>> announcer: this is "nightly business report" with bill griffeth and sue herera. hiring boom. 300,000 jobs created. 100 straight months of gains, extending what has become the longest job creation streak in modern u.s. history. in> fueling ga exxon and chevron both posted some of their biggest annual profits inears action even as oil prices swooned. from far to fido. a fast-growing startup is bringing healthy food to your four-legged friends. to's tonight's bright idea. those ses and much more tonight on "ghtly business port" for friday, fe we do bid you a good evening, everyone, and welcome. the american jobs engine is still clearly firing on all sill ir

cylinders. nonfarm payrolls were up 304,00, in janu the most in nearly a year. that blew away expectationsf 170,000. the unemployment rate did rise slightly to 4%, but that is still an historically low number. average hourlynings were higher. they have now risen more than 3% in the past year and tha is something that the fed watches very carefully. but what's interesting is this report shows that most private sector businesses shrugged off any economic uncertainty thatt mive been created by the partial government shutdown. they just kept hiring. ylan mui reports from washington. >> e the u.s.nomy shaking off the shutdown, delivering big job gains in jaary. president trump celebrated the strong numbers at the white house today, calling them a is reflection of winning policies. >> we added 304,000 jobs, which was a a shocker to lot of people. it wast a shocker to me. >> hiring was strong almost across the board. the re and hospitality led

way with 74,000 jobs, construction was up by 52,000 jobs, a health care grew by 42,000 jobs. >> i think what this data shows is the private sector has remained robust acti, even as t government had the shutdown. >> in fact theen unemplo rate did tick up from 3.9% in december to 4% in january. how could that happen? it's becausef the way the labor department collected information about the shutdown. furloughed federal workers were counted as employed in the government's survey of businesses, so theren as no impacte number of jobs created last month. but when the labor department surveyed individual households, furloughed workers were counted as onpo try layoff, 175,000 of them, pushing the unemployment rate up. >> everyone has to deal with the shutdown again, because it's on your mind consistently. there was no free vacation. >> another 500,000 people were classified as working part-time for economic reasons last month.

perhaps even takingobat places like ibuber and lyft. that's evidence that it had an effect on private contractors and other businesses that rely on the federal government. >> i hope they -- congress will figureut way for the contractors to get their back pay as well. federalslong with the just as hard as they do. >> one word of caution. the labor department says it's really difficult to capture the full effect of a shutdown. even the headline numbers are subject to change. december's blockbuster job report of 312,000 jobs was revised dnward to 222,000 jobs, a lot closer to what investors had expected all along. forne "nightly bu report," i'm ylan mui in washington. ethan harris joins us now for more analysis on the jobs report, and he is head of global economics at bank of america merrill lynch. welcome, ethan, nice to have you yore. >> thank >> when you look at this report, what's not to like? even the participation rate w good. >> yeah, this was a check all

the box report. there's one factoid you didn't mention. payrollwnobs have g an average of 240,000 over the last three months. that's abo double the normal pace of job growth in a trend-like economy so this was a very, very robust report. >> wage gwth 3% year over year. that's above what the fed had been looking for, but yet they're willing to be patient in raising rates down the road. is there disconnect there at all? >> no, i don't tnk so. i think that after two years of a hot labor market, we're now ingetting the of wage gains you would expect, but it hasn't anslated into price inflation. i think the fed is in a pretty patient mood ther they want to see first evidence his recent stock market shock isn't really hurting the economy, and they're going to wait a while just to fige that out. they're not focused on inflation

right now because the inflation numbers have been so weak. we're in att p good spot right now. low inflation, strong growth. you can't do much better than that. >> was there anything in the report that you would have liked to have seen a little stronger or anything that you think missed the mark? >> no. i think the report was right. there were a lot of distortions in there due to the tutdown. onng that i would add on a positive note here is last year s had a veryong economy, but companies had trouble filling jobs a so there wer lot of very high job openings, record level. one reason the job market haso much momentum is even with lower growth, they need to hire. and so this job market is going to remainnretty strong e as the economy continues to weaken going forward. so i guess i didn't give you a good negative story there. there's a lot of positive here. >> if there's nothing negative about it, tn that's the story. but what about this slowing economy. isn't it true,th gh, that job growth is usually a lat cycle

grower? usually employe don't hire anybody anticipating growth, they're waiting to see the growth before they hire. so is it possible that this job growth continues even as the economy slows? >> well, again, i think that there is so much trouble findink s in the past year and all these job openings developed that companies will keep hiring even as the general economy slows down. i think the labor market is going to be exaggerating the strengthf the economy. we are in a crisis of see some slowing, particularly on the rporate side of the onomy. we need to see a de-escalation of all these policy shock if we're going to avoid a hard landing for u.s. growth. but right nowhe story here is that the labor market is a huge positive, great for the consumer. really a good offset, at least for a while, for some of the other stuff going on right now. >> a right, ethan harris with

bank of america merrill lynch, thank you so much. al thank you. and onstreet, it was a mixed finish for the stock market today on this first day of february. earnings for the most part were positive and that jobs report certainly reassured investors aboue the health of labor market. the dow finished the session up 64 points. we're still above 25,000. the nasdaq fell 17 in part because of amazon's quarterly results that we told you about last night and the s&p added 2. for the we, both the dow and the nasdaq posted their sixth straht weeks of gains. dow component merck reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue driven by sales of its cancer drug keytruda. sales alone were up more than 60% compared to a year ago and the ceo is confident that annual financial targets can be met, adding that the company has one of the broadest and most omising pipelines in a decade, and that sent the stock up more

than 2.5%. exxon andn, chev two of the world' biggest oil companies wowed wall street today. shares climbed more than 3% as a result. as sullivan reports now, the gains wer powered by the permeon. >> energy stocks have been the best this year and quarterly reports from the two biggest oil and gas companies did not di exxonmobil and chevron releand resultsriday and investors liked what they heard. exxonmobil, quarterlyarnings up 73%. earnings per share diagno$1.41. wall street consensus just $1.08. revenues were a little light but the market was pleased. the big win was on the downstream side, a refining selling the finished product. revenues were $2.73 billion, far ahead os. estima also a tax rate of 32% was much lower than the 40% a the first three quarters of last

year. the exxon ceo darren woods talking about how there is still some expansion going on buthe key to their business remains on keeping costs down. >> as we came into 2019 we anticipated some economic slowdown, stilly expansion but some slowdown there. frankly we don't run the business or try to build it on a projected emand or oil price. >> chevron also had its numbers on friday. their eps $1.95, the consensus estimate $1.87. production and revenuesbe both ing estimates once again. chevron posted growth in texas as well, one of the biggest players in that hot oilea ar chevron also announced the new $25 billion stock buyback ts.gram with no set term li exxon and chevron shares both rising today, and that move helpin the energy secto and the overall market. the biggest etfn the energy space, the xle, higher and it has surgedlately. in fact, if you were smart or lucky enough to buy on the lows of december 26th, you've already

made 20% on your investment. exxon anderhevron gly benefit from higher oil prices so the one thing to keep in mind going forwa is where prices move in the next couple of months. oil averaged $60 l a barrelt quarter. even while oil had a huge gain in january, it is stillel the average price of last quarter. the bottom line, things are pretty good for the two biggest oil and gas companies, but if crude falls again, things could look different this quarter. forss "nightly busieport," i'm brian sullivan. it is time to take a look at some of today's upgrades and downgrades. dow component united w technologi added to the conviction buy list at goldman sachs. the analyst cites strength in the defense sector as well as other positive factors. the price target is $153. the stock rose a fraction to $118.98. fellow dow component dow dupont was downgraded to neutral from over at jpmorgan. the analyst cites weaker results

from its material sciences business. the price target is $53. the shares fell slightly to $53.47. and paypal was downgraded to neutral from overweightt atlantic curities. the analyst cites that stock's relative valuationge the price t is $99. the stock, however, rose more than 1% to $90.01. still ahead, why our market monitor says it is time to buy stocks that have exposure to the em. >> as we reported, employment growth in january was very strong, and the health care industry is creating lot of those jobs. but it's not easy to fil all of those positions, especially when it comes to emergency teworkers. kaogers is in bangor, maine.

>> on any given day, eric mailman can transport a babyre iring intensive care from one hospita to another, or help an elderly patient in cardiac arrest. mailman could answer between 4 and 17 calls a day on shifts thatan stretch well beyond 24 hours. the only guarantee is his days and nights will be busy and if it's a slo day, then you're doing well. but those days where the demand is high, you have an increased call volume, everyon decides to be sick all at one time, then you're really struggling. >> mailman works at northern light health, where 170 people are employed in emergency medical services. but the rural maine system is in need of about 10% more ems staffers and hiring is proving to be increasingly challenging. in a tight labor market where afewer people entering the profession. >> unemployment is low.

that's a big part of itis s a job that people used to get into. you know, one of the more common pathways is throu volunteerism, and volunteerism is way down from what it used t> be. he need for ems talent stretches far beyond inma 3700 jobs wille b added. demand for ems workers comes at a time when the health care sector is adding a myriad of jobs. some 42,000 were added in january as the population continues to age and seek care, and workers age out of their roles in the industry. a strong job market is also having another effect. >> more people with health benefits,ore peopleith insurance increases demand for heal and, therefore, health jobs. >> one thing is for sure. m ase people seek care, workers like mailman will be ready to answer the call. >> you get to step into the chaos of the woray of somebody's life and bring calm, bring peace, and have the

ability to step in and helpme body on their worst day. that to me is priceless. >> fornightly business report," i'm kate rogers, in bo bangor, maine. >> to read more head tour website, nbr.com. papa john's pizza mayeo longer up for sale. that's where we begin tonight's market focus. according to reuters, the company is now looking for a investor instead of an outright buyer for the company. o buyouters apparently from private equity firms did not comen high enough and any deal will be complicated by that battle for control of the company with its founder, john schnatter. honeywell today forecast strong -year earnings and said it's likely to post its highest profit margin in me an two decades. the outlook as a result of the industrial manufacturer sharpened focus on its profitable businesses. it's also benefiting from the strong aviation sector which is

increasing demand for aircraft parts. shares rose a fraction to $144.71. and cigna i slugging off the government's proposal to eliminate rebates t pharmacy benefit managers that they receive from drug thmakers. 's a plan we told you about last night. cigna's ceo said such alan would have a minimal impact on his company's earnings. cigna also reported better-than-expected profits but did provide what analysts described as a conservative forecast for this w the stock fell more than 2.5% to $194.06. sony reported its highest er quarterly profit driven largely by its music business. ee company did point to shrinkingnings at its game division. that is leading to concerns over sony's next leg of growth. the stock fell nearly 8% to illinois tool works cut its sales growth forecast after missing revenue estimates in its most recent quarter. the company says it is cautious about upcoming semi conductor-relate mand.

it also plans to discontinue its quarterly sales and earnings guidance gin the company's focus on long-term. the stock fell to $134.43. now tt our m monitor who favors companies that he says will benefit from strong market growth. alan, good to s you again. welcome back. >> hi. >> i think you would agree that anybody who wants to invest in emerging markets has had to be patient waiting for growth in that area of thed. wo you start tonight with united technologies, t diversified industrial manufacturer. why that company and how would it benefit when emging markets do start to grow again? >> yeah, so united technologies is a global industrial congmerate with a wide range of capital intensive businesses that range from aircraft parts to elevators and building cotetruction als. the emerging markets story with united technolies iseally

helping those countries build out their infrastructure wite things l elevators and escalators and things of that nature. we think it's a gigd story now. the stock has been a little bit weak due to uncertainty around the company's announcement that it's planning on breaking up. but the business itself is doing very well. we think that's important a we think this pullback is a good opportity for investors. microsoft is also your pick. why? how does it benefit? >> sosoft is obviously one of the world's largest enterprise software companies with host of products that are ubiquitous here in the.s. and around the world. that's a real advantage for microsoft. ey have kind of found the next leg to their growth story which is their cloud software products. we think they're very wellpo tioned to help their existing corporate customers transition to the cloud andsp ifically those that may not want to use amazon, because they view amazon as ait comp. we think that cloud revenue can propel thecompany's business and share price as we look forward here.

>> and the third is pepsi. the stockal essen has been sideways the last few years. why this oneover, say, coke, for example? >> pepsi is a very well-known business with brands that resonate with consumers around the world. we think that brand equity is a verytiowerful comve advantage for pepsi. relative to coke, pepsi is a much more diversified play in terms of their product portfolio. pepsi has been a bit weak. we think that recently that may just be due to the broader backup in interest rates because the business itself is doing weg. we're seeigns of acceleration in their top line, in their pricing power. and so we think this pullback may be a good opportunity to own shares in what we consider a very high quality busiss. >> very quickly, of the emerging markets, which one do you favor the st? >> well, that's good. i think it kind of dependswh on company you want to invest in. for us, a lot of our emerging markets exposure is through health care stocks where m

emergikets are growing their health care infrastructure as they mature. nies thatking for com can help them do that and it's a really good growth story for those companies. >> so a sector story not necessarily geographic story. alan bond, thanks fojoining us tonight. >> thank you. elsewhere, it wasn't easy to find a sbory aut the super bowl and global jade, butane wells did it. at the center of it all is the avocado industry and a glut of guacamole. >> mmm, guacamole, an increasingly essential par of per bowl sunday. while most of the avocados grown in america come from california, most of the avocados americans eat come from mexico, 80%. such a big business tt avocados from mexico made another super bowl ad. >> welcome where humans compete for the ultimate prize. avocados from mexico. >> impf ts from southe border are up 20% from a year ago, and that'sg creat a guac glut.

prices are falling. at aup los angelesmarket owned by kroger, avocados were selling two for $1. that hurts american growers which have lower profit margins du l to costs,e labor. >> in the last two weeks, mexico shipped about m 140lion pounds of avocados, which is roughly the equivalent of the whole california crop that they have shipped in two weeks. >> in the crazy world olobal trade, as more avocados come north into the united states from mexico, u.s. farmers want the trump administration to open up the market for american avocados across then ocean china. >> current california avocados do not have marketes acc to china. >> ken melbishn wants avocados issues like pest control can be worked out. >> we've been working with the united states department of intoulture to get acces china since 2005. and suffice it to say that effort has been stalled tremendously. we're at a point now we are just asking fors acc to other

markets so that we can compete with the producers that areo coming i the u.s. also. >> a local congresswoman has written the administration to make avocado part of the china trade talks. theyeported a surprising fourth quarter loss as avocado prices fell. but if theke chinese m opens up, perhaps investors will buy the dip. for "nightly business report," jane wells, california. >> oh, jane. coming up, fresh food delivered, to your dog. meet the entrepreneurs who are doing it and cating jobs at the same time. it's this month's brig

just as we're all paying more attention to the food that we eat, pet owners are keeping a closer eye to the foods they're buying for their pets. just because a marketer says a food is healthy doesn't mean it is. that is why two entrepreneurs, both dog lovers from brooklyn, new york, got the right idea to start a company aiming specifically to keep your dog he for two years, jada suffered with stomach issues. her owner, brett, tried all kinds of foods, from kibbles to cans, and freeze dried to raw.e buts constantly running jada. o check on >> i felt so bad for her. it was like a heart-breaking time period. >> in 2014 a vet suggested home cooking. human food. beef and vegetables. jonathan, that's his dog, buy, roomed with him at the time.

>> he said what are you doing? i said i'm cking for jada. i had never seen anybody cooking for their dog before. >> all of her symptoms disappeared. >> unable to find a proct on the market, the two kept cooking and began researching. they found stories linking cancers in pets to companies focusedt on cos meetingcy and product only bare minimum standards. >> nothing commercial was going e fed to my dog ever again. >> dogs need what's known as a complete and balanced diet with more vitamins and nutrients than they get from human food alone. so the two created a mix and tested sples at a lab until they got the farmer's dog. launching in late summer 2014, it's frozen and shippedo arrive days after it's cooked. >> this one is turkey, broccoli, parsni carrots and then the vitamin and mineral mix.

>> it's human grade with no preservatives. and yes, they have both eaten it. >> somebody was like when was the last time you ate it? i was feeding jada, so let's take a bite. >> we had a thanksgiving dinner with the team and our head of p engineering the turkey recipe inside these empanadas and didn't tell anybody. >> dr. foxal u recommends commercially available food as long as it's complete and balanced. so is freshly made human food better? e says maybe. >> it is beneficial for a pet to eat human grade food if it's something that is availabnd to you it's something that you're able to provide to your i pet. ink it's something that you should absolutely discuss with your veterinarian. >> costs depend on size of a dog, averaging about $29 a week. the farmer's dog hit thearket just as american spending on pet od began trending up. almost $30 billion in 2018, up

more than 30% in four years. for two years, the refarmer's d ed startup spaces, cooking alongside startups making human food products. since then, the two found a commercial manufacturer using usda human food standards.e pair say they are now shipping more than a million meals a >> when people think about dog food and dog foodhat they want to invest in toeep their dog healthier, that food will look like food and it won't bebr n ball. >> this is not just a sick dog thing, this is an every dog thing. we wanted a company whose entire focus was making dogs healthy. re and their customers buying into the idea that preservatives aren't great for humans and so they probably aren't great for animals either. works for me. us. both of before we go, a final look at the day on wall street. it's february already.

the dow was up 64 points today.k we're bbove 25,000. the nasdaq fell 17, thanks in part t amazon. and the s&p was up 2. for the week, everybody was higher. the dow and the nasdaq posting six straight weeks of gains now. >> and that will do it for "nightly business report" tonight. ue herera. thanks for watching. >> i'm bill griffeth. have a great weekend, enjoy the super bowl. see you on mon

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