this is"nightly business report" with tyler mathisen and susie gharib. >> bounce back rally, why the dow and s&p 500 had their best day in five months, even as the world remains on edge. >> giving credit, where credit is due and now after a major overhaul, millions of consumers are likely to see their credit scores rise. >> last chance, why pressure is building to change the system the that grants very ill patients access to unapproved drugs. the third part in our series desperate measures. all that and more tonight on "nightly business report" for friday, august 8th. good evening, everyone. i'm sue herrera. susie gharib has the evening off. >> welcome, everybody. i'm tyler mathisen and i don't know about you, but i am glad that trading week is over. i'm ready to inject liquidity,

frankly. it didn't feel like enough week per stocks, not with the flair ups but it was. after today's strong rally, all three of the broad market barometers, the dow, s&p 500 finished the week in the black and for the dow and s&p today was the best performance in five months. the dow closing near the highs of the session up 185 points, nasdaq higher by 36 and the s&p 500 rallied 22. for the week, each of the big three were up at least a third of 1%. investors gobbled up stocks unworried about a broken seize fire in the israel gaza conflict and u.s. air strikes against muslim extremists in iraq but the real catalyst for today's really were reports out of russia that tensions may be easing between it and ukraine. here is michelle cabrera. >> reporter: the market rallied in the early afternoon when a

russian news agency reported russia was ending the military war games on the boarder of ukraine. it caused a relief rally because throughout the week, expectations increased that russia might invade ukraine to support acce support separatists. the president of russia vladimir putin backed down before in may and yet, subsequently he said he supported rebels with equipment, training and troops and what remains to be seen what this headline from today means. earlier in the day the trading session got off to a rough start due to nervousness with the crisis in iraq. overnight the u.s. military dropped food and water to iraqis who were members of a minority religous sector. the islamic militant group is threatening to kill them. the u.n. says dozens of children have died of dehydration. early this morning before the open, we learned the u.s. bond a group of militants threatening

the capitol city in northeast iraq, arbil where a u.s. consulate is located. why rack is a serious situation, the move in the situation today shes investors are concerned with the stand off with russia. for "nightly business report", michelle cabrera. >> why did the markets react the way they did? there are thoughts on that as well as top picks for you and me. he's charles carlson and the ceo at verizon invest the services coming to us from chicago. welcome, nice to have you here, chuck. >> nice to be here. >> what do you make of the way the market performed today? i found it curious, we had a big relief spike mid session. >> well, i think you called it with a release spike. the market was over sold on a short-term basis. you had traders hearing the news possibly what is coming out of russia not wanting to take positions into the weekend and short covering, as well and

finally, markets do correct but at some point those corrections end and stocks are ready to resume the upward move. we're at a point where you would expect a bounce, a bounce happened today. we'll have to see if there is follow through next week. >> a bounce is one thing but a resumption of an upward move which is the reference you made is quite another. do you think this is that turning point? >> you know, this has more of a feel of less of a bottom conviction buying than short covering. having said that, we still regard this as a correction within an on going bull market and this correction has met the typical historical standards of a correction in terms of duration and length. so, you know, maybe we haven't seen the bottom yet, but i think we're probably, you know, on the dow jones industrial average, that 16,000 level seems like good support to he. >> you've come up with ideas tonight, let's start with

halliburton. why do you like it? >> it's a group we like. it's a stock that continues to grow at double digits on the top and bottom line. you can buy the growth at what we believe are reasonable values. so they are coming off a solid quarter, and given this latest downturn, that stock is trading in a discount of 8% to the 52-week high. from the standpoint this is a bull market. we think stocks will resume the upward trend. this is a quality stock that you can get at a discount and got to take advantage. >> a lot of people like you like that sector. let's move to amerprize financial. >> you got continuing ageing of america and requirement and insting. there is a nice position in the space. i like the dividend yield which is 1.9%. i can buy the stock around 14 times at 2014 estimates. the story with double digit top and bottom growth and not over paying for it, getting a yield.

those stocks i think will do well when this upward trend resumes. >> finally, in another sector, comcast. >> yeah, it's a cash machine. i like distribution companies. i have content. i think the timewarner cable deal will be a good one. they are coming off a strong quarter. you get a nice dividend of 1.7%. it's that complete total return package in a company that has good operating momentum and an industry i think can continue to do well and probably buck a fairly volatile market here. >> chuck, let me ask you one final thought on bonds, which sue and i have been watching closely. the year began with everybody saying bonds will go to 350, the ten-year, 375 and haven't, why? >> no, they haven't. well, probably because everybody was expecting them to do that and the market haves a tendency of not doing what everyone expects. i think the way we frame what to do in bonds right now is quite

honestly if you can earn more in crash than you can no bonds, you own bonds. i don't think anybody is getting rich in the bond market and i think stocks relative to bonds are the place to be but i don't think you'll see a total washout in the bond market this year and again, as a place to try to generate a return better than cash, i still think they have promise for that. >> thank you very much. any disclosures before we let you go? >> our company and clients own all three of the companies i mentioned. >> have a great weekend. >> you, too. tough times for the world's biggest burger chain with sales falling flatter than an all-beef patty. what does mcdonalds have to do to get cooking again? >> reporter: investors are not loving the news outf mcdonalds today. sales are falling. global sales fell 2.5%, the immediate concern, asia.

mcdonalds having to pull chicken m mcnuggets for a safety scandal. a supplier sold expired meet. sales fell for the month and the problem is it could have a more lasting effect as consumers lose trust in the brand and turn to local alternatives. >> in china and japan running down high teams, 20%. i don't think that will turn around. that can take six to nine months for that to blow over. >> reporter: the full-year outlook is at risk as it weighs the fall out from supply. a longer-running problem for mcdonalds is finding sales growth in the united states. it's home market making up more than 30% of the total business. in fact, this is the eighth month out of the last nine in which sales have declined. competitors like burger king and wendy's have been doing better when it comes to connecting with their core customers.

>> there is really no low-hanging fruit. they are taking share for many, many, years and right now everybody is nibbling back at them. >> reporter: investors are growing inpatient. don thompson says the company is working to revamp the menu and find options consumers want but repositioning a company with 35,000 stores around thetious h. healthy are options like chipotle are in and those brands are eating mcdonald's launch. i'm sarah eisen in new york city. big changes coming at fico regarding how it calculates a person's credit score and these changes can be a big help for millions of americans struggling to get loans. mary thompson has more. >> reporter: you may feel better after a hospital stay, but medical emergencies can harm your financial health. a 2012 study shows 75 million

americans had trouble paying medical bills. fico plans to treat them differently for some under a new way of modelling credit worthy. >> what we found is unpaid medical debt in collection, if someone has an otherwise pristine credit history, it's not an indicator they are having trouble. it's not a sign that they are having trouble repaying debt. it's an anomaly. so as such, it could be treated differently than the fico score. >> reporter: under fico score nine, medical debts held by clek collection agencies would carry less weight while debts held by collection agencies that are paid off, have no impact at all. the result, high eer scores for many consumers. >> for someone whose credit score and history is pretty pristine, they have no other derogatory actions, it could boost their score by about 25

points. >> reporter: but why treat medical debts differently? first, a debt is unpredictable, often causing short-term problems, even for financial irresponsible people. second, the consumer protection burro says billing problems and confusion what is covered by insurance often means a consumer doesn't know they owe money until a collection agency holds the debt and their credit score is impacted. a 2012 study found 18% of adult americans had medical bills held by a collection agency and 42% of those people said this hurt their credit scores. while fico score nine holds a promise of more credit on lower rates, it won't improve a person's chance of getting a mortgage. an earlier version of fico is one of the many factors in assessing a client's credit worthiness, meaning a higher score won't translate into a total financial victory. for "nightly business report",

i'm mary thompson. >> so what are the three things you can do to improve your credit score? jerry is the director of consumer education at credit.com. jerry, great to see you. i want to start, though, by asking you how and where can i get my credit score or my credit report? >> sure, your credit report you can get free once a year at annual credit report.com, that's your manually freeman dated copy. you can get a score for free at credit.com and your financial institution may offer you one on your billing statement. >> if you suspect or find out you have issues with your credit and score as a result of that, give me a few ideas how you can repair your credit and how long it might take to repair that credit. >> well, one of the fastest ways that i see consumers improve the score is by paying off their credit cards faster. the fico score looks at the balance compared to available

credit and if you pay in full but max out the card to earn rewards, the balance may be high. pay it down, pay it faster. you can see a quick improvement. another thing is the collection accounts you just talked about that will be changing. i don't think it will happen soon. there will be an implantation period, but right now if you deal with collection accounts, one strategy is to pay them so they don't wind up with a second or third collection agency if they remain unpaid. >> another area that mary thompson just mentioned are medical bills, which sometimes we tend to forget about. we don't know they will show up on our credit report but of all the categories of debt that can damage you or even lead to bankruptcy, medical bills are number one. >> exactly. and this is something that happens to people even with excellent credit. that one bill you thought insurance was going to take care of slipped through the cracks and next thing it's with a collection agency. i really encourage consumers any time you get medical treatment anywhere, stay on top of the

bills and if you don't get a bill, call the medical provider and find out why. it could be going to the wrong address and could hear next when it shows up on your credit report. >> let's recap, pay down the high balances, watch medical bills, resolve collection accounts and i've heard be careful how many department store or individual retail accounts that you open. is that correct or not? >> exactly. it is to some extend because new credit is a risk factor on your credit score. that's why it's usually recommended that you're very careful about applying for new credit. if you really want a new car that's fine. holiday season is coming up. don't take advantage the of the offers at the cash register because doing so will have an impact on your score. >> jerry, thanks, always great to see you. >> thank you. still ahead, which part of the real estate industry is having a blowout year? we'll tell you. that story is coming up.

a federal judge rejected a $325 billion settlement between apple, google, intel and adobe and tech workers who said the firms conspired to stop poaching employees and therefore september salaries down. the amount falls below the range of reasonableness, end quote. pfizer reportedly facing a surge of lawsuits over the blockbuster drug lip tore and that's where we begin market focus. a fast-growing number of women have filed lawsuits against the

pharmaceutical giant. these women claim the company knew about serious side effects associated with the cholesterol lowering drug but didn't inform the public. some side effects include causing type 2 diabetes and causing memory loss. despite that, shares were up to 28.34. weaker than expected revenues, and blamed the results on a higher tax rate and special charges. shares down nearly 8% to $37.49. breakfast serial post holdings sent shares down in today t today's session. the company had charges related to a recent string of acquisitions. despite that, it announced another acquisition that will buy american blanching for $128 million. shares tumbled 16% to $37.43. shares of tech mira took off as investors got a chance to react to good drug news. the food and drug administration

cleared the company's experimental ebola drug for potential use in humans infected. they can use the drug in limited experience. the stock surged up 45% to $20.07. a new york city office building owner is gearing up to have the largest initial public stock offering ever by real estate investment trust. paramount group that owns properties in san francisco and washington dc is looking to raise as much as $2.7 billion in its ipo. and those real estate investment trusts have had a pretty good year, out performing the overall market. the stocks are taking advantage of low interest rates and investor desperation for yield. diana olick has that story. >> reporter: apartments, warehouses, officers, even retail malls, commercial real estate is climbing out of the recession with a vengeance.

>> i cannot remember a time when you had such a cstrong fundamentals and disciplined supply, good demand and accommodative market. from a fundamental perspective, we're relatively constructionti on real estate and commercial real estate specifically. >> reporter: u.s. equity up around 15% year to date with a dividend of about 3.5%. compare that to the s&p 500 up around 4% with a dividend yield of 2%. >> low interest rates are positive for reit because they offer an attractive yield alternative relative to treasuries and you have a growth characteristic that will go up and increase versus a fixed return over a period of time. >> reporter: apartments are still a top pick despite concern last year of over building. avalon bay, equity residential to name a few fueling the 25%

year to date jump in this reit sector. freddie mac reports the supply of units is being absorbed and point to nearly 4 million potential households that weren't formed during the great recession over the neck decade, close to half a million rental apartments may be needed to meet that growing demand. office is still mixed as employers are hiring but downsizing work spaces but retail malls are starting to get some love after under performing other sectors. >> the good results both ggp and simon put upbeaten race quarters and i think sentiment will start to come slowly back towards in favor of the mall stock. so i tend to believe they will work well in the second half. >> reporter: after such strong results in the first half of this year, analysts are not banking on double digits for the second half because the biggest risk to this, of course, is rising interest rates. when experimental drugs are

a patient's only hope and the pressure to change the system to make access to them easier. the final part of our series desperate measures. tonight, the final report in the three-part series desperate measures on the challenges terminally ill patients and families face when treatment options run out and the only thing left to try is experimental drugs. among the challenges, a lack of uniform guidelines or laws that determine which patients can get access to those new and unproven medications. meg terrell has the story.

>> reporter: compassionate use is a last resort for the sickest of patients like natalee, a 15-year-old battling an aggressive cancer for two years. >> when we found this new promising medicine, pd 1, we definitely wanted to participate in a trial and we asked for compassionate use but they denied it. >> reporter: companies can use compassionate use to use drugs outside of clinical trial. >> there are three parties, the patient and their doctor, the fda and pharmaceutical companies and all three have to be in agreement if the drug gets to the patient. >> reporter: it is not a simple pass and a spill of public outcries is putting pressure on the system to change. one issue, a lack of guiding industry principles. tony consults for drug makers fielding requests for compassionate use. >> is there an individual process put in place or should there be a universal sort of set

of principles that regulators and companies might agree to that won't be compromised in the face of a strong public pressure campaign. >> reporter: another initiative is right to try, a law that's been passed in three states and being considered in several others. >> the right to try is about giving terminally ill patients the right to fight to save their own lives. >> reporter: the gold water institute designed the laws that removed the need for the fda to sign off on requests. >> as soon as a doctor tells a patient that there is a promising drug for you, the patient can then go out right away to the company and seek that approval and that will out cut down on the time patients have to wait. >> reporter: the fda counters the laws are focused on the wrong place. of 977 applications of compassionate use, all but three were granted. >> the problem is the pharmaceutical firm has to agree

to give the drug. >> reporter: art caplin puts right to try a different way and he says other changes are needed, including creating funds for patients to pay for treatment and travel and in audition to a push for getting medicines to market faster, caplin says regulators can make changes to facilitate the use. >> they can be a little more flexible, probably need reform to say if people die taking experimental drugs, we won't hold that against the drug in terms of the approval process. we want to know but we're not going to penalize you. >> reporter: to focus on compassionate use has rose to the a federal level. any changes may not come soon enough for 15-year-old natalee troller and others battling diseases with no good options. >> every day that we don't do something or don't try to fight the cancer, that's another day that the cancer can grow and get worse, so we just always feel that in the back of our mind

that pressure that there is a time limit. >> meg terrell is with us. meg, you mentioned that the federal government is becoming more interested in compassionate use. what if any changes are brewing? >> there aren't good numbers how many of these requests get made and how many are denied. the figures were from the fda. that means they got through the companies and the fda had a chance to review them and rejected three at that point. >> the fda did. >> the fda did. there is a push to understand that and legislation proterribly brewing that would ask the gao to look at how welcome passion anyti -- well compassion anytime use is working. >> the system was put into place in 19 87. this came into place with hiv and aids and adopted by breast

cancer activists. this has been around for a long time and there are reforms made to the system. it's interesting because there seems to be momentum building for the system to change and through things like social media and because companies are pursuing rare diseases. so people are in a much bigger need for the drugs. >> we're a little short on time but i wonder whether some companies are known as compassionate, it may not have where their drugs are. >> three companies natalee was asking for, in the '90s were involved and figured out a cam passionate use program but not until they were pressured strongly. so it often takes a lot of patient voice and power. >> thank you for your reporting. wonderful series, appreciate it. >> keep us posted on natalee's progress. >> to read more about the

series, head to nbr.com. >> that will do it for "nightly business report" for tonight. i'm sue herrera. susie is back on monday. >> great being with you sue. >> it's been fun. >> thanks for filling in. we'll see you on monday and we'll see you, susie, on monday, too. >> absolutely. er

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