after seeing better than expected earnings today from big companies like u.p.s., caterpillar, at&t, and 3m. >> tom: susie, it was a dramatic u-turn from yesterday's sell- off. the dow gained 201 points, the nasdaq added 58.5, and the s&p 500 was up 24 points. volume cut both ways, with big board volume slipping a bit, while the pace of trading picked up on the nasdaq. >> susie: after the closing bell, microsoft and american express reported quarterly results higher than estimates, but amazon's numbers fell way below expectations. but stock analyst scott wren of wells fargo advisors says economic data, not earnings, are what investors need to watch from here on. >> earnings have certainly been a bright spot and i think they have helped, but is that really going to carry us significantly higher? i don't think so because there are still plenty of issues out there-- traders are uncertain as far as how slow the economy is going to recover in the second half of the year. >> susie: investors even found a silver lining in today's gloomy report on existing home sales. even though june sales were of

caterpillar was up almost 2% after reporting strong sales of equipment for a wide range of industries. 3m, also considered a bellwether because of its broad base of products jumped more than 3% after delivering an upbeat future forecast and a jump in net income. good numbers from big names after the bell. as well, microsoft already up 3% in regular trade reported a rise in quarterly profit after hours. also late, american express beat street expectations, tripling its second quarter profit, helping amex bring its business back to pre-recession levels. >>> one big after-hours loser, amazon.com's earnings fell way short of wall street's estimates, sending its shares plummeting. >>> elsewhere, general motors getting back into the credit business, agreeing to buy subprime auto lender americredit for $3.5 billion. reports say later today kenneth feinberg, the obama administration's executive compensation czar, will name 17 financial companies that doled out excessive bonuses to the tune of $1.6 billion after accepting billions of dollars of taxpayer aid. >>> consumers union charges over the pa

and a busy day, including 3m, at&t, catepillar, microsoft, and u.p.s., to name a few. and will this charging station be a way to fill up in the future? it is one way the government is urging consumers to buy electric cars. we'll explain. >> suzanne: conrad black is now a free man. he walked out of a florida prison, released a day after the judge set bond at $2 million. $are, however, some restrictions: he can't leave the u.s., and must return to chicago for a bail hearing on friday. in 2007, black and three other former executives of hollinger international were convicted of defrauding shareholders of $6 million. he has been behind bars for two years while he appeals that conviction. >> tom: a lawsuit against capitol one is charging forward. a lower court dismissed the case, but today an appeals court reinstated it, saying that capital one could not prove it made the required rate hikes to that consumer. neither side has commented about today's decision. >> suzanne: long-term employment is a growing problem. especially for older workers, for people looking for a job, 5

as did 3m, caterpillar, at&t, american express, microsoft, all dow components, by the way. meanwhile, federal reserve chairman ben bernanke spooked the marks with the semiannual testimony before the senate banking committee. bernanke said we are seeing, quote, an unusually uncertain economy. he did say though, that he did expect a moderate economy. about bernanke said the federal reserve was prepared to take steps, any steps needed, if the economy did take another leg down. he did not say what those steps would be. chairman bernanke may be concerned about an unusually uncertain economic outlook, but nigh next guest says he feels like the last optimist standing. he isser is me segal, professor of finance at the wharton school and uthor of "stocks for the long run." always great to have you on the program. welcome back. >> thank you very much, maria. >> so the markets have been so mixed these last few weeks, but you think it's a great time for investors. what makes youo so optimistic? >> they're allowed shrm uncertainties, but i look at valuation. i look at earnings and i loo

investors cheered positive results from 3m and caterpillar and at&t. asian markets were higher overnight. europe mostly positive right now and there's no economic data out tonight but traders will be keeping an eye on europe because the result of the banks' stress tests come out at noon. similar to here, but in europe. more earnings this morning from mcdonald's and verizon and ford. the earnings parade mar. on and hopefully they're good and push us up further. the dow jumped 201 points on thursday. and the nasdaq was up 58 points to 2245. >>> well, the department of education is proposing new rules today that would cut off federal aid for -- cut off federal aid to for-profit colleges if too many of their students default on loans or don't earn enough after graduation to repay them. to qualify for student aid, colleges will have to prepare students for, quote, gainful employment. republican lawmakers said the rules will make college less accessible. back to you. >> thanks a lot. >>> if wedding bells are in the future for you, a simple change to your pla

at&t, 3m and caterpillar. already all reporting earnings beating wall street expectation. that's just the start of it. the dow fell 109 points wednesday to start at 10,120. the nasdaq off 25 to 2187. well yoourks going to want to brace yourself for more lousy news on the housing market. we'll get numbers on existing home sales. sales are forecast to drop for the second straight month as the effect of the government's tax credit begins to fade. buyers are also kind of staying on the sidelines as foreclosures are swelling the numbers of unsold homes on the market keeping pressure on prices. back to you. >> not good news exactly there. thanks a lot, courtney. >>> the next three months are going to be critical in stopping the whooping cough epidemnick california. july, august and september are typically peak months for that virus. six infants have died from whooping cough in california already this year. 1500 cases have been reported this year, which is five times more than last year. as nbc bay area's tom sinkovitz shows us. >> reporter: ten-month-old caden and 2- 1/2-year-ol

caterpillar, 3m, u.p.s. and a.t&t all did better than expected. that helped push the dow jones industrial average up by 201 points to close at 10,322. the nasdaq rose 58 points to close near 2246. those broad-based gains more than made up for losses on wednesday. the stock market's surge came as other parts of the economy were headed in the opposite direction. the economy's leading indicators fell in june, the second decline in three months. at the same time, sales of existing homes slid more than 5%. and the inventory of vacant homes was the largest in a year. on the jobs front, new claims for unemployment insurance were well above expectations last week. with that in mind, the house of representatives today gave final approval to extending benefits for the long-term unemployed through the end of the year at a cost of $34 billion. house speaker nancy pelosi said it shouldn't have taken so long. >> imagine that today we're finally taking up unemployment insurance. republicans in the senate have stood in the way of so many initiatives including une

i called it the 3m cycle. pobilization, media, and the money. mobilization, take action. call for rallies, pull together a conference. do fsomething that shows people you are serious. number two, media. call your note but local newspaper. many times, our generation does not take pictures -- your generation is a bit better, but document what your doing and take that to people who have money. if you do that, you will haae bigger mobilization, which means more media, which means more money. if you keep that cycle going -- usually, if things are not going well, one of those is not happening. those are the three basic things. if you get them right, you will have a good chance. [applause] >> my name is louis. my question is a bit more personal. he spoke about a season of hope and despair. i have had difficulty maintaining my difficultylevemy. what do you do if you are faced with a hard day, or a month, and even though you have all of these objectives, how you maintain hope in the face of despair? >> everyyne has their own trucks. i get a lot from history. whenever i feel like i

i called it the 3m cycle. pobilization, media, and the money. mobilization, take action. call for rallies, pull together a conference. do fsomething that shows people you are serious. number two, media. call your note but local newspaper. many times, our generation does not take pictures -- your generation is a bit better, but document what your doing and take that to people who have money. if you do that, you will haae bigger mobilization, which means more media, which means more money. if you keep that cycle going -- usually, if things are not going well, one of those is not happening. those are the three basic things. if you get them right, you will have a good chance. [applause] >> my name is louis. my question is a bit more personal. he spoke about a season of hope and despair. i have had difficulty maintaining my difficultylevemy. what do you do if you are faced with a hard day, or a month, and even though you have all of these objectives, how you maintain hope in the face of despair? >> everyyne has their own trucks. i get a lot from history. whenever i feel like i