report" with tyler mathisen and susie gharib. funded in part by -- thestreet.com and action alerts plus where jim cramer and fellow portfolio manager stephanie link share their investment strategies, stock picks and market insights. you can learn more at thestreet.com/nbr. 18,000. the dow marks a new milestone as a nearly six year bull market charges ahead. we look at the drivers and examine what might lie ahead. rapid expansion. stocks take off after the u.s. economy shows its strongest growth since 2003. can it continue? we have all that and more for tuesday, december 23rd. >> good evening, everyone and hohoho. topped 18,000 for the first time

ever today and it closed above that milestone too. sprinting from 17,000 to 18,000 in just 119 trading days. now, that's fast but not the fastest move, not by a long shot. back in 1999, the dow jumped a thousand points in 24 trading days. why the big spike today? you can thank the bold, burly u.s. economy. we learned today it grew at a 5% annual pace in the year recorded. that's the fastest quarterly growth rate in 11 years. consumers are feeling good. one measure of sentiment clocked in today at 8 year high and growth of personal spending doubled in november from october. with that encouraging news about the u.s. economy, here's a look at the final tally on wall street today. the dow off its high at the session but still jumping 64 points for that new record high of 18,024. nasdaq though, down by 16 on a pullback in biotech stocks and the s&p 500 added three,

settling at its own record close of 2082. that's the 51st all time closing high this year. stocks have been notching new record highs at a blistering pace. today was the dow's 36th closing record for the year. so what's propelled the index so far so fast? and which dow stocks may have kept even more gains in check? paul fasani has more. >> reporter: the road was a short one. only july 3rd when the dow hit 17,000. in between, we had a doozy of a drop from mid september to mid october. but the bounceback since then has been very broad based. the biggest percentage gainers have been home depot, united health care, visa, nike and intel. that's a broad group. retailers, health care, financials and technology. it wasn't all a walk in the park though. several dow components have really struggled in the second half of the year. for example, oil stocks fell

apart chevron and exxon still down 17% and 9% respectively since july. slower global growth concerns weighed on caterpillar and ibm terrible all year with the decline of the hardware business and intense competition in services and software. mcdonald's has struggled to reduce the size of its menu and verizon and at&t held by price worries and high rates. how about dow, 19,000? look at the laggards i mentioned, particularly the oil stocks. for "nightly business report," i'm paul pasani at the new york stock exchange. >> more on the 5%, fastest annual growth rate since 2003. hampton pearson with a look now at what's behind the gdp number and whether that level of growth is sustainable into 2015. >> reporter: what a year for the economy. from the winter deep freeze that produced negative growth in the

first quarter, fast forward to today's surprise announcement from the commerce department. 5% gdp growth in the third quarter. wall street cheered the news pushing the dow above 18,000 with traders looking to take advantage of the momentum. >> good number's a good number. 5%, they'll run all the way as far as they can with this number. >> reporter: much of the latest increase came from business spending more on new buildings and software and consumers spending more on health care. falling gasoline prices. they've dropped for 88 straight days now according to aaa, are also putting more money in consumer's pockets. when you add in the best year for job growth in more than a decade, leading economists say the u.s. economy is now a worldwide engine of growth. >> when you look at the u.s. economy, it's grown at 3.5 to 5% in four of the last five quarters. i think we have turned a corner as far as growth is concerned. >> reporter: two other government reports are more

cautionary. new home sales fell in november and factory for durable goods fell last month but leading economists expect the turnaround to continue. >> i think we're looking at a continuing healthy expansion. we're the only advanced economy in the world that can say that. >> reporter: looking in the rearviewmirror, it now looks like we've got the strongest economy in more than a decade. but we'll close the books on 2014 with overall growth well below 3%. for "nightly business report," i'm hampton pearson in washington. >> let's turn now to our experts for their analysis on today's market action. hugh johnson is chief money expert. hugh johnson advisors and jo johnkildup. let's begin with you, hugh. 18,000 on the dow jones industrial average. nice big round number. how important is it?

>> first of all, it's great news. it's the definition of santa claus rally. but i think what it really does is you probably know we all feel it is that it lifts everybody's spirits. i think that's number one. it's a good thing, psychologically. i think quite frankly, you know, what's more important than psychology of it all is really the fundamentals that drove us here, that got us to 18,000 and you need to look no further. we mentioned the strong economy in the third quarter but really since 2009, strong earnings and a decline in interest rates. you can't beat that combination for stock prices. so it shouldn't be any surprise looking through the rearview mirror why we got here and there's no reason to believe we're not going to go further. so really good news and certainly uplifting. >> hugh, i know you were aware of the comments made earlier today by the successful hedge fund manager dave teper. he thinks the market may be a little high, may be a little

overbought. what do you think? are you at all worried that we're getting into a danger area? >> yeah, tyler. we've got a volatile market. you've got to worry a little bit about valuatiatiovaluation. i think we're about 3% overvalued. what we've seen when we've become overvalued over the course of the last two or three months is some pretty sharp corrections. that october, november, and early december. i wouldn't be surprised to find a correction. it would get to levels that made more sense. >> let's talk about oil prices, john. when you fill up your tank, it feels good to pay half what you did a few months ago. but are we entering a danger zone with oil prices coming this low? >> not in my view, no. i think it's unambiguously good for the economy. two-thirds of it at least is consumer driven. a part of the gdp number today was consumer, some was health care but 5% is 5% and consumer

confidence is going through the ro because of what you see at the gas pump. and no, i think the financial worries about some of the companies and some of their high yield debt does not add up to a big enough problem for the financial system or the economy at large. >> where do you think oil ultimately goes? and there is a seasonal quality to oil prices. they come down in the winter and rise in the spring. is that what you expect to happen next year and how low could we go? >> it's em blematic of the business cycle. it's the commodity itself. i do. i think the greatest downward pressure is this spring when our refineries shut down for a while to retool to maximize gasoline production for the upcoming summer driving season. you'll see crude oil inventories swell. it will be remarkable. if that's the point where the prices really fall on itself because of the weight of those supplies and we'll hit the low point, i believe then for the

year. it could go as low into the 40s. at least late in the first quarter or early in the second quarter. >> late first quarter, late second quarter. >> it's the refineries in their maintenance mode at the highest. >> and the low price will be, we're in mid 50s now could be? >> easily in the 40s. i think the chart is begging the market to go back to the 2009 level of $35. >> okay, but hugh you think actually in the next 12 months oil prices could be back in the 80s. if that's the case, first, make your case but if that is the case, what's that mean for the stocks going forward? you said more numbers, bigger numbers is sustainable in the new year. >> yeah, i think a price of $85 to $95 reflects global supply and demand conditions. i crunch those numbers pretty carefully. what i think is the decline we've seen in oil prices, susie, is just as excessive as the rise we saw to $140 to $150 we saw a

barrel in 2008. it's overdone time, i can't be exactly right on the timing, it's too difficult but i think the price will work back up to $85 to $90 and that will be really positive for the oil stocks. especially the equipment and services company and the smaller oil producers. hang on. in 2015, this might be really good for energy. >> all right, fasten your seat belt. one way or another, could be interesting which side of the trade you are. hugh johnson, thank you so much with hugh johnson advisors. john kildup here. mohammed arian, chief executive. you've heard, john, hugh johnson there. hugh thinks the oil price could be as high as $80 a year from now and john thinks it could go low as 30. question for you. what's the right price for oil in today's market, number one, and what's the logical rate of

growth for the u.s. economy? is 5% sustainable? >> first of all, it's amazing to have people so different. i think the oil paradigm changed in a fundamental way. saudi arabia is no longer willing to be a swing producer. they don't want to lose market share. i don't see us getting back to $90 anytime soon. that is good overall for the u.s. economy. it will reinforce consumer spending. so that's good news. today's number tells me the stand alone basis is gaining momentum and if it continues to do that, you could unleash a lot of cash that's used defensively by companies. the one thing too, tyler, i keep my eye on is what's happening in the west of the world. and this divergence between the u.s. and the rest of the world is going to be the major issue for markets in 2015. >> and it's going to be a major issue, mohammed, for federal reserve policy makers because you look around the world, it's

pretty gloomy but here in the u.s., things are picking up. so what do you think is going to happen in terms of interest rates? is that going to be -- are they going to start going up or policy makers just patient? >> so i think the federal reserve will welcome to this number because a very broad based and high economic growth is what allows them to normalize policies while minimizing the risk of either a policy mistake or market accident. they would like this number. i think it would reinforce the view that they will start hiking the middle of next year and they'll do it very gradually and they'll stop below the average of 4%. the interesting thing, susie, as you say, we'll be taking a foot off the stimulus accelerator while europe and japan are pressing it harder and harder. that means we'll see a lot more extreme volatility. >> mohammed, can you recall a time when the world economy, as the u.s. and the rest of the

world, were quite so asynchronous? and what does it imply for 2015? the markets and the overall economic well being? >> so there's been times where we've had this divergence. the big difference this time around is that the policy response is very partial. the central banks are the only game in town which means that the only thing that can adjust is the monetary policy is the exchange weight. our history, tyler, here is that big moves in currencies tend to break things. that's one thing to keep an eye on. in terms of what it is, it's a 50/50. whether the rest of the world pulls us up or down. we need to be very vigilant on the data. so far, i am very impressed by how broad-based this u.s. recovery is. >> so, mohammed, can you give us this outlook for what you think is happening in the stock market

for stocks and bonds in 2015? >> so i think when you look at the market, it's going to be very name-specific. investors look at the fallen angels that have been hit. we talk about the oil, the energy sector, certain merger markets. there's a value there that's selected, but value there. the market as a whole valuation wise is high up. it's a name-specific market. i think that's important. somee fallen angels offer value. in terms of biggest risk to watch is the currency market. the extent that currency volatility can go to other sectors. >> mohammed, we'll see you after the new year. thank you. coming up next, sony said it will show the movie "the interview" in some theaters. the reaction of what happened when we co

sony, it seems, is calling north korea's bluff saying it's standing up for freedom of speech. the defiant studio now said it will release its controversial spoof, the interview, despite hacker threats against sony and any theaters showing the film. where can you see it and is sony planning an even bigger rollout? our julia boorstin has more now. >> look at this. >> reporter: a bigabout face for sony. releasing thein theaters the interview. >> the haters going to hate. >> that's not an actual thing people say. >> reporter: a reversal after cancelling the christmas day release when terror threats

prompted the nation's five largest theater chains to pull from the screen. ceo michael lynton said we've never given up on releasing the interview and excited to be in theaters on christmas day. at the same time, we continue our efforts to secure more platforms and more theaters so that this movie reaches the largest possible audience. the decision seems to be in response to president obama saying it was, quote, a mistake for sony to cancel the film's theatrical release and the wake of movie goers and independents. ama draft house is selling tickets at its location. the web site briefly down earlier presumably because of a surge of traffic. the 80% of u.s. theaters owned by the top five chains have not made announcements about reversing their plans for thursday. in the meantime, the film's costars turning to social media to show their support. seth rogan who stars in and directed the film said, the

people have spoken. freedom has prevailed. the interview will be shown in theaters willing to play it on christmas day. james franco writing victory. the people and the president have spoken. releasing the interview in theaters. >> let's do it. yeah. >> reporter: now the big question, sony's digital distribution plans for the film. for "nightly business report," i'm julia boorstin. this afternoon, the white house responded to the news saying, quote, the president applauds sony's decision. turning now to our stock stories. colts could be cutting jobs. that's where we begin our market focus. according to reports, the dow component plans to slash as many as 2,000 positions globally. it's part of a $3 billion cost-cutting plan after a profit warning. shares rose up 1.5% to 42.97.

the stock fell even more today after stern ag cut its price target to $14 down from $23. the move follows news we told you about yesterday that the mortgage servicing firm reached a settlement with new york state in which ceo resigned after a lengthy probe of the company's treatment of homeowners. shares tumbled to $15 in change. it was down 73% last year. quarterly earnings at walgreens surged 16% thanks to a record number of prescriptions filled. the drugstore chain's revenue in higher estimates and same store sales up as well. shares rose 3% to $76.51. current careen mountain out with a big recall today. the company is recalling almost 7 million single serving coffee brewing machines because of reported burns. the mini plus can overheat and spray hot water. 90 people reported burn-related injuries. shares fell 7.33 to 136.55.

shares of avis after a stake in the car rental company. glenn view took a position as hertz, big competitor, announced to raise rental car prices starting january 1st. shares of avis popped to 44.48 and hertz up to 24.47. barnes and noble bought back full ownership of the nook ereader from pierson education in a deal worth $27 million. this as planning to split the nook unit into a separate company. shares were off a few cents at barnes and noble at 23.08. the clock is ticking. just one more shopping day before christmas and a lot of last-minute shoppers hit the malls and spending big money today. so why the delay? and what are people buying right now? kate rogers has more. >> reporter: it's the final countdown to christmas and shoppers are out getting it done the old-school way.

actually heading to malls and big box retailers to cross remaining items off the list. data from the international council of shopping centers from the weekending december 20th, just more than 3% year over year at malls alone. indicating a strong home stretch for the season. this is because single holidays with promises of door-buster deals like black friday have less significance for shoppers as super saturday continues to grow. in fact, shopper tracks projected the saturday before christmas to surpass black friday this year for the first time in a decade. with ten billion dollars in sales. >> when we look at the big day of the year, it's super saturday. this last saturday. shoppers were out in force across all formats of retailing. >> reporter: last minute shoppers were out in full force today taking advantage of extended store hours at malls

and individual stores like kohl's. some retailers like macy's are even offering after christmas deals before christmas is even here. >> in store, you get better deals than online and in store now, don't worry about shipping. >> for the fedora for my grandsons, they love the michael jackson wii. so now we bought them the shirt and the fedora hat so they can. >> reporter: stock market and gas prices that continue to fall, analysts say consumers are more likely to spend this holiday season. in fact, neilton found 40% of americans say they've got extra cash to burn thanks to the falling gas prices and that once they pay their bills, plthey pl to spend that on holiday gifts. i'm kate rogers in jersey city, new jersey. some dubbing in the famous artists and tech firms, going for $20,000.

you'll meet him next. you may not know zo ziegler just yet but he's one of the tech world's favorite new artists including facebook leadership ton moore. spoke with the 26-year-old si sigglar in the burgeoning art bei formed. >> from his studio in mill valley, california, zio ziegler

creates 1,000 paintings and sketches a year which can cost up to $20,000 a piece. but it's outside the studio where ziegler has attracted the most attention. more than 40 of his murals now decorate the walls of the bay area. these are big, bold images often with black and white figures with the distinctive tribal feel. it's perhaps ziegler's biggest fans, painted for facebook, google and lift among others. ziegler describes tech companies as the new patrons of the arts. >> a lot of the companies whether we like it or not have the capacity to be the next patrons of arts to facilitate whether it's private museums, whether it be large scale public projects. they can -- someone has to finance these things and i think there's a -- they're trying to give back in any way they can now. >> reporter: the respect is mutual.

john zimmer, lift's cofounder, thinks ziegler is an unparalleled artist. ziegler inherited the entrepreneurship, his parents, the founder of banana republic and like his mom and dad, ziegler is enjoying commercial success. next year, a line for vance with his own unique designs. predicts san francisco will be the capital of the art world in the next ten years. if that's true, he could be one of the most celebrated home grown talents. for "nightly business report," i'm josh lipton in silicon valley. finally tonight, news about me. inth starting in january, i'll step away from anchor chair at nbr but a contributor. i'll come on the show periodically to talk about the business and financial news that matters most to you. at the same time, i'll join one of america's preeminent business

publications, fortune magazine, to spearhead a major initiative tied to the fortune 500. now, in the 16 years since i joined "nightly business report," i have always felt a deep responsibility to all of you to report, analyze and make sense of business and financial developments so that you can make informed decisions about your money. i am very proud of what we've done here at nbr and it's been a privilege to be invited into your homes every night. so i thank you for your trust and support and i look forward to staying connected with you and tyler, i'm certainly going to be connected with you. it's been wonderful working with you. >> and thank goodness you will be. it's been fun. i hope the viewers know how much fun we've had here. you're a pro, i'll love and miss you. i'll be joined by sue herera, a friend to nbr beginning january 2. we have not seen the last of you, not by a long shot. i look forward to seeing you early and often in 2015. >> i think so. the show is in great hands with

you and sue. >> thank you for bringing me into the program a couple of years ago. >> thank you so much. and that's it for "nightly business report" for tonight. i'm susie gharib. >> it said right there, i'm tyler mathisen. you didn't miss a beat. >> i learned that in my time year. >> we'll see you. "nightly business report" has been funded in part by -- thestreet.com and action alerts plus where jim cramer and fellow portfolio manager stephanie link share their investment strategies, stock picks and market insights. you can learn more at thestreet.com/nbr.

newsis is bbc world america. >> funding of the presentation is made but -- made possible by the freeman foundation. the newman's own foundation, giving all profits to charity and pursuing the common good. kovler foundation. mufg. a solid foundation and you can connect communities for centuries. that is the strength he had good banking relationships. --