this is "nightly business report" with tyler mathisen and susie gharib. brought to you in part by -- thestreet.com. featuring stephanie link who shares her investment strategies, stock picks and market insights with action alerts plus, the multimillion dollar portfolio she manages with jim cramer. you can learn more at thestreet.com/nbr. breaking down? what's behind the big drop in shares of some of the biggest names in technology? and when will the bleeding stop? master plan. microsoft ceo reveals the company's first big product in years. were investors excited and will there be more to come? and know the risks. why reverse mortgages, designed to keep older adults in their homes, are now closing a financial headache for some of

their heirs. i'm tyler mathisen. >> and i'm sue herera. it was another down day on wall street, not by all that much, but the major averages did see losses. and the decline was driven by a selloff in technology companies. but it wasn't the small and mid-sized biotech companies we saw investors sour on last week. now we're seeing a selloff in the big cap games like amazon, google and netflix, all one-time darlings of wall street. after a choppy trading session the dow ended 4 points lower on the day, the tech heavy nasdaq slid down 22 and the s&p ended lower by 3. seema mody has more on what's behind the breakdown in thooers the these fast-growing tech stocks. >> reporter: vesting in fast growth tech names has been success.

netflix up and google up a 55%. over the past pun month, shares of these growth stocks have fallen sharply. analysts say after the big run up in these games, valuation is becoming a concern. plus as the quarter comes to an end, traders are selling the winners. >> i think in general you're talking about the end of the quarter. clients do not seem to be overly concerned about the movement that we're seeing in different sectors. you're seeing in technology a clear rotation out of some of the high ln flying internet names. >> reporter: in that rotation into value-oriented tech names may already be happening. ibm, cisco, hewlett-packard, oracle all higher over the past one week. so far this year, hewlett-packard is the big winner, up 14%, thanks to better than expected earnings. while it still remains to be seen on whether old tech is better than new tech, there's one thing analysts agree on. old school tech names may be the new momentum trade. for "nightly business report,"

i'm seema mody. >> joining us now to talk more about the technology sector is skip alesworth, portfolio manager with the hennessey technology fund. skip, what's happening in technology? >> thank you. >> what's happening? >> well, i think this has all started we go back two or three weeks ago. the geopolitical crisis, kind of got people a little nervous, i believe. and so the stocks that had run, the momentum stocks you just talked about, both i think in health care and technology, had become expensive. people decided to take some of the profits, take it off the table until the geopolitical issues of the world seem to settle down a bit. so fundamentally no real crisis. i think it's just kind of a pause and regrouping here. >> so with this pause, skip, would you put cash to work in tech? and what sector of tech? the big names that have had kind of a rough patch for the last couple of days, or the newer technology stocks?

>> well, i believe technology has many sectors to it, many subsectors. i personally with thennessey technology fund we believe certain parts will do well, earnings and profit-driven. those areas would be those health care technology and those that can improve productivity for corporations, individual companies, et cetera. >> we're going to get to a story later this half hour on microsoft which came out with a new product carrying office, its suite of software onto ipads. what do you think of microsoft specifically? and its new ceo? >> well, i think certainly he inherits a large successful company. the problem comes that it's so large and so big and has been successful, how does he move the needle? that's all a function of new products and new initiatives. and that will take time for those to kick in and move the

ne needle on the revenue and profit side. >> you mentioned technology that helps companies. i see from my notes like the cyber security area. any picks in that particular area that jump out that you would add to the portfolio? >> well, one in particular that we've acquired in the fund is calledcomvault. that adds security overlays on cloud-based storage and data management. we're moving a lot of the data to the cloud. there are inherent risks on security. so these companies that can help corporations deal with the security issues and protect their data, we've all seen the example of target and other companies is going to do well if they're successful in their protective services. >> all right. so skip, bottom line me here. is what's been going on basically some of the froth coming off the top or something more concerning than that? >> believe it's the froth coming off the top.

still, we need technology. it's going to be in our lives. we all want the greatest and newest widget. so buy those companies. it's a great opportunity to come into the sector. those companies that you think will have profits and revenue growth. >> skip always alesworth, thanks for being with us. tyler just mentioned microsoft. a coming out party of sorts today for the new ceo at microsoft who not only introduce add new suite of office products for mobile devices but a whole new vision for the company. morgan brennan has more. >> reporter: microsoft entering a new era today as recently appointed ceo made his first appearance in front of the media. he took the helm from steve balmer 52 days ago, unveiling a product that's been long-awaited, office for ipad. >> when it comes to office 365, the vision is pretty straightforward. it is to make sure that the 1 billion office users and growing

can have access to the high fiddfe fiddfed fidelity office experience. >> reporter: it comes with word, excel and powerpoint debuted in the app store just as microsoft was finishing its san francisco event. users will be able to download office to their tablets to view documents and give presentations. but only office 365 subscribers will have full access and be able to edit that content. the shift to bring microsoft's most profitable business to the ipad represents a shift in company vision. from one centered closely around windows to a fresh strategy more focused on mobile and the cloud. even if that means bringing microsoft software to devices and competitors like apple and google. >> we think that this is one of the things he has to offer is bringing new ideas to microsoft

and helping break the culture that was more protective and look more towards opportunity in the future. >> reporter: expect microsoft to roll out more new products and updates to older ones in the coming weeks in what nadella is calling his innovation strategy. but the question, of course, will be whether microsoft can deliver on these big ideas to catch up with competitors like google and amazon which are already firm leaders in cloud and in mobile. for "nightly business report," i'm morgan brennan in san francisco. and another set back to tell you about in housing. pending home sales in february fell .8%, making eight months in a row of declines. you guessed it. cold weather, higher lending rates and a lack of available homes on the market get the blame this time for the latest drop. also today, freddie mac reporting that mortgage rates ticked a little bit higher last week, with 30-year fixed rate loans now going for 4.40%. ty, some good news about economic growth and a fresh read on gross domestic product in the final quarter of last year.

shows the economy grew at a pace of 2.6%. .2% better than a reading from just one month ago. and some positive news out of the labor market as well. the number of americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to a near four-month low. there could be more trouble ahead for general motors. a federal judge in texas will hear arguments next week on an emergency motion that would force the automaker to tell owners of more than 1 million cars with those faulty ignition switches not to drive the vehicles until the recalled cars are towed away and repaired. gm intends to provide evidence, it says, that the cars are safe to drive. another tough day for citigroup one day after the federal reserve rejected citi's plans to return money to shareholders, via stock buy backs and increased dividend, shares tumbled more than 5%. the bank was slammed for failing to correct a string of financial

missteps since the financial crisis. >> citigroup needs to change its cfo. john grossback the cfo was the chief accounting officer going into the financial crisis citigroup had accounting mishaps. two years ago citi was turned down for its capital plan by the fed. that's strike two. yesterday being turned down again is strike three. >> well, today's slide in citigroup shares was the biggest one-day loss since november of 2012. walmart is suing visa for $5 billion, claiming it charges unreasonably high swipe fees on credit card purchases made by its customers. the suit was filed earlier this week. visa declined to comment, but the suit was not totally unexpected. walmart is one of 35 retailers that opted out of a class action settlement with visa and master card over these swipe fees. still ahead, health care, a milestone. the white house meets its latest goal of enrolling more than 6 million americans in the exchanges. what does it say about the law's

success or failure? new figures out today show more than 6 million americans have enrolled in a new health care plan through federal or state online marketplaces since october 1st. it comes just days ahead of a monday deadline to sign up for a plan under the affordable care act in time for coverage to begin in may. john harwood joins us now from washington with more on today's encouraging numbers which the white house says matches its latest target for enrollees. john, there was so much controversy over health care.gov and the web site. is the number a surprise?

>> a relief and surprise, sue. just ten days ago, the white house had said they'd hit 5 million. so the pace of enrollment has obviously been very rapid. and 6 million people enrolled was the target that congressional budget office said was likely to be achieved after that difficult rollout. initially they'd said 7 million. >> i suspect, john, that this number in and of itself isn't going to change anybody's mind about whether this affordable care act is a success or a failure. but what do you say? >> reporter: well, no, it won't change many minds. but it's important for the potential health of the exchanges. if not all the information we need, though. the volume is good. the purpose of the exchanges is to spread risk among a broad group of people. but it's really the mix of those people that's most important to see whether it's financially viable. you need younger, healthier people who are less expensive to insure to offset the costs associated with older and sicker people.

and we won't know for some time what that mix of old and young is in the exchanges. >> john, speak to what the expectation about where those numbers will eventually end up at the end of the enrollment period and how soon we might get a read on what those numbers look like. >> reporter: well, sue, at the pace that they've achieved the last ten days, that suggests they could even get to 7 million which is what the cbo initially had said. some of the unconventional marketing methods the president has done, like going on with zach galafinikis on "between the ferns." got attention. they're extending the enrollment process for people who get in line by march 31st. officials tell me they'll only do that for a few dates. it should be wrapped up within a week after the deadline. >> john harwood reporting for us tonight from the nation's capitol. after months of political and economic turmoil, some good news for ukraine. both the house and senate today

passed bills that offer kiev a $1 billion loan and at least $150 million in immediate aid. that bill now heads to the president for his signature. meantime, the international monetary fund agreed to a two-year bailout plan for ukraine today, making between 14 and $18 billion in loan guarantees available. the house is also poised to pass a bill that prevents reimbursement payment cuts to medicare providers for another 12 months. the one-year fix will avert a built-in 24% pay cut to doctors who treat elderly patients through the federal medicare program. it was part of a 1997 budget law aimed at keeping a lid on exploding medicare payments. shares of some biotech companies have gotten hammered lately on concern by washington lawmakers about the sky-high cost of some new medications. that is renewing the debate about why drugs cost so much here in the u.s., often much much more than in other

countries. sheila dharmarajan has more. >> reporter: this drug costs $84,000 for a 12-month treatment. but outside the united states, it's another story. in germany, gillead has proposed a treatment price of $66,000. in united kingdom the company hopes to price the drug at approximately $57,000. but in developing countries like egypt, vivaldi is just $900. approximately a 99% discount versus the u.s. in other words, the drug companies charge what the market will bear in each country. why is the u.s. market so much more expensive? it boils down to economics. >> we have a private market for drugs in the united states. so the pharmaceutical companies can charge a market price. >> reporter: it is also the law. u.s. government is prohibited by law from negotiating drug prices. medicaid gets an automatic 23%

discounts on all list prices. but it's all off a list price which is set by the drugmaker. that's not how it works in other countries. >> drug prices in europe are determined by the health system. they're negotiated directly with the manufacturer. whereas in the united states, the drug prices are determined competitively by the manufacturer and then offered into the health system. >> for their part, drug companies say they need high prices to pay for the costly research and development behind these new superdrugs. and also to cover all the other drugs that don't make it to market. while it's gillead and sovaldi currently in the hot seat, u.s. drug pricing is expected to come under more scrutiny. in the short term, analysts do not expect any major changes. for "nightly business report,"

i'm sheila cdharmarajan. forecast for the current quarter came in short of estimates, but investors ignored that guidance and instead pushed the shares up 6% to 51.20. shares of gamestop plunged on weaken than expected earnings. its forecast for the year also missed as more games are sold online and because of increased competition from big retailers offering trades in for used games. the chain will reduce its footprint and close about 2% of its stores. the stock tumbled 4% to finish at 37.33. but it was a different story for winnebago. the motor homemaker's second quarter profit surged 53% as sales and deliveries rose. that's topped the street's forecast even though bad weather disrupted production. the stock was up 3.5% to 27.54. shares of alcoa jumped after a favorable ruling from a

ukraine hiunited kingdom high court. shares surged to a 2.5 year high at alcoa to 12.59. there is buzz that amazon will reveal a set-top table or broadband box next wednesday. the online retailer invited journalists to a new york city press event for an update on the company's video business. despite the buzz, shares of amazon down about 1.5% to 338.47. reverse mortgages are getting some buzz today for senior citizens living on a fixed income, reverse mortgages have been appealing. however, for their heirs inheriting that debt it can be a nightmare. some new rules are being put in place to safeguard those who are left holding that debt. let's turn for an explanation from paul aflander for answer force that. paul, welcome. you're director of financial

planning with provise management. what are this new rules and what are they intended to do? >> well, as you correctly pointed out, it's designed to protect the heirs from exactly what you describe. reverse mortgages suffer from that bad reputation that they suffered for years because that marketplace was a bit like the wild wild west until 1989 when they came under hud and fha specifically guidelines in governance. so over the years, those rules have developed into being a little bit easier for people to work with. if there's a positive equity flow in the home after the residents pass away, the heirs sell the home, they pay off the mortgage and then they split the difference among themselves according to whatever estate planning was there. but if the house is under water, under those fha rules, they are not subject to have to pay that difference back. and so that protects them in that way. and i might add, by the way, that reverse mortgages are

really heckums as we know them in the financial business. by their true name, home equity conversion mortgages. that's actually what they are. they're a conversion of a home equity into a mortgage for senior citizens to be able to access and use. and so it's unfortunate that they have the reputation that they have. because they're a good instrument for certain families. >> but paul, there was a story in this morning's "new york times" which was a disturbing one about people who seemingly either do not understand what happens when the owner of the home, the mortgage or borrower dies, they either don't understand it or it's not being explained to them by the lender. and they are as a result being foreclosed upon. what is it that they're not understanding or not being told? >> well, i saw that story. and i'm as perplexed as you are. the fact of the matter is, after 2008 most if not all heckums are written by underwriters that are

gomp governed by fha guidelines. in those guidelines it specifically prohibits what was described in that article. so i understand, and i was equally confused by it. but fact of the matter is, if you use a qualified mortgage broker that subscribes to those fha guidelines, the heirs won't be in the position described in that article. >> but you have to ask questions. in other words, if you were not the one who put in place the reverse mortgage, and you all of a sudden you pass away, your heirs may not know the details of the reverse mortgage of the underwriter. >> you're absolutely right. to that point, full disclosure, full transparency is important. in and that case, an average 70-year-old for example, i live in florida and we see quite a few in florida. a 70-year-old might get 55% of the equity of their home to use. when they pass away, the heirs have to then settle up that debt.

but there's generally enough equity in the home to do so. when they went through the housing crash in 2008 and 2009 and people had heckums written in the early 2000s, that turned some of those properties upside down. if it wasn't an fha mortgage they had that problem. >> very quickly, if my loan is greater than the value of my house, what happens? very quickly? >> if it's an fha loan, they aren't responsible for that difference. >> that was quick. >> that was quick. and very insightful. paul, thank you very much. appreciate your being with us tonight. >> my pleasure. thanks for having me. coming up, a few good men. how veterans can sell their leadership skills to land jobs at some of the country's biggest employers.

more than 1 million military veterans are currently unemployed. the hiring our heroes initiative aims to fix that. the program connects private sector employers with military veterans and their spouses through resume' banks and job fairs like the one held in new york city today. mary thompson was there. >> reporter: this is military recruiting of a different type. here, 150 companies look to tap into a deep pool of talent coming from our nation's military. talent like veteran joshua craftsman. >> i've managed a warehouse with the military. i've managed $520 million worth of equipment. i can run your logistics department or at least come up under somebody who does. >> they've been trained. they're very trainable. >> reporter: don esman advises toyota and other firms about hiring veterans through a program called hiring our heroes. >> there's a lot of employers, oh, yeah, we'd love to hire a vet but we have no security

guard positions open. what they fail to realize is the leadership skills, the problem-solving skills that these young men and women have. so we're starting to marry those two. along with educating employers on what a veteran brings to the job, capital one's ben lamb says the program helps veterans sell their skills to the private sector. >> it's not about an infantry mann or i worked on a ship. it's i led teams. >> reporter: hiring our heroes provides classes on interviewing and resume' writing and then puts veterans face-to-face with the companies looking for their skills. this is over 680 job fairs that hiring our heroes has sponsored over the last few years. the result? more than 21,000 veterans have found jobs at fairs like this one. job fairs are only part of the strategy, though. capital one and the chamber of commerce launched an initiative in 2012 with the aim of getting companies to hire half a million veterans by 2015.

while the hiring our heroes resume' engine translates veterans experience into terms the private sector will understand. >> the good news is it's not cost the veteran a nickel. it doesn't cost the employer a nickel. >> reporter: stored at open database, these resume's can be sorted by skill or zip code. that makes it easy for employers to find what they're looking for and provides veterans with another way to find a job. in new york city, i'm mary thompson for "nightly business report." >> such a good story. finally tonight, something sweet is happening in kansas. with americans having a seemingly bottomless appetite for snickers bars and m and ms, the mars company unwrapped a brand-new $270 million plant in topeka today which will bring 200 jobs to the area. it's the first new plant that mars has put in north america in 35 years, and at full capacity it will produce some 39 million

m and ms every single day. i insist on having the blue ones removed. >> do you? >> absolutely. >> i didn't know that. well, that's "nightly business report" for tonight. i'm sue her rare rera. thanks for joining us. >> i'm tyler mathisen. have a good evening, everybody. have a good night. "nightly business report" has been brought to you in part by -- >> thestreet.com. founded by jim cramer, thestreet.com is an independent source for stock market analysis. cramer's action alerts plus is home to his multimillion dollar portfolio. you can learn more at thestreet.com/nbr.

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