during an afternoon news conference >> you said in the meeting -- this is him quoting you -- i justckant to c that the

shutdown could go on for months or even a year or longer. did you say that. >> yes. i did. i did. >> border security. >> is that where we are. >> absolutely i said that.th i don'k it will. but i am prepared and i thinkak could sor republicans in the house and republicans in the senate. erey feel strongly about having a safe country. having a border that makes sense. >> a number ofes economists mate that each week of the shutdown will reduce economic growth by about 0.1% but that drug should mostly reverse when the government does fully reopen. time to lookom at of today's upgrades and downgrades. beginning with downe com intel upgraded to buy from neutral at bank of america merrill lynch. the analystit thereg the exposure to fast growing industries incding cloud computing artificial intelligence and 5 g netrks price target is $60 shares rose 6% to 47.22.

fellow dow component united technolo tes downgrad secretary are importantly from outperform at rbc capital markets. thlyst says the stock may be stuck in limbo million the company's previously announced h breakup w occurs in 2020. price target, $119 a share gained more than 3% to netflix was added to the conviction buy list at goldman the analyst says that net flex investment in content, technology and distribution will driver subscriber growth above expectations. knows are high too. price target. 400. shares added 9.5% to 297.57. still ahead with the l rise nd wag something it time to invest in the american consumer? our market monitor says yes. but first a loo at we cannily gains for major averages.

a look at weekly gains for the major averages. and it is time for our ekly market monitor who is betting on continued growth in e commerce in the dpleer. he has names he says you want to own the next three to five tars. this is first time on "nightly business report." we welcome dryden pence. chief investment off at the pence wealth management. good to see you dryden thanks for joining us. >> good to see you thanks for having me on. you bet. let's start with the first pick, which is apple, vermuch in the news. yesterday. sell off they see a slowdown in china in iphoneheales and suffolk is tanking since october. you like it why. >> we like it particularly at these levels we like it because i think people underestimate a couple of things.

obviously it's the china story but that's china only. and trade war end. trade actives end. and i think we will see a rapid recory from that. but what we really like about apple is how it has changed and is changing. it increased the services style business $37 billion. that's bigger than netflix and adobe combined. and salesforce combined. you also have to recognize the value of their cas if you just took the interest earned on the khana apple has, that's equivalent to the sales -- they'd be the 153rdpa largest c in the s&p just on the cash they hold alen. they have two big things making them very strong. >> all right. all right. now let's go to amazon. of course thinking of e commerce amazon is the clear leaderer but it has also suffered recently. i gathertou like more now because it has come down a bit. >> aolutely. and roughly 50% of all of the e

commerce trade are severance start on amazon one way or the other. we in a huge christmas season.in online sho is the most -- fastest growing part of retail commerce. and amazon clearly dominates that. we think for theongest of time process as consumers make more money than before. consumers will spend more money on e commerce and amazon will get the lion's share. >> and finally visa. i'm curious about in because this is a competitive business if you are talking about electronic payments. there are a lot of companies out there, including appleay. and paypal and others competing with the likes of visa to be a part of in industry. why do you like this one in particular? >> they're absolutely dominant. they have 60% of the u.sarket and market in europe. you really can't do an online trade without using sa or master card or paypal or one of thoseter t ty're dominant in space. as more people buy online they're going to continue to use

apple, use amaze on or visa you can't do a transaction without it. >> well you're definitely going with the brand names in those categories that's for sure. dryden pence with the pence wealth manement thanks for joining us tonight. >> thank you very much bill appreciate being here. >> you bet. and to read more about hiss piou can head to our website at nbr.com. in the meantime, equal crom was in request court. abwering steaks of cell phones andts worldwide is in a the crucial battle with the feral trade commission. qualcomm ised a of a monopoly the global kmipgy techno and as josh lipton reports the stakes are very high. >> reporter: it's a case that strikes at the heart of qualcomm's business model. lawyers for the u.s. federal trade commissio said in c today that the company maintains a monopoly over a key type of

chip used in cell phones by using anti-competitive tactics. any say that qualcomm only supplies these kmips to cell phone manufacturers if knows manufacturers also agree to listen pat fronts qualcomm on its preferred terms. regulators argue thats force companies to pay too much fth e patants. analysts say the ftc is taking direct aim a qualcomm's bread and butter, the patent listening business. >> the risk to qualcomm's business and see essentially 50% of their revenue is o based intellectual property or patents. and if the government steps in and mandates a lower price qualcomm's reven and profitability would be offset by the difference between the market price and the government-set price. >> for its part qualcomm defies any and all wrongdoing. counting the government hasn'

proven that consumers or the broader competitive market have been harmed by its business practices. saying the complaint is based on a flawed legaltheory, a lack of economic support and significant misconceptions about the mobile technology industry. but it's not jus the ftc. qualcomm has had to defend its business model in a number of high-profile regulatory and legal challenges around the world, including the fight right now with one of its big customers, apple, also upset with qualcomm's licensing fees. that trial is scheduled to start in april. one former ftchair says the gency though has set a ambitious goal for itself with the case that u.s. anti-trust law is sympathetic to dominant companies setting pris force e products they create. for nightly business report josh lipton. >> game stop may be closing in

on a buyout deal that's where we begin the mechanic focus. o private equity firms are bidding for the video game and electronic retailer. according to the "wall street journal" a deal could be announced around rymid-febr and shares advanced 17.5% on that closing the day at $15.24. marriott now says fewer customer records were stolen in a massive cyber-attack than initially estimated. the attack was disclosed last month and at the time it was beeved that 500 million people were affected. but that estimate has been lowered to 383 million guests. shares gained nearly 6% to 107.81. cal romain'st beat expectations but revenue missed estimates because of decline in eggs somd. the egg producer didowever say that specialty eggs are becoming a big are part ofs its busin s consumers pay up for cage-free or organic products. and the stock rose more than 3%

today to $43.58. private equity firm apollo global management is reportedly considering a bid for general electric's aircraft leasing unit. that unit is so d worth about $40 billion. ge stocke rose in initial after hours trading tonight. closing the regular session at $8.23. well it was a strong holiday season marked by thest stron consumer spending in years. but all thahoing also translates into a lot of returns. and that means big demand for warehouse space.it especially the growth of e commerce. dianal o ilk explains. >> reporter: as plentiful as the gifts were delivered to our doorsteps close to 100 billibe worth wil returned. and most will end up in warehouses like thisne in nashville. >> what's going on behind me is the hangover from the buying season during the holidays when reverse logistics kicks in. >> reverse logistics is a fancy term for dealingll with the

returns. while store shoppers return about% what have they buy online shoppers send back close to 30%. and most items have to be brought to warehouses, checked for damage, repackaged and either sent back to retailers, liquid daters or thrown away. reverse logistics is now the number one new user of warehouse space in the u.s. according to cbre. taking 700 million square feet nationally. >> demand for space is only going to increase in warehousesl unless and u we find a better solution to either return me the store or better incentives for con not to return the goods. >> that demand boosts theto b line of warehouse reaped like pro logics east group products and stag industrial as well as will goes companies case like xpo logistics which owns or leases warehouse space. warehouse reits have been a hot seccer since the surge in 2012.

demand has outpaced supply. there was concern t trade war might hurt demand but the economic growth has offset thef ce. and one of the strongest monthly day seasons in years only confirms that process. >> i don't think we are past the peak though we suggested earlier we might have seen that. >> becse the mor goods we have sent to us, the more we will nest mri send back. for "nightly business report" i'm diana olick in washington. the business community tonight is mourning the passing of a tan in the airline industry. and he was a real character. herb kellerer, the founder of southwest air will be remembered as the original disrupter of the airline streep.re lutionized low cost air ravel got rid of assigned seating. and in the process democratized the skies process. and known foris whimsical sense of humor which became part of southwest reputation. ne grew the air from a small

regional airline to a much larger domestic air carrier. cause of death was not disclosed. herb kellerer was 8years old. more and more your first interaction with a business is often through its website. and when you have a specific question the answer usually occurs during a live electronic chat. but live chats can sometimes bed stilnd awkward. and that's why one entrepreneur in lee summit, missouri, came up with the bright idea to make chat apeore onal, intelligent exchange of information. that is the soundf chat.

85 chat specialists based outside kansas city missouri, working for 1,400 companie scott hanso got the idea while managing his mother's . orthodontic practi >> we were looking for ways that we could get p toients sooner in the buys process. the reality is before you have a customer in the office, online ll what of the new customers experience about you. >> but how? hire seone? too pensive outsource less than optimal. >> felt very robotic. the businesses providing those services are largely outsourced overseas and provide a different level of service. they are not categorically bad and for us the conversations were high stakes. >> each patient can mean thousands of dollars for an orthodontic pracldce. >> we w like to talk with ovi a bit further. >> it should be as if calling into the office. >> when hanson offered to share costs withther orthodontists several bit. january of 2016 haynes had a

new and growing business. professionha cts. >> how is everybody doing day. >> business school friend trevor flanagan joined hanson to help managehe company's rapid gr,th. dentists chiropractors and home service providers like plumbers signing up. some paying hundreds of dollars a month otherds thous depending on the number of chats. two years in, flanagan saysar ty adding 100 clients a month. their chatci sists working for three clients per shift deal with medical issues, home repairs a sometimes job applicants. >> and they are looking for a job as an administrative assistant. >> rather than take on all commers. pro chance operates in eight industries sectors flanagan and hanson want to own when it comes to kmat. >> i think owning a silo way to go. we service one out of ten orthodontists. >>ra specialists geting

updates and always help nearby. >> she is having about three conversations at once. >> on the right side of the screen, a conversation guide. each group also has a coach who can whisper into a conversation. >> t customer doesn't see it but our kmat specialist does. >> it's a delicate dance. building relationships with prospective customers while hooking sales leads for clients. >> if we g first name, last number. email physical address they're very much me likely to only use that customer and that's what we want. >> does it work? >> scott rceman owning a kansas city roofing business is a ro chance customer and believer. >> every touch with a customer is telling that customer who you are and what you are about. and if they come with the same values,beliefs, principles and integrity that we do when they hand that offt' to us a natural flow for the customer. >>? the end it's just chat. but for flanagan and hanson it'n a conversat worth having. >> it's cool to look around and

see what we have built and how it's impacting the hundred plus people here but thousands of customers pan that's really satisfying. hanson does like to quote studies that show when chat is used in the right way by thegh types of companies it can drive up to a 40% jump in sales ads generated by the company's website. that is "nightly business report" for tonight. i'll bh.l griff thanks for joining us. sue is back with me on monday. in the meantime have a great weekend. see you then.

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