>> susie: a federal judge in virginia strikes down a key part of the obama health care reform, saying it's unconstitutional to force americans to buy health insurance. virginia's attorney general led the fight. >> if we cross this unconstitutional line, where the government can force us to buy a product for our own good, the government can force us to buy other products-- cars, gym memberships, asparagus. >> tom: it's a health care challenge that could be headed to the supreme court. we look at what it means for businesses, and you. you're watching "nightly business report" for monday, december 13. this is "nightly business report" with susie gharib and tom hudson.

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captioning sponsored by wpbt >> susie: good evening everyone. a big setback today for president obama's landmark health care overhaul. a federal judge in virginia ruled that a key part of the program is unconstitutional. and tom, this could be the beginning of a long legal battle. >> tom: susie, it was the individual mandate part of the law that was declared unconstitutional. that's the requirement that citizens buy health insurance beginning in 2014, or pay a penalty. virginia's attorney general challenged that part of the law and today u.s. district judge henry hudson became the first judge to rule against the law. but he refused to put the entire law on hold while it faces legal challenges. >> susie: meanwhile, thehite

house said today, it's confident the health care law is constitutional. it's believed that the u.s. supreme court will ultimately end up settling the issue. what does all this mean for businesses, and you? joining us now? mary agnes carey, she's senior correspondent for kaiser health news, a national health care news service. hi, mary agnes. >> hi there. >> susie: so what do you think, will this ruling be upheld? could it become the law of the land? >> well, we've have to see. there are certainly a lot of argument on both sides. the administration would point out and they did point out today to reporters that ten different challenges to the individual mandate have been dismissed and two other judges have ruled in favor of the administration so now you have a judge that has ruled against the administration. thursday we'll have oral arguments in a court on florida. also looking at the individual mandate that judge is also expected to say that it's unconstitutional. so as you noted, i think it will be a legal battle that is yun going for quite some time.) >> meanwhile as we reported, the judge say as that, you know, this law still stands

for now between now and 2014. so what should businesses do between now and then over the next two years? >> i think they should continue their implementation efforts. nothing is final had. is a court challenge that will go on for a while. and gearing up to follow the health care law is certainly a lot of work. businesses are already ongoing with it. and they should continue with their plans because it is still the law of the land. >> is it possible that the supreme court could make a decision about this ahead of 2014? >> certainly could. it depends again on the length of the challenges, how long things take. we're talking about a possible supreme court ruling perhaps in june, 2012 or june 2013. but we're talking about a very long cycle on the courts and the appeals courts and the supreme court has to decide whether or not it wants to weigh in on the case. so it's certainly going to take awhile. >> what if you are somebody who doesn't have health insurance. do you wait or dow sign up for insurance in this interim period during this time of uncertainty. >> i think if you could

afford health insurance you should get it because if something happened to you healthwise and you had a big biehl you wouldn't want to be stuck with that yourself but as far as following the provision of the law you're not required to have that health insurance until 2014 so you have a few years to worry about that. >> susie: we've been hearing from republican lawmakers saying they want to repeal the whole health care law. there has been a lot of debate about all of that. do you think that this is the beginning, this is a window for an undoing of president obama's health-care reform? >> i think the republicans will certainly use this to their benefit. i think gettinging a lot of e-mail today of republicans who want to repeal the health law saying that this shows that the law should no longer exist and that it shows the unconstitutionality of the mandate is certainly a sign that the health care law should not remain. but the problem on capitol hill is always the votes. of course the house of representatives where republicans run the show, they have enough votes to pass a repeal law, repeal bill and i think that will

come pretty soon in january after the next congress starts. there are not enough votes in the senate to repeal the law and even if it passed and went to president obama he would certainly veto that and there are enough votes in either kamber to override but this certainly is a victory if you will in the court, they feel would still be to make the case for opponents of the law, they feel that this ruling is going to help them explain to the public what they think is wrong with the law. >> sure has been an eye opener for everybody hearing the news today. thank you very much mary agnes, appreciate you coming on the program. >> thanks for having me. >> susie: we've been speaking mary agnes carey. >> tom: despite the health care setback, the tax compromise reached between president obama and congressional republicans appears headed for a final vote later this week. the package passed a key test vote in the senate this afternoon. a final vote is expected in the next day or two. after that, the measure moves to the house, where it faces resistance, but is still expected to pass. many economists think the tax deal could boost the sluggish economy.

but moody's investment service warned today if the package becomes law, the u.s. could lose its top-notch triple-a bond rating in the next two years. those worries aside, president obama says the compromise protects middle class americans. >> it would offer hope to millions of americans who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own, by making sure they won't suddenly find themselves out in the cold without the unemployment insurance benefits they were counting on. >> tom: the president asked lawmakers in the house of representatives to act quickly, saying doing so would remove uncertainty for businesses and help get the economy on track heading into next year. >> susie: here are the stories in tonight's n.b.r. newswheel: stocks start the week mixed. the dow rose 18 points, but the nasdaq fell 12 and the s&p 500 was virtually flat. trading volume on the big board was light, under a billion shares, and moving on the nasdaq 1.8 billion shares. also moving the markets today? a host of takeover plays.

tom will detail deals by g.e., dell, and thermo fisher scientific in tonight's "market focus." the people's bank of china decided not to raise interest rates. that came despite news over the weekend of a big jump in inflation in the asian nation. and here in the u.s., fewer homeowners found themselves underwater on mortgages during the third quarter. almost 11 million households owed more than their homes were worth. that's nearly one in four loans, according to corelogic, which tracks the numbers. that's an improvement from the second quarter, when there was a flood of home foreclosures. in a healthy housing market, just 5% of loans are underwater. >> tom: still ahead, "beyond the scoreboard." tonight we tackle the big business of sports ticket sales- - now that ticket scalping is legit. >> susie: tomorrow is the federal reserve's last regularly scheduled policy meeting for the year. policymakers aren't expected to change much, but investors are still asking many questions

about what fed chief bernanke is up to. beginning with whether or not he'll bow to political pressure and back off from plans to buy billions of dollars in bonds. here's darren gersh with a preview. >> reporter: as if the economy weren't tough enough to manage, the federal reserve's political challenges have gotten more interesting in the last couple of months. former fed economist roberto perli says the central bank's plan to buy $600 billion in bonds in order to keep interest rates low and boost the economy will have some new critics in a more republican congress. >> there are some concerns in congress that the fed could be creating inflation, could be blurring the lines, once again, between monetary and fiscal policy and certainly congress does not like that. >> reporter: and when congress is not happy, investors take note. some analysts argue political pressure will make it harder for the federal reserve to continue buying bonds and pushing down interest rates, which may

explain why mortgage rates and bond yields have climbed back to early summer levels. but former senior fed adviser vince reinhart says ben bernanke and his colleagues aren't turning back. >> it's difficult for them to stop that program, because it would look like they were bowing to the political pressure. it's difficult for them to add to that program right now, because they'll be a lightning rod of attention. >> reporter: as much as the fed might want to step out of the political spotlight next year, it can't. it is also charged with writing rules to implement the banking reform law that was passed by democrats, but will be implemented under a republican house. >> that means that the industry is going to push back in the regulatory writing process, and they are probably going to get a lot of support from congress. >> reporter: looking further down the road, the fed might also clash with the new congress over the deficit. a little tax cut stimulus might help now, but economist matthew

slaughter says some restraint will be needed soon. >> and chairman bernanke and others have been quite vocal in pointing out that's going to be a big threat to the sustainability of the u.s. recovery going beyond the next year or two. >> reporter: keep in mind, the fed is an institution with a long political memory. in the 1980s, it was blamed for tanking the economy-- but was later praised for crushing inflation. the lesson learned was to weather the political pressure and focus on getting the economics right. darren gersh, "nightly business report," washington.

>> susie: on wall street, there's growing optimism the fed and congress are doing all they can to help the economy. the s&p 500 has been on a tear for the past four months, and now stands at its highest level in over two years. but will the gains last? erika miller takes a look at the outlook for stocks next year. >> reporter: it has been hard to miss the charging wall street bull. no, not this one-- we're talking about the recent stampede of investors into stocks. they've helped push the dow up nearly 10% this year, the s&p 500 up 11%. the nasdaq has gained over 15%. those gains may seem surprising given the nation's weak economy, with close to 10% unemployment. but as strategist steve freedman points out, the stock market is not focused on the situation now-- but what lies ahead.

moving towards a more sustainable expansion mode, and that's a positive environment for stocks. >> reporter: another positive for stocks could be falling bond prices. up until recently, mutual fund investors were putting most of their money into bonds for safety. now money manager ted cronin expects many of those investors to start searching for higher returns. >> the fund flows that have been dominating into fixed income and away from equities? this now could be reversed. even a small percentage of investors start switching their direction, it's a material amount of money that could drive the markets. >> reporter: just how bullish is wall street for 2011? take a look at the forecasts from five major brokerage firms. they see the s&p gaining anywhere from 5% to 14% by the end of next year. >> reporter: clearly the bull market is attracting attention, but the s&p 500 is below where it was a decade ago. the market would have to gain 6% just to get back to where it was

at the end of 2000. erika miller, "nightly business report," new york. >> markets got back to work on monday about with a mixed closend and mixes results. let's get you updated on tonight's market focus. >> tom: stocks started with some initial buying interest, but the market couldn't hold onto many of the buyers late this afternoon. here's today's action for the s&p 500. prices climbed through the early afternoon before falling in the last hour to essentially unchanged. the energy sector led the way for the gainers. the energy select exchange traded fund was up almost 1%. decent gain considering the mixed close. oil prices were higher in a broad commodity rally. we'll have more on that in a moment. independent oil and natural gas producer cabot put up the biggest gainer among energy stocks, up 4.5%. volume was strong on today's buying. the firm secured a permit

necessary to expand its shale natural gas operation in pennsylvania. three deals hit the market today, each in the 10-figure range-- around $1 billion or more. the biggest? scientific equipment maker thermo fisher buying dionex. dionex makes safety testing gear for water and food. it is a $2.1 billion cash deal, valuing dionex at $118.50 per share. the deal will immediately add to thermo's bottom line, and it boosted its earnings guidance. the buyer, thermo, saw its stock add almost 5% to its highest price since april. dionex saw a big volume spike, rallying 20% to a new all-time high. g.e. is picking up its acquisition pace, going after a a u.k.-based oil services company. general electric is taking another swing at wellstream. g.e. is offering $1.3 billion in cash. an earlier bid in october was rejected. wellstream makes flexible pipe used in deep water oil drilling and has a presence in brazil,

one of the world's hotspots for deep water drilling. g.e. shares were down a fraction. they did hit a seven-month high back on friday after hiking its dividend. and a deal for dell in data storage, with a below-market- value price tag. dell finally may have a deal for compellent. in a $960 million deal, dell increased its offer for compellent to $27.75 per share, 25 cents higher than last week's price. the deal continues to value compellent stock below tonight's closing price. but shares have been rallying, they were in the low teens in august when buyout activity picked up in this industry. we saw the u.s. dollar drop today, as china held steady on its interest rates. the dollar weakness and bad weather translated into a commodity rally, especially for what are called soft commodities. check out this trio-- all items that may be on your breakfast menu. sugar hit a one-month high. bad weather in india may hurt its sugar crop. this is coffee's biggest rally in almost a month. and orange juice futures popped on a cold weather forecast for florida's orange crop.

speaking of commodities, rare earth minerals have been hot, and so has miner molycorp. these elements are used in lots of technology, from cell phones to military sonar. molycorp hopes to build the only rare-earth mining operation in the u.s. shares jumped almost 10% on heavy volume. it received the final permit to start construction on its california mine. and that's tonight's "market focus." >> tom: one thing about a stock exchange is that all investors know what the last price paid was for a stock.

as ticket scalping has moved from sidewalks outside stadiums to cyber-space, it has brought the practice of re-selling sports tickets into the open. tonight's "beyond the scoreboard," our look at the business of sports, begins with the business of ticket brokers. rick horrow is a sports business analyst and c.e.o. of horrow sports ventures. welcome back, rick. >> yes, sir. >> we are ahead of the big title game coming in three weeks, ticket prices are heating up. what role do ticket blockers may when it comes to big event tickets. >> depends when you ask the question. 10 years ago a billion dollar business but they are behind the pillar saying buy the particulars, it's not necessarily legal,now its reselling the second market is a $10 billion global industry and it is growing fast. >> tom: and it has been endorsed by leagues, individual teams, you haim it, colleges as well. so when we take a look at a chart of what the face value of bcs title game about

$300. stub hub said it is close to $900 already. are colleges and these other sports teams and leagues leaving the money on the table. >> they really don't because now consumers are afforded the choice and if you have a premium seat, for example christmas day, the heat and lakers, $15,000 a court side seat and the super bowl in dallas it is rumored to be up to $10,000 a premium seat, merry christmas. >> tom: stuff that in your stocking. >> espn, disney espn targeting women with its latest endeavor. espnw.com. taking a risk, it is taking a risk targeting women. >> no, clearly not. 49% of the women high school kids for example, and only 41% are actually playing sports. organized. so there is a disconnect. pop warner, other organizations, 125,000, dance and charity and cheer lead, so they make up for that. but the bottom line is women are playing now more than ever so it is really not that much risk. >> tom: this is women writing about sports for women but espn viewership is heavily male, three quarters

male compared to a quarter female so what is the risk and what does it have to do to make this espnw successfull. >> it doesn't really matter what the ratio s women make significant purchasing disignificances. in my house they make over 247% of the purchasing decisions and clear leigh that is the issue. for corporate america they love all aspect of women's sports. >> tom: let's talk about this time of year has many of us thinking about charity including professional sports leagues where they are giving away millions of dollars a year. the nfl says it gives away about $115 million a year, mlb 100 million, nba 100 since 2005. one thing that ising here, the numbers, hard and fast are very difficult to come by. and considering it is a multibillion-dollar year industry here could they, should they be doing more. >> they should be showing more and also doing more. let's remember that all four leagues may have some kind of a work stoppage next year which is really important to understand it is a battle for the hearts and minds in public relations and also the bottom line is it is a good business decision, good investment because community leaders and others will

generate support. >> tom: remember those court side seats will fit in the stocking. rick horeau, c.e.o. of horrow sports ventures. >>usie: wal-mart is saying do svidaniya to moscow, closing its office there. the world's largest retailer was looking for an acquisition in russia, but couldn't find one. >> susie: here's what we're watching for tomorrow: as we reported, the federal reserve's interest-rate-setting committee meets for the last time this year. we'll also see the november reports on retail sales and producer prices. >> susie: wal-mart is saying do svidaniya to moscow, closing its office there. the world's largest retailer was looking for an acquisition in russia, but couldn't find one. wal-mart will continue to expand its business overseas in countries like brazil, china and india. the company is also looking to expand in inner cities across the u.s., trying again to find a location in the new york city area. >> tom: a legal defeat for retailer costco. a tie vote in the u.s. supreme court left in place a ruling

that costco violated u.s. copyright law. the case was brought by a unit of swatch group because costco sold watches it got through secondhand sources. the legal implications are huge- - whether manufacturers can use copyright laws to keep foreign- made products off shelves of american discounters. the lawsuit now returns to federal court.

>> susie: as we mentioned earlier in the program, millions of people still owe more money on their mortgages than their homes are worth. tonight's commentator has some thoughts on the growing tide of people walking away from loans for just that reason. he's tim kane. research fellow at the kauffman foundation. >> solipsism is the economic word of our times. actually, it's a philosophical term: the inability to believe anyone else exists but you and your reality. it was on display earlier this month when lebron james returned to cleveland, a town he had abandoned in july to play basketball elsewhere. athletes move often, but lebron announced it on prime time. was he just fulfilling the role of economic man, optimizing his own personal benefit with no consideration for others? solipsism is also on display in the u.s. congress, where charlie rangel of new york expressed

defiance, almost pride, rather than shame at his censure for cheating on taxes. are we the people solipsists, too? well, that's how i read a recent story documenting the rising number of americans who think it's just fine to default on their debts, but only if it makes economic sense. these strategic defaults are estimated to be 30% of all defaults. that's when a borrower has the means to keep paying their mortgage, but simply chooses not to. in america today, there could be as many as 20 million homes with negative equity, but only about half a million are defaulting strategically. it sure is scary to think what could happen to our financial system if we the people stop playing by the rules-- the moral rules. but i have to say, it does make me awfully proud of those quiet americans, maybe some watching tonight, who are honoring their promises, even if it doesn't make sense to neoclassical economics or congressman rangel. thank you. i'm tim kane.

>> tom: that's "nightly business report" for monday, december 13. i'm tom hudson. good night everyone, and good night to you too, susie. >> susie: good night tom. i'm susie gharib. good night everyone. we hope to see all of you again tomorrow night. "nightly business report" is made possible by:

this program was made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. captioning sponsored by wpbt captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org