protecting pay outs. chevron increases dividends for the 28th straight year while other energy companies slash they're theirs. >> hunt from yields. where you can find income now without taking on a lot of risks. from first to worst. unhappy shareholders are fed up with unite's poor performance and they're pushing for a shake up. all that and more on "nightly business report" for tuesday, march 8th. >> good evening. welcome. the dow and the s&p 500 snap their five-day win streaks. more on that in a moment. we begin with chevron. the second largest oil company

in the united states outlined a new strategy as executives try to manage through the changes that royal the oil these days. crude prices, which are expected to stay lower for longer are making it for difficult for the largest energy companies to invest their capital, spend on improvement and follow through on ambitious profits, yet alone make profits. chevron shares fell 2% after the plan was outlined at an annual analyst meeting. the ceo made it clear that chevron is doing whatever it takes to protect its dividend. >> chevron ceo and chairman outlining three major points to maintain a dividends while slashing spending and ramping up production. >> it will add revenue to our bottom line. we'll be able to take our spend

down. we'll stay pretty we balanc >> the number two u.s. energy company cutting capital. down by as much as a third from earlier guidance. that's as major liquefied natural gas project in australia come online. despite less spending, the energy giant expects production to grow through 2020. the game plan, focus on shorter cycle, higher return investment. more drilling and other shell formation rather than long term megaprojects that are uneconomiccuneconomi uneconomical at current prices. a sizable jump from nearly $40 today. >> even if oil prices do not improve, they have good credit and strong balance sheet. i think the dividends is very

safe. >> chevron's nine-year-old dividends has been a huge draw. it yields about 5% for 28 straight years. conditions are tough but will improve. chevron is betting the recoverly will take shape early next year. >> chevron may be protecting its dividend but the same is not true for other energy companies. jackie takes a look at the pressure to cut the pay out. >> reporter: oil rallying more than 30% since lows hit this mid-february. where prices will go from here will have big implications for dividends in the interest space. the majors are still paying. exxon's yield, 3.5%. chevron, a little less than 5%. still, number of companies cutting dividends nearly hit a

12-year high in 2015 topped only this 2009. the energy sector led the s&p 500 this dividends cuts last year with pay outs dropping more than $6 billion. at this point energy dividends could be tied to oil prices. >> i'm not ready to call this a bottom foil. we've had a nice demand. we're still well supplied in production is too high for the market to stay in these prices. >> reporter: barclays saying $45. there's also risk to the upside. equity, fed, europe, all issues that have jostled the market. >> i don't think the rally in

crude oil can be sustained. when we traded down to the 30-dollar level some frackers came out and started producing. they're still around and waiting on the sideline. you'll see them come back and start producing again. >> reporter: higher prices will be sustainable but remember there's still a big supply glut out there. also as prices rise, producers will ramp production. will that start to push those prices back down? investors are attracted to dividends because they provide income. that's not the only place they can find it with low risk. james camp has some ideas you may want to consider in the ultimate quest for yield for income. welcome to good to have you with us. >> good to be with you tonight. >> a lot of people want to get

income out of their portfolio because they're retired or want it as a way to stabilize their portfolios. i know you like bonds. my first question is if i have sufficient capital, tell me how much that might be. to get ample diversification do you suggest they invest in funds, securities or efts? >> it's a great question. i much prefer having individual security just in this environment. remember, we're exiting quantitative easing. we're exiting accommodation, a little bit in this country. the folks that you cued up a minute ago chase yield. it look good and had yield characterists but don't performance as expected in the fashion they would prefer. you're going to get exit and

rotation. you clip your coupon. you have a finite term. >> what about high yield. we hear another analysts and say they're finding high yield attractive. are you in that camp yet? >> not yet. last year we completed exited high yield in favor of treasuries. it was a give yield trade, if you think about it. the problem with high yield is oil, as you mentioned, it's a credit event. the wave has crashed. it hasn't hit shore yet. until default pick up off that 3% and we start to see a real recognition that commodities are a create event and spreads really get wider even as generous as they are, you don't need to enter the high yield space. you'll get an incredible opportunity but be patient. the wave has not crashed the

shore yet. >> your first choices are in two categories. high grade corporate bonds and longer term municipal bonds. tell me where you're looking this high grade corporate specifically and what kind of munis you're looking at? >> tyler, first corporate bonds have gotten more generous in terms of yield. it's almost doubled in yield differential or spread. almost to recessionary type spread levels. the levels gotten quite a bit more generous. for us, anything is an a rated free cash flow solid balance sheet and this you mentioned earlier, some are cutting dividends to protect bond orders, it's not often we get the front seat of the table but the bond tables are being invested.

some are generous. >> longer term munis again high rated. >> the thing about municipal bonds even though the term might be longer, the yield ratio or something that pleasures the amount of extra income you get relative to treasury is in excess of 100%. they don't behave like treasu treasuri treasuries. s 10,000 people a day retiring. we still recommend them highly going forward. >> james camp with eagle access management. >> we just mentioned oil. oil prices were treated. goldman sach's suggested the

rally was unstainable. today domestic crude fell nearly 4%. the drop in oil prices along with -- they fell below to 16,964. the nasdaq was off 59 and the s&p 500 off 52. sabine oil and gas want to keep court ruling. the bankrupt energy producer said they can shed products. they were once thought to be insulate fd from the decline in oil prices since they locked in long term contracts. this ruling exposes the companies. exposing them to the swings this oil prices. activists are creating some

turbulence over united contin d continental. they want to shake up the board and get their own members. they are down more than 15% over the past year. they've enlisted a former insider to help their cause. >> reporter: shares of united airline under pressure now that the carrier finds itself in the midst of a proxy battle over who will be on the board of directors. they are putting forth a slate of six candidates to join the united board of directors including former continental ceo. united's board is like a country club and lacked direction. it's trailed other competitors but he believes it's time for new leadership at united. >> they should be there first place instead of last place. united has the best employees and the best route system.

i heard your data but they're not running against draft horses. these are races horses. >> reporter: united board of directors said a proxy fight could distract the company from executing the plan. oscar being oscar munoz, they're issue, is not with oscar. they plooef it's with the other leaders at united airlines and it's time for fresh leadership on the board of directors. united added three new board members earlier this week. shares of united have lagged competitors over the last five years. it will be interesting to see how this board battle shakes out over the next couple of months. is the political climate stunting growth. the engine of job creation.

a new nbc wall street journal poll shows the race on the republican side tightening. donald trump holds narrow three-point lead over ted cruz in the repubn contest for the presidential nomination. latest figures come as four states cast ballots in primaries or caucuses today. michigan, mississippi, idaho and hawaii hold republican contests while democrats hillary clinton and bernie sanders face off in michigan and mississippi. john harwood following the campaign for us. let's start with the poll. the three-point lead must be a national, nationwide poll.

what do you make of the latest numbers? >> it's really hard to know what to make of numbers because primary polling is difficult. those are family fights. they are pretty volatile. for example, we got this nbc wall street journal poll showing trump up three points over cruz. it was a washington post abc poll that showed trump up nine points over cruz and there's an nbc online poll that we do with survey monkey that showed trump with 19 points lead. this is about states now. we have four states voting tonight, michigan, mississippi, idaho and hawaii. donald trump wants to get wins to sustain his momentum going forward. he's on a path to the nomination. he's trying to stay that way. >> i guess that question is how does the republican race change after tonight. you answered it a little bit, but tell me more. >> interestingly, next week we go from a situation where

delegates are awarded proportionally. that's what happens tonight. that's really important because you've got big states, ohio and florida voting. he may be on track to having enough delegates that he can't be stopped. in john kasich in ohio, marco rubio in florida, can beat donald trump, they can stash away a large chunk of delegates and deny donald trump a majority at the convention and set the stage for a brokering. >> if trump is favored tonight in michigan, what do the polls say about ohio and florida next week? does he have a lead there? >> donald trump is leading in both places but recent polls have shown his lead narrowing over rubio and kasich in ohio. both single digit races. >> thanks very much. we'll know more later tonight.

>> the race for the white house is playing out on main street. small business owners say they are more reluctant to expand. according to the layest survey, the reason is partially due to the political climate. kate rogers follows small business. is this the first time we have seen the mention of politics directly impacting main street during this political season? >> it really has been. we cover this index month to month. this is the first time politics got a big shout out here. there's a lot of uncertainty as far as who the nominees are going to be. when you look at small businesses and the things that concern them, it's always the economy. i think they are hoping to find out who the nominees will be on republican and democratic sides and see the issues affordddress the campaign trail. k whether the small business ordinary reason and prudence coalesced around either candidate on either side? >> this survey doesn't address

individual candidates. manta, which is a small business platform did ask and they found no surprise that donald trump was the leader on the republican side and hillary clinton on the democratic side. if the two were to face off, trump did get the edge with about 60% of the vote. >> what about a longer term view? >> there's obviously ebbs and flows month to month. the historical average is at 98. it's a two-year low. po post-recession we have seen it take a dip. we'll keep watching it. it's been trending higher which is always good news. >> thanks. >> thank you. the hedge fund manager whitney tillson shorts liquidator once again. he ended his short position back

in december. today, city received new information. information he believes will cause the company's stock to fall. played a big role in his decision. >> when you associate a business with the word formaldehyde that's bad. they have just gone off a cliff. >> today so did the stock. shares of fell 15% to 11.77. barnes and noble education posted a lost. same store sales at college big store operators which was spin off last year says it will out source operation for the digital textbook platform to save expenses and shares of barnes

and noble education drops % in 9.69. citigroup cfe says first quarter revenue is expected to drop 15% from a year ago. shares of citigroup down more than 3.5% to 41.05. sun edison's financial issues kept it from fulfilling the terms of the deal calling it a willful breech of the agreement. in july they agreed to buy vivint. shares fell 20% to 4.17. sun edison rose to $2. general mills raises its quartzerly dividends to 46% per

share. shares made fractional moves on the announcement which was issued after the closing bell. the stock closed the regular session at 59.95. coming up, paying a price. how damage second-degree the maria sharipova brand, and what can she do to restore it? dick's sporting good reporting earnings. profits down. revenue lower than expected. the company gave down beat guidance for the current quarter. the sporting goods retailer blamed warmer than usual weather

for the disappointing results. the ceo said he will look at taking over leases of closing sports authority stores. major corporations are distancing themselves from tennis pro maria sharipova after she failed a drug test. nike is suspended the relationship are the highest paid female athlete. avon has declined to comment. what does this mean for her brand longer term? brand consultant dean crutchfield joins us. >> always good to be here. >> it was just put into ban status in january. did that help her? >> it can bring down a reputation in a single battering like this. it's deeply concerning that he was on these drugs. we have to say recently it was

only made illegal. we give her some road for that. >> what's her best move now. to give option with knowledge so gossiping businesses can be satisfied in terms of their questions. at the moment it hasn't been answered. we know it's heart conditional but what is it. we need to know now. >> she says she does have health concerns. she mentioned pre-diabetes, that runs in her family. a heart drug which this drug is licensed outside the united states to treat. do you think these major corporations were too swift to distance themselves or smart to distance themselves? >> i think they were smart. they need to recalibrate and assess mings. you don't want to be associated

with that. it's cheating. >> do you think the companies will ever take her back? >> i believe so. it depends on the details. long drawn out oe responses don't help anybody. it needs information need. we need to understand and know that we're confident she has not been cheating. >> they haven't issued any kind of punishment yet but it's a long suspension there's speculation she won't be able to play again because she would not have been on the circuit. how damaging is that to the brand? how does she start to repair her reputation? >> the important thing is hide nothing tell all. that's how you handle a crisis. tell everything as soon as you can so we get to understand and get a perspective on what's happened.

if we look at tiger woods and other situation that oured his games never really come back. would that be the case for her? >> we'll find out. thank you. >> that does it for "nightly business report." this is a reminder your public television station needs your support. >> we thank you. i'm tyler mathisen. have a great evening. see you back her

announcer: explore new worlds and new ideas through programs like this, made available for everyone through contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. hello. i'm susan lucci, and welcome to my music. you know, i'm really an incurable romantic, and tonight we are going to share some favorite love songs, right here on pbs. ♪ do that to me one more time ♪ once is never enough with a man like you... ♪ ♪ through the years ♪ you've never let me down ♪ you turned my life around... ♪ i know i'll never ♪ love this way again