the dow lost 124 points, the nasdaq fell 45, and the s&p lost about 15 points. goldlso tumbleto a 12-ek low, falling almost $58 to $1614 an ounce while oil prices slid $2.54 to $101.47 a barrel. >> susie: and tom, investors are still bummed that the fed is unlikely to pump more money into the u.s. economy. >> we had the risk on trade last week when ben bernanke spoke, and he did say that there could be further monetary stimulus without actually saying so. but that maybe if the economy need it, "we could further stimulate the economy." then, this week we had the risk off trade with the fed minutes, which didn't quite exactly say that there would not be further monetary stimulus but implied that if the economy keeps

rolling, so to speak, there might not be. >> susie: the market jitters are likely to continue tomorrow as investors await the release of friday's employment report. >> tom: now, a bit of a glimmer of hope for airline stocks as carriers find a new strategy for making a profit. many of them are offering fewer seats for sale in an effort to keep prices high. but as sylvia hall reports, it may co thesomeustomers. >> reporter: here at reagan national airport, travelers aren't just lining up to board their flights, they're also paying up. airline experts say the higher prices are a long time coming but they could be the secret to industry health. if you haven't shopped for plane tickets lately, take a look. prices for flights across the country are running sky high. industry experts say it's something flyers will have to get used to. >> consumers for years have benefited from low prices that have resulted at least in part from the airlines competing overly hard with each other. there was too much capacity in the market. >> reporter: low airfares didn't work for the airline business.

when fuel prices rose, carriers took a huge hit. now they're trying a new strategy to survive high fuel prices: slashing routes and cutting planes from their fleets. >> so they've said, "you know what? the only way we can make money in this environment is if we raise fares. how do we do that? well, we can't just ask people for more money because some people can't spend more or aren't willing to spend more, so the only way we can do that is by basically taking seats out of the market." it's simple supply and demand economics. >> reporter: mergers are also shaping strategy and helping airlines cut costs. fewer companies in the air means fewer choices for customers, and that leaves travelers facing higher prices, something that may put more travelers on the highway. >> airline companies have to raise ticket prices, and as they do so, there's a segment of the population that's not flying. >> reporter: that bad news for consumers, might be good news for investors-- so good that analyst helane becker says its time to consider buying airline stocks. sylvia hall, "nightly business report," washington.

>> ringing the bell at the new york stock exchange. naral organic food cmpany, ane. haone the most successful ipos this year. they came public at 20, and trade over $34. we're with john at the big board. congraltulations on this pop. very successful. you misjudge the market's appetite. would you have sold more? >> no. you can never guess these things. we're mostly excited, at the

generally strong reaction to the great food brand coming to market, and orgac is instamdea now we're gratified with the results. >> in the first days of trading it's successful. how are you going to expand the business? >> l both the retailers have done quite l and we have opportunitys in main stream grocery stores, expand from natural and organic sections of stores where a lot of retailers have sold products like ours into the mainstream aisles which is one ofoufr strategies. >> t: is that siifict. duneed to get out of the organic aisle and in with the freeto lays and the other snack products? >> we've always priced it to be on the mainstream aisle where consumers want to shop. it's convenient for them, and they want to see them

positioned right up against the conventional alternative so they can make a choice. >> tom: that shelf space can be expensive in terms of marketing. how much are you going to spend to get there? >> we've been spending at a good clip, and we'll continue to be compitive goi rwar >> t: spking of the numbers, average sales growth, 16% over the past four years. >> this is a public company. we have to issue guidance, and we're confident that our brand is well positioned, and consumers are looking for healthier altternatives. and fruit snacks and branlds in particular. >> talk about the categories. >> tom: best known for annie's mack and cheese, organic mack andheese, and crackers. what's the next product line or innovation you're going to use to fuel growth? >> we just introduced an

organic rice that's being sole at whole foods exclusive right now. it's certified organic and helps us to expand our audience to all family. the mom who is really with us for a long time. >> tom: what about the exclusive relationship? does that help you get the icinoffset because the e volatity in the commodity prices. >> the exclusivity helps. and whole foods can grow, and help with the competition, and gives us an opportunity to try new things and grow. we have a very strong brand. so we never have difficulties getting pricing to offset higher commodity costs we've experienced over five years. we've been able to pass along the prices and the consumers have been willing to pay. >> tom: john, full disclosure, iave a couple of chiren unde10, d maca mack and cheese

is a staple. best of luck with the career and launching annies. the ceo of annie's. >> reporter: still ahead, i'm sheryl kahn in las vegas, where the housing boom went bust and buying could still be a gamble. >> susie: the new york auto show opens this weekend in manhattan, and u.s. automakers are firing on all cylinders. general motors is one of them. its march sales jumped 12%-- not bad for a company that was in bankruptcy just three years ag when i talked today with mark reuss, president of g.m. north america, he said the automaker will do even better the rest of this year thanks to a big rollout of new vehicles. >> this summer for general motors, we executed the cadillac, and looking to traverse the acadia, and the enclave, for all three of those brands, and a part of the market that we frankly own, or a piece of it, those are big important volume

launches for us. we'vgot e mentum that will increase bringing those products on line. and that's what we look forward to. >> susie: mark, how close is the u.s. auto industry to getting back to normal? how close? >> that's a great question. i'm not sure what normal feels like. it has been a long time. and so whatever normal is, you know, we could see over 14 million units this year on an annualized basis t. depends on the economy and the amount of job confidence that i believe is inherent in the economy. i've got a job, and i'm going to replace my car for a car that gets better fuel economy as gas prices go up. i want to do that. >> susie: most of the sales that you had in march for fuel efficient cars. consumers wha, are they looking for? >> what consumers are interested in is the total vehicle optimizeation of

appearance. you want a great operational cost, and proud of what your car represents, and who you are. it's still a personal reection of o you are dely, we know that, and a lot o the technology that makes our lives easier, we have to be able to intertais with that on a customer basis. >> a great month in sales. way up. is this making you rethink your decision to suspend production? >> if you look at the production decisions. it's our plant in detroit, and we can be agile. when we have a month whaf we had with 2200 units >> and later. >> and we gradually see a build in sales. >> what happens next.

that% of the people who we the car would buy it again. that's proof. we have a great car. and sales will build. >> tell usbout the new chev imla that y introduced today x*chl 4 this is something that beef done well in gm for many years. and i joined a full. >> and the chevrolet. >> and unexplored area for us. great history of a million units. and the formula was very silar wha y se here today in terms of appeal. honestly, we haven't done something like this in a long time. that's why we're excited

>> susie: you going to get a million units out of it? >> to be realistic -- not. but we'll sell a lot. >> susie: tomorrow i talk with the ceo of hyundai fresh off the best sales month ever. and the ceo tells me why hyundais are finding their way into more american driveways. >> susie: monsanto is cashing in on what could be the biggest u.s. corn crop in 75 years. it said today quarterly earnings surged 19%. the company earned $2.24 a share in its fiscal second quarter, 13 cents more than analyst estimates and much higher than last year. diane eastabrook says weathe helped monsanto, but it could be a wild card for the rest of the year.

>> reporter: most farmers in the midwest will hit the fields for the first time next week to plant corn, but some got a jump on planting thanks to unusually warm weather in the corn belt. early sales of corn seed helped monsanto post better-than- expected profits in the quarter that ended in february. standard and poors equity analyst kevin kirkeby said supply worries also had farmers buying early. >> but there was also some concerns earlier on that there wouldn't be enough seeds availabldue to drought conditions lasyearn so of the growing regions. and so there was a lot of pre- purchases of seeds, and that came into play as well. >> reporter: farmers are expected to plant nearly 96 million acres of corn this spring, about four million acres more than last year. but kirkeby says that could be a negative for monsanto down the road. >> there is less room for upside surprise for the remainder of the fiscal year. and then people are going to start looking at next year's planting intentions and, you know, if we are going to go

fence post-to-fence post with corn, then we'll expect there's going to be some shift around next year. >> reporter: kirkeby says ethanol demand is also a wild card for monsanto. he says if continued high gasoline prices prompt consumers to drive less, there may be less need for the corn-based fuel additive. diane eastabrook, "nightly business report," chicago. >> tom: saying its time for yahoo to move forward aggressively, c.e.o. scott thompson today announced big job cuts. 2,000 positions, or 14% of staff, will be eliminated at the web giant. yahoo's been fighting for market share and advertising revenues, d thompson is the mpany's foth c.e.o. in lesthanive years. last year, yahoo earned just 25% more than one of its biggest competitors for ad revenues, facebook, but with a staff that's more than four times the size of facebook's. >> susie: in a whopper of a move, burger king is cooking up a plan to go public just two years after being taken private. current burger king owner 3g

capital management is teaming up with a london-based investment firm co-founded by activist investor william ackman. ackman thinks shares of the fast food chain could be worth $17 to $18 a share. earlier this week, burger king rolled out a new, healthier menu with things like specialty salads, snack wraps and fruit smoothies, all aimed at boosting sales. tom, while burger king's adding healthier items, you'll still be able to get that double whopper with cheese. >> tom: the whopper. of course, the ceo turnover at yahoo he mentioned earlier. burger king has seen 13 ceos at bger king in 25 years. let's take a look at tonight's "market focus." we saw broad-based selling today, with the s&p 500 suffering its second biggest sell-off of the year. the entire session was spent in negative territory, with the selling carrying over from yesterday when the federal reserve signaled no new stimulus

effort would be coming in the immediate future. of course, this stock selling also comes after a historic rally this year, with the index up 11% and just off post- recession highs. financiastocks saw the worst of t selng, with tt seor falling more than 1.5%. materials and the tech sectors were down more than 1% each. and you can see that tone play out among dow industrial stocks. bank of america was the biggest loser, down 3%. aluminum maker alcoa dropped 2.5%, and software giant microsoft shed more than 2%. these three have been among the top ten performing dow stocks since january. but fighting the weak tone in financial stocks was american international group, a.i.g. the company received an analyst upgrade and reports that it ma spinff i airane asin busiss. shares jumped 5%, rising on more than double its usual volume. the rally takes shares up to their highest price in 11 months.

now, for tech stocks, flash memory maker sandisk was the bearer of bad news, warning about weak demand from mobile phone makers, and plenty of inventories have led to a drop in prices. shares fell hard, down 11% on six times their usual volume. the combination of weak demand and high supplies will hurt sandisk's revenue and profit rgins in its first quarter. llowemorsemicouctor mar micron slumped 4%. when micron reported its latest quarterly results, it also noted weaker prices. now, while there was some focus on all the monthly job growth reported by payroll firm a.d.p., more of the market worry was really about the economic data out of europe on retail sales and business activity. this exchange-traded fund follows 350 big european companies. it dropped more than 2.5%, falling to its lowest price in more than a month. obalonglomerate general electric used to be one of few

companies to enjoy a triple-a credit rating. then the credit crunch hit and its financial business was slammed, taking down its credit rating. it got hit again today by credit ratings agency moody's. the agency said: "material risks remain in g.e. capital, the financial business of general electric." g.e. said the downgrade was due to moody's changing its ratings method. shares of general electric fell more than 1%. some good news from retailing after the close toght. bed bath a beyond rerted strongerhan pected endo its fiscal year. both earnings and revenues were up as the company has been turning around its operations. before the results, shares were off 1%, but after the closing bell, the stock shot up 5%. if that holds, it would be a new 52-week high. and that's tonight's "market focus." >> susie: new restrictions on stock trading for members of congress. president obama signed today the stock act, a bipartisan bill

designed to stop so-call congressional insider trading. lawmakerare already subjt to insider trading laws, but those laws did not apply to non-public information about current or upcoming congressional activity. the president said today lawmakers were sent to washington to serve the people, not their own interests. >> it's the notion that the powerful shouldn't get to create one set of rules for themselves and another set of rules for everybody else. and if we expect that to apply to our biggest corporations and to our most successful citizens, it should certainly apply our elected offials. >> sus: thlaw so ruires members of congress to report investment transactions within 45 days of a trade.

>> susie: since the housing bubble burst, nevada and particularly it's biggest city, las vegas, has made very little ogre repairing the damage. lost jobs, espiallin the construction and service industries, have taken a toll on the economy there. and as sheryl kahn reports, the crisis in las vegas is far from over. >> reporter: the sparkling strip has come roaring back and is teeming with tourists. gaming revenue on the vegas strip is up nearly 30% compared to last year, with casinos raking in $624 million in january alone. that's almost back to pre-crisis levels. but beyond the glitt, thousands of homes continue falling into foreclosure and many mortgages remain underwater, with borrowers owing more than their homes are worth. nevada has the triple crown of bad economic indicators-- first in the nation for number of foreclosures, underwater mortgages, and, at 13%, the

highest unemployment rate in the country-- adding up to some very desperate homeowners. >> i think most foreclosures are due to calculated foreclosures, which basically means the value of houses has gone down, the loan is higherhan e value of the house. so you calculate, i don't want to pay the mortgage for the next ten years while the value of the asset that i have is not there. >> reporter: for this retired couple, skyrocketing medical bills meant they could no longer afford the home they'd expected to stay in for the rest of their lives. opting for a short sale and moving to an apartment relieved some of the financial pressure, but nancy tittmuss says it's hard not to focus on what they lost. >> probably in the neighborhood of $50,000 or better. >> reporter: that hurts. >> rightere because, you know, it's our retirement cream gone down the drain. >> reporter: the plunge in prices does mean deep discounts for buyers compared to six years ago. in march 2006, the median price

of a home in greater las vegas was $303,000. almost six years later, that price was $112,000, down more than 60%. law student chaunsey chow-dwong paid $95,000 for this short sale. the previous owner paid nearly $60,000 more. >> you know, it's unfortunate for him that he had to do a short sale on it, but he was willing to take a loss and i was willing to buy, so i think it was a good opportunity for me. >> reporter: so, at 23 years old, you have a nice house. >> i do. ( laughs ) >> reporter: there may be good opportunities for those with the means and risk tolerance to buy. but with low job growth, high housing inventories and tougher mortgage loan standards, for many, owning a home in vegas is still a gamble. sheryl kahn, "nightly business report," las vegas. >> susie: tomorrow, we continue our housing series with a look at a new trend, super commuters. meet mike babinski. he says his four-bedroom home on 1.5 acres wor the 150-mile day commute.

>> tom: in the "money file" tonight, the pain of the public upgrade. manisha thakor explains. she's author of "on my own two feet: a girl's guide to personal finance." >> my husband and i recently rented a car at the airport. as we handed over our identification, the woman behind the counter said very loudly, "you know, you've reserved a compact car." we smiled and nodded, but she kept going. "you'll have to roll down your own windows. th're not electric." and then, in a voice that turned heads, "there are no power locks in your compact car." as we stepped away with the keys to our compact car, i couldn't help but notice several people in line giving us that head-to- toe once-over. i could feel their inquiring minds at work: "are they cheap and stingy? are they out of work? why on earth would they want to roll down their own windows?" what i was feeling was the pain

of the public upgrade. in today's wor, we are subjected to the pubc up-sale at virtually every turn. is it really any wonder that so many of us end up with spending habits that are totally out-of- whack? so the next time your hard earned dollars are being put to work, do a quick gut-check to make sure you are spending in the way that feels right and authentic to you, and that someone isn't trying to suck you into the upgrade zone. i'm manisha thakor. >> a a big win is week. former vipresidenti candidate sah palin joins the today show as guest host. it helped the morning show widen lead over abc rival good morning america. palin was counter programming by former today star, katie couric. and brought in five and a half million viewers. that worked out to 350,000 more than couric got on her's.

tom? >> tom: the today show brings in hundreds of millions of dollars for comcast, and abc -- >> susie: that's "nightly business report" for wednesday, april 4. i'm susie gharib. good night, everyone. and good night to you, too, tom. >> tom: good night, susie. i'm tom hudson. good night, everyone. we hope to see all of you again tomorrow night. "nightly business report" is made possible by: captioning sponsored by wpbt captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org