report" with tyler mathisen and sue herera. stocks suffer another steep decline. is it the bond market that investors should really be paying close attention to? back to work. the new congress is sworn in and wall street has a list of issues it wants lawmakers to act on. good evening, everyone. i'm sue herera. volatility was the word of the day on wall street once again as the price of oil plunged.

started higher than what had the dow on track to the worst start of the new year since 2008. here's how things looked at the closing bell. dow fell 130 points after being more than 200. the nasdaq now on a five-day losing streak down another 60 points today. the s&p fell 18 points. barely holding above the 2,000 mark. in the bond market the yield on the benchmark ten year note fell to 1.88% before recovering a bit to close at 1.9%. oil prices fell again to the lowest level since april of 2009. u.s. crude was down more than $2 today closing at $47.93 a barrel and brent was also down 2 bucks closing at $51.10 a barrel. the recent drop in oil prices is a big reason behind the tumble in the dow transport index, down since the start of the year

after a strong 2014. morgan brennan has more on what's driving the transports lower and whether this is the start of a bigger turn. >> reporter: 2015 has been a rough ride for transports. it's a sharp contrast to 2014 when the index gained 23% or doubled the s&p. experts say there are two reasons for the change. the first, investors selling stock winners to defer capital gains taxes until next year. and the second oil's ongoing slide. what's slowing production could mean for the company most exposed to the energy sector. >> our overarching view is that economic growth continues to drive volume in 2015. we see a bit of a stabilization, ultimately good performance for the transports in general. it's probably going to be a little bit more consumer facing in markets that drives the story in 2015 as opposed to industrial markets which drove it in 2014. >> reporter: fuel one of the biggest costs for the companies, as oil prices plunged, transport

soared. better profits. cheaper oil enables consumers to spend more money on items other than gasoline that could benefit parcel carriers like fedex and trucking companies like swift tran. but lower oil also means a slowing production and that's a head wind for railroads moving crude and fracking supplies. with natural gas so cheap, operators carting coal could also come under pressure. csx and north southern. expect the entire transport group to eventually post another solid year. >> overall, we think transportation is tight from a capacity perspective and you're going to get pricing increases. that's going to be bourn to some extent by the shipper or consumer in some cases but i do that can drive earnings power in 2015. >> reporter: a all come down to earnings. and those kick off next week when csx reports on tuesday. for "nightly business report," i'm morgan brennan. you may know him as the king

of the bond market. more like the king of pain. debbie downer. bolted from pim koe last year to join janice capital. warning investors in a monthly outlook that the good times are over end quote, be cautious and content with low positive returns in 2015. the time he says for risk has passed. >> chris wolf joins us with his analysis of the financial markets. chief investment officer of meryl lynch banking. thank you so much for joining us tonight. we should start with mr. gross' comments. are the good times over at this point and what do you think he was worried about? >> well i'll start with a bit of a history lesson. i seem to recall some time ago, 5,000. those making predictions might have to suffer the consequences of time. in all seriousness, i think what he's trying to get at is we've had several years of good market

returns, both stocks and bonds and anyone setting up expectations for the last five years when stock markets return 21% is misplaced. they are misguided. it's much more likely that returns a lot lower and you may have to be more selective and adjust your approach in higher valuations and good news built into it. i think the idea that all markets are bad, good times over the blanket statement, we just don't agree with it. >> let's move on to what the bond market seems to be saying these recent days. ten year yield down below 2% today. the japanese government bond very low yield. historically low there. what are bonds saying? >> i think they're seeing a couple of things. to mr. gross' point, lower growth in the near term say, the next couple of quarters or the rest of 2015 an important indicator from the bond market. i think the second thing they're seeing is that benefit when

global worries or uncertainties. there was a flight to safety. that's why the bond market did well. worries about europe. for example, around grease. elections upcoming and whether or not they stay year in the euro is in the markets for some time. there are worries about the consequences of low oil prices. it's not just good for some of the transportation companies but may not be so good for kpaebs like venezuela, iran algeria, nigeria. there's consequences to low oil prices for a long period of time. the third piece, what happens when you have low oil prices lower growth than expected? companies start to revise down their estimates for growth and that means lower projections and ultimately lower earnings growth. i think that combination of things has been affecting the stock market and if you think there's a flight to safety you go buy bonds which is what i think happened today. >> overall though are you still bullish on the u.s. stock market? how much more do you think this bull market has in it and do you like other areas around the world, perhaps a little bit better than the u.s.?

>> well right now, i think we would favor u.s. assets because i think we have an environment where we still have very good profit markets, cash flows in the united states relative to other parts of the world and we're exiting stimulus. the idea of offering less help signals that companies can stand a bit more on their oeb. the tough part everybody knows this already. you have to be selective in u.s. markets and our view is that the bull market has more to run but not at the same pace. probably more around single digit returns than double digit. that said with a longer term viewpoint, three or five years, a lot of the values outside of the united states. europe for example, despite all its troubles, 2030, in some cases 50% discou markets, say, in the united states. japan, not so much discounts but same story. you have value outside of the u.s. i think this story is about time horizon. if you really are thinking about the next one year or so u.s. still looks pretty good. the dividends, the cash flow stories, compelling in our view. the longer viewpoint, the value is outside of the u.s.

>> chris, thank you so much. chris willis with bank of america, merril lynch. republicans assumed full control for the first time in eight years with comfortable majorities now in both houses. john boehner was reelected to a third term as speaker of the house after a tense vote and opposition from within his party, notably from the tea party. only received 216 votes. so what does wall street want from this new congress? kayla tausche takes a look. >> reporter: there are a lot of changes ahead in washington with the 114th congress being sworn in. wall street is bracing for many of those changes to have a near term impact and here's what it's watching. first, the renewal of the terrorism risk insurance act died in the senate last month due to a seemingly wall street friendly rider that exempted parts of dodd frank. republicans say that this legislation is still a must-do,

though likely will make it through with something wall street pushes for, the white house doesn't like. it doesn't mean rolling back dodd frank all together. banks know it's the law of the land. certain parts could see changes like the consumer financial protection bureau could see a push for a governing structure to regulate other regulatory bodies. finally, the senate is expected to take up a bipartisan bill to allow chapt 11 bankruptcy. seemingly makes taxpayer bailouts less and less likely as we get away from the financial crisis. outside of legislation, there's high profile moves that could have an impact on the banking sector. first, the controversial appointment of banker antoneio weisz. garnered an unsurprising and sop say unfair amount of krichlt. also the nomination of loretta lynch of new york's eastern district to helm the justice department. the d.o.j. actively pursuing

wall street activities. two nominees to the federal reserve. one we know a former ceo of the bank of hawaii and community banking experience the other we're waiting on but could hav a large impact on the markets. so a lot of the same debates from years past and congress's past but many new voices including a new chair at the senate banking committee that could potentially change some of these outcomes. for "nightly business report," i'm kayla tausche. another matter on the minds of lawmakers today, legislation to resume construction on a controversial keystone xl pipeline. that would bring crude from the oil sands of canada all the way to refineries along the gulf coast. republican senator john hoevin of north dakota who introduced the bill to approve the pipe laip today is critical of president obama's inaction on the project. >> this project has been delayed for more than six years by the president. the strike that psychiatry is defeat through endless delays.

this will move energy more safely cost effective. it will take congestion off the rail. >> but white house spokesman josh erinest was clear about what the president intends to do about that bill. >> this legislation is not all together different than introduced in the last congress and you'll recall that we put out a statement of administration position indicating that the president would have vetoed had that passed the previous congress and if this bill passes this congress the president wouldn't sign it either. >> construction of the pipeline is held up by environmental concerns and a lawsuit in nebraska about which state agency oversees decisions about that project. with the white house already throwing down the gauntlet regarding the keystone pipeline it is looking to be a contentious start to the new year in the nation's capital. anyone surprised? john harwood i'm sure is not. he joins us now from washington. keystone has fairly broad support, some of it welcome back

the within the president's own party. would it be tactical or on principle? >> reporter: it would be tactical. the president's point would be don't rush the process. you know obviously it's been delayed over a long period of time. still have a court decision awaiting from nebraska on routing, you still have a recommendation coming from john kerry, the secretary of state. the president has not indicated that he is against the pipeline but he doesn't care that much about it one way or the other and since republicans want it so badly, he's trying to put it off and invite them to bargain with him on things they might do for him on energy. >> do the record lows in oil prices help the administration in their case? it seems it might. >> reporter: no question about it sue. in fact there's some question whether the pipeline would be finished under current circumstances because how low the prices are and expensive that makes the tar sands oil. i think there is enough momentum behind the project that it's not

going to simply die, but i think that strengthens the president's hand. >> talk us to a little bit about today's speakership vote in which mr. boehner had many more defections en than the last time. >> reporter: he could afford to lose 28 republicans and still get a majority of the house. he lost 25. now, the entire house didn't show up so there might have been a few more votes for him had everybody come to vote. there are only just over 400 votes out of 435 members, but this was an indication there's deep dissatisfaction with some portions of the right. nevertheless i think the outcome was pretty much always accepted by members within the house, but this was a protest and not likely something to shake john boehner out of his job. the fact john boehner has more votes to lose in a fight like this because his majority is up to 246 members means he may have more flexibility in staring down the tea party on tough compromises with democrats.

>> it's going to be an interesting couple of years in washington. we're happy to have you watching it for us. john harwood, thank you. the right to expand a small business. google is one of the biggest and most valuable companies in the world but it's disappointed a lot of investors over the past year. today, shares of the search giant fell nearly 2.5% after falling nearly 9% in 2014. so why is such a successful company not feeling the love of investors? josh lipton takes a look. >> reporter: for google bulls,

2015 could not come soon enough. last year wasn't pretty for fans of the search giant. stock underperformed all the major u.s. averages. a big concern for investors? that advertising dollars rewere moving away from google and to a search network. last reported earnings in october. paid clicks a key measure of how often users click on a search ad increased to 17%. that missed wall street's expectations and represented a sharp slowdown from the prior quarter. but google analysts say concern among investors is misplaced. they argue that google is just throwing off a much larger base than facebook which explains the difference in growth rates between the two internet rivals. >> we don't see any clear evidence to take away from google. they take from a larger ad pie

from offline and with a major new bucket coming online which we think is tv ad dollars. >> reporter: ad business another real concern among investors, the amount of money google spends to move into new markets. analysts at jahny think google spending on capital expenditures could jump 50% to $11 billion in current fiscal year. the question is whether that spending spree on everything from wearables to connected cars would ultimately take off for titan. >> those are all large opportunities. if they get two or three of those, that could sustain growth rates for much longer than the market realizes. >> reporter: finally, one year doesn't necessarily make a trend. while google did stuff for a tough 2014 the stock has been a long-term winner. since its ipo in august 2004 google up more than %. i'm josh lipton in silicon valley.

takeover buzz sent shares of aol and verizon higher tonight. that's where we begin the market focus. verizon exploring potential with aol to expand online video offerings. verizon squashed the rumor saying it's not planning any major acquisitions. closed higher verizon rose 1%. a done deal for coach and stewart wheitzman. the privately held shoe company for half a billion dollars, an effort by coach to expand high end offerings and compete with fast growing rivals like michael kors. fell to $36.30. walgreens reaping the benefits of a bad flu season. the drugstore operator with a better than expected jump in september thanks to higher sales of flu meds and flu shots. prescription sales also rose. shares were a fraction higher to

$74.69. steelers latest oil prices with bad news. it will idle plants in ohio and texas and lay off more than 700 workers. the company is one of the first biggest industrial casualties of the recent collapse in global oil prices. used for oil and gas exploration. the shares of the company down 3% to $24.58. good year for boeing. record annual commercial jet deliveryings news comes as the aerospace company gears up for another increase in production. still, shares were off on this down day by 1% to $127.53. rosy outlook sent shares of jcpenney way up after the bell. retailers said comparable store sales come in at the upper end of estimates. stocks spiked after the bell, before it the shares were up to 2% to $6.56. you know, a lot of would-be entrepreneurs find 2015 is a

great time to start a small business. what are the trends for entrepreneurs? right now, kate rogers has the story. >> reporter: 2015 is the year to expand for nigel. start td his company go locker in november allowing consumers to have two brooklyn convenience stores rather than waiting out deliveries at their homes or departments. >> we look at outer burros and more people shop online and get advantage of the free deliveries most internet companies are offering they need a place to have delivered to. >> reporter: thomas is renting space right now but hopes to get a apartment location this year and cash in on tax incentives. >> once we get location we'll be installing some solar panels on the roof so that we could take advantage of that. >> reporter: thomas might be on to something, analysts say, as

several trends on main street's favor in the new year. low fuel costs are a positive for entrepreneurs so far in 2015. crude oil hit a 5.5 year low today and energy costs are a top three concern for small businesses according to the national federation of independent business. analysts say this can have a positive topdown effect for new companies. easy access to capital is another plus. business owners can choose between alternative financing options from lenders like on-deck and lending club and traditional loans like those from a small business administration, which is offering zero fees on loans less than $150,000 in 2015. the outlook among small business appears sunnier in the new year. the optimism index hit a seven year high in december. while tun employment rate held steady last month at 5.8% meaning that fewer people have to become entrepreneurs out of necessity, more might choose to take advantage of a recovering economy like thomas. >> i am optimistic about 2015.

>> reporter: for "nightly business report," i'm kate rogers. >> why it may be a good time to start or expand your small business, head to nbr.com. the electronics consumer show make a big push to connect just about everything you own to the internet. >> the latest smartphones, wearable devices, ultrahigh definition tvs and gadgets on display at the consumer electronics show in las vegas. open its doors today. julia boorstin was there and shows us what must-have items tech companies are putting out

this year. >> the las vegas convention center is full of the latest televisions. they're getting bigger and thinner, along with sleeker and more affordable smartphones. >> take back tvz. >> reporter: a new way to watch tv on directv. sling tv a $20 monthly subscription to channel channels like espn and cnn. raising questions whether it inspires consumers to cut the cord. big names to showcase the latest ganlts. ryan seacrest promoting the new typo key boards for iphones and ipads he developed to meet own needs. >> which is sleek and it's smooth and it literally is my office. this is how i work every sing l -- everything i reply is coming from one of our key boards. >> reporter: more than ever it's about connecting everyday household tools and devices to internet to make them smart. everything from the g.e. smart living room to l.j. smart

kitchen and app on any device. >> you see a lot of sbejts in the home and homes not necessarily brand new. these are places that have been around and you can install a layer, so you don't have to buy new products and start from scratch. >> reporter: connected cars and autonomous vehicles big at ces. audi and ford showcasing the latest technology. helping consumers stay connected wherever they are, whatever they're doing. for "nightly business report," i'm julia boorstin in las vegas. >> also with the consumer electronics show mercedes benz unveiled new concept car. the f 015. all electron autonomous drive vehicle with inside door panels web connected touch screens and the head of mercedes benz cars say the future of driving is near. >> this is a prototype which works. it's working and this will be in

the showroom next decade. >> so philip lebeau took this high-tech car out for a ride. >> reporter: mercedes calls it hux luxury in motion. the f015 unlike any car you've seen. mercedes believes in the future your car is not just to go from point a to point b but a chance to turn around and talk with others in the car in a way we haven't done in the past. >> what are you shooting for? >> well our luxury automobile is really fundamentally changing. >> reporter: this is an trooifing car with windows with a special pattern to add privacy. >> it feels open. that was the whole idea here. another way to think about the luxury and luxury is space, comfort. >> reporter: it has touch screen doors so each person in the car can surf the web, e-mail others or look at what's around their car thanks to cameras offering

360 degree views. >> in this case you can imagine i'm seeing what another person another car is seeing. oh hey, i can talk to my friend and say, you've got to see this. and he can actually see it. >> reporter: and you can see what's around your f015 even when you're not with it. >> so makes it connected to your autonomous n mouse car all the time. you can see where your car is parked for example, or when your car is driving to pick you up you can see where the car right now is driving. >> reporter: so in essence, you can watch your car at all times. >> that's true yes. >> reporter: in the future mercedes is considering gesture controls and even more connectivity. some of it will likely come through with a touch screen table that pops up between seats. >> it's a lounge i'm taking with me as opposed to leaving behind. >> reporter: philip lebeau

"nightly business report," valley of fire nevada. >> did anyone notice that car was driving on the wrong side of the road? the other side of the double line. i'm not sure i trust them yet a lot of regulatory hurdles. >> it looks very cool though. i don't know how many backpacks and things like that get in there. that will do it for "nightly business report" for tonight. thank you so much joining us. i'm sue herera. >> and i'm tyler mathisen. have a great evening, everybody. see you back here

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