like headache, upset stomach, weight gain, or dizziness. work with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist to make a plan to use your medicines safely. for more information on diabetes medicines go to f-d-a dot gov slash womens diabetes. people are out of work after hostess closed the doors. what's ahead for twinkies? cyber splurge. the record money consumers will be spending shopping on the internet this year. plus, trendy turkeys. the startling cost of an organic bird for a thanksgiving feast. and no more rip offs. what you need to know before taking your car to the mechanic. first business starts now.

you're watching first business: financial news, analysis, and today's investment ideas. good morning. it's monday, november 19th. i'm angela miles. in today's first look: a better tone out of washington is giving a lift to the stock market. the market made gains on friday, but it wasn't enough to wipe away losses for this week. in market action last week, the dow fell 1.8%, the s&p was down 1.5%, and the nasdaq edged lower by 1.8%. president obama is still traveling in asia today, where he is calling for continued political reforms. american pilots will vote again on a contract offer from the airline, which remains in bankruptcy. the pilots rejected a previous offer in august. and a quick check of gas prices shows the price of a gallon of unleaded dropped a couple of pennies last week, but is down dramaticaly from a month ago.

let's get some trader thoughts now from scott bauer of trading advantage. happy monday morning to you scott. > > good morning angie. > > there is a lot of talk about this fiscal cliff as you know. but i am hearing that traders really believe there is already a backroom deal in the works. > > you know, that is what they say, and i tend to agree with that. there is no way, it's just inconceivable to think that something has not at least been in the works for a while. certainly there are no i's dotted or t's crossed, but something has been in the works for a while. keep this in mind: what's really important - and we saw the start of this last friday, when the two parties sat down with president obama and said, "ok, we're going to get this thing done." we need to see continuation of that. we don't need the resolution by the end of this week. we don't need it next week. but we need to see continuing, positive news coming out of the white house,

because any time we don't - the market is so on-edge right now, that any time that we don't see anything positive, that is actually going to be taken as a negative. we are going to see some added volatility in the marketplace over the coming days or maybe even weeks, unless this positive tune out there is continued. > > what do you think about trading this week? because it is a short holiday week. > > it is going to be thin. i expect it to be very light volume. and at times, i think we may see it extremely whippy as news comes out of the white house. the market right now is hinging on every speck of news that comes out of washington. every speck of news. it doesn't seem like anything else matters. so, between the holiday with lack of traders, lack of staff, low-volume, and then at any moment news possibly coming out, i think we are in for a bit of a whipsaw week. > > thank you scott. > > any time angie. as retailers prepare for the end-of-week shopping craze, workers are preparing to strike. wal-mart employees plan to strike this week ahead of black friday in protest of low wages

and higher healthcare premiums. walkouts began at a few stores last week, and are planned at a thousand wal-mart stores this week. in an emailed statement, wal-mart called the coming strikes "just another exaggerated publicity campaign aimed at generating headlines to mislead." at target, 200,000 employees have signed an online petition in protest of the retailer opening at 9pm on thanskgiving. cyber monday is a week away, but according to some retail analysts, it's already here as consumers gobble up deals. banana republic, land's end and levis.com are among the retailers promoting early sale prices. the forrester research group predicts this will be a blockbuster year for for cyber monday, with consumers buying $68 billion worth of merchandise online. last year's spending totaled just under $42 billion. in our cover story, hostess brands, maker of wonder bread and lunchbag treats such as twinkies and ding-dongs, has shut down its 82-year-old

business and let go more than 18,000 workers. the company says a one-week strike brought down the second largest bread- baker in the country that has been going through chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in eight years. where the twinkie was first created more than 80-years ago - schiller park, illinois - people who worked as mixers and packagers, making at least $17 an hour, contemplated "what next?" the plant was closed behind them after they walked out upon hearing an ultimatum - an 8% pay cut, fewer guaranteed hours and that they'd pay more for health insurance. workers were also told their pension witholdings had been spent to pay company bills. for ten years, it's where jose garcia worked to support his wife and three children. "we were very productive. we worked a lot of overtime. i don't know what happened to the money, that's not up to me. all

i know is that we came to work everyday, we worked hard and we did what we could." in exchange for the concessions, hostess ceo gregory rayburn offered unions a stake in the company while it went through restructuring under chapter 11. on the company's website, this statement: "hostess is unprofitable under its currect cost structure, much of which is determined by union wages and pension costs. we do not have the financial resources to weather an extended nationwide strike." observers say hostess is looking to liquidate its assets and sell its portfolio of iconic snack cakes to the highest bidder. in bankruptcy, hostess is controlled by private equity firm ripplewood holdings and hedge fund monarchs alternative capital and silver point capital. restructuring specialists say brand names like "twinkies" may be more valuable in newer, more efficient factories with non-union labor. "it's a kind of 'vampire capitalism' at its worst. and there's really nowhere to go. these workers were going to be liquidated anyway, and all investors really wanted was out." the closing will shut the door

on 33 bakeries, 565 distribution centers, and 570 outlet stores. stores will no longer receive products after last week's final deliveries. bankruptcy documents list hostess' estimated value of its trademarks at roughly $135 million. our repeated efforts to reach hostess directly for a comment were not met. top lawmakers are promising to set aside bickering this week and work out a deal that could avert $500 billion in spending cuts and tax increases by january 1st, better known as the fiscal cliff. showing americans a united front following a white house meeting, congressional leaders say they are on the fast track to broker a deal to avert the so-called "fiscal cliff." "i was focusing on how we send a message of confidence to consumers, to the markets in the short-run too. that is to say that we should have a goal in terms of how much deficit reduction. we should have a

deadline before christmas." gop members contend making a deal happen comes down to cutting entitlement programs, and possibly raising taxes. "we're prepared to put revenue on the table provided we fix the real problem, even though most of my members i think without exception believe that we're in the dilemma that we're in not because we tax to little but because we spend too much." president obama, who led friday's meeting, seemed confident the two sides have common ground. "we've got to make sure that taxes don't go up on middle- class families, that our economy remains strong, that we're creating jobs." more meetings at the white house are expected over the next month. the epa is rejecting a request to relax rules requiring corn ethanol in gasoline. governors from north carolina, new mexico, georgia, texas, virginia, maryland, delaware, utah, and wyoming, nine states

in all, asked the epa to lower standards on a law that requires refineries to use ethanol - derived from corn - to produce gasoline. however, governors say the summer drought caused lower corn production and higher prices for the commodity. the epa says it does not believe the economic harm warrants a waiver of the standard. the sudden resignation of cia director general david patreaus was due to an extra-marital affair. in some states, cases of infidelity can lead to larger divorce settlements, divorce attorney says sometimes out of guilt by the cheating party or in other instances, if it involves high-profile couples, the cheater is willing to pay more to keep the matter private. "they will pay a higher settlement to keep it confidential and with the agreement that everything will be confidential, the cause the effect as much as possible about the under-lying issues of the other person, and because sometimes the other person is someone with a lot to lose." that was divorce attorney gemma allen of ladden and allen. she

says wives are quicker to forgive than men and the most popular reasons why people cheat are because of stress or boredom. a new study reveals surprising data about bank fees. according to the u.s. public interest research group u.s. pirg, 6 out of 10 small banks offer free checking services, while only a quarter of big banks offer the service for no charge. the study also found smaller banks have lower checking and overdraft fees. however, the data shows most banks big and small neglect to provide detailed fee information to customers. plenty of americans will be doing their holiday shopping at retailers that are popular with wall street and with main street. america's most successful store, not too surprising, is apple, by a wide margin, followed by: 2. tiffany & co. 3. lululemon athletica 4. coach 5. michael kors 6. select comfort 7. true religion 8. vera bradley and, 9. birks & mayors

in the ipo market this week, paper company boise cascade hopes to raise up to $200 million in its ipo. the public offering may have traders watching office max. shares of office max spiked 27% on friday due to the large stake it holds in boise cascade. meanwhile, wi-fi company ruckus wireless had a shaky first day in the markets. the stock fell 4% following its ipo. and, watch for alon usa partners, which hits the market this week. the oil refinery company is pricing in between 19 and 21 dollars. if your flock plans on eating an organic, free-range, specially- fed bird, here's one. this big bird could set you back $335. the heritage turkey farm in virginia is reporting brisk sales of the 20-pound birds. it may sound like they were raised at the waldorf, but the birds are really just given sufficient space and nutritous feed. some chefs say the superior taste simply doesn't compare to super-market brands, while other chefs say the key to the best tasting bird is how you prepare it. nintendo is already scoring big

with its latest release. pre- orders for games for the new wii-u game system have already doubled that of nintendo's original wii. video game retailer gamestop has received over a million pre-orders for wii-u software, and sold out its supply of a half million game consoles as well. nintendo's new get ripped off by car techs. and, when it comes to booking holiday travel, the sooner, the cheaper. more on that next. but first, coupon cabin announces a new way to stay on top of terrific deals around the web. that's in today's "in the know" message.

if you're planning on going over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house for the holidays, you better book soon, ideally before black friday. domestic airfares for late december are averaging $417, according to travelocity. that's a slight increase over last year's $407 average. more importantly, prices are quickly going up, and each day you wait to book could force passengers to pay $10 to $50 more. for people who just want to get out of dodge for the holidays, there's still time even if you are on a budget. sara gavin of expedia.com joins us. good morning, and what are some steals and deals? > > you know, the big thing about the holidays is, while everybody else is staying at grandma's, if you are doing your holiday at home, it is a great time to get away. so if you think about that weekend before or after thanksgiving or the weekend before or after christmas, those hotels are really empty. so it's a great time to sort of look at a drive trip and get away to one of the big cities near you. take in some culture, do a little bit

of shopping, help the economy that way, and you can really save a bundle on that trip. > > what trends are you seeing with people driving vs. flying? > > you know, we really have seen over the last year that drive trips are where it's at. there are some really good things happening with airfare right now. so while airfare itself is high, this idea of packaging your travel, taking that same flight you would have taken plus the same hotel you really want to stay at, and booking them at the same time, you can save a ton of money. so you think, we americans are sort of trained to think about gaming the system and saving $20 or $50 on your airfare by booking and a certain day or booking a certain number of days out, and we spend a lot of time on that, and we totally miss that there's this big savings. so, if you just book your hotel and your flight at the same time, you can save up to $500 on a trip, which is really significant. > > take you for your tips. that is sara gavin of expedia.com. still ahead, a former car tech joins us with insights into how

to avoid extra charges the next time you get your car repaired. we will be right back.

this morning we are shaking up the auto repair industry with the truth about why men are charged less for car repairs versus women. pam oakes of national automotive authority is also the author of "car care

for the clueless." good morning. > > good morning, how are you? > > i am wonderful. you are a certified car tech, so you know the real deal. do car care technicians typically charge women more for service? > > i am sure they do. not all shops, but i know there are quite a few shops out there, because i have seen the estimates. > > why do they do that, and how do they get away with it? > > well, they get away with it when somebody doesn't ask for a second opinion. and why do they do that? i have not the foggiest. because, you know, if anything, the technician has to be honest with the consumer, and they have to let them know their options and what is available and what is really needed for their car. > > should a woman take a man with her to ensure that she is getting the best deal? does that help? > > no! because we need to be empowered by asking a lot of questions so we understand. it's not how to fix your car in

the driveway or in the garage, but how to have your car repaired properly by an certified technician. there are two words that all of us have to remember. the first one is, "why." why do i need this repair? show me. show me on the car why i need this repair. and the second word is "how." how will this affect my vehicle's performance, and how will it affect my wallet? and if you don't get a straight answer after all the questions that you ask, never be afraid to ask the question. > > what can be done if you have been overcharged? > > you can always ask them for a rebate, possibly. but before you have the work done, if you feel like you are being bamboozled, get a second opinion. > > is this something that applies to men as well? > > unfortunately nowadays it does. before there was a bigger gap and it was mainly us females that kind of got taken advantage of. but the way vehicles have progressed, and

it's so complicated that the average guy used to go out and work on a '69 mustang in the backyard. well, that application doesn't apply to today's cars. so, either way, you have to find an honest, reliable shop. ask by word-of-mouth. > > i love the honest shops. thank you for your time. that's pam oakes, author of "car care for the clueless." that was fun. thanks bill. up next, why it's hard to find worryworts on wall street. chart talk is next.

dan deming of stutland equities joins us now for some chart talk. good morning dan, and where is the fear in this market? > > [laughsgood question angie. really, let's talk about it. over the last week-and-a- half, leading into this new week, we saw the market fall about 5% from the election, and

yet the vix is down around 5% as well from the election. it came in on election tuesday at 17.58, and closed last week at 16.49 i believe. so, a very unusual situation right now, with the market kind of falling off here. and actually the momentum has been fairly heavy. it has been a pretty constant downward move, yet we are not seeing much of a reaction in volatility. > > we really aren't. is it rare to see something like this? it sounds like it is to you. > > yeah, it is very unusual. i guess you can kind of look at it in a couple of different ways. we're trying to piece it together ourselves. one thing is it appears that a fair amount of market participants were bloated up with some volatility, some downside puts in the spx per se, and had those to go on the way down. so it's like there was some protective put buying going on ahead of this down move. but, ultimately you would expect, certainly, the vix to be higher than it is currently, given the market conditions. > > what are you expecting this

week, especially because it is a holiday? we talked to one trader who said it could be thin this week. > > well, typically it is thin in those first three days before thanksgiving. but nonetheless, thin days with what's going on out there, as far as the news. we saw last friday the possibility of maybe the fiscal cliff being settled before christmas, the s&p jumped 10 points in a matter of a couple of minutes. so, ultimately, i think we are going to be a news-driven kind of marketplace over the next couple of weeks as they sort this thing out in washington d.c. that coupled with the fact that we kind of went down and tested a pretty key level in the s&p future - 1340 was a critical fibonacci number, as they call it, from a technical standpoint, and we held there early morning on friday and now kind of bounced off there. so, short- term, possibly some more consolidation, but you have to say, the trend still looks lower. > > that seems to be the consensus. thank you dan deming. > > thanks angie. that's it for now. coming up

tomorrow, our tax man will be here answering critical questions about the fiscal cliff and how it affects end-of-year tax planning. thank you for watching today. from all of us at first business, have a great monday! a man hunt is under way in san jose for one of two men involved in a string of violent crimes across the city. we'll tell you about the homicide they are both accused of carrying out. israel and gaza continue to exchange rocket attack us this morning. the international efforts at peace being made this week. and right now president obama is continuing his trip

through asia. how he made history overnight. it's all ahead on the ktvu channel 2 morning news. good morning. thank you for joining us on this monday morning, november 19th i'm pam cook. the rain came in just like steve paulson said. >> did you get that little break you were looking for if >> i did get a little break on saturday. >> the system on friday into saturday was good. the one on sunday was good but now it's gone. a lot of cloud cover today. highs in the 60s. here is is sal. steve, good morning. right now we are looking pretty good. not a lot going on on the road. just the way we like it. i'm sure it won't stay that way for too long. this is a look at 280 northbound. also the morning commute looks good westbound bay bridge at the toll plaza. 4:29 let's go back to the desk. toppin