this is "nightly business report" with tyler mathisen and susie gharib. funded in part by -- thestreet.com. featuring stephanie link who shares her investment strategies, stock picks and market insights. learn more at thestreet.com/nbr. getting down to business. what president obama will say tonight on immigration and what the business community wants to hear. >> if you like what wall street did for the housing market, you'll love what wall street's doing for commodities. >> senator carl levin goes after goldman sachs, accusing it of manipulating the price of aluminum, effectively driving up costs for everyone, from

automakers to beverage consumers, to everyone. >> why new crash tests raise troubling questions about the safety of minute minivans. we have all that for "nightly business report" on thursday, november 20th, 2014. >> it was an all anyway high for the dow and s&p 500. tonight in a primetime address to the nation, president obama will outline an executive order involving pressure protections from deportation from upward of 5 million illegal immigrants. it's frustrate with risk and bound to have an impact on american businesse john, what will the president tell the nation tonight and who exactly will be covered by his executive order? >> reporter: there are two main groups of people who will be covered, tyler. the first are the parents and

immediate family members of people who already have citizenship or green cards but some of their family members do not. that's going to be about 4 million people. the second is an expansion of the category of so-called dreamers that the president gave legal status to two years ago by executive action. it would remove some date when you had to be in the united states by and some age restrictions there. that along with some other smaller changes will get up to around 5 million people granted legal status. as you said, it's extremely controversial. >> yes, john, it is extremely controversial. we've already been hearing from republicans who are very opposed to the president going around congress. what is his legal authority, the president that is, to do this? >> reporter: well, it's interesting. republicans, susie, have taken to quoting the president's own past statements overs last year or so in which he has said numerous times that he didn't feel like he had the legal authority to take certain steps that immigration activists

wanted. aides at the white house today distinguished between those statements by the president as saying essentially he didn't have the authority to do what the senate passed bill that the house wouldn't take up did, which was create a pathway to citizenship. what he's doing tonight is not a pathway to citizenship, it's much less than that. it's temporary deferral of deportation. the president is saying that more limited step, which something similar was done by president reagan and president george h.w. bush is within his legal power. >> you just asked the question i was going to ask about path to citizensh citizenshi which this is apparently not. what are the effects on business? where do they come out on this? >>. >> reporter: the the president is selling this on two grounds, one that it will take away border control on those who don't need it and put it for

felons. and by taking these people out of the shadows, they will become taxpayers and remove downward pressures on wages and there are provisions that would allow some high-skilled immigrants to stay in the country longer before they've formally gotten their papers allow them to stay and it would create a category of entrepreneurs who could so if they had investors and would create a certain number of jobs in the united states could stay in the country. >> thank you, john. >> the president's new immigration policies could have a huge impact on the business community, especially small businesses trying to attract and retain talented workers. we look at the challenges facing one silicon valley startup and its efforts to get a work visa for a top executive. >> we cannot find the qualified

candidates to help drive our businesses for it. >> reporter: in the midst of the immigration debate, some in the business community are feeling disenfranchised, like the founder of tv page, a product that allows retailers to sell products with video like this. the viewer can bite product in the clip with one simple click. the company has attracted about $3 million in investment to date. one of the main investors, a guy who knows a thing or two about making money. his sold his own company, autoanything.com to auto zones for $150 million less than two years ago. but there's one major problem, he founded the technology and could very well be deported by the end of the month, having been turned down for an hib visa, his other visa is about to inspire. >> i came from the netherlands. i have a masters degree in

artificial intelligence. a lot of uncertainty in a startup company. the company depends on me and i have to physically be here in the united states. >> and he's not alone. last year hundreds applied for 4b visas. one of the only groups of people who stand to benefit are immigration attorneys like jason. >> i'm trying to give them solutions but i really can't work with the system where they deny those visas. >> reporter: every time a visa is denied, groups that invest by countries run by immigrants can be left holding the bag. >> frankly we're looking for the creme de la creme that are going to add significant benefit to the american economy. if we stop allowing imgrangmigr to come into this country that are extremely well versed in technology and finance, we're going to limit the growth of

america and it's not going to become the land of milk and honey. >> our guest is a small business owner who supports immigration reform and says she will be listening closely to what the president has to say tonight. she's mckinney howell, executive chef and owner of plum restaurants in seattle. miss howell, welcome. nice to have you with us tonight. >> thank you. thanks for having me. >> we're delighted to have you here. from what you know what the president plans to announce tonight, deferring deportation of people here in an undocumented way, how do you think this will affect your business? will it be helpful, unhelpful or no difference? >> well, i think it would be very helpful. i think what the president is planning on announcing is one of the most sweeping humanitarian acts that any leader could write into law. and i think we have to remember that we're all immigrants to this country. and with the industry that i work in, i need workers that are willing to commit their time and

their resources, 10, 15 years, to helping me to build my small business into a medium sized business. and i think that we all talk about, you know, pathways to the middle class and how do we get there but we've forgotten how to work our way there. we need skilled workers that are willing to commit their time in order to get there. >> you make a very good case, but it's interesting, whenever they run polls and there's nbc news poll saying most persons are oppose to this kind of immigration reform. what would you say to your fellow americans? >> that we're all immigrants to this country, number one. i don't know how accurate -- there are a lot of polls out there. one i read saturday 52% of americans are for immigration reform. i think we have a lot of people living in the shadows. i think larger companies and

predatory companies are taking advantage of these humans that live here. a lot of women are being forced into poverty, there a lot of children not taken care of. and i think that we really need to understand that going back to the irish, the way that they were treated, going back to a lot of the ethiopian imgrangts who we took into our country, we have to look at immigration reform on a humanitarian level and we have to understand that we just can't flat out oppose because this is a melting pot. this is a nation of immigrants. >> mckinney, how hard is it for you as a small business owner in the hospitality industry where something like 18% of undocumented workers or immigrant workers work, how hard is it for you today to work within the system to find the workers you need and make sure that they are here legally, as i am told you do. >> it's very hard. if you have an applicant that doesn't have papers, you don't hire them. and i think that we have to

create some way for people -- you're passing on skilled labor often times. i think the immigrant mentality is one of coming and staying and growing, which is something that i appreciate as i try to grow my family business into a medium-sized business. there are a lot of people i have to pass on because they don't have papers to stay in this country. >> one comment that was made in the package just before our interview with you is that if you don't give visas to -- you don't give visas to these imgrangts, that you're limiting the growth of the u.s. and this is going to hinder -- >> i think it's very true. it broadens the middle class, it strengthen and creates new job. everybody knows the small businesses are the engines of the economy. that helps to strengthen the economy, puts more money back into our economy. we have to become a nation of workers again. we have to understand that it takes people on every level to

help to build the economy. we can't just toss people out, especially people that are already here and working and contributing to our economy. >> mckinney howell of plum restaurants, thanks for being -- what kind of restaurant is plum restaurant? >> it's an organic restaurant. we have six locations and we have a food truck. >> good luck to you, mckinney. thank you. >> bye. >> a new record closing high for the dow and s&p 500 today. investors got into the buying mood thanks to new reports showing strong data about the u.s. economy. offsetting worries about slowing growth in china and europe. among that data, consumer prices were flat last month. the philly fed's business index surged in november to its highest reading in more than 20 years. jobless claims fell again last week to a 14-year low and existing home sales unexpectedly rose 1.5% in october, reaching the fastest sales pace of the year. so here's how the major indexes looked by the close. the dow rose 33 points, the

nasdaq up 26 and the s&p added four points. >> more on potentially unsafe autos. new crash tests raising troubling questions about the safety of minivans. one popular minivan did so poorly, the safety firm c conducting the test is warning americans not to buy it. phil lebeau has more. >> reporter: the insurance institute for highway safety calls these crash tests an eye opener. they measure how well drivers are protected if a minivan's front corner hits another car or pole at 40 miles per hour. it's a common accident. the honda odyssey was the only model to get a good rating from the i.i.h.s. while toyota's siena was rated acceptable. but three other models, chrysler town and country, the dodge caravan and nissan quest all received poor ratings. >> i think these test results are a very strong reason not to go out and buy one of these vehicles, especially since the honda odyssey and the toyota

siena offer much better protection in this crash test. >> reporter: dave calls this collision of the nissan quest one of the worst crash tests he's ever seen. the driver's door and instrument panel were driven two feet into the driver compartment, pinning the dummy. >> i think there is some chance that some people could have been killed in this crash test. certainly nobody would have walked away. >> reporter: in fact, the insurance institute had to cut the dummy out of the wreckage, even using a crowbar to pry the dummy's foot loose. >> the structure that is supposed to stay in tact and protect your family completely collapsed in this test. >> reporter: nissan says it will continue to review these and other results from iihs testing as we seek opportunities for improvement. and nissan and chrysler poned out their minivans received good ratings from the insurance institute when it conducted other types of crash tests. for parents, these tests are a reason for concern. >> we'll be a little more

cautious when driving. it just makes me a little nervous. >> reporter: minivans are not as popular as they used to be. still, over a half million will be sold in the u.s. this year. and for those who buy a minivan and automatically believe it is safer than another type of vehicle, these crash tests are a reason to think twice. phil lebeau, "nightly business report," chicago. >> an update now on the exploding air bag crisis involving 14 million cars, which have been linked to at least five deaths worldwide. at a senate hearing today, lawmakers went after automakers and a senior executive at takata. this is the japanese maker of those defect of air bags. the takata executives said he does not believe a nationwide recall of the air bags is necessary, which is what safety regulators have called for. he also apologized and said the part supplier accepts responsibility for three deaths but said that two others were still under investigation. >> also on capitol hill, some of the nation's biggest investments

banks coming under fire after a combative panel at a senate hearing slammed them for driving up commodities. the focus for much of the day, goldman sax. >> reporter: ever think about the price you pay for a can of soda? probably not. you can be sure that beverage companies like coca-cola and pepsi do. even though the price of aluminum on the exchange has been falling, the prices for physically obtaining it have risen sharply in years, jacking up costs on the 90 billion cans consumed here each year. and the costs have a surprising culprit -- goldman sachs. >> i don't see how you can draw any other conclusion. >> reporter: through a convoluted series of payments, goldman effectively manipulated the price of aluminum in the u.s., raising prices on beverage companies, aluminum foil makers and even at all the owe makers

like ford, whose new f-140 pickup is the first aluminum bodied pickup of its kind. and the chairman carl levin joined goldman over their business practices. >> goldman has the ability to manipulate the lme price by manipulating the midwest premium and then to make trades taking advantage of that manipulation. goldman's ability to influence any portion of the price for a key component of the industrial economy is simply unacceptable. >> reporter: goldman defended its practices saying the way it handled metal in its detroit business was legitimate and client driven. but senator levin and his colleague on the panel, john mccain, were having none of it. there are likely to be more fireworks tomorrow when they take up these issues with a

prominent federal reserve governor. >> two bankers at the bank were fired after one of them passed along confidential information from the fed to his boss. the supervisor, also a former government official at the fdic was fired after failing to take action. now, in recent weeks goldman sachs and the new york fed have faced questions about their relationship, some calling it too cozy. tomorrow the president of the new york fed will testify on the matter. >> ahead of that hearing tomorrow, the federal reserve announced a sweeping review of its own practices for examining and supervising the nation's biggest banks. the federal and central bank's inspector general team will look into weather they get ahold of enough information when they make decisions involving large firms and whether dissenting views are even heard by federal decision makers.

>> best buy reports a strong quarter ahead of the holiday season, but will it be able to keep the momentum going? the answer after this. it looks like best buy is back after profits nearly doubled at the chain last quarter, investors dove in today and shares surged 7% higher. courtney reagan has more on the retailer's unexpectedly strong earnings last quarter and the challenges it's still facing ahead of the holiday shopping season. >> reporter: don't count us out yet is the message they are sending to the market. not long ago many were betting they wouldn't be around much

longer, let alone beating expectations for earnings, sales and margins by a decent amount. but the analysts aren't necessarily waging a win for the holiday season. despite the strength in the third quarter, best buy's ceo isn't so bullish for the holiday quarter, a week out from black friday telling me, "we are excited about many categories and improved shipping for the holidays." he continued to say "the holiday season is hard to forecast, it's a very competitive environment, a lot of mass merchants have promotions on consumer electronics, a category that has been volatile," a category where retailers are more aggressive than ever with their offers, leading some analysts to bet that best buy won't win. >> target is loaded for bear. they're going to compete. amazon is going to compete, walmart is going to compete. best buy is the guy who is going to lose share to all of those guys. amazon is going to take the most share.

i think best buy is toast. >> reporter: stronger than expected third quarter sales a good thing but it could cause issues for best buy in coming months. if there is a disruption at west coast ports because of labor disputes, the retailer may not be able to get more inventory quickly. he told me, quote, we brought some inventory forward and because we had a stronger quarter, we sold some of that merchandise. so our inventory was lower than we told investors it would be. the issue will be with replenishment. if strong sales outpace available inventory, best buy could be dealing with empty shelves. for "nightly business report," i'm courtney reagan. >> we begin with the market focus with gap, cutting earning guidance. the retailer posted profits that topped estimates in its most recent quarter but sales slipped. and the retailer announced a management overall. after the bell, shares tumbled. before the close the stock was

1.5% higher, finished at $40.14. big news for game stop. not on did this report earnings and sales that were way off, it also disappointed with fourth quarter and full-year profit outlook that trailed consensus. that sent shares down right after the announcement. during regular trading, shares were up a fraction. dollar tree, best sales growth since 2011. it beat earnings estimates, hiked outlook for profits and revenues for the year. this as the company agreed to buy family dollar for $8.5 billion. >> hertz is getting a new carl i can approved ceo. shares were volatile after the news. ahead of that shares were up 2%.

>> alibaba has reportedly tapped into the u bond market, launching an $8 billion debut bond deal but it could up the offering to about $10 billion because of strong demand. shares rose by $1 closing at 109.82. and investors had a strong appetite for shares of habit restaurants. the burger chain made its trading debut on the nasdaq today, pricing 5 million shares at $18 apiece, valuing the company at nearly $1 billion. shares more than doubled closing at 39.54. >> coming up, santa's secret indicator. a new way to forecast how much consumers may spend this holiday season.

what will you be doing a week from now aside from eating turkey and watching football? 140 million americans are expected to go shopping black friday and over the thanksgiving weekend. some will brave the stores, many plan to shop online. about a third of respondents said they will wait and see if the deals are worth it before they head to the stores. >> with all those stores opening for business, retailers need workers to stock shelves, advise customers and ring up sales. so what's the forecast for holiday hiring and what can it tell us about holiday spending? steve liesman has our story. >> reporter: call it santa's indicator. it's the october jobs report.

inside it you can find how many employees retails have taken on for the holiday season. santa's secret indicator is screaming that it's going to be a very green christmas. hiring in the eight sectors that see the most holiday jobs rose to a record 172,000 with each of the eight categories registering gains. department stores, clothing stores and internet retailers have all brought on more help this year than they did last in anticipation of robust business at the register. but just how good are the retailers at predicting future sales? >> retailers are really good forecasters. they have their finger every day checking the direction of the wnd. every retailer i talked to is trying to hire more people than they're going to get, which is as good as it gets. so they believe they're going to seelt strongest back half in the last five years as well. >> reporter: turns out october hiring has done a very good job of forecasting holiday sales over the past dozen years. and the current levels suggest that some of the rosie

predictions may even be a little light. >> there is a saying in markets that never bet against the u.s. consumer. i think the u.s. consumer is going to deliver. the u.s. consumer has been very cautious, has slowly been building up savings. as we've seen job growth accelera accelerate, wealth go up and oil prices go down, that is all a great combination boding for a strong seasonal spending in the coming months. >> reporter: the indicating isn't perfect. retailers can reduce their hiring in november or cut back on hours worked if sales don't materialize, but the early indications are that they're optimistic about christmas sales. and that optimism does a pretty good job of previous districting just how much work santa will have on christmas day. for "nightly business report," i'm steve liesman. >> put that together with falling oil prices and you have a good recipe for holiday spending. >> i'll be doing mine. >> i will, too. >> thanks so much for joining

us. that's "nightly business report." >> and i'm tyler mathisen. we're going to take attendance. we'll see you here tomorrow. "nightly business report" has been funded in part by -- >> thestreet.com. founded by jim cramer, thestreet.com is an independent source for stock market analysis. cramer's action alerts plus service is home to his multimillion dollar port you can learn more at thestreet.com/nbr.

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