>> susie: wall street welcomes december with a bull run, pushing the dow 250 points higher. >> i think the economic news is one of the things that's continued to drive the market higher. >> tom: will the bulls keep running, or could foot dragging by the lame duck congress derail the markets? you're watching "nightly business report" for wednesday, december 1. this is "nightly business report" with susie gharib and tom hudson. "nightly business report" is made possible by:

this program is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. captioning sponsored by wpbt >> susie: good evening everyone. an explosive stock market rally today.

good news about jobs sparked the buying. tom, american businesses hired 93,000 workers in november, the tenth straight month of gains. >> tom: susie, strong manufacturing activity in europe and china also gave investors hope the global economy is doing better. looking at the closing numbers, the dow soared 250 points, with all 30 dow components in positive territory. the nasdaq jumped 51 and the s&p 500 rose 25. >> susie: and those powerful numbers wiped out the losses from november. so will this be a december to remember? suzanne pratt reports. >> reporter: december is historically one of the kinder months of the calendar for u.s. stocks. so much so that since 1929, the s&p 500 has gained an average of 1.4% in the last month of the year, making december the second best month after july.

we all know history offers no guarantees for the future. but investment strategist kate warne says the economy could make this december decent for investors. >> we've seen a lot of economic data that's come in better than expected. the economy looks like it's growing at a slightly faster pace, although still i'd say crawling, not running, at this stage. i think the economic news is one of the things that's continued to drive the market higher. >> reporter: many experts also think stocks will get a pop if congress quickly decides to extend the bush-era tax cuts. but for every positive for stocks, there at least a few "watch-out-fors." equity strategist scott wren bets it will be something overseas that will rattle u.s. stocks in december. >> a lot of people forgot about the sovereign debt risk issues. and, i think that they haven't gone away. obviously, they haven't gone away. >> reporter: experts say the problem with europe's debt crisis is that it causes uncertainty, and that could breed a rolling crisis of confidence for investors.

other say a slowdown of china's heady economic growth could also spell trouble for stocks here in the u.s. >> as china tries to slow its growth rate from around 10% down to around 8%, that's having a negative impact on commodity prices. and, it just a concern that with slower global growth some of things that have helped the global economy moving forward are moving away. >> reporter: the american consumer is another wild card for december. if he or she shops with enthusiasm for the holidays, it could give investors more confidence about the future. if they don't shop, 2011 could disappoint on wall street. suzanne pratt, "nightly business report," new york. >> tom: here are the stories in tonight's n.b.r. newswheel: new data from the federal reserve shows the economy improved in most parts of the country during the fall. it came as factories produced more and shoppers spent more. the fed today also detailed who it helped during the financial crisis.

the fed made 21,000 emergency loans, and those loans went to more than just banks. take a look. big companies like caterpillar, general electric, harley davidson, mcdonald's and verizon borrowed money as the credit market seized up during the financial crisis. and it's gmail for the g.s.a. the general services administration will use google's gmail for its 15,000 employees. google partnered with unisys on the contract, worth almost $7 billion over five years. still ahead, tonight's "street critique" guest is looking for merger targets in health care. hilary kramer of gamechangerstocks.com. >> susie: is the u.s. ready to cut its huge deficit? even the president's special deficit commission can't seem to agree. the group released today a sweeping plan that could change the way the u.s. spends money and collects taxes. now while there's heated debate about what to do, darren gersh

reports on what the deficit- cutting measures could eventually mean for you. >> reporter: let's start with investors. if you own a stake in companies that do a lot of business with uncle sam-- think defense contractors, health care providers, consultants, telecom companies-- you should know a very big corporate client is about to go into a couple decades of budget lockdown. maybe not in the next year or two, but soon and for a long time. and now taxpayers: the deficit commission recommends a bunch of tax changes. though they dropped an earlier plan to eliminate the mortgage interest deduction, something dean baker says is clearly a favorite target for budget cutters. >> if they do end up changing it, what they will likely do is put in a cap and instead of being a deduction-- so if i am in the 39% bracket, i save 39% of my interest and if i am in 10%, just 10%, they'd make it a credit, say 15%-- so that means regardless of what tax bracket you're in, you'd get 15% of your interest refunded to you on your taxes.

>> reporter: and how about the tens of millions of people who get health care from the federal government? the deficit commission and everyone who's looked at the budget agrees that health care spending is a huge problem for the government-- arguably the biggest long-run financial challenge. and the deficit commission's solution is to cap total government health care spending as a percentage of the economy. this isn't likely to happen until 2020 or later, but the kaiser health news' mary agnes cary says the prognosis is clear. >> you could get a higher retirement age, for example in medicare-- eligibility age than you currently have. you could have a higher deductible or a higher co- payment. you could have a change in the benefit design. >> reporter: and what about retirees and social security? if you are retired now or retiring before 2017 nothing will change under the commission plan. but after that, promised benefits will gradually be trimmed for top earners, go up for low-wage workers and, to pay

for it all, payroll taxes will increase. heritage foundation's david but not all at once, says the heritage foundation's david john. >> we're talking incremental changes and changes that will be implemented over several decades. so, for instance, the idea of raising the full retirement age to 69 would be done somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 years. >> reporter: now, nothing has been decided yet, but all these scenarios assume we deal with the deficit sometime soon. the members of the president's deficit commission warned waiting for a crisis would make the budget cutting more abrupt and even more painful. darren gersh, "nightly business report," washington. >> tom: u.s. consumers pointed and clicked their way to the most successful cyber monday ever. online sales the monday after thanksgiving topped $1 billion according to comscore, which tracks digital commerce. but as diane eastabrook reports, it's still too early to tell if shoppers will keep clicking with online retailers through the holiday season. >> reporter: cyber monday is

always a big online shopping day, but this year the days preceding it were too. according to comscore, which tracks digital purchases, consumers spent more than $400 million on thanksgiving day-- a whopping 28% increase over last year. the following days saw even more robust spending, leading up to cyber monday when sales topped $1 billion-- a 16% increase over last year. comscore's gian fulgoni credits aggressive digital deals and promotions emailed directly to consumers. >> it looks like the promotions are running about 20% or 25% ahead of where they were last year, and it's a trend that we've seen for some time now. the retailers are running their promotions earlier and earlier in the season and in fact even well before thanksgiving we saw heavy promotional activity. >> reporter: comscore says the number of people shopping grew only 4% on cyber monday versus last year. but those shoppers spent 12% more. they split their digital buying pretty evenly between work and home.

but fulgoni thinks some may have shopped digitally in stores using smart phones to compare prices. >> you might end up saying "there is a better price for this product, and i'll go buy it at another store that is close" or you might say "i just found a better price for this product on the internet, i'm going to buy it on the internet." >> reporter: while fulgoni is encouraged by the growth in online shopping this season, he warns shoppers may not maintain the momentum. >> i don't think we can look at these really strong growth rates online as being indicative of that suddenly, somehow consumers have opened their wallets and that all of these economic challenges are behind us. >> reporter: if online sales do begin to slide, fulgoni expects retailers will slap on even more deals in the days leading up to christmas. diane eastabrook, "nightly business report," chicago.

>> susie: the big three u.s. automakers scored big in november, posting double-digit sales growth. sales at general motors rose 11%. ford motor and chrysler both posted solid gains on strong truck sales. but toyota struggled: sales slipped over 3%. an increase in truck sales couldn't offset a drop in car purchases. tom, toyota has struggled since it announced major recalls earlier this year.

>> tom: despite that negative november, toyota shares stronger today. susie, toyota, ford and g.m. shares all moved higher today. let's take a look at tonight's "market focus." as we mentioned, december started with a bang, helped by strong job gains from the adt report, rising productivity and more help pledged for european countries that may be in trouble with their debt. today's rally was widespread. energy, materials and industrials leading the way with gains of more than 2.5% each. all ten of the major s&p stock sectors gained at least 1%. inside the dow industrials, home depot led the way, jumping more than 4.5%. volume was a little heavier than usual on this move in h-d today. shares have had trouble getting over $32 per share on the past three rallies-- the fourth time at this level over the past

three months. if it's able to get over that level, it would be a six-month high. its chief competitor, lowe's, also saw a 4.6% pop. this week lowe's gave its 2011 forecast-- which one analyst called "aggressive"-- but investors were buying it today. while we're talking about home improvement retailers, we did see some interesting volume move into homebuilders. k.b. home, d.r. horton and pulte a trio to look at. group each saw heavier-than- usual volume with these rallies of at least 4.5% each. has your coffee gotten more expensive? the boss at starbucks says blame speculators, not supply shortages. let's take a look at prices. here's what coffee futures have done over the past year-- up 33%. consumer coffee prices are up about half that over the same time period. starbuck's c.e.o. howard schultz calls it tragic. he said today "this is financial speculation at its worst." business has been good for stabucks and stabucks' shareholders. shares hit a new 52-week high today with this 3.6% rally. the company says china will be

its second biggest market outside the u.s. in the next five years. it will more than triple the number of starbucks in china by 2015. also in china, gambling continues its recovery in macau. the former portuguese colony is thought of as china's las vegas. gaming revenues were up 42% in november compared to a year ago. it's the second highest month for gaming revenues there ever. the highest was set just a month earlier. what's the impact for american companies and investors? here it is. a quartet of american casino companies have a big presence in china-- wynn resorts, melco crown, las vegas sands and m.g.m. each stock saw buying interest today. finally, two semconductor competitors have more time to try to settle a patent licensing case. nvidia and intel had been scheduled to go to court next week, but that has been delayed as the two continue negotiating. nvidia gained more than 4%. intel was up 1.5%. the fight is over an agreement that gave nvidia a license to make semiconductors for intel. and that's tonight's "market

focus." >> tom: with companies sitting on a record amount of cash, we've seen the pace of mergers pick up. tonight's "street critique" guest thinks that will continue next year, especially in health care. she's hilary kramer, editor at gamechangerstocks.com. >> tom: she joins us from the nasdaq. always nice to see you. hill re, welcome back to n.b.r. >> a pleasure to be here. >> tom: what makes a good health care buyout target?

>> you want a company with a blockbuster or a blockbuster in the pipeline. because big pharma, eli lilly, they're losing up to 50% of their revenue stream as the big blockbusters go off patent. >> tom: and that plays into a couple of your ideas. shire pharmaceuticals, based overseas in the u.k. and ireland, focuses on attention deficit disorder treatments. has sold off stiffly. why would you try to catch it around $70 per share? >> this is a stock easily valued at $100 a share. and all of ireland has been sold off for the last 10 days, so you're getting it at a great price. it is this company that has the ad/hd fran chised. not just for children, but it is being extended and rolled out for adults as well. you combine that with what they call orphan drugs, a very profitable niche

market, and they're very hungry for shire pharmaceuticals. >> tom: and the one focused on gastrointestinal drugs, it goes off sea dip, a con hospital infection. again, what is the catalyst? >> well, the catalyst here is that the stock came off simply because a second drug that was in the pipeline, that wouldn't have even been rolled out for another three years, optimer decided to discontinue on that. so you're buying a stock in the $9 range that is easily a $15 to $20 stock, and a really strong takeover target. because as you just said, tom, this is an infection that inflicts millions of people around the world and is deadly. >> tom: give us 30 seconds on brookdale, this is a senior living, assisted living group. what is the catalyst at 19.5 for it to push higher? >> this is the baby-boomer dep graphic story

demographic story, and brookdale is very attractive. it was 100% increase year-over-year in m & a activity. and brookdale, less than 10% of their reimbursement are medicare related. 90% comes from private. >> tom: do you own any? >> i own all three of the stocks, and waiting for the acquisition to take please in 2011. >> tom: we're trying something new with our street critique segment, and hilry will be with us for the next few weeks. n.b.r. on problems.com. and you can send us a note via twitter or facebook, and we'll feature some of your questions here on next wednesday night's installment. it is hilary kramer with gamechangerstocks.com.

>> susie: here's what we're watching for tomorrow: october's pending home sales, along with quarterly results from home builder toll bros. and, we'll get an update on consumer spending with november's chain store sales. speaking of retail spending, could it help turn temporary holiday hiring into permanent jobs? we'll look at what some companies are planning for next year. to drill or not to drill? not in the waters off the atlantic coast or off florida's gulf shoreline, says the obama administration. today's new drilling plan from the white house takes those areas off the table through 2017. now that reverses a pledge made by president obama last spring. the administration says the change after weaknesses were found in federal drilling regulations during the b.p. oil spill. >> tom: federal regulators want to create a "do not track" list for the internet. it would allow you to stop internet marketers from collecting your online history. the "do not track" option would be similar to the agency's "do not call list" that lets you block calls from telemarketers.

right now, the proposal is just a suggestion. the f.t.c. wants to collect public comments for the next couple of months. >> susie: many americans have taken advantage of the tax savings offered by roth i.r.a.s-

- now congress is letting you convert your traditional 401k to a roth 401k. as our year-end tax tips continue, kevin mccormally looks at whether converting is right for you. he's editorial director at "kiplinger's personal finance." >> back in september, congress opened a new door to tax-free retirement income-- the right for workers with 401k plans to convert their balances to a roth 401k. just like a roth i.r.a. conversion, you'd have to pay tax on the amount moved to the roth account, but that down payment could make all withdrawals tax-free in retirement. as you know, withdrawals from regular 401ks are taxed in your top tax bracket. to encourage 2010 conversions, congress even okayed the same break that applies to 2010 i.r.a. conversions. rather than pay the tax with your 2010 return, you can pay half with your 2011 return and the rest in 2012. sounds sweet. but there are problems. first, this opportunity is only for workers whose plans offer

the roth option, and that also permit in-service distributions, which means you can take your money before you leave your job. and that's generally only available to those over age 59.5. the fact is, if your plan allows in-service distributions-- and you want a roth-- you're probably better off transferring the money out of your employer's plan and into a traditional i.r.a. then you can convert that i.r.a. to a roth. why the rigmarole? the two-step procedure buys you some important protection. if the value of the roth i.r.a. falls between now and next october, you can undo the conversion and move the money back into the traditional i.r.a. that lets you avoid paying tax on money that has disappeared. there's no do-over option for a roth 401k conversion. i'm kevin mccormally. >> tom: that's "nightly business report" for wednesday, december 1. we want to remind you this is the time of year your public television station seeks your support. >> susie: support that makes programs like "nightly business report" possible. >> tom: thanks for joining us,

and don't forget to support your public television station. i'm tom hudson. good night everyone. you too, susie. >> susie: goodnight tom. i'm susie gharib, we'll see all of you again tomorrow evening. "nightly business report" is made possible by:

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