. this is "nightly business report" with tyler mathisen and susie gharib. brought to you in part by. the street.com. featuring stephanie link who shares her investment strategies, stock picks and market insights with action alerts plus the multi-million dollar portfolio she manages with jim cramer. you can learn more at the street.com slash nbr. what a finish the dow closes with a triple digit gain and the s&p 500 has its biggest weekly run-up in nearly two years. but will a bank stress test out of europe change the tone next week? ups delivered but it was not the better than expected earnings the investors focused on. it was something else. pit stop, reporting a weeker than expected close, before a big run into 2015.

all that and more tonight on "nightly business report" for friday, october 24th. good evening, everyone, and welcome, susie gharib has the night off. well, here is just what you need to hear before you head into the weekend. it was the best week for stocks of the year so far. okay, so maybe it did not always feel that way but it was, every single one of the ten s&p 500 sectors was up for the week led by health care with its best performance in years. nearly 7% higher. stylish corporate earnings and a general receding of economic fears get credit for today's gain and the week as well. the dow was up 127 points, the nasdaq added a big 31 points and the s&p 500 rose almost 14, for the week now, the dow was up 2.5%, the nasdaq shot up more than 5%, its best week since

december of 2011. and the s&p rose 4%. one reason for the dow's triple digit gain today, proctor & gamble. shares of the products maker hit an all-time high after the company said it will separate its duracel battery business into a stand-alone company so they can focus on faster growing units. the move is pardon of p & g's focus to shed brands. >> more focusing on the portfolio, about 70 or 80 brands across 12 categories, these are brands that are leaders in their industry. and we should be able to maintain a company that benefits the scale of the current company but grows a little bit faster and is more profitable. >> the company also reported quarterly revenue in line with estimates and per-share profit that came in just a bit below forecasts. for ford it was a bumpy road last quarter. shares of the automaker dropped

4% today after it reported a third quarter profit down more than 50% a year ago. a profit of more than a billion was better than wall street expected but not good enough to ease concerns about ford's feature and the launch of the new f-150 pickup. >> reporter: they called it a pit stop, a brief hit to the bottom line before the automaker starts a critical run into 2015. >> business has been affected by a number of adverse conditions, external factors. >> reporter: while ford's losses in europe increased in part due to a weak economy and falling sales in russia, it is what is happening back here in the u.s. that worries investors. primarily, will the launch of ford's new f-150 pickup be a rocky one? or will it go smoothly? the f-series is ford's bread and

butter model. it is estimated the company makes 8 to $10,000 profit off of every f-series it sells. last quarter, ford sold fewer models of the pickup, the main reason that sales fell in north america. sales fell because dearborn plant shut down for five weeks getting ready to build the new f-series, which features the new lightweight alloy panels, different from the previous built with steel panels, ford says the change will be worth it when people finally get their hands on the new and much more fuel-efficient f-series. >> we have launched the mass production and are going up the acceleration curve. everything looks good and we're tremendously excited to get the product to the customers before next quarter. >> reporter: we won't know until next year if the new f-series is

a hit with truck buyers. if it is, 2015 could be when ford starts to rev up its profits again. phil lebeau, "nightly business report" chicago. and ups delivering strong quarter earnings and revenues today that topped expectations, reaffirming the guidance for the year, but after the challenge last year is the company ready for the upcoming one? more than morgan brennan. >> reporter: it was a solid quarter for united parcel services, boosted by u.s. consumer and business demand as well as strong growth in asia. but the bigger focus was on something else. the plan for holiday peak season. >> on our front because of e commerce and the volume we get we expect an 11% increase in shipments in the month of december. so we'll be very busy this year. >> reporter: that projection comes on the heels of fedex nearly 9% forecast. the national retail federation

expects heavy holiday spending withdrawic on-line shopping. that puts pressure on the shippers, last year, an estimated 2 million packages missed christmas after an on-line spike in shopping. that resulted in higher costs, and eroded consumer confidence, none less than ups, but analysts have higher hopes for the company this year. >> ups struggled a bit more than fedex last year, it is rare to see this company stumble, that is true we expect high performance from ups and they routine listen deliver. it compares to about 7% margins with fedex, so still ups is a strong leader. >> reporter: ups has been prepping for the holidays all year, investing $500 million in capital expenditures, to make black friday a full operating day, hiring 95,000 seasonal workers and increasing capacity

with pop-up sorting stations called mobile distribution villages. for its part, fedex is also hiring more workers, 50,000 and dedicating 90% of its $1.2 billion in fiscal investments to boost the capacity as well. both companies are working closely with retailers on delivery promotions and ups warns it may charge some customers more, even turn down business if there is another surge in late unplanned packages. but the true tests will come in december when it is time to put presents under the christmas tree. for "nightly business report," i'm morgan brennan. and amazon shares losing about 8% of their value today, hitting a 52-week low day that personally cost the ceo a couple of billion dollars. the big slide came after the company reported its largest quarterly loss in 14 years, nearly half a billion dollars. some amazon investors are becoming restless as ceo bazos puts future growth ahead of

current profit. the co-portfolio manager of the hennessy technology fund. how much amazon do you have, skip, what personal is your fund? >> well, by policy we don't disclose share count, but roughly 4.5% is in amazon as we speak today. >> so 4.5 in the fund, and the stock is down today. you can't be happy. >> yes, i have seen better days but i'm still confident it is a good investment. >> but why, because a lot of people are critical of mr. bazos for investing lots of money in projects like the fire telephone that just haven't worked. some of which have, but some of which really have not. >> well, the fire phone is the main reason for this loss this quarter. and again, i believe he is setting us up for having the proverbial good christmas quarter to come.

however, the characteristics of amazon, first off amazon is the main player in internet retail here in america. so it is a major player. it is not a flash-by-night company. it has real sales. it does a real business and it is established. i think the more important metrics that investors need to consider is that we are seeing continued growth in sales and in gross profits. this is all being done primarily out of cash flow. all of these new projects and spending he is doing is being done out of cash flow, not from borrowed money, which would be a warning sign if you saw the debt start to increase for the company but it is not to date. >> but the company itself says that sales in this next quarter, the fourth quarter are not going to be as ebullient as people thought, number one, and expenses keep rising faster in some cases than revenue does. that is not a formula for

long-term success. i guess my question is, does jeff bazos have too much power at amazon? >> well, that is an interesting -- certainly hard for me to particularly comment. he is in control and this is his company for better or for worse. and like you mentioned at the start he personally lost a lot of money today and the question really should be is he happy or not? so he is certainly aligned with shareholders and i imagine he is working hard to grow his personal net worth. >> very quickly skip, what would it take to pare your 4.5% stake in the amazon fund? >> well, a couple of things i would look at that would cause me concern and question things, one is if we started to see the sales percentage increase down from double digits to single digits or even negative in quarter to year over year comparisons. the other is that meter, if we started to see the total debt of

the company significantly increase, that is never a good thing. but right now, i'm comfortable with the investment. >> all right, skip, thank you very much. appreciate your being with us as we always do. still ahead, european banks face a critical test this weekend. and global investors will pay close attention to the results, we'll tell you all about it next.

. european central bank's president warned the divided euro leaders that they will fall into recession if they fail to move ahead. mario draghi looking at the summit next year, said they avoided the collapse of the euro, but monetary policy is only one part of the economic revival plan. speaking of banks, this week we'll get an official word on just how skr not sick some of the european banks will be. the regulators will release the results of a stress test and it is something the global markets will pay close attention to. michelle cabrera reports. >> reporter: the european bank and the authority released the tests of 130 banks across europe on sunday and those results are

supposed to show the quality of assets held and whether or not they have enough capital to withstand losses and a bad economy. one of the key questions, will the test be rigorous enough? credible enough? in previous years, we saw banks fail even though they had supposedly passed the stress test months before. today, they say they have seen drafts in that financial institutions failed, ten need more capital. these are believed to be smaller banks. those banks will be given time to clean up their balance sheets. the information will be available to journalists and the public so that everyone can assess for themselves the health of the institutions. once this hurdle is passed, the market watchers hope there will be an increase in lending in an effort to kick start the weak economy there. many believe they have been

hesitant to lend to increase as much capital as possible to be sure they pass the stress test. it will be key to watch how the european markets trade on monday, which will give us the clue as to how they watch the intended effect. if there are doubts about the quality we could see shares are lower and a slower recovery for the european economy. for "nightly business report," i'm michelle caruso-cabrera. and shares surging, where we begin tonight's market factor, the e commerce service provider will be led by serious capital group for $830 million, the group also has a 45 day period where they can go shop around for another buyer, kind of like getting engaged, saying you still want to date around. the stocks soared to 25.65. and bristol meyers performing well in the third quarter

helping the company deliver for investors. the company topped forecasts because of an earlier surge of diabetes products. following suit, shire trounced estimates, upped their earnings guidance for the year on their strong results. the ceo says this performance is especially notable in light of the collapse of shire's plan with advi. >> we we're distracted but continued to have very strong momentum for shire as an independent company. >> shares popping up to $49.49. and chiquita brands calling off a planned merger, shareholders rejected the combination which would have resulted in the largest sales of bananas. this is the latest tax inversion

deal to fall through since the treasury department cracked down on these types of deals back in september. shares were 40 cents higher and closed today at $14.16. pepsi planning a soda-team stress run, sending shares higher, there will be a strong ten-week run with the do it yourself soda maker. shares went up to 43.45. oil reporting a third straight weekly loss regarding supply. west texas intermediate fell about 2% during the day but pared some of the losses to close by a modest dollar. and traders are trying to find a bottom that may still be elusive. jackie deangeles has more. >> reporter: oil prices dropping sharply in today's session to a

low of 80.36 before closing at 801. many saw the bottom dropping, but many say we could be heading lower from here. the factors, a strong dollar, and ebola. >> the perception of market players is if ebola does spread it will cause economic slowdown, not only here in the u.s. but around the world. we actually saw a little bit of that today with airline stocks being sold off right from the get-of go this morning. so there is definitely a little bit of economic activity as linked to the ebola virus. >> in addition, they say if the u.s. lifted the ban on oil prices gas prices will not rise. traders don't agree, they say if the u.s. starts to export the oil and put it onto the international market, buyers will flock to cheaper oil, crude oil prices will go up, so exporting may not be the way to

go. cheaper gas prices are a bright spot for consumers, something real they can hold onto. triple a say we could see the numbers drop and that gas stations are already selling gas for less than three bucks now. our market monitor tonight has energy picks, he says the direct beneficiary picks of the renaissance, his company specializes in energy investments, rob, good to have you with us. tell me how worried if at all you are about the decline in oil prices and the possibility that there may indeed be a sort of price war that could affect the profitability of some of these american drillers, particularly the shale drillers that have made money as oil has rested mostly above 100 bucks a barrel. >> yes, we see the prices decline off the summer highs, the stocks coming down with them.

that is a great thing for the u.s. consumers, the gasoline prices have fell as well. boosting the economy. specific to the oil stocks themselves, it is really critical you look at the oil stocks and use the real estate adage of location, location, location. it is really important to invest where they have the corner lots in the best neighborhoods, that is the best oil fields in north america. >> there are some that may be vulnerable to a price decline because of others, because of what they do and where they drill. >> that is absolutely correct. >> all right, let's go to some you like and are in your portfolio, beginning with pioneer, begin in the permian basin. >> yes, it is one of the premier basins, pioneer, the things we like, they have probably decades worth of drilling opportunities. in addition to that they are on target to double their production by 2018. and in addition to that they have a hedging in place with

about 85% of their production hedged this year and 85% of the production hedged next year, that helps reduce the cash volatility. >> and where do you think the chart of pioneer may be? where do you think the total return could be in the next year or two? >> well, if they're able to double their production, cash flow grows, good for the stock price. >> all right, let's go to eog resources -- i got to put on my glasses to see these things, rob. >> eog is another great company, the leading oil producer in the leading oil production basin in the u.s. and that is the eagleford shale in south texas is another one of the main oil basins in the u.s. the thing we like about eog, the management team is probably one of the best, most respected teams. in addition to that, eog is

growing the cash flow at a faster pace than its peers, and at a lower multiple than its peers. >> and anadarko, the thing about it, it is a high quality story with exposure to lots of different oil and gas fields across the world, as well as in the u.s. one thing we like is its exposure to the basin in the u.s., watch out for this one, this is a new one you may not have heard of. in northern colorado. it has the potential to be a significant oil field in the u.s. and as it develops, anadarko will do well. >> and it is probably a reasonable number, big picture of the oil and gas sector, they will continue to grow their production volumes in the right location as long as oil stays above $80 a barrel.

>> you're a good stock picker, you are from kansas city, i see. you must be rooting for your team. >> it has been 30 years since kansas city made the playoffs. >> all right, we'll have somebody on for the giants next week, rob, with tortoise capital investments. all right, just ahead, does the rocky stock market have you thinking about the safety of your retirement income? today, the treasury department took steps that could potentially help future retirees. we'll tell you about it.

>> volatility back in the market, there are developments from the irs and treasury that may in fact be helpful. sharon epperson is here to help, sharon, what is the best strategy for results in the market. >> they shouldn't do what we were told, that many 401(k) investors have done this year, that is have above-average trading in their 401(k). this is long-term, you don't want to be trading in and out. when we see a big dip in the s&p 500, a lot of folks have traded out of their 401(k) and gone to fixed income, exactly what you don't want to do. >> let's talk about the treasury department and what it has done today, is liberalize rules, i

guess is a way to put it, regarding one kind of investment you could put into your portfolio to stabilize it. >> one thing that people are so concerned about it, many are afraid of living on their retirement savings. so an annuity is something the folks want. maybe the treasury department is saying this can go into your 401(k). maybe for the employers to include it so that you have it as an option. the big caveat, you want to look at the fees that are associated with this, of course. and also want to consider if you are an investor that is able to manage your own portfolio. you may be able to do better rolling it over into a 401(k) working with an adviser, and then buying annuity on your own. >> and derived the income you may have gotten out of it, managing your own portfolio. also a bit bump-up in the max people can put in their 401(k). >> $18,000 is what you can put

in your 401(k), maximum contribution in 2015. you know, you're worried about having enough money for your retirement. it matters how much you actually put in. it is important to put in the max. if you're over 50 you can put in 24,000 altogether. >> 24,000 in. oh, bottom line here, in light of the fears that treasury actions, what bottom line should people do with their retirement savings? >> bottom line, not to panic, but reassess where you are. if you're afraid of the risk, whether it is ebola, shooting in canada, things that make you not sleep at night you need to reassess and make sure your portfolio is reallocated and reach your retirement goals. >> have a great week, sharon epperson. finally, folks, which universities produce the most billionaires? according to this year's wealth census report, most of them in the u.s., ive league names dominate. university of pennsylvania, followed by harvard, yale, the

university of southern california. and princeton, two overseas universities made the top ten, india's university of mumbai and the london school of economics. and that will do it for us tonight. thank you for joining us, i'm tyler mathisen, have a great weekend everybody. we'll see you monday. >> "nightly business report" has been brought to you in part by. >> the street.com, featured by stephanie link who shares her market insights with action alerts plus, the multi-million dollar portfolio she manages with jim cramer. you can learn more at the street.com/nbr.

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