of alcoa. klaus, nice to see you and happy new area. >> hello, susie, hello, happy new area, susie. >> susie: thank you so much, well, looking at these quarterly numbers, what are they telling you about the outlook, what can we expect from alcoa in the new year? >> well, first of all, this quarter has been overshadowed by the restructuring actions that we've taken. and the restructuring aks that we've taken have basically two directions. one to increase our competitiveness in general. the second to adjust to the market environment that we have had in our industry. now if you want to look forward to what we see in 2012, we actually do see that there are some air of confidence coming back into the economy. particularly here in the u.s. we've seen a rebounce of consumer confidence since basically summer last year. we've seen the manufacturers procurement index clearly going up. so these are really good things. we do project a growth on a worldwide basis for aluminum 7% we do project. we do project

what do you think about alcoa? >> i'd be cautious actually. like the price, and you certainly want to buy when people are fearful, but i'd be patient with alcoa. we've seen that the energy stocks had a tough time today, we know that china is concerned about their growth and more leaning towards easing. so as things slow there i think we're seeing some of that evidence in alcoa. you still got a burst on the kmidity side, but i'd be a little cautious. >> tom: fair enough. in october you had a tree -- trio of stocks we want to update. those are up 5% and 1%, and you also liked technology, quality com up 8%. nice moves. >> they worked pretty well. yes, i would put new money to work in those names where i don't own them. i've always cautious after a stock has gone up a lot, but yes i would, and i own all those stocks. where i don't own them, i'd buy them. there were we go, and the disclosurees to boot. you can e-mail us your questions at nbr.com. our guest this evening: michael farr, author of "the arrogance cycle." here's what we're watching for t

and right after that earnings release, alcoa c.e.o. klaus kleinfeld will join us live to talk about the company's outlook and the state of the global economy. >> tom: for the third session in a row, u.s. stock averages made only small moves. but we are higher on the year so far. it was a holiday shortened trading week with the markets closed on monday. over the past four session, the dow industrials is up 1.2% thanks to that big rally on tuesday. much the same for the nasdaq. this week, the index is up 2.7% with three sessions of gains. and the s&p 500 closed out 2011 flat, but began 2012 with a first week gain of 1.6%. as for today's action, over all, the market had a slight negative bent to it. telecom services led the losers, down one and a half percent. consumer staples and utilities fell about a half percent each. leading telecom down was sprint nextel. shares fell only a nickel, but that's more than 2% with the stock just above $2 per share. the company has struggled to compete against a.t.&t. and verizon. it restructured its org

aluminum giant alcoa. they are reducing production. wiesel, and what does it mean for the economy? >> they are talking about bringing capacity down by about 12%. the reason why is that aluminum prices are under quite some pressure. last year, aluminum prices were down by about 18%. there are some concerns regarding global economic owth, and that is the reason why alcoa is dririving down the smelting capacity. there probably will also be some layoffs and maybe closings of some plants. it is not certain yet how many, but a pretty cautious tone from alcoa, and that puts pressure on that stock, losing 2%, making it one of the biggest losers in the dow jones industrial average. >> unemployment across the eurozone remains stubbornly high. the average rate forhe 17 countries using the euro is just over 10%. the overall jobless figure has increased by 600,000 of them to the previous year. spain has thehe highest unemployment rate in nearly 23%, and it is only slightly lowowern greece. austria, meanwhile, is the best place to be looking for a job. they are young, well-educated, and they can

bell weather company, alcoa. this is an alamenian company. it's key for understanding the global growth. a bright outlook means it's not such doom and gloom as we go ahead. that's helping to boost the markets here. in the asian region, big exporter moves to beijing t. will boost investor rights. in china we had the trade numbers out both imports and exports rising but slower rates than expected. financials moving higher in shanghai and hong kong on the hopes of a possible cut in the reserve ratio requirement at least in broad money, monetary policy after those trade numbers which does suggest that chinese growth does continue to slow. now the nikkei, take a look at that. it was closed yesterday. up by . .4%. we've also go the a couple of big moves to show you coming out of tokyo today. take a look at that. olympus up nearly 20%. that's after the nikkei newspaper reported it would remain listed on the tokyo stock exchange. they are a big mover. a stock we've talked about as with olympus as we've talked about all year, tepco. the government wil

. >>> strong earnings outlook from alcoa helped stocks climb on tuesday.nvestors hoped for a strong earning season and were lifted by alcoa's prediction of aluminum demand. china's copper imports helped drive the sector higher. cat pill ler rose 3%. banks also got a boost. on the downside, tiffany and co. plunged 10%. elsewhere, orange juice surged 10% on some news brazilian imports contain a harmful fungicide. meanwhile, a criminal watchdog agency in europe says the mafia has now become the largest lender. back here at home, it was a good year for the federal reserve thanks to its investments. the fed paid $77 billion to the government in 2011. the second highest amount ever. kodak is hoping pat tent suits against am l and hd corporation will help speed its turn around. several of the nation's biggest banks are reportedly under investigation about whether they overcharged customers on paying their home insurance. finally, the occupy wall street movement has left its mark on 2011 in more than one way. the american dialect society named occupiers its word o

. >>> alcoa starts off earnings. netflix flies. and construction chinese style.our early morning business headlines are straight ahead. >>> plus, she can't get a role and can't stay out of trouble, but suddenly she's been offered a part any actress would die for. >>> coming up, the alabama crimson tide are national champs. michael jordan got his number 23 from president obama? you're watching "early today." >>> good morning to you. welcome back to "early today." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of your top headlines this morning. u.s. drug agents have gone to mexico and helped launder millions of dollars for a powerful drug trafficker they were targeting. they conducted wire transferred to smuggle cash and cocaine out of the country. >>> a kosovo-born man is under arrest accused of plotting terror attacks around florida. the 25-year-old recorded a video shortly before his arrest calling the planned bombings pay back for wrong done to muslims. >>> searchers have found three men who went missing while exploring a cave system in west virginia. the men had inte

alcoa predicted a strong guard demand. >>darya: the department of transportation is recommending federal funding for bart. more than 9.5 million for the extension to san jose. >>mark: a water main break-- a water main break in the city of kensington. if here is the location of where this happened. jackie sissel is live on the scene with an update. >>jackie: a little bit of good news for the residents, the hype has been fixed. they are expecting to pressurize the line and have a full service within the hour. this is a video from earlier this morning. a 6 in. water main burst in this kensington neighborhood sending water cascading down through the neighborhood. about 270 residents were left without water and damaging at least five homes. we have gotten an update to save the 6 in. line has been fixed. right now they're in the process of attempting to pressurized. >>justine: here is what we are working on in the newsroom, an update on the power outage in san jose. we just got off the phone with pg&e. they say the number of peo

good word from aluminum maker alcoa. traditionally the first big company to report its earnings for the fourth quarter. over any quarter for that matter. they turned out to be better than expected. and alcoa is expecting stronger demand this year. this is not just good news for aluminum makers like alcoa but a host of other companies, and the large industrial companies, and mining companies out there. and that is certainly going to give the stock market a bit of a lift. now heading from large industrial giants, to much smaller companies, small business optimism rose in december for the fourth straight month. according to the national federation of independent business. and now sales continue to be a sore point. it remains fairly weak. 23% said that they saw weak sales in the fourth quarter. and they saw much stronger optimism for earnings potential and for sales going forward. over the next six months. and getting some help from consumers. the federal reserve is reporting that consumer borrowing in november was up $20.4

alcoa begins fourth quarter earnings season when it releases its results on monday. big bank stocks in the dow, j.p. morgan and bank of america, gained more than 5% and 4%, respectively. among the economic statistics helping fuel today's buying was an increase in construction spending. construction equipment maker caterpillar sees china's construction market growing this year. shares of cat jumped almost 4%. china is caterpillar's largest market. it sees the chinese market growing 10%. meantime, an analyst at j.p. morgan predicted the u.s. construction industry is "on the cusp of recovery." we mentioned the two multi- billion dollar international plays today for u.s. energy supplies. between those deals, tensions with iran, and the stronger economic data, oil closed back over the century mark. the u.s. benchmark oil price settled just below $103 per barrel. its highest close since mid- november. any move up from here would take oil back to prices seen last summer. 2011 was disastrous for research in motion. it saw the market share of its blackberry smart phone shrink

. >>> alcoa starts off earnings. netflix flies. and construction, chinese style. your first look at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. >>> coming up, the alabama crimson tide are national champs. did michael jordan get his number 23 from president obama? you're watching "first look" on msnbc. wake up! that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates. >>> welcome back to "first look." here are some of the top stories making news this morning. u.s. drug agents have been going undercover and helped launder millions of dollars for a powerful drug trafficker they were targeting. they worked with mexican and colombian a

a move over $10 per share would take alcoa to a two-month high. so far this year, alcoa is the second-best dow industrial stock, up more than 14%. second best only to bank of america. meantime, energy was the weakest sector today and chevron was the biggest drag on the dow-- slipped more than 2.5%. as we reported last night, chevron warned its fourth- quarter results will be substantially less than the third quarter. but it's been the big cool-off in natural gas prices that has put pressure on energy drillers and contractors. first, here's natural gas futures-- only last week they were above $3. a year ago, they were over $5, tonight at 2.75, prices have cratered with a warm winter so far, and record high nat gas supplies. an energy analyst with simmons and company thinks prices will go below $2 this year. they're at a 28-month low tonight. companies drilling for nat gas are dropping. helmerich payne down 4.5%. baker hughes and nabors down about 4% each. the price drop has also hit natural gas producers. w.p.x. energy, cabot and e.q.t. all dropped

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many are looking for a disappointing report from alcoa so... >>> an arrest has now been made, details of a break in the case, we will explain. >>> buried under 18 feet of snow, the alaskan town needs help to get out. >>> and we will tell you about the morning commute and bay area weather coming up, stay tuned. [ male announcer ] get ready for some deli-style delic-ious-ity: the subway big hot pastrami melt. dive into piled-high pastrami, spicy mustard, pickles and melt-a-licious cheese. treat your taste buds to a fresh toasted subway big hot pastrami melt. subway. eat fresh. . >>> dozens of army national guard troops are going into alaskan towns, cordova is buried under 18 feet of snow. it is a record for the town of just 2000 people. several buildings have collapsed under the weight of the know. >>> a company that makes dietary supplements is ban from selling in two counties. they contain a rare appetite sue present,hood why but the supplements do not contain any of it so the ads are misleading. they were joined by nine other counties including napa and santa clara. they have reached

quarter for alcoa. there are two reasons for that, supplies exceeding demand and the price going down after the closing bell. >>> now going back to the case of a violent death of away area daughter with a recent football player. >>> and japan, more on the disaster there. >>> we will tell you more about the morning commute and the bay area weather coming up straight ahead. . >>> a few high clouds, mid-60s for some, pushing upper 60s towards the santa clara valley. >>> a magnitude 6.6 earthquake in the south pacific overnight, it hit the island of santa cruz, so far we have not heard of any injuries and no tsunami warnings were issued. >>> assist relationship with japan -- in a sister relationship japan was hit by a monster tsunami earthquake and they are hoping to learn things in japan and how they responded to that disaster. >>> it is set today in the retrial of a man suspected of killing the daughter of fred. a jury convicted muhammed allie of strange willing a woman in a rehabilitation center. eight y

they kick off the day with alcoa. let's go to randy on what investors are going to be focusing on this week. no shortage of news expected. >> that's exactly right. the leaders of germany and france will be meeting this week. they'll be talking about how to save the euro over the next three months. the euro is at a 16-month low against the u.s. dollar. then on wednesday ms. merkel is going to be speaking with mario monti, the italian prime minister. that is in advance of italy's first bond auction of the year. that is set for friday. in its last bond auction of last year yields on its ten year debt sort above the crucial 7% mark. that level makes investors nervous because that has forced other countries in europe to seek bailouts. aside from those meetings we have loads of financial data this week too. from the u.s. and china in particular. on wall street alcoa unofficially kicks off earning season today. they're expected to report a loss of 2 cents a share. on friday jpmorgan chase is the first of big financials to re

. >> susie: as we reported earlier, investors were on alcoa watch today. a gain in the aluminum giant in anticipation of earnings helped put a small shine on the blue- chip average. let's take a look in tonight's "market focus." here at the n.y.s.e., the blue chips moved in a narrow range on an otherwise calm trading day. among the leading s&p sectors today? industrials, energy and financials, all rising less than 1%. apple stock was in the spotlight. the shares hit an all-time high of $427.75 before a late-session selloff resulted in a small loss. goldman sachs raised its price target for the tech giant to $550 a share on expectations of strong holiday sales. goldman predicts apple sold over 30 million iphones in december and says a line of more affordable ipads is on the horizon. also in the tech sector, but this time in the minus column, google. the search engine was among the worst performers in the s&p 500 today. google shares fell more than 4% to $622.46 after motorola mobility issued a profit warning, raising concerns about google's pending acquisit

. >>> traders are looking ahead to alcoa's results. the unofficial start to the corporate earning season. >>> gas prices are going up again and industry experts say that could be a sign of much higher -- higher prices this summer. right now a gallon of regular is 3.37. that's up 9 cents from last week. here in the bay area, prices rupp only 6 cents from last week but we are still paying nearly $3.70 a gallon. analysts say we should expect nearly a dollar more by summer. >>> a major announcement today in the automobile world concerning hun kay. the detroit -- hyundai. the detroit auto show named it the car the year, the alantra. the judges like the fuel mileage t gets 40 miles ha gallon on the highway. >>> if you are in to everything high tech r then las vegas is the place to be -- high tech, then las vegas is the place to be this week. the event kicks off tomorrow. it's the largest event of its kind 140,000 people are expected to attend. electronics companies will use the large crowds to unveil their new high-tech gammettes. solid stat

the guidance is important for alcoa, especially, not just for alcoa, but for companies in general. watching corporate earnings season very closely this time around. the economic data here in the u.s., it has been improving, but now investors really want to see if that's going to equate to better revenues for companies. we're also watching financial shares. they're up across the board right now. most big banks are up between 2% and 4%. suzanne? >> we like to hear that good news. thank you, alison. >>> you've been signing off on the "talk back" question. do the early primary states have tuch influence on the presidential race? lanni says, "these primaries are covered really well by the media and as a result show voters the strengths and weakness of the candidates." more of your responses just moments away. >>> all right. right now, all across new hampshire, people are hitting the polls. caught up with one woman in manchester who voted for newt gingrich. but it's something else that got her out of the house. >> i want obama out. so i'm voting -- i'm an independent, but i'm going to vo

after the bell, alcoa beating revenue expectations despite lower prices.rowing confidence is leading americans to take on more debt. november's consumer credit surged 10%. the biggest jump in a decade. google fell after motorola raising questions about google's acquisition of the company. netfl n . inhibitex soared and others working on hepatitis c treatments followed. achillion rose 22%. brocade up. june fer slipped in late trade after cutting fourth quarter outlook. >>> amazon.com will collect sales tax from indiana residents in 2014. what they call online retailers unfair price advantage. the "wall street journal" reports hosttess may apply for a chapter 11 bankruptcy. >>> a hotel was built in 360 hours and posted a video on youtube to prove it. >>> president obama makes a surprising claim regarding basketball legend michael jordan. >>> plus, more on the tide rolling and the humbling of the lsu tigers. your "early morning" sports headlines are straight ahead. >>> after the amazing flooding rains in houston the system is heading to the southeast. your fo

>>neil: that time of year with earning season kicking off with alcoa announcing numbers.tell us? >>reporter: their earnings set the tone for the earnings season. al qaeda swung to a fourth quarter loss the good news is that it met analysts' expectation while beating revenue estimates. so, the market is reacting to that today and we have been seeing the report as being better than expected. the stock shot higher by a couple percentage points but now it has turned lower after hours in trading so we will watch the reaction there in a better-than-expected sales report at a 3 cent loss for the period, still down 21 cents from the previous quarter, and the company is blaming market weakness, and high energy costs, and a drop in aluminum places announcing the closure of three of their costly smelters. revenue was $6 billion, an increase from a year ago, and, better-than-expected, and u.s. corporations ended 2011 with the lowest profit group in years, that put the european companies tied to european sales and s&p 500 beat estimated in the past 11 quarters, and this year, they are

. >>> a strong earnings outlook from alcoa helped stocks climb on tuesday. investors hope for a stronger earning season were lifted by hefty 2012 aluminum bands despite a quarter loss in 2011. leading the dow higher, caterpillar rose. tiffany and company plunged 10%. elsewhere, orange juice surged a record 10% on news some brazilian imports contain a h m harmful fungiside. due to italy's economic crisis the mafia has now become the country's largest lenered. at home a good year to the preserve. thanks to its investment the fed paid $77 billion to the government in 2011. the second highest amount ever. in an effort to stay afloat, eastman kodak is hoping patent suits against apple and htc corporation will help speed its turnaround. several nation's biggest banks under investigation whether they overcharged customers struggling to pay their home insurance. >>> finally, the occupy wall street movement has left its mark on 2011 in more than one way. the american dialect society named occupiers its word of the year. >>> kobe throws them up. the wizards finally wi

materials and industrials drove the afternoon recovery with caterpillar and alcoa leading the dow. oil fell on europe delaying its iran embargo. also pushing stocks, surprisingly strong bond auctions in italy and spain which eased european debt worries. corn features plunged due to higher than expected supplies. wheat futures also tumbled. december's retail sales rose at weakest pace in seven months. first-time jobless claims rose higher mainly due to holiday layoffs. electronics surged on a better than expected outlook. wynn results fell on news the vice president sued the company for blocking his access to accounts. home depot will hire workers for the spring. food lion will close 113 locations and cut almost 5,000 jobs. >>> slot machine maker international game technology confirms it plans to acquire double down interactive. finally, here's a product problem you don't hear about every day. bed, bath & beyond is recalling metal tissue holders sold in more than 20 states contaminated with low levels of radioactivity. >>> hockey's all-stars are announced. a fluke goal on the ice. y

. >> jon: so they sit in the thing and they go "oh, look at alcoa." and then brad pitt's here!(laughs) you're absolutely right. >> jon: don't sell yourself short. that might have been a jonah hill line. >> there were three teenage asian boys that were pretty excited i was there. they had a "call of duty" poster they wanted know sign. but brad is the coolest guy. he really is. >> jon: i don't want to believe that. >> he is! >> jon: no, let me say this... >> he's so handsome. >> jon: i wish he was. he's not because you don't want to like him so much. he let me live in his... i was shooting in new orleans and he let me live in his house. he said... i'm like, i'm there for three and a half four months he's like "that's cool. live in my house." >> jon: can i ask you a question very quickly? was angie home? (laughter) (cheers and applause) how cool is that, then? how cool is he? is he that cool? is he like... >> he's not that cool. not that cool. but he let me live in his house and i was shooting a movie "21 jump street" in new orleans and it was so fun and every night i'd get picked