kind of reaction to that tightening credit we saw after lehman brothers here in the united states and the disaster that had, the effect it had on the economy. they'll ease that, more money being made available. here's what wall street thinks about it. 399 points up, the s&p and nasdaq up as well. we'll be talking to steve forbes among other folks, some folks at cnbc as well in this coming hour. other big financial story today, new signs this morning the payroll tax cut for 160 million americans will be extended into the new year. after relentless pounding by democrats, republican leaders say they are behind the move. it will save the typical family $1,000 a year. i'm joined by political wall street correspondent ben white and the "new york times" columnist charles blow. welcome. no crowds here yet for the tree-lighting ceremony. you got here om. this is not a done deal.

devil is in the details. some republicans, first of all, are against it in principle and all of them are against it in raising taxes on the rich. is this going to get done? >> this is going to get done. you don't to want say i'm going to allow taxes to go up on the middle class -- >> there was no nuanced argument -- >> wasn't going to work. they got beat down by democrats. the question for republicans is how do they pay for it? how do they tell their tea party base that doesn't want to see the deficit increase how they're going to pay for this payroll tax credit. it's not free. robs the government of money. it takes money out of the coughers of the treasury -- >> but it has to come from somebody. this is like a shell game when they say is dent come out of social security -- >> republicans have to come up with something and democrats want to say we'll tax wealthiest americans which plays to wider electorate. >> 60% of the electorate in the latest poll said they would like that to happen but republicans won't go for that. >> in a way it makes the most

sense. the other way is to cut entitlement programs. so, basically, you take from the poorest americans to give to the middle -- >> the number of whom is growing. >> right. you're taking -- robbing peter to pay paul, which at the end of the day, is not actually a way to run a country or an economy. so, you do want to take from the people who have a little bit to give. the only other -- the only other option is to cut poor people. and i think that that's a worse message to go into the holiday with. >> not paying for it at all. >> right. >> where have we heard that? >> i don't know. probably won't. the idea about not paying for it is it puts money am people's pocket, they boost business, pay more taxes, and it's a stimulative measure. >> the republican argument against doing it is that it does not boost the economy. >> right. >> which is the most outrageous lie. >> right. >> they can possibly tell. >> statistically not true.

>> no. it's not true, it means not true. >> that's what i mean, it's false. >> you're the president, later today you're going into pennsylvania and you're going to make your case. what do you say? what do you say? he's not exactly going before a friendly audience because i think the county he goes into has higher unemployment than pennsylvania overall, which is not doing great. >> pennsylvania is doing better than national average, 8.1%, the national average is 9%. they're doing better. although this is the dreaded hillary country, places he doesn't do quite so well. and he has to speak to people where he's having the billing biggest difficulty, which is working class, white americans. you know, pennsylvania -- >> his support is definitely shrinking amongst -- >> lowest there. pennsylvania is not as diverse as the rest of the country. only 10% of them are african-american. half of that 10% live in philadelphia. only about 5% are hispanic,

where the 16% nationally are hispanic. it's a very white area of a very very white state. those are the people he needs if he wants to get re-elected. >> this is the election. he needs pennsylvania to lock down earlier. democrats have historically carried pennsylvania 37 he does not need a fight there. he needs to lock that down, move on to ohio, florida, colorado -- >> does this give him a great argument? >> blue collar workers, middle class, i want to give them a fair deal. i want their taxes to be lower if we take it from millionaires and multimillionaires, okay. i'll lay it out for you and i need you with me. he's running for re-election with unemployment at 9%. with his approval rating at 43%. he needs every possible early state he can lock down early to get done. pennsylvania needs to get done very soon. if he's campaigning in pennsylvania late next year, he's lost the election. >> is he taking it to the republicans today? >> as best he can. i mean, he has a weak hand to play here. i mean, there is -- >> there's still a deal to be

done. >> there is still a deal to be done. he can't raise his hand and say, we've won. so -- >> but he should win on this. this is where -- republicans are scrambling. they put themselves in the corner. you don't want to be the party that says, you know -- >> right at christmastime. >> they're trying to figure out -- >> people will make $1,000 less -- >> the question we move on to is unemployment extension, but i don't think that will get through, even though that's stimulative measure. you cut off unemployment around christmastime? republicans are in a bind here. they have the weaker hand to play politically on these particular spending taxation arguments and obama needs to hit them hard and that's what he'll do. i think fairly successfully. >> and you wonder if he goes in and says, not only have we stopped the republicans from taking back that $1,000 but look what's going on in the stock market, your 401(k)'s doing a little better today, right? >> i don't know if he can take credit -- >> you can't do the central bank move. also, the market is, you know, much more unpredictable -- >> volatile at this point.

we'll take a 400 update when we can get it. >> let's look at this race overall and we'll talk more about this coming up, but basically are you looking -- are you looking for the president now to be formulating his strategy around mitt romney, around newt gingrich? how much more seriously are they taking newt gingrich right now, charles? >> well, i mean, if you look at the actions they're taking, they're taking mitt romney a lot more seriously because, you know, a lot of democratic ads now attacking mitt directly. they've been doing that from the very beginning. the question is, will they switch and start to directly take on newt gingrich? if you see that start to happen, you'll know that they now believe that newt gingrich is a threat. i personally think they want mitt romney. they want mitt romney. >> more than newt gingrich? >> they want mitt romney more than newt gingrich because mitt has flip-flopped like a fish in hot grease. this man is all over the place. >> a fish in hot grease. >> any issue, he's been on both

sides. >> that's a louisiana analogy if -- >> absolutely. >> playbook is to run against mitt romney. as candidate of wall street fits into this argument, are you playing to the blue collar middle classing, wall street, flip-flop on immigration, right to life, a number of issues. i don't think they'd be terribly sad to run against newt gingrich. he has a little baggage, a history in house of representatives that they could have a field day on. you'll hear the word loathsome thrown around -- >> some people said his baggage is -- >> newt is a bit better as a debater than romney is because newt has a way of talking in circles until he makes you dizzy. you can't follow what newt's talking about by the time he finishes the conversation. >> charles, ben, we're out of time. thank you, guys. we to want talk more about the economic impact of the payroll tax cuts so let's bring in steve forbes, chairman and editor and chief at forbes media. good to see you. >> good morning. >> did this absolutely need to get done? on the simplest level we're in

the most important time of the year for retail, if americans think basically that they were going to get $1,000 less next year, i wonder what the impact would be. is this all a good thing? >> well, i think in items of what's going to happen this retail season, i think that, as they say, is already baked in, that americans -- the economy is doing better than people perceived. it's still very sluggish compared to what it should be. it's like a car on the highway. we've gone from 10 miles an hour to 40. we should be going 70. but, hey, it's better than before. so i think in the fourth quarter we will see, regardless of the tax debate, growth rate of about 3.5%, 4%. >> you know what the key in this debate is. i know you were rushing to get in the chair so you didn't hear the conversation with charles and ben, but the key to this conversation is going to be should we raise taxes on the wealthy to pay -- to continue this payroll tax cut? you know what the argument is. nobody has benefitted more in recent years, nobody's income has increased more than on the

wealthy. it's a tough argument, isn't it, steve, for the republicans to make? >> no. the republicans are making a very basic argument than when you raise tax rates, especially in the creation of capital and on small businesses that have half of the small business revenue in this country, you're going to hurt ultimately job creation and economic growth. we should be reducing the tax burden via something like the flat tax, simplifying the tax code, stabilizing the dollar. and what the federal reserve and other central banks did a few hours ago is immensely important. i just came back from europe. the banks there were on the verge of cardiac arrest. as bad as 2008. so, i think they've averted that crisis. but in terms of getting this economy moving, this idea it's all zero sum, that if you get a gain, somebody else has to get a loss, we've got to get over that. we have reduce the tax burden, encourage capital creation, job creation, entrepreneurs starting new business. that's the way this country has traditionally moved ahead. >> let's talk about what's going

on this morning, the easing of money. we see how the markets are reacting, up almost 400 points all morning long. how big a sigh of relief are we breathing here? is this a temporary respite? what else should we be looking for? >> this is the equivalent of of cardiac arrest. the patient will be kept alive and -- >> that's a good start. >> it's a very good start. this should have been done a while back but the germans dragged their feet on it. this is hugely important. i was kind of surprised how well our markets held up with europe imploding, european banks not able to get funds, ready to shut their doors, so that's been averted. that's hugely important. the markets going up the way they should, absolutely the right response. the key is, what do they do on the follow-through? do they put in policies that enable first the banks to get back on their feet and also let the economies in europe get back on their feet by ruie in reduci tax burden instead of greece, increasing the tax burden?

not the way to g not when your economy is contracting. >> steve forbes, always good to see you. thank you for rushing to talk to us today. we appreciate it. meantime on the republican side, herman cain is said to be reassessing his campaign. so, is he done? and is the race for the gop nomination now a two-man race? we'll break it down coming up in less than ten minutes. right now, vice president joe biden is on a surprise trip to baghdad. he's meeting with the last of the american troops there. by december 31st the 13,000 or so troops still left in iraq are expected to leave the country for good. many of them will make it home for the holidays. the vice president is also discussing the future role of u.s. military in iraq, including the training of iraqi forces by the u.s. military. britain is evacuating its diplomatic staff from iran a day after protesters stormed that embassy and severely damaged the property. britain says the attack was orchestrated by hard line students and military angry over sax in iran over the nuclear

program. the attack evoked memories of the 1979 take joef of the embassy, the u.s. embassy, by hard-line students. you'll remember that, 52 americans were held captive for 444 days. meantime, more than 200 occupy los angeles demonstrators were arrested this morning during the latest raid. more than 1,000 police officers, some of them you can see in hazmat suits, continued taking apart tents that have housed protesters for about two months. police say arrests were mainly peaceful. this was the gulf's best tourism season in years. all because so many people wanted to visit us... in louisiana. they came to see us in florida... nice try, they came to hang out with us in alabama... once folks heard mississippi had the welcome sign out, they couldn't wait to get here. this year was great but next year's gonna be even better. and anyone who knows the gulf knows that winter is primetime fun time. the sun's out and the water's beautiful.

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president obama's approval rating has now hit an all-time low. gallup daily tracking rating shows the president's approval

rating 43%, below jimmy carter's standing at this point in his presidency. secretary of state hillary clinton is breaking new ground, becoming the highest ranking american official to visit myanmar in more than 50 years. she'll be testing the new government's commitment to reform, including the severing of military and nuclear ties with north korea. a couple of more oops moments for rick perry, who seemed to forget the voting age is actually 18, not 21. >> those of you that are -- that will be 21 by november 12th, i ask for your support and your vote. those of you who won't be, just work hard. because you're going to inherit this. and you're counting on us getting this right. >> he also got the date of the election wrong. and perry later acknowledged his flub, blaming his age for the gaffe. he also called the new hampshire primary a caucus. finally, if you're looking for that perfect holiday gift for a libertarian foodie, you're

in luck. the ron paul family cookbook is out, packed full of recipes and ron paul family photos. as cookbooks go, it's cheap, 8 bucks. herman cain is stumping in ohio this morning, but is his presidential campaign done? cain says he's reassessing his campaign but then he sent out a fund-raising appeal calling the woman who said she had a 13-year affair with him troubled. and when asked by nbc whether he's dropping out, cain fell back on his most famous phrase. >> mr. cain, do you have any idea of whether or not you'll be continuing on with your campaign? >> 9-9-9! 9-9-49 9! doing fine. >> joining me publisher and msnbc contributor karen hunter and washington post turned blogger jennifer ruben. karen you were making me laugh because you were laughing when he said 9-9-9. >> this is embarrassing at first.

>> is he done? >> he is absolutely done. the fat lady sang, she sat on him, accused him of molestation and, you know, sleeping with him for 14 years. but, you know, at this point, i think the joke's on us because we're continuing to follow him around and allow him to string us along like this. he's done. go away. >> in fact, moments ago at a campaign event in cincinnati herman cain said this, jennifer, quote, they're attacking my character, my reputation and my name in order to try to bring me down. but, you see, i don't believe that america is going to let that happen. but then again, his campaign is contradicting itself. he says he's going to maybe reassess. his campaign manager says, no way. let me get your take on the latest 24 hours in the saga that is herman cain. >> well, i think rick perry is now alleviated of the distinction of being the worst-run campaign in modern american history. this really is a train wreck.

and i agree he is done. he's been done for some time. i think his support is so low, there's not much interest in where those voters go. there are a few of them, i guess, left behind. there's maybe 4%, 5% of the electorate that stuck with him. i think he's gone. he has every reason, however, to stay in the race. the reason is matching funds. come january, if he stays in the race, he'll get federal matching funds. if he's running a debt, he can have uncle sam pay off his campaign debts. >> oh, boy. >> wow. that goes against everyone the republicans stand for. >> well, there you go. >> we shall see. >> it leaves newt gingrich as the anti-romney front-runner. romney has been going after him. let me play a little sound for you. >> speaker gingrich is a good man. he and i have very different backgrounds. he spent his last 30 or 40 years in washington. i spent my career in the private sector. i think that's what the country needs right now. >> he's the insider. >> come on. >> he's -- you don't think that's going to work? >> once again, he looks so

disingenuous. what's he been doing for 20 years? running for president? who's the career politician here? you can't hit newt gingrich with something you've been doing for the last 20 years. give us a break. >> speaking of hitting gingrich, he's getting a lot more questioning about whether he's been a lobbyist, helping companies promote services with access to government officials. he got ticked off about it at a campaign event in south carolina. >> i did no lobbying of any kind, period. for a practical reason. let me be really direct, okay? i was charging $60,000 a speech. and the numbers of speeches was going up, not down. normally celebrities sell fewer speeches. we were selling more. >> it's only 20 seconds but three different things. one, i'm not a lobbyist. the other is sort of, i'm in so much demand that i'm making $60,000 a speech, which, by the

way, is more than most people make in a year. >> yeah. >> was that a great response? >> i actually think is this is precisely way romney's approach is right. there's a story in "the new york times" today which is much more important than herman cain or anything else. what it does is it outlines exactly what newt gingrich has been doing. under the definition of lobbying, under federal lobbying statute, he is lobbying. newt gingrich is not telling us the truth, surprise surprise. that will get him into a lot of trouble. those activities were lobbying activities under federal law. he might like to call himself a consultant, historian -- >> he was a pimp for lobbyists. that's what he was. >> well, it's still lobbying under the federal statue, whatever you want to call it. that's a problem. it's also a problem because he's trying to gather the tea party vote. when the tea party gets the sense that he's just a fat cat lobbyist, i think they're going to be a little turned off. now, they may not flow back to

romney, but that also helps romney because he's looking to divide up the field. so, i actually think newt gingrich is in a bit of trouble with all this. i think he'll get hounded for us. >> put that graphic up quickly. when you get at this positive intensity, how people feel, look at that, gingrich way up and romney down. >> that's what i was going to say. people don't really care because they don't like romney so much. there is no one else. there's no one else left. >> oh, i think that's wrong. that's just wrong. those intensity figures go up and down like a yo-yo. you saw the same figures for rick perry, you saw the same figures for a whole slew of these people. there are a whole lot of negatives the vast majority of voters are not aware of. in the last four, six, eight weeks, whoever hong, they'll come out. mitt romney's negatives in the race aren't that high. >> neither are his positives. >> that will be the last word. >> but he's not unpopular. >> jennifer, karen, great discussion. thanks to both of you. let's go out and look at the dow one more time.

positive reaction to say the least to some easing of some credit, both here and abroad. largely in europe. and the dow now up 380 point. we'll keep our eye on it throughout the morning rachel weekes, ceo of schoolhouse was manufacturing her products in sri lanka. she wanted to bring those jobs stateside so she partnered with durham, north carolina, factory mitt's nitts. she plans on continuing to expand her business locally, committed to creating products made in the usa. for more watch "your business" sundays at 7:30. when you have tough pain, do you want fast relief? try bayer advanced aspirin. it's not the bayer aspirin you know. it's different. first, it's been re-engineered with micro-particles. second, it enters the bloodstream fast, and rushes relief to the site of your tough pain.

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call unitedhealthcare to learn about medicare plans that may be right for you. with some plans, you can enroll right over the phone. don't wait. call now. ♪ evidently, a lot of you weren't working that much on monday. you were cyber shopping at a rate never seen before. $1.25 billion in sales. richard has been doing some digging for what it means for the season as a whole. what did you find out? >> good morning. we found a lot here. black friday was an all-time high, or low if you hate the crowds that many people saw here. numbering in the tens of millions. but it was more feverish online. the number of fast typing cyber monday shoppers doubling black friday's by some estimates. nevertheless, cyber monday is small overall. only 1/50th of the weekend's

relates. these good numbers we've been talking about don't guarantee a good season. 2008's weekend was great but the total season ended down. for instance, when we take a look at the cyber bright spots according to ibm core metrics, home goods way up, 70% over last year. clothing, tough to size up online, grew over a third. also looking good, health and beauty, up almost a quarter. and department stores, we still love them online especially, sales spiked 60%. the keyboard claking started around 5 a.m., as you take a look at results right here. didn't fall until the peak around 9 p.m. at night. people working hard on those keyboards, marathon afternoon chunk that you see right here made the difference. this is 2010. you can see how it's different in the magenta this year alone. it also made the difference, when you take a look over black friday. it is the advantage -- i'll get rid of this line and pull in black friday from this year. you can see how people were shopping all throughout the

afternoon. which is why mobile sales tripled. come over here. tripled by almost 7%. cyber sales, iphone and ipads driving that number. and social network sales remain low at about 0.5%. the day, as you can imagine here, got experts talking. >> this is going to be a monster, unprecedented, off the rails cyber monday. as far as numbers. >> the holiday season is far from over. retailers know their biggest challenge is just going to be continuing that momentum. >> now, according to shop it to me, you can take advantage of that momentum on certain days of the week. for skirts, it is sundays. 77% off on average. other days only half off. dresses, well, it's about 54% on mondays, 45% on the other days. and then for shoes, it is thursday. you got to look at that. saving almost 6%. it's not all good news. some counterfeit sites may have slowed sales but any way you click it, we've come a long way

from mail order. >> i feel a cold coming on on thursday. >> there you go. >> there are shoes to buy. >> at a discount. >> a big discount. thank you, richard. is the apple and grape juice your kids are drinking safe? a new study out by consumer reports and it finds that these popular juices actually contain arsenic. now, the tests found arsenic levels of about 10%. that's higher than the fda standards for drinking water but right now there are no defined limits for fruit juice. ke this season better than the last? how about making it brighter. more colorful. ♪ and putting all our helpers to work? so we can build on our favorite traditions by adding a few new ones. we've all got garlands and budgets to stretch. and this year, we can keep them both evergreen. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. can you smell those savings? fresh cut christmas trees are arriving weekly.

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money on a gym, they usually end up watching a tv while working out. cleaner than a dishcloth.

even with just one sheet. super clean. super soft. bounty extra soft. in the pink pack. and try bounty napkins. welcome back. i'm weather channel meteorologist carl parker. our rain has moved out of the northeast replaced by cooler weather and a lot of sunshine. let's take a look at the forecast. it's still going to be above average across. of the north east today. a little snow across the interior northeast. beautiful in the middle of the country. and snow and rain dropping down into the northern rockies. now, that storm as it moves into the southwest is going to set up

a steep pressure gradient, big pressure between this low and this high. that will bring very strong wind into california. how much wind are we talking about? gusts of 50 miles an hour in the bay area developing tonight going into tomorrow morning, 70 miles an hour above 1,000 feet, same story in southern california, santa anas blowing, could be 70 to 80 miles an hour in canyon and passes. a bad hair day, a couple days there, across the west. >> wow. that i don't like to hear. carl parker, thank you so much. here's a look at other stories people are talking about right now. syracuse university basketball coach jim boeheim says he's not worried about losing his job. this was his first postgame news conference since the firing of long-time assistant bernie fine. >> there's an investigation under way. there are no charges, there are no indictments. there is no grand jury. there is no action being taken. when that is done, then we will

see what has happened on my watch. >> three men have accused bernie fine of molesting them when they were children and there are reports today a fourth victim has come forward. in the penn state sex abuse scandal, victim income one is ready to testify in court about what he says jerry sandusky did to him. his attorney also says he expects all six alleged victims will take the stand at sandusky's december 13th hearing. even though sandusky's lawyer claims he expects one or two of them to recant. victim one says he's been bullied so badly he had to transfer to a different high school. michelle parker's 3-year-old twins are with her grandmother after state officials took them from their dad. dale smith is the sole suspect in the disappearance of 33-year-old parker who vanished two weeks ago after the couple fought over a broken engagement on "the people's court." smith was named a suspect because of his refusal to take a

lie detector test. a gun club in scottsdale, arizona s letting families take a picture with san tan holding high-powered guns and military style rifles. the they say it's not meant particularly for children but he lets parents include children. we're told the guns are not loaded. 34 days until the iowa caucuses and still anybody's game. let's check in with nbc political reporter who's following the ground game state by state, domenico, good morning. >> good morning. >> let's start with where the president is going today, pennsylvania. what's he up against there? >> the president's poll numbers have been lackluster in pennsylvania. just 43% in the latest quinnipiac poll. he's going to scranton, pennsylvania, not just the home of dwight from "the office," joe biden, white working class voters, uphill battle, state

democrats need to win. >> iowa caucuses, january 3rd. who's concentrating there now? >> michele bachmann is there today. a key state for her. she won the ames straw poll but she's faded. only at 5% in the latest bloomberg poll, in fifth place. she's hoping that herman cain, his fading, maybe newt gingrich could fade, and then maybe catapult her back to being the person to win those caucuses which, remember, just 34 days away. >> she said that in a radio interview, she thinks herman cain and rick perry's problems have been good for her. let's talk about new hampshire right after iowa in voting order. who's there today? >> rick perry and jon huntsman will be addressing the state legislature. the only ones there today. but mitt romney still maintains big leads in the state. he leads in the wmur poll. newt gingrich is hoping to surge there. mitt romney is the man to beat. unfortunately for rick perry, he made another gaffe this morning, calling the new hampshire -- talking about the new hampshire caucuses.

well, people in new hampshire take it pretty seriously that they have the first in the nation primary, chris. >> not good. he's had a rough couple days, to say the least. and the primary isn't until june 12th, so why are we talking about my home state of ohio? >> well, ohio is certainly a battleground state in the general election but not so much in primaries. herman cain is there today. he holds three events. one, including at the ohio state university. >> all right. domenico, thank you so much. good to see you. >> you too, chris. new york's attorney general has launched an investigation into whether banks illegally foreclosed on homes of active duty members of the u.s. military. data released by federal banking regulator shows ten banks went after nearly 5,000 service members while they were fighting abroad. joining me now, california democratic congresswoman loretta sanchez, a member of the house armed services committee. good morning. >> good morning. >> the foreclosure is a violation of the service members

civil relief act which restricts foreclosures on homes in the military when they're on active duty, so how did this happen? >> well, that's a good question. first, let me preface all of this by saying that it's not just the military that have had problems, but many, many households across the united states where these banks have foreclosed or doctored up documents, not gone to court and gotten the correct information and the correct paperwork. so, it's more than just the military families. but can you imagine a military family, when you've got somebody overseas and we've passed a special law that says, hey, you cannot do, you cannot kick anybody out of their home, you can't foreclose on their homes. in fact, depending on how they're being paid, they actually have lower monthly payments they can make during that time that the member is overseas. so, to have them foreclose and kicked out is outrageous. and these banks not only have to make up for the asset that was lost but also everything else

that follows with it. having to move, having to -- the cost of moving, having your kids probably moving schools maybe, and all of the stress that occurs on these families. >> well, the stress is really -- i mean, you can't even imagine. you've got a loved one in harm's way, and then you're getting kicked out of your home. we're talking about major banks here who are looking into this. bank of america, second largest u.s. lender is now reviewing more than 2400 foreclosure. wells far goeshgs 870. citigroup, 700. what can you tell us about just how widespread this problem is? >> well, unfortunately, i think we'll see it's very -- that it's spread in many direction in all of our services, probably across each and every state because our membership to our military who have been deployed have come from all 50 states and/or territories. so, i think that this is worth a congressional investigation. i think there needs to be redress and i think these banks need to come to the table and

come out with the real information. >> and is there anything service member families can do in the meantime? if you're in iraq or afghanistan and you're fighting, it's your spouse back home likely who, you know, is dealing with all this and the paperwork. what do they do? >> yeah. the first thing i would say to you is either contact your local congressional office, because the minute a congress person steps in place, especially for a military member, the bank will put things on hold or certainly scrutinize it even more. we can, of course, tell those banks about these laws that we have passed that say that you cannot foreclose. in fact, payments may be lower during your deployment. that's the first thing. the second thing is, the congress actually still has put money into these nonprofit, like neighborhood housing and other nonprofits available in your area for house counseling, where you can go over and they will intercede on your behalf to some of these banks and maybe sure

the paperwork is done correctly. i cannot stress that enough for -- whether you're in the military or not. to try to save your house, go see your congress person or see a nonprofit neighborhood housing associations. >> congresswoman sanchez, thank you. important information. happy holidays. >> always a pleasure. we've been watching this. wow, look at the dow now. it's been up close to 400 all morning. now 422 in positive territory. let's go to cnbc's mandy here with what's moving your money. boy, what we're seeing is quite the reaction to the easing of credit, right? >> yeah, absolutely. you've got the global coordinator at central bank action and china cutting reserve ratio rirms for banks over there. what you have as a result is a monster rally with 422 to the good for dow jones industrial average. we'll see whether or not it holds over the course of the day. so far, so good. >> enough to buy lunch, which

takes me to subway, the world's largest restaurant change. 2 buck sandwiches? >> yeah, 2 bush sandwiches. it's really shaking things up here because subway is a serious player, chris. it's not just a mom and pop store trying to stay afloat in difficult economic times with meal deals. for $2 subway is offering you a six-inch meat ball or cold cut sub, for the entire month of december. subway saying, we're trying to show folks love. everybody is fretting about their economic future. the problem is here, chris, can others compete? you might already know that a number of major fast food chains have dabbled with these $2 meal this year. taco bell, chipotle, regional kfcs but considering the quality you get at subway for $2shgs it's considered to be upping the ante here. by the way, before we leave the whole food thing, san francisco's law that bans toy give aways in kids meals, it goes into effect tomorrow. mcdonald's is getting around

that by charging customers ten cents for the plastic toys that come with your happy meals. in other words, it's your choice, you pay for it. we're getting around the ban. >> one more thing because there's a full-page ad in the papers this morning from american airlines after filing for bankruptcy. basically saying, business as usual. obviously, they're nervous about people being nervous about booking flights, especially around the holidays. >> yeah, absolutely. i guess everyone's trilg to work out xa exactly the bankruptcy filing means for workers and for air travelers. we all know it can be very painful, this chapter 11 bankruptcy process. it can be disruptive for creditors of the airline, employees, retirees, suppliers, competitors. they say the impact on passengers is going to be far less. the planes are going to keep on flying, frequent flier miles are still good, reservations are still honored. in the short term there might be a bankruptcy sale to entice flyers to keep buying tickets. it could be more painful for

workers because battles with labor unions could become more intense, workers could be forced into contracts they don't want to agree to. you might know delta, united and us airways used bankruptcy court to force huge concessions on wages and benefits and work rules. we'll have to wait and see what happens there. >> good point. thank you. rt-preferred rx plan gives you the lowest plan premium in the country... so you can focus on what really matters. call humana at 1-800-808-4003. to make baby food the way moms this would. so you can focus on what really matters. happybaby strives to make the best organic baby food. in a business like ours, personal connections are so important. we use our american express open gold card to further those connections. last year we took dozens of trips using membership rewards points to meet with farmers that grow our sweet potatoes and merchants that sell our product. vo: get the card built for business spending. call 1-800-now-open to find out how the gold card can serve your business.

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hi, everybody, i'm thomas roberts. keeping a close eye on wall street as prices are soaring down there. we'll bring you more on what it means for your bottom line. plus, is steam running out the herman cain train? ginger white answers questions about her alleged casual affair with the candidate. and sexual abuse scandals rocking syracuse and penn state. our exclusive hiring now segment, make money doing something you love. you've heard that before. who doesn't love legos? that and much more in the next hour. >> legoland needs me? >> it needs all of us. >> okay. thank you so much, thomas. you've probably seen those ads, they offer quick, easy cash when you're in a mind but could this quick fix be getting you into financial trouble? you've been looking into this and a little scary. >> there are definitely dangers to look out for. maybe you have car repairs, pay off bills or buy holiday gifts but if you need fast cash, a

payday loan may sound enticing. but if you're considering this type of loan you need to know exactly what it involves before you sign on the dotted line. >> reporter: like so many americans, preacher mary love knows what it's like to be tight on cash, so when she started to fall behind on her rent, she went for a quick fix. >> a commercial loan would have taken days, and i didn't have days. >> need extra cash right now? >> reporter: she took out a payday loan borrowing against her next paycheck and immediately got the money she needed. these days it seems to be a hot way to get some cold cash. >> where you get the cash you need fast. >> where money really does grow on trees. >> reporter: but for mary love, things quickly spiralled out of control. she says she couldn't repay the loan because the interest rate was far too high for her. on her $400 thoen she ended up $1,420 in interest alone about a year later. that's more than 300%, three times what she first borrowed. stories like love's have become

more common. the better business bureau says this year alone they've received more payday lending complaints than in the previous two years combined. >> we tell folks, you absolutely have to read the contract, read the fine print, and you have to make sure you understand that contract. >> reporter: experts say many borrowers don't realize the interest rate can be equivalent of 600% a year and some warn that can create a debt trap they can't get out of. >> a good product is one that at least enables the borrower to get out of a cycle. and this does not let you out of that cycle. >> reporter: that's not so, says the community financial services association of america, which represents the payday lending industry. companies insist the process is completely transparent. >> the customers who use our products, they come into our sist centers, they understand how much it's going to cost. >> reporter: he says the instant cash provides a critical life line for those in a dire financial bind, like tina, who says she's taken out and paid off several loans. >> it was always for a

last-minute situation. for me, it works well. >> reporter: but in mary love's case, her loan was a personal disaster. she finally went to a credit counselor who helped her pay off the debt. >> when you get in trouble like this, don't be ashamed to seek help. you're not a bad person because you're not good at managing money. >> proponents say the high interest rate is justified because they're dealing with population of high risk of default and lending money to those who often don't qualify for a traditional loan. >> fascinating stuff. thank you. a good word to the wise, too. stand-up comic and actor patrice o'neill died after complications of a stroke. he last performed at charlie sheen's roast in september. sheen tweeted, the entertainment world lost a brilliant man today. patrice had that rare light around him and inside of him. bob saget writes, so funny, smart and such a giant heart.

best place to live, the rock center christmas tree. let's go down to the wire. only the royal newlyweds could steal the spotlight from the queen of england at her own party. prince william and kate were at a gala at buckingham palace. for the third year in a row, vienna, austria, has been named the best place to live in the world. that surveyed carried out by mercer, the highest u.s. city was honolulu ranking 29th. san francisco was tied for 309 with adelaide, australia. what do americans dread most this time of year? a consumer report poll indicates 35 million americans dread being nice for the holidays. so, shut up and go buy me a present! no, i'm kidding. that's a joke. they also dread waiting in line and putting on weight, i guess. something to be happy about tonight right here at rockefeller center, the lighting

of the christmas tree. we do it every year. a lot of fun. among performers, justin bieber, cee lo green, michael buble, faith hill and al roker and savannah guthrie will be hosting. that wraps up this hour. i'm chris jansing. thomas roberts is up next. tylenol: we are? nyquil (stuffy): yeah, we both relieve coughs, sneezing, aches, fevers. tylenol: and i relieve nasal congestion. nyquil (stuffy): overachiever. anncr vo: tylenol cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion... nyquil cold & flu doesn't. how do you know which ones to follow? the equity summary score consolidates the ratings of up to 10 independent research providers into a single score that's weighted

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breaking news this hour on your money. stocks around the globe are soaring today after five of the world's central banks agreed to keep the oxygen flowing through the world's financial system. mr. cain, do you have any -- any idea of whether or not you'll be continuing on with your campaign? >> 9-9-9! 9-9-9! doing just fine. >> is the herman cain campaign ready to call 911? what the alleged other woman says about their relationship. it's newt versus mitt, the