phone finally makes its way into stores. in today's cover story, the problems women-owned businesses are facing in america today, and how they are adapting. who's ahead in the money race in the presidential race. plus, is bed bath and beyond a concern or an opportunity? we'll talk with a trader. that and much more ahead on today's first business. you're watching first business: financial news, analysis, and today's investment ideas. i'm bill moller. angela miles is off. here's the first look for friday september 21st.

with all the sleepingbags and lawn chairs, apple stores look like refugee camps this morning. yep, after record breaking pre- order sales, the phones are about to go on sale in stores. despite all this hyped-up excitement, though, most analysts say that, while an improvement, the phone lacks the wow factor. a lot of traders say china sugarcoats its economic numbers so you have to look outside for good data. hsbc reported chinese manufacturing is not yet recovering. that news about the world's second largest economy sent world markets down, especially in china, where the shanghai index fell to its lowest point in 3-and-a-half years. and the trading week began on a roll but seems to be ending with the realization that economic activity is pretty weak. though the dow closed up, most stocks yesterday fell, and that could be seen on the broader indexes. all right, let's talk with joe

cusick. he is a senior market analyst with optionsxpress. set the stage for us this morning joe: we've got quadruple witching, a settlement on the open. how are things set up for a friday morning? > > you know, we're going to be watching that settlement very closely to see where the index options all mark up from september. that's going to set the tone right off the bat, seeing that action this morning and getting those settlements. that will then set the tone for this afternoon, when we get into equity expiration for all the stock options out there. again, it's been a pretty stable environment right now in the markets, but we're going to keep our eyes open all morning. > > volatility has in fact been down. there is some sense though that that could pick up. > > you know what, that's a normal phenomenon when you go into expiration. vol starts to get, as we call it on the floor, crushed. it starts to pull in. so that is a phenomenon that we typically see at this time in the cycle. we're going, now with that uncertainty,

whether it's out of china, whether it's out of the eu, or here in the united states, when we hear datapoints or just earnings data that comes out that's a little bit mixed or disappointing, you could see vols pump up, so we're going to see if there's any opportunities in taking some vol positions, potentially to the upside going into the new expiration cycle. > > real quick joe, the commodities boom may have faded as the stimulus from the fed winds down. what's your play on that? > > you know, right now we're going to see if we see those commodity markets, like the grains and oil - they firmed up into the close yesterday - we're going to see if that firming continues. but we're going to watch the euro currency action. that's really been our tell to see if that will firm up. if the euro currency firms up, we could see the commodities start to firm up. > > have a good trading day joe, thanks. > > thank you. more than a quarter of small businesses in the u.s. are owned by women - nearly eight million at last count. but access to capital and contract bundling is crowding them out of competition. in our cover story, how women entrepreneurs are changing the system and their fortunes. more than 2,000 women entrepreneurs met in chicago

this week, a lot of which was spent networking. kelly gallagher's $2-million-a-year company, everlights, recycles florescent lights and disposes of the hazardous mercury inside. "the value is here and i can get a name, get a number and that helps me tremendously." but challenges remain. "when you start discussions, the time it takes to close a deal is taking longer than before." for 26 years, the women's business development center in chicago has fought to help women get lending. "access to capital is still an issue and we're looking at ways to be the lender of choice." citibank is offering help entrepreneurs who can show, good credit scores, steady cash flow, collateral, and two years' profitable experience. "we've committed $24 billion to small business lending over the next 3 years." bankers say cashflow is perhaps the most critical to getting a loan. contract bundling is another challenge in which corporations farm out to one or two subcontractors instead of numerous small ones - those often owned by women. now, a problem taken on by the small business adminstration.

"we're trying to bring small companies together to teach them how you join together to go after large contracts." and there are success stories too. loretta rosenmayer's company, intren, constructs utility lines in six states - a certified women-owned business. "the wbdc certification has opened doors. but then i have had to perform and i've delivered." cashflow is not a problem limited to women-owned businesses. a new study by citibank shows half of small businesses surveyed had sudden cash flow problems within the last 12 months. the presidential campaigns are spending cash almost as fast as they're raising it. september fundraising numbers will be released at the beginning of october. so far, president obama is leading romney in the fundraising race. a director of the sunlight foundation tells first business that so far, the obama campaign has brought in around $730 million overall. mitt romney collected around

$560 million in checks. bill allison of sunlight says the president's cash advantage has given his campaign more spending power. "what we're seeing is in part because of all of that fundraising advantage that obama has. he has a huge spending advantage too. so far, for the reports that we have, which is through the end of july, he's spent around $111 million on political ads. romney has spent overall $48 million. but about $18 million of that was to fend off opponents for the republican nomination. so romney has really only spent about $30 million making his case for the general election." allison notes that spending on political ads may have helped obama in some swing states including ohio, where he leads in the polls. both candidates are campaigning in one such swing state today - florida. high-speed trading is getting a

closer look from the fed and capitol hill. this week, a drop in oil prices caused the cftc to take note of high-speed trading, which takes advantage of quick price moves by using algorithms. meanwhile, yesterday on capitol hill, the senate banking subcommittee listened in on the issues of high-speed trading. last week nyse euronext was fined by the sec over allegations that it gave market data to some clients faster than others. glitches in the markets, such as the flash crash in 2010 and the facebook ipo flop, pushed regulators to call for reforms. finra is fighting for investor'' rights. finra is the financial industry regulatory authority. it is asking the securities exchange commission if it can make information in its brokercheck system easier to get at. it also wants to permanently keep records of civil actions. finra's database has background on all finra- registered brokers and firms. finra wants to make its data more transparent, and to hold brokerage firms accountable for their actions. financial analysts are saying yea to this,

as there have been huge losses at a number of firms in recent years. meanwhile, the post office is fighting to stay afloat. the postal service is cutting deals to increase business with marketers, meaning more junk mail in your mail box. the post office estimates 48% of mail is advertisments. some cities are opposing the decision, as it costs big bucks to collect and dispose of mail that people toss. the postal service is facing bankruptcy, and says it is trying to find new ways to gain revenue. rents are rising in america. it's basic old supply and demand. the recession turned many homeowners into renters. apartment vacancy rates have been dropping and so, rents are going up. census numbers just out show that rents in the past 7 years have increased nearly 20%, which is ahead of the inflation rate. and this is straining household budgets. more than 20 million rental households were spending nearly a third of their income on rent, with a majority of those renters spending at least half their income for rent.

nike is planning on buying back around 8 billion dollars in shares. profits fell in the fourth quarter. the buyback is a way to boost profits. nike has already bought back ten billion dollars of its stock in the past ten years. the company reports first quarter earnings next week. bank of america is thinning its ranks. the wall street journal reports the bank will cut 16,000 jobs by the end of this year. it's part of the bank's larger plan to cut costs. last year the bank announced it would eliminate 30,000 jobs by the end of 2014. the cuts announced this week will help the bank meet its overall cost- cutting measures early. amazon's kindle is getting kicked out of some big-name retailers. this week, walmart has announced they will no longer sell the product. in the spring, target made a similar announcement. the decision is reported to be a dispute over pricing. it could steer shoppers to amazon's site or to other retailers like best buy or staples. just weeks ago, amazon rolled out its next generation of kindle products, with prices ranging between $100 and $500.

you're going to the store. let's see... beets, soy milk, a new shirt. you betcha. the supermarket chain kroger is rolling a test to install clothing racks among the display cases. with margins on food a reed-thin 1%, a lot of grocers will be watching the experiement. they're going to roll this out at a store in ohio. if it's seen as a success, it could help supermarkets recapture market share lost to target and walmart, which in recent years added food and groceries to their shelves. starbucks is brewing up new business with an at-home coffee machine. the single-cup coffee machine, called the verismo, is capitalizing on the single-cup coffee trend, which grew by 143% in the u.s. in 2011. the product is said to make lattes and espressos just like starbucks'. starbucks now rivals green mountain, which is the maker of keurig's single-cup coffee machines. still to come, bond market volatility - where did it go?!

we'll talk with a trader about qe3. is it doing its job in pushing investors into higher- returning assets? but first, not effective in selling yourself? people don't get what makes you great? you need a better elevator pitch. we'll give you the how-to-do-it, after this.

o' the killer elevator speech. you know the one: it gets you the job, wins you the interview, bowls 'em over. it has to have the right message and be

delivered in the right way. "small message, big impact" is actually the name of the book by big-league communications expert terri sjodin. and it's not just the elevator speech. this is something we need to be aware of in all of our daily encounters. > > absolutely. i try to share with people you don't have to think of an elevator speech as just a quick hit that you use in chance moments. consider it as a strategy to manage multiple talking points as well, when you have a job interview or when you're selling a product or service or an idea. > > we're selling ourselves, our ideas, our businesses all the time. > > all the time. > > what is the requisite included aspect of a perfect, killer elevator speech? > > it's a great question. over the years, we've tried to evaluate and assess great messaging. and we find that a great message really hits three benchmarks: first is that it's got to have a compelling case. why do they need you? why do they need your company? why do they need your product, your service? why do they need it now? so, when you hit that benchmark, there's an

awakening. people go, "oh. maybe i do need this." the second benchmark is creativity. in a moment of creativity, it's not that you need something pithy quote. what you're looking for is that they'll say, "gosh bill, i've heard that before, but the way you just said it kind of made it land in my mind in a different way, and now i'm intrigued." because that's its goal. the creativity process is to intrigue and inspire the listener to want to hear more. then the third benchmark is delivery. that's really when you speak in your own authentic voice. again, it's not the old stepford image of, "place your hand here and place your hand there." people are looking for an authenticity, a truthiness in your message. your colloquialisms, your voice, your humor, your anecdotes. and in that, people sense that there is a trust that they can develop with you. so, the three benchmarks are case, creativity, and delivery. > > hard for a lot of people though. they don't feel comfortable or genuine, authentic, as you say, when

they're speaking in front of people. so you probably have to practice and you have to self- edit. > > absolutely. you have to practice, and that's the hardest part, self-editing. people will say, "okay, but i need an hour to tell my story." you might feel that, but the truth is, unfortunately, people don't want to hear it. they don't want to give you an hour. and the second thing is really, if you learn how to self-edit, if you learn how to truncate your messaging, people will say, "oh, ok, tell me more about this." and that's our job. the elevator speech isn't supposed to sell the whole dog and pony show in three minutes. its job is to intrigue and inspire a listener to want to engage in conversation. then, when you do a great job, you get the next appointment, you win the job, you close the transaction, and it kind of gets the snowball rolling if you will. > > "small message, big impact." terri sjodin. thanks. > > thank you so much having me. still ahead, an industry professional talks about how to handle volatility in the bond market.

qe3 sure has tamped down volatility in the bond market. things haven't been this quiet in 5 or 6 years. let's find out what's going on here. bill baruch is the senior market strategist at iitrader. to juice the economy, the fed wanted investors to start buying higher return assets. is that happening because of the announcement the fed would extend the time to hold rates down? > > what the fed is doing is

keeping rates down. they're artificially keeping rates down in one area, which is going to put the rate of volatility higher in another area. they're encouraging homebuying on these low rates as well as investing in higher yields, searching for yield as you can say. and things like equities as well: gold is really seeing a tremendous move from this low volatility in the bond market, and as a safehaven as the dollar gets debased. gold has traded tremendously over the past couple of months, about a month- and-a-half or so. once it got above $1,633, it was kind of off to the races. this week in particular, holding $1,750 was great. i think once the market gets to $1,800, we're going to see a lot of investors trying to jump in who think they may miss the move. as for equities, i wouldn't be surprised to see a slight pullback, but that pullback will be very attractive to buy. > > is that a pullback because of a triple witching? > > we'll see- > > actually it's quadruple witching, isn't it? > > that's correct. we'll see quadruple witching today.

believe it not, after that, the following week we've seen roughly 80% of the time in the market has been lower. so that right there, i wouldn't be surprised to see a 2 or 3 percent pullback. and right there, the market still looks great. it's still above 1400 in the s&p, and it would really bring in some attractive buying levels for further investment if this market were to make new highs on the year. > > talk to me as though i'm a retail investor. what would be my strategic position here if i want to take advantage of what you're talking about, a 2 or 3 percent pullback. > > next week, let the market fall back. i think the dollar rebounds a little bit from this drop we've seen this week and last week. and then from there, it's going to put a little bit of pressure on commodities that we've seen here in the last day or two, and that could continue through next week. once this pullback happens and the dollar rallies a little bit, then i think it's time to jump in. you look at commodities across the board. this is game-on is what the fed's saying. this is q.e.

to infinity. > > i sense the energy and urgency in your voice. bill baruch, thanks so much. > > thank you. here's a play for you: bed bath and beyond. why? we'll get into that in chart talk, next.

time for chart talk. our trader today is scott bauer. he's with trading advantage. scott, let's talk about bed bath and beyond, triple-b-y. they've had some earnings numbers. looking ok there. a merger is coming up. but they missed some profits. is it now "bed bath, beware?" > > you know, if you look at the stock and look over the past year or so, we really saw the stock drop almost right to

its support line yesterday, and it hit there a few times. the low 60s. so $60, $61, that area. we saw it go down to $62 yesterday. major, major support. so, albeit, yes, they missed their profit estimate. revenues weren't so bad. but, the key thing to me was, even though they lowered their guidance, the reason that they missed this quarter was because of higher g&a expense. it wasn't that sales necessarily were light. so going forward, especially with the lower guidance, i think we have a pretty good scenario in the short run for bed bath and beyond here. major support right here, and, going forward, it looks like sales are projected to still be pretty decent. one key indicator that they came out with was stores that are open for more than a year actually grew by 3.5%. that's a key indicator, and that was a pretty positive number. > > any influence on its performance from the mergers that it's had, including world

market? > > yeah, i do think that they got hit a little bit on the g&a side from that merger, and going forward, as some of those expenses are absorbed, i think we're going to see that added into the bottom line with those mergers. that g&a expense was higher than it's ever been. this is the first time bed, bath and beyond has missed in three years. i don't think it's going to continue. > > all right, give me a specific set up. how would you play the stock if you were wading into a position right now? > > i would actually try and buy some volatility going out to december. i'd probably short the october $62.50 or $65 call line, and buy something like that out to december. i think the stock is going to sit here for a while and then pop going into the last quarter. > > scott bauer, very good. thanks. > > thank you. the best companies in the world to work for, on monday's first business. thanks for joining us, and have a great weekend!

angry protestors marched through the street of the mission vandalizing a police station in the process. we'll tell you about the shooting that sparked this spontaneous demonstration. a delay for the shuttle endeavour. the reason why its historic flight over the bay area is being pushed back. we are live in san francisco where dozens of apple diehards have been last to snag the new iphone.

why apple made a bit of a flub this time around. thank you for joining us it is friday, september 21st i'm pam cook. weekend just about here. i want to know what is it going to be like? steve paulson is here to tell me. >> no pressure there, pam. it will be chilly in the morning. we have mostly clear skies. there is a few patches of fog. and it's rather cool. there will be a lot of 40s this morning. temperatures will be warming up pup especially away from the coast. 60s and 70s and a mid to few upper 80s. here is sal. good friday morning. traffic looks pretty good as we go out to the live pictures and show you highway 4. it's a nice looking drive coming up to the willow pass grade. and 680 southbound it looks good. it's 4:29 let's go back to the desk. new this