♪ >> announcer: this is "nightly business report" with sueer h and bill griffeth. historic vote. the 45th psident of th united states is set to become the third ever impeached,ou as h members spend much of this trading day debating the charges against him. drama, the nasda closed at a record. d the dow and s&p 500 sit near all-time highs. those stories and more tonightn ontly business report" for wednesday, december 18t > good evening. everyone and welcome. wall street's attention was on washingt today. as the house of representatives mod to impdech pre donald trump. despite the historic day in our nation's capital, the major averages made small moves finishing at o near all-time highs. investors grew uncomfortable

with the scenario where the president is ieached and not convicted as many believe will be the case. thenuers, the dow jones fell 27 points to 28239.th nasdaq was up 4 closing at a record. and the s&p 500 was down ,one. >> y political differences were defitely on full display in our nation's capital. president trump called the im proegtds an assault on amewhca. e nancy pelosi said the democrats had no choice. the debate took upost of the day and vote expected later in the evening. nearly all the democrats in the house expected to support thega two chargesst the president, abuse of power and obstruction of congress. whileearly all republicans are expected to vote against them. will there be any impact on the economy or the stock market? well, that's difficult to say. following president bill clinton's impeachment roughly 20 years ago stocks rally but more

the result of economic conditions and the dot-com boom under way. john harwood covering the nation's capital. what comes next. >> well if we follow the usual course, the ileeachment art will go to the senate. the senate will conduct a trial of course there is a dispute between democrats and thatcans over what form trial will take. whether there will be additional witnesses who have not testified so far. some democrats in the house, bill are even talking about withholding the articles so ere can't be a quick vote to acquit presidentrump that would allow him to go out and say you see i've been cleared. not cleerp that's the course they're going to take. but the skens you expectation is at someoint itets to the senate and there will not be the 20 senators needed to join with democrats. >> there is a new nbc news/"wall

street journal" pl asking whether president trump should be impeached or removed. what's the results? what should it say. >> deadlock, sue, even. 48% in favor, 48% opposed, which just shows that it's very difficult in a country this divided to attract many people from the other side to your point of view. pp% of republicanse the impeachment and removal of president trump. aboutf 90%mocrats do. interestingly, in the poll, 75% americans say that trump did something wrong. even 45% of republicans say that. but that doesn't mean a the people who did something wrong think it justifies impeachment. >> john harwood in washington, thanks, john. overhe past few days we've been telling you about all of the reasons why stocks aret new highs. there is the trade truce with china. a new neutral fed and b theief that global growth is finding its footing. but there are also new questions abouthhether global growt picks up. bob pisani at theto york

exchange. it was another quiet run up to almost record highs, but dow and s&p fell short right at the close. th bulls cheered clarity on the four biggest fear. tradewars, federal reserve, no recession in the u.s. economy and hopes for a bottoming in global growth. but that last point on global growth is still a little bit on the murky we're not quite sure. shares of fedex for example fell about 10% after the shipping giant delivered a miss for the second quarter. cut earnings outlook for 2020 citing higher costs and weaker global economic conditions and the end of the relationship with amazon.th fred salled it a tale of two consumers. a stronger consumer economy and still struggling manufacturing sector.he said growth appears t bottoming at low levels in europe and china will slowdown in the beginning of next year fid see a pickup in t second half. lly, bank of america came out with the latest global fund

manager survey yesterday. andnvestor sentiment turned bullish. this is a indication as the trader believe the economy is bottoming. gey are not speckny recession in 2020. that's up way up from just a month ago. fort, "nightly business rep bob pisani at the new york stock exchange. o will global growth be a headwind or tailwindext year. joipg us with larry adams chief ment officer at raymond james. thanks for joining us. >> good to se you, bill. >> what do you think, tailwind, headwind next year? >> i tnk global growth is going to be a tailwind. you look at what's happened- looking at last year at this point it was a totally different story. >> right. >> only 15% of global central banks cutting rates. today aboutlo 65% ofl central banks are cutting rates. that tends to act with lag. ase get into next year those

should be stim la active for growth. ooking at fiscal policy, we st got a deal for the budget in the united states. calling for a 3.5% increase in spending by our that should help growth. more importantly thas happening globall japan just had $120 stimulus. in fact their governmentse r their gdp forecast to 1.4 next year1.rom and similar things happening in europe and china. >> you also point to the u.s. consumer, and specifically the job situation. well, the job situation kinni kinning to be healthy. one of the indicators is withholding taxes. every in the united states you have to collect taxes and send it to the goveghment. now that' not only at all-time record high but continuing ao fwroe 5% rate, meaning there is more people working or they're getting paid more. but either way, the heart of the u.s. economy, the consumer hasr oney to spend.

that's a big positive going into next year zbhoo i'll be the wet blanket here. i get nervous when it feels like we figured things out completely. what could go wrong next what would keep you up? >> one thing i think you mentioned in the survey we just heard from merrill lynch and that is everybody is on the same page. right. >> i think it's fine to run with the herd a while. but the trick is when do you pull away from the herd? i think we are fine still. one of thes positive things it's an election year. two things happen in election years. nune it's rare to go into recession. and number two rare that the equi markets have a sell off in the election year. because of that i still feel positive and good t for upcoming year. very good. larry adam withaymond james, thanks for joining us larry. >> thank you very much. well, the housing market seems to be firing once again on all cylinders. as we reported home build

sentiment is higher and construction up. today y can add a report pointing to02trongfor the industry. here is diana olick. >> a sharp jump in-housing starts and building permint re in addition to very strong buyer demand could mean big results for builders next year. fanny mae boosting the 2020 thanks to stronger ovell economic growth. specifically a robust labor market and increased consur spending. researchers at the mortgage giant predict the housing starts ramp up 10% next year and top a million newly built homes in 2021 marking a post recession high but far below the annual peak of 1.7 million single family starts in 2005 and the 1.2 million annual pace experience experienced in the late 90s. single family housing starts since may. steadily stillearchers at fanny mae say it will likely take several years anne at a rust pace for

construction to satisfy the nanosecond for housing as suggested by a increasing share of 25 tor- 2034-yd attention livingston with parents. mortgage applications to buy a me arep double digits. looking at new home sales that are a sller sharef overall sales than historically. theildcard as always will be price. if buiers can .pivot to entry level homes they'll likely sell more. right now they're still inhe higher price ranges not exactly where the bulk of demand lives. for "nightly business report" dianagt olick? wash. >> we have a major merger to tell but in the auto worldto ght. fiat chrysler the parent of jeep and ram getting together with the part of peugot and cintron. as phil lebeau the combined s compy will more cars and trucks than general motors. >> the leaders have inked have a dealba creating a g auto

giant with pennsylvania huge presence in europe and the u.s.5 it's50 merger with annual savings of $4.1 billion by combining resources. and tdoy expect t it without cutting jobs or closing plants. it sti needs regulatory approv which could take 12 to 15 months. but the ceo of psa sees enormous potential putting 12 autorands under one roof. >> the brands carry the passion, the brandsar the history and emotions.s carry the this is the reason why we consider that the brands will stay in their countri of origin. >> that means fca's u.s. headquarters outside detroit won't move. and the two most important brands based here in the u.s., ramnd jeep, will be a big part of the new company. >> y can imagine a scenario where very strong brand with deployment come together d

significantly boosting the performae of jeep. so superexcited about that. >> last year fca and psa more than 8 million vehicles. making the combined company the world's fourth largest auto maker, bigger than gm and but don't look for "g" and ford to follow fiat chrysler'sead and seek a major merger of their own. that's because bothuto makers are more focused on becoming leaner and morerotable. phil lebeau "nightly business report," chicago. it's time to look at some much today's upgrades and awngrades. deupgraded to buy fm hoild at deutsche bank. the analyst citg solid demand and historically low stock valuation. the price target is the stock fell a fraction to 58.58. eli lil upgraded to overweight from equal weight at morgan stanley site citing the diabetes drug saying strong and durable sales.

the price target is $150. stock up 3% to 129.48. the real real was initiated with a buy rating at b. rile in new coverage. company is well positioned to take advantage of the growing part of the retail market right now. price target, $23.e tock rose 1.5% to $17.70. hal burton downgraded to market perform from outperform at bmo capital. citingompetitive pricing and tepp i had recovery in the u.s. fracturing indust. price target $23 falling a traction to 23.3. bernmy ebbers, the wor cromme ceo who oversaw a today a judge ordered early release something we told you being consideresc t cohen at the courthouse in new york for us tonight. or♪ >> rr: he presided over one of of the biggest corporate

scandals in history. an $11 billion accounting fraud at worldcom. for that he was sentenced? 2005 to 25 years in prison. but now he will be released early after serving about 13 years. a judge citing healthconcerns. he is now 78 years old, legally blindhe and 6 foot tall tel com cowboys has withered to 147 pounds. >> he was released late laswe . last i heard he is now in a physically and mentally. decline he is not a well man. >> his attorney noted that ebbers has been in the hospital three times in the last three weeks and he says in essence bern ebbers has already served a life sentence. >> believe mr. ebbers has served a life sentence because his quality of life is now gone. the bernie ebbers that walked into prison in 2006 is not the bernie ebbers existing today. >> the government argued that would send the wrong message to

corporate america. judge valerie caproni said she heard from victims who haven't bounced back from the worldcom fraud, the company collapsing in 2002. she said ifim keeping in jail would give money back it would be esz. but it's not the case. ebbers will go to mississippi and live out day withfamily. many family members were in court for the decision and broke down in tears as the judge ruled. ott cohen for "nightly business report," new york. still ahead wash pgton's lateh to try and lower drugs. pri ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ t trump administration is pushing ahead with one measure that it says could lower the price of prescription the white house is issuing a proposed rule that would allow some medications to be iorted from canada. bertha coombs has the details. >> reporter: the trump administration is setng the stage for states like florida to reimport lower priced drugs legally from canada. governor desantis helped the idea. sident trump to back >> i've always said theres no silver bullet. but this is a step tha no one has been willing to take for almost 20 years. all the way back to 2003 you've had presidents in both parties, secretaries of both parties, and yet until we haven't done it. >> reporter: health and hecan servicesretary alex azar whoen had be among those arguing against t value a safety of reimporting drugs for years. but now says the drug price

environment is different. >> tlf always questions about how effective it can be lowering costs. over time the drug pricing mechanic changed. we have seennt improve to supply chain safety as well. >> reporter: under the administration's proposal,es statorking with wholesalers would apply tohe fda for approval to import brand name drugs from canada. mostly in pill perform. low cost generic and high price injectable like insulinould not be dlud. the move would not create much of a dent for gshigh-priced d to find their way back to the u.s. >> it would be quicker to put drugs on the dog sled from canada and point it towards florida than it would be t g a drug through this new regulatory process. >> it will take several months for a final rule to be implemented before the first states could apply for approval. and it's not clear that the canadian government will facilitate exports of drugs they

negotiated for. >> we hope they'll work with us. i think they are concerned about heir own epsystem. >>ter: what's more, analyst say drug makers would not bed incentivi to produce prices.ugs to reimport at lower manufacturers can control how much volume goes into canada. so they'reun kely to dramatically increase the amount of drugs in canadao ustve them get shipped into the u.s. at lower costs than the costs of drugs in the u.s. >> >> reporter: the administrat benchmark for just how much reimportation of drugs could save americans. but say the president is committed to try. r "nightly business report," i'm bertha coombs. breakfast and pet food sales boost general mills. that's where we begin thes markt fo tonight with the good conglomerate rorting the best cereal numbers in a decade. plus increase in sales i the blue buffalo pet food helping offset the snack food businesls

general m topped earnings estimates overall. and the stock up nearly 2% today to 53.18. >> pg&e wonval now from a federalankruptcy judge on two settlements i reached totalling more than $24 billion to compensateoth the victims o two massive wildfires and the insurance companies that paid them. pg&e has already accepted responsibility for those wildfires. shares rose more than 3.5% to $131. paychecks is now adjusti guidance upward for next year as the company now sees earnings growthf up to 10%. the company anticipates higher fwroegt in itsnsurance services and its management solutions divis sns. thck fell a sha fraction to 84.7 cigna will be selling its disability and extentle death insurance units to new york lifc insurancpany for more than $6 billion. the health insurer says it plane to the deal proceeds to

reduce debt. will add millions of customers t to its business. cigna shares gained 2.5% to 198.20. broadcom isor rdly looking to sell a wireless chip unit. thewall street journal" t suisse ist cre helping the chick maker finding a buyer and could be worth $10b llion. shares up more than 1% to 327.44. and aer the bell micron posted better than expected perngs and revenue thanks to strong demand for memory chips. shares rose in after hoursad g closing the regular session up a fraction to 53.04. all this week getting ready for the glory by bringing back market monitor guests. tonight's guest has names of three quality growth stocks. yoing us annual bond from the jensen quality growth fund. last time he was on i february he recommended united technologist which has risen 27%. microsoft up and pepsi, which has risen 22%.e

ome back alan, nice to see. >> you thank youprocess. >> that's a nice scorecard tot stut with. three.ock you like -- we have first one is sbut. why do you like it? >> ye iuit is a financial management software company with brands such as turbo tax and quick books backup we think the strength of the brands and high customer switching cost nature of the business leads to a high degree of recurring revenue. we expect the company to grow due to new business formation and market share gains and recently added to the processiod in our f as the shares pulled back from strength earlier thisr >> your second stock is ups. i'm interested in your comments on this tempany. fes yay talking about how it's struggling in a global economy it sees as slowing. they have higher costs doesn't seem to be bothering ups right now. so i sort of naively ask you,

gee, why do you like this one abalan. >>ps, global pack annual delivery and supply chain management business t benefits from competitive advantage including the strength of its brand and integration of global delivery network, the top line for ups has been strong, driven byum increasing v with e-commerce shipments. the company hashone disable stabilization in profitability. we think that can continue due to investments the company made to modernize the supply chain. as long-te t investors wenk it's a high quality business now. ve price right the next stock my kids are familiar with because they wear the products. vf corporation. >> sure. vf is a global apparel manufacturer with a broad portfolio of brands, includingn h face, van's and timberland. think of the strength of the brands and the overall diversity of the revenue base is differentiator for vf corp.

we think the company has a good financial position and financi flexibility is very important to manage the volatile nature of the retail. environme so, again, this is another company we added to. we think the shares are attractive and a high quality business. >> what's the outlook f next yoor year. here we sit at all-time highs a lot of bricks on the wally of wout aside. so what do you think for 2020?ye >> , right now, to us it feels like the market is really keyed in on confidence in whether or not the fed can deliver a soft landing with the rate cuts we have seen throughout the year. and then some sort of a with the tradeispute with ina china. those with the factors we have eyeson. if those continue to drift maybe e market goes up if not speed bumps. >> on that alan bond with jense quality growth fund. thanks. th rk you. >> aging in the holiday was packed stores appear crowded email inboxes.

♪ ♪ ♪ a look at to what watch for tomorrow. ni reports earnings. investors will focus on direct to consumer saless well as the operations in china. we'll see what the existing home sales numbers say about inventory and demand. and the house is expected to vote on the new nafta agreement now known as thet smca. and t what to watch for thursday. andally tonight is the email inbox overflowing? chances are it is. and you're notlone. it's the season retailers push

out more promotions d every designed to get you to clicknd by. courtney reagan has more o strategy that has some consumers saying, enough. >> your inbox is probably flded with retail proposals emails this holiday season. email remains the center of many digital marketing campaigns because it's contrled expeive permissioned in some way. and consumers say it's a prerred communic hion channel. f a billion dollars will be spent on paid placements in email this year. a sliverhe of t digital ad market. but it' growing by double digits aording to e-marketer. the cost, a fraction of a cent. the return can be pretty valuable if you can get shoppers to take action. andore are clicking from 2017 through last year, the percentat of shoppers t buy from a click increased from about 4% to 6.5%. >> if there is some type of promotion or discount in the email, you know, that can be a way to goose sales that wouldn't

have happened otherwise.e it can a way to bring sales forward to the pretont as opposeometime in the future. and of course that is superimportant now for the holiday season. >> reporter: on average blu core as retail clients s 66 cents in revenue per email for price decrease alerts and $1.98 for cart abandonment notifications. a recent alex the survey shows consumers are slightly more influenced by email than catalogs. >> it feels like the email inbox heats up around themyle of novemb u. email boi to the top as an effective and measurable means reaching your customers. and today most retailers are looking to be as efficient as possible with marketing. which is why, again, i think you see a lot of retailers reverting back to the tried and true email marketinag meg, especially this time of year. >> reporter: but more than one frequency of emails fromink the

retailers is too much. whether the d ads actually click with consumers and their check out carts will be watched closely this holiday season. for "nightly business report," i'm courtney reagan. th a look a numbers from wall street today. the dow fell 27. nasdaq up close 4 closing at a record. the s&p 500 down on that's "nightly business report" tonight. i'm sue herera. thanks for joining us. >> i'm bill griffeth.ni have a great e. see you tomorr ♪ ♪

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