♪ this is "nightly business report" with tyler mathisen and sue herera. lucky seven. the dow extends its winning streak and sends the blue chip index to another all-time high. buffett boost. airlines take off after the billionaire investor has a change of heart, and makes a big bet on that sector. under the microscope. what might funding for medical research look like under a trump administration? those stories and more tonight on "nightly business report" for tuesday, november 15th. good evening, everyone. glad you could be with us tonight. this rally shows no signs of cooling off. the dow jones extending its winning streak to seven days. oil prices soared and the

technology sector rebounded. the blue chip dow index to 18,923. the nasdaq rose 57, and the s&p 500 gained 16. since the elelection, the bt performing sector has been the financials. the rally in this group continue? bob pisani takes a look. >> reporter: financials have been on fire since the election, but the rally is losing steam and with good reason. the biggest bank stocks up almost 15% since the election. morgan stanley, goldman sachs, all hit 52-week highs. it's going to be tougher to get those gains from here. the s&p financial sector trading almost 20% above its 200-day moving average. that almost never happens. and it's highly unlikely bank stocks will keep rising until we get more information on what the trump administration plans to do. so banks have been rising for three reasons. regulatory reform. but it's not clear how much of dodd frank will be dismantled and this would only benefit the biggest money center banks for the most part.

second, banks have been going up on rising interest rates. but we have no idea how much rates ultimately will go up. and the fed will be the key to watch here. interest rates have also been moving on the perception that more infrastructure spending may be inflationary. but that's a long way down the road. third is corporate income tax reform. it would make sense that banks would benefit from this. but it's not clear how much would go to their bottom line. again, we just need more specifics. finally, there's two other near-term events. the italian referendum and the federal reserve meeting both only a few weeks away, and both could trigger more bank squeamishness. for "nightly business report," i'm bob pisani at the new york stock exchange. another sector that took off today, the airlines. the group hit an 18-month high after warren buffett gave it a vote of confidence. he disclosed his berkshire hathaway, united, american, continental and southwest and

delta. his total investment, more than $1 billion. and this is a major reversal for buffett, who has called the industry a bottomless pit for capital. in his annual letters, he frequently writes about a volatile investment he made in usairways, back in 1989, often calling it a big mistake. the sector fell in the first half of the year, as you see there, before recovering from the lows of the summer. there's another under the radar sector that nobody has been talking about since the election. casual dining. dominic chu joins us here to tell us why more people are dining out. why is the sector performing so very low? >> they're hungry. but so much of it is about sentiment in this country right now. whether or not you believe that the election brought certainty or didn't, people are feeling at least -- or there is the perception people are feeling better. they're a little more certain. for that reason, a lot of traders piling into casual mid-scale restaurants. so we're not talking fast food.

we're not talking capital grill. we're talking about companies that do some of the mid-size. darden restaurants you're showing right there, owns not only the olive garden and longhorn steakhouse on the mid scale side. they've also got capital grill. check out the chart, a huge move. 11% higher in one week. similar charts happen for chili's, also cracker barrel, as well. >> country fried steak and country gravy on there. it comes down to whether or not consumers feel good about spending, sentiment plays in. and we have seen a near-term trend of lower fuel prices. and that helps the consumer, as well. more extra money to spend. >> he likes to sit in the rocking chairs. >> i like the rocking chairs. good food. oh, man. we were talking on another broadcast some time ago with tillman fer teata, owns a lot of stuff. he was saying people were staying home because they were nesting, they were not

confident. so this -- the uncertainty has risen. how -- what needs to take place for this rally to continue? >> it's going to come down to whether or not we do see the economy keep up. and that's going to be a real big driver of what's going to happen. if fuel prices still remain low, and they have been holding relatively steady, especially in the holiday season. we are going to see people start to spend a little bit more of the money on holiday gift items, as well as perhaps other things. but if the overall scheme for consumers remains positive, if the economy starts to pick up a little bit of steam and people feel a little bit better, that's when you can start seeing these stocks really take off. but the nesting thing is interesting. because pizza companies like domino's and papa john's, they have done pretty well. >> people getting delivery. >> right. >> people staying home. dom, thank you very much. biscuits and gravy. home depot blew past earnings expectations, as consumers continue to pour money into their homes. sales and profits were both higher, and the company raised its full year earnings forecast.

but investors were not impressed. after the home improvement retailer reiterated but did not lift its full year sales forecast. courtney regular an has more on the dow components most recent quarter. >> reporter: any doubt about the strength of the u.s. consumer and housing market is relieved, looking at home depot's latest quarter. the world's largest home improvement retailer dlafrs for investors. not only did more shoppers make purchases, but they spent more, too. while appliance maker whirlpool said its soft demand in the quarter, it didn't play out in the category for home depot. in fact, appliances and big ticket items drove the quarter. oppenheimer analyst brian nagel it's half from u.s. consumer and housing market strength. even though mortgage rates have increased, he isn't worried about a slow down for home improvement retailers. >> if the homeowner consumer

says i feel confident in my job, that's probably more than the modest uptick in mortgage rates. before they become a significant headwind. >> the u.s. commerce department says sales increased by more than 1% for october from september. which could bode well for lows when it reports tomorrow. but the home improvement retailers have benefited from positive macro economic conditions for quite a number of years. leading many analysts to question just how much more room there is to grow from here. for "nightly business report," i'm courtney reagan. americans spent a lot of money last month. retail sales, a measure of spending on just about everything from clothes to online stores, rose .8% in october. that was more than forecast, and it marked the biggest back-to-back increase since early 2014. the report also reinforces the chance for an interest rate increase as soon as december. and today boston fed president, eric rosengren said

the rate hike at the central bank's next meeting is plausible. since the economy is nearing full employment and inflation is still low. >> the conditions that we need for a tightening are basically there. and i'm looking forward, hopefully, that the economy continues to improve and that it is appropriate in december. >> federal reserve policy makers scheduled to meet in mid december. well, oil prices notched their biggest one--day gain since april. an outline deal was reached in september, but the details are still being worked out. nonetheless, domestic crude higher by more than 5%. the energy sector riding the crude oil wave today when oil prices were down. what can we expect from the oil and gas industry under the new trump administration? scott roberts joins us, senior

portfolio manager at invesco where he is here to discuss what might lie ahead. good to see you, scott. welcome. >> thank you. >> let's start, first of all, what are your expectations in terms of potential policy changes under a new administration? >> well, it's kind of interesting. if you think back during the campaign and even during the debates, we saw really little details on policy. but we do think that the -- the new administration is going to focus more on policies that will have less regulations and less red tape. and that has brought implications, one in particular for the midstream area or lod s logisti logistics. >> when we talk about midstream and logistics, those are terms of art that are very familiar to you, but maybe not to a lot of our viewers for example, the keystone pipeline, such a controversial project. other pipelines, controversial too. is that who we're talking about here, the pipeline operators and builders? >> indeed. in fact, we think there will be less regulatory hurdles going forward, where it will make

sense for companies to look at adding long haul pipeline. the idea here is simple. we want to move crude from base where it's being produced to where the refineries are. hopefully leads to lower gasoline price, which saves around $2.15 a gallon. the curveball is opec in two weeks. >> so you think opec might be a bigger driving force than the new administration, long-term? >> absolutely. opec is terribly important to the global oil market. we think the changes that opec may embark on will be more of a driver for crude prices in the short run than the auto indeed miles an hour policies will be. >> i know you don't want to get into specific names by way of recommendation, but that's an area you would say individuals might take a second look at. what about dryly drillers? a lot of discussion about opening or easier permitting for drilling on federal lands. what about the companies that might do that, what about the frackers? >> so a couple points.

first and foremost, if we do see more federal land being opened up for drilling, it does not mean we're going to see the media boost in u.s. production. the reason behind that is, you know, companies -- >> high enough. >> right, exactly. companies need to have an attractive irr to make it worth their while. right now, we don't have that, even with the strong move in crude today. >> all right. scott, we have to leave it there. scott roberts with invesco, changes a coming. appreciate it. >> thank you. and now a followup to a story we told you about yesterday. the company building the dakota access pipeline has asked the federal court for permission to lay pipe under the missouri river in north dakota. energy transfer partners wants the court to confirm that it has that legal right. yesterday we reported that the army core of engineers wants more time to study that project before it decides whether to allow the pipeline to cross land near a native american tribe. and the world's biggest oil producer, the aforementioned, saudi arabia, wants to diversify its economy, so that it will

become less dependent on crude. and today gamble was at the forum in readd, where the focus was on the company's economic future. while governments everywhere seem to be focused on what a donald trump presidency will mean for their country in saudi arabia, today the leadership is focused on the future and that's the fight to diversify away from oil. over the last several months, we have seen public sectors salary slash and ministers have taken pay cuts and for the first time ever, taxes raised. while it may appear to be one of the most closed societies in the world, saudi arabia is the most connected in the region. and with 720% of the population here under the age of 30, it'sit digital economy that seems to be gauging traction. missed global forum in riyadh, but sports, oil, tech and media to focus on the next generation. even as the pressure of a prolonged period of lower oil prices and delay in private

sector companies has taken a major toll on consumer confidence and led many here to question whether the government is on the right track. for "nightly business report," i'm hadley campbell in riyadh, saudi arabia. still ahead, an old economy company that wants to be a leader in cutting-edge technology. ♪ president-elect trump went after the automakers during his campaign and ford in particular for opening plants in mexico. today ford's ceo, mark fields, told fin l phil lebeau, he's a big supporter of free and fair trade and responded to the

threat of higher tariffs. >> in terms of 35% tariff, that would affect the entire auto sector. and that would impact not only the auto sector here in the u.s., it will impact the economy in general. so we have to take all those things into consideration. >> mr. field said ford has been in contact with the incoming administration. the scientific community is also trying to figure out what funding for medical research will be like under a trump administration. that was a big topic of discussion at a gathering of researchers in new york. and meg tirrell spoke to them. >> reporter: while stocks of pharmaceutical companies soared after the u.s. election, the future of government support for science is less certain. president-elect donald trump hasn't yet laid out his plans, but the scientific community is nervous, suggesting trump may be america's first anti science president from his positions on to himmics from climate change to vaccines and citing tweets like this one from the height of the 2014 ebola outbreak,

suggesting aid workers shouldn't be allowed back to the u.s. but in new york today, researchers expressed hope the new administration will be supportive of science. >> biomedical science has never been a partisan issue. >> reporter: the annual conference run by businessman mike milken's aims to bring industry, nonprofits and others together to accelerate research into cures. >> we're in the golden age of science where we can provide personalized and pre-session medicine to everyone. >> reporter: the transition comes at a time funding for science already has been tight. >> we lived through a very tough period from 2003 to 2015, and lost more than 20% of its purchasing power based on flat budgets, inflation eroding and the horrible thing called the sequester, which took away more than $1.5 billion in one fell swoop. >> reporter: dr. francis collins, says the u.s. has turned a corner on funding, increasing the nih budget by 7%

this year. conference attendees today stressed the importance, with many drawing clues from a policy section on his website. >> bullet number three was advanced innovation in health care research and development. and so we don't know what that means at this point. we'll battle over the next few weeks and months. but that's still encouraging that that was a topic here type of effort there. >> reporter: everyone eager to hear more. for "nightly business report," i'm meg tirrell in new york city. the world series helped dick's sporting goods hit a home run. the nation's largest sporting goods chain said it's better than said profit and revenue helped by higher sales of apparel from major league baseball teams, the cleveland indians and chicago cubs. the company also raised guidance for the year, but gave a down beat outlook for the current quarter. as a result, shares off 7% at $56.71. profit and sales at tjx

companies topped analysts' expectations with results helped by a steady stream of customer traffic. same-story sales topped estimates, but the owner of discount retailers marshall's and my wife's face to face rid home goods, citiing impacts fro wage inaccuracies. shares at $7 approximate.49. jd.com saw its loss widen but did manage to post higher revenue that edged past estimates. the company also announced plans to spinoff its finance division and sell its equity stake. shares up 11% at $26.41. teva pharmaceuticals posted higher than expected profit as a result of benefits from the takeover of aller gen. the company did note that lower sales of treatments contributed to its revenue miss and reduced the yearly outlook. shares off 8% to $37.60.

beeser homes, delivered fewer homes. the company also reported a drop in revenue. shares down 13 cents to $11.67. as we just told you, shares of united continental continue to rally today. after a regulatory filing yesterday, revealed warren buffett took a new stake in the airline. today united announced plans to introduce a less expensive basic economy option that comes with restrictions like prohibiting customers from bringing on board a carry-on. oscar munoz expects the move to improve earnings. >> we had an investor who flew from los angeles with a $110 round-trip fare. that is not a sustainable fare in a business wormed. what we want to do is offer not only that fare but that particular customer would have paid more to get a seat assignment, to get a bag assigned. so the way we will make money is the ability to upgrade and upgauge. >> shares rose nearly 5% to $66.06. and boeing shares initially

fell after the aircraft maker said it would trim 500 jobs over the next four years as it works to consolidate its california-based defense in space business. despite those job cuts, the company is expected to offer over 2,000 new positions in other locations. shares eventually fell 1% to $148.11. ibm ceo ginni rometty sent a letter to donald trump, and detailed steps she thinks could help americans benefit from technological advancements. she advocated for the new collar and infrastructure to include smart technology, the so-called internet of things and cyber security protections. row metty says big data can cut down on government waste, and she wants the tax system to be more competitive and allow companies to bring home money that is stored overseas and be reinvested in u.s. operations. from ibm to another old

economy blue chip. general electric. the ge wants to move away from that old economy image. that's part of the reason why the company said it was buying two startups to build out its software unit. ge isn't the only industrial undergoing a transformation into the digital age. morgan brennan has our story. called the new industrial revolution. a massive shift in the way big business operates. it's the industrial internet of things, a catch jaul-all to make machines, factories and power grids smarter, using sensors and softwares to boost efficiency. the biggest comglomerates, including general electric. >> it's all about productivity. if you look at the world of productivity, particularly if you're an industrial company, this notion of being able to get analytics off industrial products or manufacturing in new ways, it's real. this is happening. >> reporter: ceo jeff immelt

believes the internet is going to be a $200 billion market. it's the reason the industrial giant is hosting the machines conference in san francisco this week, bringing customers and software developers together under one roof. it's also the reason immelt says every new hire will learn to code and why the company announced three tech acquisitions since monday alone. analysts say ge is on the forefront of the trend but is no means alone. >> i would call out honeywell in figuring out how to enhance their equipment with software-based solutions. they're another one that employs a great base of software engineers within their company. you know, united technologies is out there doing some interesting things with their new gear for example. >> reporter: rockwell and roper investing in products and services, as well. and just yesterday, germany's siemens announced a deal to

require mentor graphics which makes software for computer chips. the growth prospects are alluring. especially since sluggish global growth, a strong dollar and weak commodity prices pressured other business. >> if you take ge, they have projected $6 billion of digital revenues by the end of the year, growing anywhere to $15 billion by 2020. clearly the growth rates are fast. and you don't typically see growth rates like that come out of large industrial conglomerates like this, which typically grow gdp. >> reporter: it's still in quote, early innings. ge in revenue last year alone. but as the industrial internet of things takes root, it's a race to connect. for "nightly business report," i'm morgan brennan. coming up, twitter's new top priority. will it help attract new users and maybe even potential buyers? ♪

air maintenance workers at u.p.s. voted to authorize a strike against the world's largest package delivery company. the union says talks remain deadlocked over health care benefits and if no progress is made, they will begin the process that could lead to a strike within 60 days. a strike could ground u.p.s. airplanes, which could impact packages shipped by air. snapchat has filed for an initial public offering according to dow jones, the ipo could value the company at between 20 and $25 billion. the papers were filed before the election and the ipo could reportedly take places early as march. twitter is taking some new steps to curb online abuse and harassment, which has been a

persistent problem. not only has it been a turnoff for users, but potential buyers. julia boorstin looks at what twitter and other social media companies are doing. >> reporter: internet companies are taking a stand against abuse in the spread of fake news. twitter is tackling cyber bullying, upgrading its new feature to allow people to mute certain phrases and notifications they don't want to see and providing tools to allow users to directly report conduct that violates its policies. twitter is hoping features will improve user experience to grow its stagnating ranks and boost its appeal to potential acquirers. >> one of the reasons twitter has been so unsuccessful with investors is because of the fact that a lot of people have not joined the service and the reason for that is because of all the hate on the service. >> reporter: and in the wake of growing concern about how the spread of fake news influenced voters, google and facebook are also making moves. cracking down on which sites and apps can use their ad-selling

software. google issuing a statement saying, quote, we will restrict sites that conceal information about the publisher, the publisher's content or primary purpose of the web property. facebook followed suit, clarifying its policy about the rules for its audience network which serves ads to apps and sites, saying, quote, we do not integrate or display ads containing content that is illegal or deceptive, which includes fake news. while implied, we have updated the policy to explicitly clarify that this applies to fake news. >> the perpetrators are doing it for one thing and one thing only and that is to make money. so to get rid of it, if you want to reduce or eliminate the incentive, you need to cut off the money supply. so i agree with what they're doing. they're trying to eliminate the opportunity or the ability for these fake news sites to get any kind of advertising.

>> reporter: facebook's move follows a buzzfeed report that a group of employees formed a task force questioning the social network's role, providing fake news on the platform. for "nightly business report," i'm julia boorstin in los angeles. and to read more about twitter's steps to curb online hate, speech and head to our website, nbr.com. on that note, that will do it for "nightly business report" for tonight. i'm sue herera. thanks for joining us. >> and thanks from me, as well. i'm tyler mathisen. have a great evening. we'll see you tomorrow.

happen we should just... ...just get on w'it, wedding and not tell anyone till it's all over and done with. i've never been a best man. it's something i'd like to do, once before i die. when i come back we really do need to work out what's what and who's is what and all the rest of it. i think i am a little bit in love with you. i need to tell you this thing. she slept with john. it's just a disappointment, in't it? an on going disappointment. celia who? raff ellie. gillian girlfriend raff she's not me girlfriend. caroline gillian's coming. john gillian? caroline yes. oh, and kate's moving in. they've got an appointment to get married at 11 o'clock this morning. ♪ [upbeat music]