days of snapping up rock bottom buys on foreclosed homes. in today's cover story, it's crunch time for washington. can two sides of the aisle reach an agreement on one plan? the unemployment rate for veterans is dropping. what sectors are hiring the most heros. plus, apple devices are getting more complex to make. why it could mean a longer wait for apple gadgets. and, how superstorm sandy could affect home depot stock this week. keep it here, first business starts now.

you're watching first business: financial news, analysis, and today's investment ideas. good morning. it's monday, november 12. i'm angela miles. in today's first look: stocks drop. the dow & s&p 500 fell 2% last week. some traders say it was just good old profit taking. others believe the fall was out of fear of the looming fiscal cliff. the market could have a heavy metal reaction today to a deal that was announced late friday. precision castparts is buying titanium metals for $2.9 billion in cash. in the "affairs to remember" category, christopher kubasik, who was on his way to becoming the ceo of lockheed martin, resigned after revealing an affair with an employee. cia director david patraeus also resigned friday because of an affiar. reports say google has been cut off in much of china as the communist party appoints new leaders. and gas prices dropped a nickel

in the last week to $3.44 per gallon. let's head over to the trading floor now where we find larry levin of trading advantage. good monday morning to you. > > hi angie. > > what will you be watching for direction in this market? bonds? the vix? the dollar? > > certainly the vix, i would first keep an eye on that, because that had some moves when we had those down moves. but then on friday, angie, when we saw the markets pick back up, the vix dropped a little bit. so that would be the first indicator. you see the vix pick back up, and i think we will see a big downdraft, at least at the first part of this week. so traders are still watching the vix this week. let's move on to politics and money. there's a lot to talk about there, including the fiscal cliff. what do you see as the likelihood that we are going over that cliff? > > you know, i do think that that is not going to happen. i think they're going to figure

out a way to put it off again, even though that's not what's supposed to happen, but that's certainly what our government does best, and we only have a short seven weeks left. so they really don't have a lot of time, and with the government record we have, i just don't give them a chance to make that happen. but i also think that they will just put it off, they'll figure out a way to do it. > > we learned on friday that treasury secretary timothy geithner will be around through the inauguration. what's the trader take on that larry? > > i don't think it's a big surprise. he wanted to be out of here a long time ago, and i doubt that that would have been an easy move, to get out in the midst of all of this. but now this is kind of a good clean break, and we are certainly going to see somebody new, and it's kind of unknown who that is going to be, but it should be interesting to watch. > > any places you're putting your money this week? > > i like the stock indexes, because we have seen a big drop, although on friday we picked up a little bit, so i'm looking for a break, because, as we know angie, most of the time, without that fiscal cliff idea, we see the markets like to rally in the last six or seven weeks of the year, so that's what i'm going to watch for. > > larry levin of trading advantage. always a pleasure larry. > > thank you. president obama will hold a news conference wednesday to speak to the nation about the fiscal cliff, and he's calling

congressional leaders to the white house on friday. chuck coppola joins us in the newsroom with more. the so-called fiscal cliff is right smack in the middle of the agenda in washington, and as our cover story shows you, the president and congressional leaders have already staked out their positions. president obama called on house republicans to give certainty to middle class families by extending middle class tax cuts immediately, before they run out at the end of the year. "i've got the pen ready to sign the bill right away. i'm ready to do it." fairness in taxes proved a key issue during the campaign. extending a tax cut for the middle class now would effectively keep republicans from holding it hostage later in negotiations to extend all tax cuts, including those for the rich. "i'm not going to ask students and seniors and middle-class families to pay down the entire deficit while people like me making over $250,000 aren't asked to pay a dime more in taxes. i'm not going to do that." earlier, house speaker john boehner told reporters that allowing tax cuts for the

wealthy to expire at the end of the year would be harmful to the economy. "the congressional budget office released a report that the most harmful consequences of the fiscal cliff come from increasing tax rates, and according to ernst and young, raising the top rates would destroy nearly 700,000 jobs in our country." the fiscal cliff is the result of the unresolved debt ceiling debate a year-and-a-half ago: $110 billion in spending cuts - half of it defense-related. it's also a list of tax breaks about to expire that includes: the bush tax cuts, the alternative minimum tax, reduced payroll tax, and the federal unemployment benefit extension. some believe that negotiations come so soon after the election that it may put pressure on republicans to compromise. "it's going to be a disaster if it doesn't get done, and the blame will be on them. they have to compromise - something they didn't do in the last session." when pressed for details as to what ground republicans could give in negotiations, house

speaker boehner declined, saying he didn't want to be "boxed in." greece is a country on the brink. greek officials needs a bailout to pay off debts this week, but eurozone leaders are delaying their decision on turning over the money. nonetheless, according to one report, economists believe the worst may be over for the crisis in the eurozone. economists are watching signs such as a rise in the european stock market. it's stress-test time again. the federal reserve is asking big banks to hand over balance sheets by january 7th. stress tests monitor the amount of capital financial institutions have on hand to make sure banks could weather an economic storm. the fed says 19 of the largest banks being reviewed have nearly doubled their common capital in the second quarter. as the housing market continues to recover, great deals on buying foreclosed homes are dwindling. the average markdown is less than 8%, a huge change from the crisis days of 2009,

when foreclosed houses were selling on average at a 24% discount. zillow research reports the number of foreclosed homes on the market is dropping. the biggest bargains left are in pittsburgh, cleveland and cincinnati. superstorm sandy is causing some serious side effects on the east coast. atlantic city gambling revenues fell 20% due to casino closures. civil lawsuits have been filed against seven gas stations and one hotel in new jersey for price gouging. new jersey's attorney general says the state is investigating hundreds of other complaints. 250,000 cars were ruined by the storm. analysts say it could cause used car prices nationwide to go up by 1000 dollars. and, troubled homeowners caught in sandy's path are getting some help from the government. freddie mac and fannie mae will suspend evictions and foreclosures for 90 days in disaster areas. despite the summer drought, crop

numbers are coming in better than expected. the u.s. agriculture department reports the soy bean crop recovered from the dry summer with a rainy fall. the ag department raised its forecast on corn production even though yields from heat-scorched crops remain at the lowest level since 2006. friday's crop report triggered across-the-board selling in the grain market, which eventually could trickle down to prices at the store. "it should stablize for feed ingredients, for example. that will help people going forward. meanwhile, cotton yields are up 12% from last year. a kink in apple's supply chain is putting pressure on foxconn. foxconn's chief executive admits having a hard time meeting the huge demand of apple's latest products such as the iphone 5 because of the complexity of manufacturing the new items. it's shedding some light on the manufacturing process, according to michael manna, host of the tech talk show "t4 show."

"these are becoming more complex devices. they're changing the screws up, they're changing the manufacturing methods, so just when you're used to the iphone 4 and the 4s they throw the 5 in there, then who knows what the 6 is going to look like and what kind of components and how small they're going to be that these workers - these young workers i should add - are going to have to put them together. these people are on very tight constraints as far as how fast they need to manufacture these iphones." supply within u.s. retail stores is reportedly on track. "apple insider" reports apple has been tracking inventory at its retail stores, and inventory issues are improving at wireless carriers. the moneygram company reported something extra in its earnings report. during the conference call with reporters and analysts, company officials revealed 18% growth in consumers using its money transaction services. however,

there was also a legal matter. moneygram will pay the government $100 million for wire fraud. the justice department says the company agents tricked victims into wiring them money by posing as relatives or promising large cash prizes. thousands of victims complained. kayak, the online travel site that went public last july, has been acquired in a friendly deal by priceline.com for $1.8 billion. priceline, a successful site for hotel bookings, gains from kayak its air travel reservations business in the u.s. and kayak's advanced mobile apps for travelers. "definitely the kayak acquisition helps priceline in the u.s. kayak has a strong presence among domestic business travelers. priceline derives a lot of its business internationally." priceline ceo jeffrey boyd said the addition of kayak will build a global brand in travel planning which he believes "holds a significant opportunity for the group."

recalls for cocoa and cars are underway. first the cars. chrysler is recalling more than 900,000 jeep grand cherokees manufactured from 2002 thru 2004, and liberty suvs 2002- 2003. the airbags sometimes inflate while the car is on the road. 81 minor injuries have been reported. as for the cocoa, nestle is voluntarily recalling nesquick chocolate powder with the expiration date of october 2014, following a tip by one of its suppliers of possible salmonella contamination. no illnesses have been reported. one nba team is looking to hire from wall street. the houston rockets general manager is currently looking to hire two positions for "basketball operations" for the team. the gm says wall streeters are "good at forecasting and use objective evidence in decision making." the statistical approach to sports was portrayed last year in the movie

"moneyball." plenty of numbers already - the team has received 1100 resumes. it may take a james bond-type maneuver to keep aston martin in drive. the luxury cars are most closely associated with consummate brit james bond. in the real world, aston marin is controlled by a kuwaiti company called investment dar. reports say the company is looking to sell its stake in the iconic brand. difficulties are arising because potential investors apparently aren't willing to match the $805-million price dar paid for the car company 5 years ago. still to come, they make great gifts, but gift cards often come with some fine print and fees. that's later in the show. but first, from the battlefield to the workforce, how veterans can touch up their resumes to show off their skill set. that's next, after this "in the know" message.

w every month, by the 10s of

thousands, american service members are returning home from afghanistan. they need work. yet many are ill-equipped for the higher-skilled jobs employers need to fill. how do they get themselves in gear for a post-military career? let's talk with ret. army colonel garland williams. he was once a returning soldier from battle himself, and now he's involved in the military division for the university of phoenix. let's give them some help. when

should the soldiers start planning for their transition if they're still in the military right now? > > i think they should start planning their transition at least two years out, that way it gives you a chance to fill any kind of education gaps that you may have before you make that actual transition. plus, the military has tuition assistance. so use that tuition assistance your advantage, to be able to shore up a bachelor's degree, associate's degree, whatever you need, or any certificates that you think you might need in whatever you want to pursue. > > how do they know what kind of skills they need to get trained for though? > > you know, one thing, we're not looking for a lot of infantrymen in corporate america. but we are looking for the things that the infantryman is trained in - are they good at logistics, are they good at task-oriented missions? can they take the discipline they learned in the military and translate that outside? if they can take those pieces and translate it into civilian speak, they will do well at the home depots of the world, where they're looking for those kind

of team leaders. > > civilian speak. their resume has to be in civilian speak too. > > absolutely. a perfect example: how do i take 28 years of blowing things up as a combat engineer and put it in two pages of what corporate america wants? for me, you look at three things: you look at money, you look at men, and you look at material. money, how much of a budget did you control? how much money did you make for your company or save for your company? men - how many people did you supervise? and finally, material - what kind of stuff did you supervise? how many trucks or how much stuff did you ship out? those three things will translate very well from taking from your military experience to the civilian world. > > colonel garland williams, thanks so much. > > appreciate it. thank you. the unemployment rate for veterans of iraq and afghanistan is declining. it currently stands at 9.7%, which remains above the non-veterans rate of 7.4%. the national unemployment rate is 7.9%. according to the military times and career builder, the top 5 best career

sectors for veterans are information tech, customer service, engineering, sales, and manufacturing. still ahead, gift cards are a billion-dollar industry, but often come with sneaky charges. find out how to avoid giving the gift of fees this holiday season. that's next.

gift cards will likely be a hot item on holiday lists this season. last year, 80% of holiday shoppers bought gift cards, spending $27 billion. but some of these cards come with a hitch. janna herron, a

credit card analyst with bankrate.com, joins us this morning via skype. good morning. you did a study on gift cards. what did you find? > > i think the big take-away is that you will get the best value if you get a store-branded gift card verses a general- purpose give card, because you won't be paying a purchase fee. only 5 of the 55 store-branded gift cards that we surveyed actually came with a purchase fee. but 8 of the 8 general- purpose cards, those are the kind that have the american express or the visa or the mastercard logos on it, came with a purchase fee that's between $3 to $6. > > are most consumers aware of those fees? > > they should be. it's a fee that you pay up-front when you buy the gift card, so if you're buying a $25 general-purpose card, you're going to pay the $25 plus the $3 to $6 on top of that. but the advantage of these general-purpose cards is that your recipient can use them anywhere, whereas a store- branded card must be used at that store. > > there was also a lot of controversy about expiration dates, and i believe the government has made it so that gift cards have to last for at least five years. are there

expiration dates going out farther on some of these cards? > > we have seen a few of them, very few, that do have expiration dates of five years or more, but 95% of the cards in our survey didn't have expiration dates, so that's something that people really don't need to worry about as much anymore. > > good to have you on the show. thanks for that update. that's janna herron of bankrate.com. coming up, it's tool time for one trader. what he sees in the chart for home depot is up next.

w andrew keene, president of keeneonthemarket.com, joins us

on this monday morning for a look at home depot. and andrew, investors were hammering away at this stock last week. > > yeah, last week was a very, very rough day to be in anything. the stock market was down the most on a week-by-week basis in six months. wednesday was single-handedly the worst day of the year. so, as everybody knows who watches this show, i like to buy strong stocks on dips and i like to sell weak stocks on rallies. home depot is one of those stocks i have been looking at. i've been looking somewhere to pull the trigger. on friday it closed around the $61 level. i'm not jumping in just yet. i am looking for a long position. however, i want to see maybe a little consolidation. i want to see the market, which sold off in the last half hour of the day, showing a little bit more pressure. i talk about price action, price momentum. before i put on any bullish positions, especially in home depot that's up 45%, this year i want to see a little bit more, so as it moves higher, i'd rather be buying it as it goes up than trying to catch it as it's falling lower. > > are you counting on some fallout from superstorm sandy to perhaps show some positive profits for this company? > > absolutely. i think sandy is a positive thing for some stocks. i think insurers actually might be a good one as well, but home depot should have a lot of business. we did see consumer sentiment not as good as expected on friday, but

home depot is one of those places where people are going to go to help rebuild their homes. they need a lot of home materials to help the things that sandy took out. > > good to have you on the show this morning. that's andrew keene, president of keeneonthemarket.com. that's the end of our show for today. coming up tomorrow, a former dea agent spills the secrets on bad banks laundering drug money and more. thanks for watching today. from all of us at first business, we salute the men and women in service past and present for keeping america safe.

. good morning, a woman makes a shocking discovery in her trash bin. we will tell you about the accident and what police say. and we have 100 turkeys here in the area to feed the hungry, it is all ahead on the

bay area news. good morning, thank you for joining us, i am pam cook and it is definitely chilly out there, steven. >> or darn cold, it looks like a quiet day but we have a few high clouds and temperatures are in the 30s and many will end up in the 60s, here is sal. traffic is doing well around the bay area, not a lot of road work out there, we are looking at road work doing well. traffic looks good approaching the 880 split. and if you are driving there traffic is light, let's go back to the desk. in overnight news, a car fell from