>> today, we'll bring to the floor a $2.7 trillion reduction package we hope can break the impasse. >> it is a responsible commonsense plan that preserves that full faith and credit of the united states. >> susie: dueling debt deals. republicans and democrats in congress are out with different plans aimed at raising the debt ceiling and reducing the u.s. deficit. >> tom: but with eight days to

go before a default deadline, we'll look at what's at risk for the economy if there is no deal. it's "nightly business report" for monday, july 25. 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. debt deal or default?

that's the question everyone's asking from washington to wall street to main street. tom, president obama may have an answer when he makes a speech on national television tonight. >> tom: susie, the president will update the country on the status of the debt talks, but the news isn't likely to be good. lawmakers and the white house are still sparring on how to solve the u.s. debt issues. >> susie: with just over a week left to raise the debt ceiling, both senate democrats and house republicans rolled out different plans today to solve the crisis. senate majority leader harry reid is proposing a ten-year plan that cuts $2.7 trillion from the nation's debt, including $1 trillion in savings from winding down the nation's two wars and no tax increases. at a press conference today, senator chuck schumer endorsed the plan, saying it was the only viable option. >> at this point there is no alternative other than default and no basis for republicans

rejecting this proposal other than that they want a default. >> susie: but house speaker john boehner says reid's plan is full of gimmicks. >> we're not making any real changes in the spending structure of our government, and it doesn't deal with the biggest drivers of our deficits and our debt, and that would be entitlement programs. >> susie: meanwhile, boehner's own short-term plan calls for raising the debt ceiling by $1 trillion while cutting spending by about the same amount. he also recommends a second round of spending cuts next year. joining us now, norman ornstein, resident scholar at the american enterprise institute. we're really getting down to the wire, aren't we. >> you know, with eight days to go, it normal me takes several days to get these kinds of plans into legislative language and have them scored by cdo and then get the votes.

so we're all ready with two brand new plans, partisan ones popping up on the table with eight days to go past the point of danger to the point of nail biting. >> susie: let's talk about the two plans. which one of these makes the most economic sense from your point of view. >> well, what i think does not make economic sense is to have a short term extension that would mean we go back to the same kind of elaborate fangango we've been going through with all these craziness. we're at the height of the primary season and all the presidential candidates are being pulled not toward the national interest but a slighter of voters who voted in primary and caucuses. those in congress have their own congressional primaries. that is dangerous in economic terms. neither plan is a great one. the reid plan has the virtue of taking us to the pointed where we might have a little bit of a cooler period and satisfying the republican demands for the

moment of no taxes. but it doesn't look like it's gaining any traction on the republican side. >> susie: what about president obama, he's going to be addressing the nation tonight. is he going to be talking economics or is he all about politics. >> i think the president is going to be talking a little bit about economics and trying to make the case as to why letting this go past the election is not about politics, it's about avoiding what would be i think a much greater risk to our credit rating if everybody knows that we're just kicking the can down the road to the worst possible time. but he's also going to try and flame this yet again in political terms to get us to reach a resolution and try and turn the heat up on people in congress to realize that we can't wait right until august 1st or august 2nd, or we're going to have the worst of all possible worlds. >> one thin that we're hearing from business leaders, ceo's and fortunate 500 countries from alcoa to caterpillar, they're reluctant to expand, invest or

hire until there is a debt deal. not a short term one, but a long term deal. do any of these plans restore their competentence to invest in the competent? >> well, i think if you managed to get broad by par sauna proofl for something like the reid plan that takes it to a point where there's more comfort but where there's a firm commitment beyond that to tackle entitlements and revenues which have to be a part of a broader plan, that's what we see in the gang of six plan and all of the commissions, that you'd have a sigh of relief from business leaders. right now it's not surprising that they would be reluctant to invest, and that they would be even more reluctant if we got to go through the same exercise again. >> susie: the bottom line is do any of these proposals move us closer to having a stronger economy, and also to get international investors to restore their faith in the u.s. and the u.s. economy. >> the tragedy to this point is that the kind of plane that speaker boehner and president obama were talking about and the

one that's in the gang of six plan that includes dramatic tax reform, corporate tax reform and individual reform. radically reducing rates and broadening the base. we're doing enormous amount to bring a jump start to the economy. you can't do it without revenues, and the fact that that doesn't appear to be on the table right now is the biggest i think draw back to actually building some business confidence and getting the economy and jobs moving. >> susie: all right. we'll have to leave it there for now. thank you so much for coming tonight. >> yes, suzy. >> susie: i will try my best. we've been speaking with norman ornstein with the american enterprise institute. >> the debt crisis is a lot easier to fix than this deal was. >> tom: still ahead, the n.f.l. is back in business after a four month lockout. more in tonight's "beyond the scoreboard." stocks fell amid that stalemate in washington's debt negotiations.

here's how the major indices finished. the dow lost 88 points, the nasdaq fell 16 and the s&p 500 off 7.5 points. volume was light, 762 million shares moving on the big board and 1.6 billion shares traded on the nasdaq. >> susie: investors may have a long list of worries, but it's hard to tell looking at the flurry of new stock offerings this week. they include dunkin brands, the parent of dunkin' donuts, which is also the week's largest deal. if all twelve companies on the calendar go public, it will be the best showing in almost five years. erika miller looks at what's behind this trend and what it means for investors. >> reporter: if there's one thing the stock market hates , it's uncertainty. so why would companies like dunkin donuts rush to go public this week of all weeks? there's lots of anxiety in financial markets about raising the nation's debt ceiling. and if a deal is not reached by next week, stocks could be headed for serious trouble. but i.p.o. expert richard peterson says dunkin and others are focused on the positives.

>> the conditions are ripe for companies to raise capital in this environment, where the economy is growing, albeit at a slow rate. >> reporter: dunkin' donuts is the most recognizable name on this week's i.p.o. roster. the company plans to raise as much as $400 million, making it the year's seventh-largest deal. dunkin, which is also the parent of baskin robbins, plans to use the money to double its locations in the next 20 years. the other new stock offerings this week span a range of industries. theres tea boutique teavana and c&j energy, as well a defense contractor-- a.d.s. tactical. but there are not any internet companies on this week's list, one of the year's hottest trends, thanks to the successful offerings of linkedin and pandora. analyst philip palazzo says tech companies taking the plunge this year are very different than the ones that fueled dot-com boom. >> these are businesses that have demonstrated not only an ability to grow, but an ability

to actually earn profits and generate cash. >> reporter: coupon website groupon is already planning an offering. investors are also hoping to see names like facebook, twitter and travel search engine kayak. all told, there are over 150 companies waiting to go public. that's the biggest backlog since 2007. many analysts are betting the class of 2011 will set new highs. >> i think it will be a record year. we are 20% above last year. at this rate, it will be the largest year on record over the last 12 or 13 years. >> reporter: strong investor appetite is just what dunkin donuts and other companies are hoping for this week. all the better to make some serious dough. erika miller, "nightly business report," new york. >> susie: carmakers in detroit and the united auto workers have officially begun bargaining for a new four-year contract. chrysler and u.a.w. leaders

began talks this morning with a series of friendly handshakes. company and union officials wore matching maroon jackets to signify their unity. both sides say they want fair contracts that keep the automakers competitive. the current contract expires in mid-september. >> tom: investors dialed back their appetite for risk with no clear resolution on the debt ceiling. let's get to tonight's "market focus." it was a rough start for stocks this morning. the s&p 500 fell 1% at the opening bell. that was the worst level of the day. this is today's trading for the index. prices improved throughout into the early afternoon, before closing down 0.5%. after the close, the market focus turned to netflix. earnings were well ahead of estimates, but revenues were

slightly disappointing, as was its outlook. subscribers have been complaining about its recently announced price hikes, separating the charges for its traditional d.v.d.s by mail and its internet streaming service. co-manager of the jacob internet fund, darren chervitz, is watching the competition. >> some companies, such as apple, really potentially have a better competitive position if they want to start getting more heavily involved in this space. streaming is the battleground going forward, and netflix certainly has to be concerned about competition now. >> tom: netflix stock has been a big winner over the past year. look at this move. it has more than doubled. shares came into tonight's report up almost 2% during the regular session. but after the disappointing guidance, the stock dropped 8% to a one-month low.

pretty hard drop, clearly one ot watch. the utility sector was the only major stock sector up today. electric utilities found buyers. n.r.g. is at a new 52-week high with this 2.7% gain. first energy jumped more than 2%, just shy of a 52-week high. and ameren added just under 2%. volume on all three was heavier than usual. lots of interest in buying. speaking of looking for safety, gold hit another new high, moving up another $10 per ounce. gold was $1,500 an ounce at the beginning of july. tonight, it's over $1,600 an ounce. elsewhere in commodities, silver conintuing to move. oil fell as dollar weakened. it wasn't all about safety, though. chinese online search engine baidu closed at an all-time high today, up more than 1.5%. and then after the close, it

jumped another 6.5% thanks to strong quarterly earnings. over $165 per share. baidu has taken market share from google in china after google's site was censored by the chinese government. a couple of internet investment brokerages saw buying. both e-trade and t.d. ameritrade moved up. the "wall street journal" reports ameritrade is talking about buying e-trade. separately, e-trade's biggest shareholder continues pushing the company to find a buyer. and that's tonight's "market focus."

>> tom: while talks continue on raising the nation's debt ceiling, it looks like the $9 billion business of football will kick off next month. tonight's "beyond the scoreboard" looks at the business at stake. rick horrow is a sports business analyst and c.e.o. of horrow sports ventures. how did they get to yes. >> because they realized it's a business, not two different sides. and the fact it's a 2k-9d.3 billion business with a tremendous growth rate. nobody wanted to kill the future goose that lays that golden egg. so the deal is very important. a ten year deal. i don't know what i'm doing tomorrow, let alone ten years. this is a major step in the stability of a major american sports institution. >> tom: a big part of that business is of course the fans and they need to address and repair the bridges.

we had this comment for instance from a fan on our facebook site asking him about spending on the n.f.l. that spending $30 to park your car, $75 for a ticket, $10 for a cup of beer is just plain stupid. how did they address this. >> continue the stupid spending because we got football again. robert kraft began by apologizing to the fan. steven ross and owner of the paul fins an e-mail basically saying we're going to have a superbowl soon. all 32 teams can't win the superbowl but they can increase the affordability, autograph sexes, open practices the broncos are trying and a myriad of examples of appealing to the fans. >> tom: it's addressing that customer service problem out of the public eye for so long because of the lockout. we do know this, one casualty of these talks an 18 2k3w5eu78 season is not going to happen so do broadcasters lose. >> first of tall television ratings has gone up 22%. it's prolific of the economic of

the deals the ratings have been up. there's a chance foo are that being scheduled because of the template for two more years but they'll get it eventually. >> tom: took they stock price returns for fox corporate, news corp. dealing with its own problems, 5%, disney shares off 6. cbs is a big winner, 23%. there's more going on than n.f.l. advertising. the ad rates are pretty good. >> ad rates up 20% and they're all sold out. everybody is ready for football. the pent up is enhancing the ad sales and people watching television. >> tom: no shot patch when it comes to football. the owner of the new england patriots robert kraft took the lead on this. had to this to say about the other big negotiations going on in washington. take a listen. >> i hope we gave a little lesson to the people in washington because the debt crises is a lot easier to fix than this deal was autopsy tom

more complicated business than the u.s. debt ceiling. they understand what real debt is. let's start football now. are you listening mr. boehner and president obama. we are list ink, it is rick harrow with harrow sports. thank you, sir. >> susie: in china, ambitious plans to expand its high-speed rail system are being scrutinized after a deadly wreck over the weekend. one train fell off a bridge after being derailed. 39 people were killed and almost 200 others injured. by today, operations had resumed on the affected speed rail lines. and as nick mackie reports, the system is giving china a high- speed lesson in finance. >> reporter: another must-have, made in china. over the past seven years, the country's largest high-speed train builder, c.s.r. sifang, has profited from foreign firms that swap key technology in exchange for market access. c.s.r. then digests the original tech, developing it further to produce new even faster trains

which it fully claims as proprietary technology. chief engineer ding sansan explains. >> ( translated ): if we export the 160-miles-per-hour train, we have to cooperate with our technology transfer partner. but if we export our new- generation 240-miles-per-hour train, we can do it ourself because we have the independent intellectual property. >> reporter: c.s.r. is working with general motors to explore the u.s. market. it wants to build trains in the u.s. using chinese technology. china knows a thing or two about high-speed rail. in just four years, it's built a 5,000-mile-long high-speed grid, and by 2020, a further 10,000 miles of track will crisscross the country, with the state spending over $100 billion each year. john scales follows transportation in china for the world bank. >> the high-speed rail system in china will connect 15 cities

over a population of three million and 50 cities of a population over one million. nowhere else does a high-speed rail system connect cities at such a close distance to each other and in such a dense area than they do in china. >> reporter: over half a million passengers every day use china's fleet of 1,000 bullet trains. so with the benefit of huge economies of scale from the domestic market, chinese companies can compete, fiercely, for projects globally. plus, as professor patrick chovanec explains, they're going armed with offers of cheap loans from china's state-owned banks. >> based upon the strength that they have in their domestic market, they're going out and bidding on projects all over the world, including in california. so the chinese are using high- speed rail both as an end to try to improve transportation efficiency, but also as a means to try to build up industrial

champions. china's ministry of railways has to honour a lot of borrowing. almost 70% of its investment in high-speed rail is funded by loans and bonds, with estimated annual interest repayments of $15 billion. the debt burden could rise to over $600 billion by the end of the decade. china is building for tomorrow's needs at today's prices, plus it's out to earn well from overseas, like america. its rail debt level, however, is huge and risks being a burden on the country's financial system. nick mackie, "nightly business report," chongqing. >> susie: here's what we're watching for tomorrow. we'll get a check on the housing market with the standard & poor's case shiller home price index for may. also tomorrow, earnings from 3m, ford motor, hershey, jetblue and u.p.s. and, our "word on the street" is "gold." thestreet.com's alix steele will discuss what record-high gold

prices tell us about the debt ceiling debate. nearly 4,000 federal workers are being furloughed after congress failed to agree on a deal extending the federal aviation administration's powers. at airports across the country, contractors have stopped working on critical multi-million-dollar projects to modernize airports. the impasse could have led to big savings for consumers. because the f.a.a. would no longer have the authority to charge taxes for cargo and jet fuel. but, most airlines decided not to pass along those savings. instead, they raised fares by an equivalent amount over the weekend. >> tom: massachusetts attorney general martha coakley has opened an investigation into whether banks violated state property recording laws during the housing boom and then broke foreclosure rules during the resulting housing bust. she's also refusing to sign on to any agreement between attorneys general and big banks if the deal includes releasing those banks from future

liability related to mortgage securitization. her decision throws a monkey wrench into a settlement that's been in the works for months. >> susie: as lawmakers try to hammer out a deal on the debt ceiling, some thoughts on how to improve employment while reducing the deficit. here's bill rodgers, professor at rutgers university. >> as the debt ceiling negotiations drag on, legislation that could help

americans better prepare for 21st century labor markets and rebound from the great recession and today's pothole recovery has been placed on hold. one example is the re- authorization of the workforce investment act, also known as w.i.a. created in 1998, wia, which has been up for reauthorization for eight years, provides the framework for the nation's workforce development and employment system. what's my rationale for re- authorization? globalization and i.t. expansion continue to change how americans work, when they work, with whom they work and where they work. the great recession and our current pot-hole recovery have permanently altered the workplace. reauthorization of the 13-year- old act would enable the labor department to update, make innovations, and respond to these changes. simply put, wia re-authorization is good government. since everything is on the

negotiations table, i urge policymakers to include wia reauthorization as a part of the forthcoming debt ceiling agreement. i am bill rodgers. >> tom: and finally, it may be true what they say-- one man's trash is another man's treasure. just ask one lucky guy in oklahoma. over the weekend, he took his collection of chinese rhinoceros horned cups to "antiques roadshow" for an appraisal. yep, that's right. cups with rhinoceros horns. turns out, they're worth up to $1.5 million. susie, the lucky owners says he won't have to rely on social security anymore. >> susie: makes you think like i got to go through my attic and basement with a fresh eye. >> tom: it's quite a cup of tea you've been holding on. that's nightly business report for tonight july 25th. susie, thank have a great night. >> susie: thanks for watching everyone. we'll talk to 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