. >> who is big bertha? >> reporter: she counts the absentee ballots. they feed her with paper and she counts those ballots. polls close at 7:00 and we'll be here until they count all the votes. you're right we've been hearing a lot, newt gingrich that's what we've been hearing on the ground even from women, even from bobbie. >> big bertha, it's not a she it's an it. a machine that's counting? >> reporter: the commissioner came by. one of the commissioners came by and said i nicknamed her big bertha. she just likes to call her big bertha. usually in the south big bertha is a gun. i don't mean that big bertha. but i want to meet the machine big bertha. >> don, thanks for introducing us to new ducultural experience. >>> taking the pulse of the voters. dana bash is among them and in charleston. so, how is the turnout there, dana? >> reporter: you know what it's not so good here in charleston. you see behind me this is actually these two individuals just walked up moments ago before. so far there were 122 people

. >> ask me who big bertha is. >> don, i have a question for you. who is big bertha? >> you know who big bertha is, right? big bertha is a machine, i'm told by the election commissioner, that counts absentee ballots and i think i'm going to get to meet big bertha later on tonight. so i just -- it's going to be fantastic. big bertha counts the absentee ballots. i thought it was a funny question. she said i nicknamed that machine big bertha once we went electronic. that's otis smith, by the way. he runs things around here. there we go. we have people voting over there. 29, 30. right, shirley? >> yes, sir. >> he's 30. and we're expecting a lot more. you heard otis smith, after breakfast we'll get a bunch more people here voting because this is a bell bl wetter county probably where the decision will be made. >> there's a slot machine in las vegas called big bertha, those big slot machines, that's what they call them, seriously. that's a common name i guess. >> same thing. >> thanks, don. >> same concept. >> slot machines, counting votes, gambling, politics, thank you. we

bertha coombs is live with a look at our business news. good morning, bertha. >> hey, good morning. we've got the futures right now flat, slight lly positive. the first trading week of the year, that bodes well for a positive year. we had mixed close on friday and europe is still very much on investors' minds, that debt crisis did not get resolved and there are more meetings, you have meetings to try to come together for some sort of progress. in terms of data, here at home we're going to get retail sales, the trade deficit and consumer sentiment and this afternoon earnings season, we get excited about that. alcoa as is tradition will kick it off after the closing bell this afternoon. on friday the dow ended the week at 12,359, down 55 points but again, pretty positive week and start to the year. the nasdaq will start the day at 2674. on the eve of the consumer electronics show in las vegas, people aren't buying many new gadgets. holiday sales of the electronics fell nearly 6%. the reason is smart phones. a lot of folks don't need buy a stand alone camera, gps device because their p

good morning, bertha. >> good morning. yeah, at least for now we seem to be taking negative headlines in stride this morning. we got a headline that germany's economic growth in the fourth quarter was actually negative which is usually something that makes people nervous. but markets this morning are flat. they're okay, kind of digesting the news after some pretty good gains on tuesday. overall we are watching the fact that asia was up overnight, europe is a touch higher. as far as its economic news, we've only got the fed's beige book that tracks conditions in all 12 of the federal reserve's districts. dow was up 69 points yesterday to 1,246. the nasdaq will start today at 2,702 having added 25 on the day. fannie mae's ceo is stepping down once a replacement is find. michael williams took over in 2009 a few months after it and freddie mac were seized from the government. both have soaked up $170 billion in taxpayer money since being bailed out. along with the fha, fannie and freddie guarantee 90% of all new u.s. mortgages

bertha coombs joins us live. good morning. >> hey, good morning. the first five days of the year the theory goes if the first five days are up, then the rest of the year is morep more likely up about 85% of the time. we had the january effect looks pretty good and futures are following suit for the sixth trading day of the year. look likes we might get 100-point pop in the dow. alcoa is a stock to watch, the dow component reported earnings yesterday in the aluminum giant reported a loss but says that it is still expecting demand to grow this year so its outlook was bullish. asia was higher. europe is higher today. ahead of a meeting between german chancellor angela merkel and the ims chief. they continue to deal with the debt crisis. one economic report coming outin the u.s., that's wholesale trade due out at about 10:00 a.m. the dow at 1212,392. meantime, americans are feeling more comfortable taking on debt again or so it seems. consumer borrowing surged in november to $20.4 billion t largest monthly gain in a decade. people taking out loans to b

. >> that woman turned out to be his biggest hit bertha butt and the bertha butt boogie.ever did know what that dance exactly was. jimmy castor also did songs about king-kong and count drak la, and i imagine -- dracula, and i imagine that could make it hard to get the respect. they called him the everything man. and, i tell you, he was groovy. i dug him. i treasured his vinyl albums. and when i reached out to tell him about that on facebook last year, he was kind enough to write me back saying thank you for supporting my work. i read today that he actually made more money in recent years as hip-hop artists as kanye west started sampling his songs. respect. late but not too late. jimmy castor passed away on monday. he was 71 years old. anita. >> thanks. >>> if you had to define the way people in dc talk, what do you think the catch phrases would be around the district? there is a viral video out called stuff people in dc say. and, yes, we clean this up a little bit for tv. but is the video hilarious or hurtful? lindsey mastis checked it out. >> original. >> where are you f

bertha coombs is live with that story. good morning. >> good morning.s and suvs worldwide. the action involves ford escape suv models from 2001 and 2002. brake fluid may leak from the master cylinder leading to an electrical fire or brake problem. ford free starr and mercury monterrey models from 2004 or 5 could lose power while they're in use that could increase the risk of a crash. that's something you really want to get checked if you have any of those. >> bertha coombs, thank you. >>> some mcdonald's restaurants are trying a different toy in their action meals. instead of toys kids in england, kids will get a book. the man behind the book "war horse." they say this is great way for parentses to bring stories to life for their kids. but critics say this is an inappropriate marketing strategy. >>> facebook users, you may want to take a closer look at some of your stories in your news feed. the social networking site admits paid advertisements are now popping up in news feeds and looking just like normal posts. critics say people will click on stories

spot on, bertha.re across the charts and the market did open up weaker here but during that high level talk in davos markets trying to push into the green as some of the key takeaways of the greek psi talks may be concluded today if not the weekend and these talks have been dragging out, weighing on the market early on but some optimism coming back. talk about that fiscal pact being finalized on monday. it's going to utilities. some of the banks in france we had jpmorgan download. take a look at what we're seeing on the poot si here in london. it has been flirting with the green earlier on. as you can see back in the red now down about a tenth of a percent. the cac has been trying to push into the green as well. just off about three points or about a tenth of a percent. as i mentioned before in the banking second are tore. elsewhere a look at what we're seeing out of germany today, one of the vonger markets still hold ing on to some of that green, now up nearly 20 points or about 0.3%. of that risk ap

a little good news on the job front. >> thank you so much, bertha. the man caught in 12-year-old sting plags will be in court. haley prich ard set up a camera to catch her sister. it was this man taking things. police say douglas john callen dreada, she is seen rummaging through her drawers. she faces burglary charges. >> owners in scottsdale for winter meetings. the a's potential move not on the agenda. bay city news columnist reporting that members of the blue ribbon panel shows -- chose to investigate d meet with mlb executives and their committee yesterday. commissioner pud selig is not expected to talk about what the blue ribbon possible is reporting. >> coming up, an institution once frequented we'll have details. >> the northern california town that may be welcoming a new amazon facility. >> ♪ okay, so who ordered the cereal that can help lower cholesterol and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. that's yours. lower cholesterol. lower cholesterol. i'm yummy. lower cholesterol. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste? hon

for a look at how feature shaping up we turn to bertha coombs. good morning. >> good morning to you. the futures now are kind of flat, a little bit to the up side. they call it the january effect when you have a strong first week of the year, usually bodes well, sets the tone for the rest of the week. a mixed close on friday, though. we did see the dow close lower. we have a lot of meetings starting today with angela merkel and nicholas sarkozy. we call them merkozy because they are together so much with the debt crisis. we're going to get a lot of data this week including trade deficit, retail sales and consumer sentiment. this afternoon alcoa kicks off earning season reporting after the bell. the dow on friday down about 55 points but a pretty strong week, we'll start out above 12,359 t nasdaq was up on friday at 2674. the white house will hold a jobs forum on wednesday highlighting companies that returned jobs to the u.s. president obama says the event called in sourcing american jobs is going to discuss ways to bring more jobs home. on friday

it's been nice seeing you. >> have a great weekend, bertha. >> you, too.n nice knowing you. >>> you probably don't have to look too hard to find a starbucks near you. one starbucks with real sentimental value is about to close its doors. the coffee shop on wisconsin avenue near the national cathedral will close on sunday. it was the first starbucks ever on the east coast. that's amazing. opened back in 1993. the shopping center, where it's located, is being renovated and turned into a mixed use development called cathedral common center. a new starbucks will open when the construction is completed. hope they have that outside seating area, too. >> there's a lot of grieving going. on there's your go-to bucks, mine. >> great place to sit down on a nice, you know, warm, spring morning and have a cup of coffee. great place. >> but there are 23 others i think that are a mile or less -- >> within a block. >> you could be okay. >>> this morning, we are surrounded by rain. and as we look at the radar, we've got two areas where we're getting some heavier rain. thes

bertha coombs is good with that. first twinkies, no orange juice, what's going on?. i don't know if you ever saw the movie "trading places" with dan aykroyd and eddie murphy, they were on the floor of the exchange and prices rose. in that time it was about the crop report. now it has to do with spraying of oranges. that glass of o.j. could cost more by orange juice futures soared to a record high yesterday after the fda said trace amounts of a harmful fungicide was found in some brazilian imports. brazil accounts for about half of the u.s. orange juice market. the fda says that that fungicide is used in some countries to prevent mold. but in high concentrations, it's opinion seen to cause cancer -- it's been seen to cause cancer. frozen o.j. futures are up amid fears that the cold snap in florida damaged crops there. >>> the beatles broke up a long time ago, in 1970. the fab four's popularity continues. and boy, it just seems to be even more valuable. the u.s. rights to six early beatles songs are changing hands for the first time in nearly 50 years. a small publish

what would the world come to without twinkies, bertha? cholesterol. >> yeah. not a health food. definitely fun and yummy to eat. and are you on my list for next year after i pay off my bills. >> reporter: okay. sound good. you've got a deal. >> have a great day. >> i heard of the deep fried twinkies. >> deep fried oreos. pickles. >>> rising grocery bills are making shoppers dig deeper into their pockets. meat and egg prices jumped more than 8% in 2011. fats and oils are up close to 9%. fresh fruits and veggies are up about 4%. here are some tips to lower your grocery bill. choose store brands, use coupsons, and select less processed foods. >>> here's something you'll be talking about this morning. i love this story. a 3-year-old girl went face to face with a lion. it happened at a zoo in new zealand. take a look at sophia walker. she goes nose to nose with the lion with strong protective glass between them. thank goodness. watch what happens next. the 8-year-old lion pawed at the glass. yikes. a manager at the zoo says the lion has a hist

bertha.n leaders as you know holding a crucial summit in brussels this hour to try to tackle the region's debt crisis. here's what we know at this hour. eu leaders are expected to agree on permanent bailout funds for the eurozone and agree on a balanced budget rule. germany's finance minister says greece may not get a fresh bailout unless the country can take the required steps to get its economy and finances in order. and the yield on the 10-year portuguese government bond topping 15% on fears that country may need an additional bailout or a write down of its current debt. our power player says now is the calm before the storm. let's bring in greg peters, global head of cross asset strategy at morgan stanley research. good to have you here, greg. >> thanks, sue, for having me. >> i read the majority of your report and it's fascinating. some of the bets that you're putting down in this particular environment. you say that credit is still your favorite asset class, is that correct? >> yeah, ab

let's check in now with bertha coombs and joins us live with more on that. and the rest of the day's business headlines. good morning. >> good morning. yes. more iconic companies in trouble as things move forward. but this morning's stocks are up and investors encouraged by positive news on unemployment. the labor department reporting that only 350 only -- 352,000 people filed for new unemployment claims. that's a drop of 50,000 from the prior work. that's the lowest weekly number since april 2008. on the home front, housing data for december shows home building activity was down about 4% from november. but for those seeking mortgage right now rates have never been lower. 30-year fixed rates 3.88% in the last week. rates below 4% for seven straight weeks. apple meantime, as you mentioned, doing its part to easi easing. kodak having much more problems in terms of trying to move forward. kodak filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this morning, the company also getting a lifeline of loan in order to try to maintain operations, big problem, of course, is

. >> reports from chevron and ford, for details on that and the rest of the news we turn to bertha coombs. good morning. >> hey, good morning. we've got the futures pointing to a higher open. about 45 minutes from now we get gdp. markets started higher yesterday but lost ground, stocks falling after a report showing a surprise drop in new home sales last month. we started earlier positive on the day after we had gotten good news on unemployment claims and a bigger than expected jump in orders for durable goods. asian markets were higher. europe is mixed this morning. we are going to get the gdp report for the fourth quarter growth and the economy. that comes out about 8:30. should show the economy picked up steam in fall. we'll get data on earnings from chevron, ford and procter & gamble. the dow finished off down 22 points yesterday at 12,734, the nasdaq lost 13 to 2805. mortgage rates rose, the first time in a month. freddie mac says the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 3.98%. that's still historically low but up from a record of 3.88%. rates tend to track the yield on t

let's check in with bertha coombs. she joins us live with more on that. happy friday to you. >> happy friday. it is a quiet friday in terms of stock movement. we had a lot of information come out and stocks are actually on track for the third straight week of gains. but markets are a little bit on edge, waiting news on a deal between greece and creditors to try to restructure. crucial step for greece to receive bailout funds. meantime, tech giant google's earnings also weighing on the markets today. after the search giant reportedly lower profits than expected for the first time in over three years, it spent more to drive growth and got lower prices for its advertising than analyst has expected. another bit of encouraging news on the housing front is existing home sales in december rose 5%. that was actually a little bit less than expected. but the really good here is the supply of holmes on the market is the lowest since 2005. we are down to about a six-month supply. that's actually down from a seven-month supply in november. keep in mind we have a littl

for that and more news before the bell let's turn it over to bertha coombs live at cnbc world headquarters. good morning. >> good morning. we've got futures pointing higher, we've got some data that people have been waiting for that was positive. out of china. the inflation there eased to a 15-month low in december so that's pretty good news. positive government bond auctions in spain and italy. european markets are higher. looks like we'll be higher. we'll get retail sales, first time for unemployment and the all important crop report. the dow slipped about 13 points yesterday, it was a flat day. so we'll start the day at 12,449 for the dow, 2710 for the nasdaq which was up 8 points. foreclosures activity fell 34% last year, hitting the lowest level in december since 2007. reeltty track which monitors says that's mostly a function of the huge backlog. the process slowed following the so-called robo signing that emerged in late 2010. twitter is proving to abfrustrating tool for many banks. a new report finds that customers like the speed and directness of sending a question or a complaint

for more on that and news before the bell, we turn to bertha coombs.ood friday morning to you. >> hey, good friday morning. we're positive for the week, in the nasdaq the standout up about 2% going into friday. the markets actually extended the winning streak on thursday, even after we had bad economic news, jobless claims were up higher than expected last week, while retail sales were down more than expected. for december. we get data on the trade deficit, import prices and consumer sentiment. jpmorgan earnings in line but business continues to be tough in banking. futures now are pointing to a flat open, the dow will be coming off after 21-point gain yesterday to 12,471. while the nasdaq was up 13 to 2724. and if you were curious, wall street does not suffer from fear of friday the 13th, which is actually friggatriskaidekaphobia. not easy for me to say. historically stocks end friday 13th higher. the s.e.c. is going to look at whether it's time to dump rules requiring cable and satellite providers to block out sporting events if teams don't sell out.

all american families and militia groups trolling for new members reason for this the so-called bertha's we think is really a kenyan mr obama were the first ever in a cost of historical figures evoking the spirit of the american revolutionaries at the boston tea party from which this movement takes its name beginning less than a month after obama took office the protests reflected a mounting anger at both democrats and republicans legislating message by a loud packages in response to america's economic process so while the tea party idea was first right during this on a rant by c. and b. say reports of bricks and telly this is america how many you people want to pay for your neighbor's mortgage you want to get to have a chicago tea party in july or you capitalists i want to show up to lake michigan on a star orgon. testifying to the crossroads nature of the uprising the vast majority of tea partiers a middle class americans with little or no experience in political organizing i'm just i'm on that was tired of seeing what was going on in my country and i decided to do something about it.

navigating her way into the third round of melbourne park the grand slam debbie can thrashing out bertha preamp in straight sets six two six one to score her second set of the major. certainly paying for jews having been on the tour for over a decade. we're number one on top seed carline was the act he is also safe in to run three the dane easing to the first set i can't talk to surely be for her georgian opponent made a fight of things in the second let me ask you though eventually roughing up by tiebreaker six one seven six the final score the cholesky up next. elsewhere in the pick of the action defending champion kim clijsters swept aside stephanie for its affronts clijsters seeded eleventh not messing around from the off taking the opener six games to love the belgian would drop just the single. came in the second say cruising into island culture with danielle and later in the week on the six love six one. brings us to the men's side of the draw were all rivals rafael nadal and roger federer remain on track to meet in the semifinals dawned on her despite only one thing needing to pl

>> you opened the door for that. >> hi, bertha. how are you?ve adorable dogs with us here on set today. lucky and oliver. oh. aw. >> if i go home with another dog -- >> just two of the many dogs fighting to keep off the pounds. we follow them to doggie fat camp. >> they don't look happy at all on the treadmills. >> who is, george? >> dropping some lbs. >> you may have lost me there. >> are you kidding me? >>> we're going from sad dog to happy nick watt in high heels. why is he wearing them? why are they red? it's all in the name of science. >> the construction workers saying, dude, dude. >> oh, no. his dogs are barking. >>> and we're going to tell you about made call mystery. rare illness that has baffled experts. the sufferers are demanding relief and answers. >> all that and nick jonas will be here live. first, news from josh. >>> the story breaking overnight. the son of the most powerful police commissioner in the country being accused of rape. the district attorney is investigating greg kelly, a local tv anchor here in new york city, after

let's check in with cnbc's bertha koomz. >> it was a pretty good report. the labor department says we saw a net increase of 200,000 jobs in december. that's an up side of 212,000 private sector jobs and 12,000 government jobs lost. unemployment eased down for the fourth straight month to 8.5%. that's the lowest level since the obama administration's full first month in august. and stocks were kind of flat as they fret again about europe. a new series of meetings on that continuing debt crisis are starting today and will fall into next week. and also news from alcoa, it will shut down some of the operations in order to cut costs. and one company signing a deal for programming from the bbc, that will include the dr. who series. and then netflix screened about 2 billion hours of programming last year. and apple shares are getting a boost today on some reports that the ipad 3 will include an hd camera. meantime, the best performing stocks of the new year are weight watchers and nutra system. and it may be no accident that it's also usually the slowest time of

good morning, bertha. >> good morning. we've got the futures pointing to a higher open after markets lost ground on thursday. we started off strong, then we got this surprising drop in new home sales for december. that offset positive news that had us more buoyant in the morning. asian markets were higher and europe this morning is mixed. we are looking at reports this morning on fourth quarter gdp expected out. it should show that the economy picked up steam. we're also pouring over consumer earnings from chevron, ford and procter & gamble. the dow ended down about 22 points. the nasdaq losing by 13 to 22 22905. >> transocean is the owner of the deepwater horizon rig. the company is not going to be held liable for the oil spills below the ocean surface but could face punitive damages and fines. a trial to determine how to divide the blame for the spill will begin on february 27. deals on big screen tvs may be not so super this year. holiday sales were pretty strong so retailers probably won't have as many sets in stock ah

let's check in now with cnbc's bertha coombs and joins us more on that and the rest of today's businesses, too. hi. >> hi. how are you? we have stocks that started off a little bit higher strong earnings from exxon, ups and data showing soften when it comes to manufacturing activity and slight dip in consumer sentiment has stocks retreating just fractionally this morning. meantime, one big reason consumers are likely still anxious as home prices continue to fall. latest s&p case-schiller index shows prices are at the lowest level since 2003. nationally prices fell 1.3% in novembering from october and they were down more than 3.5% from a year earlier. but the washington, d.c., metro area was just one of two big city areas that actually saw prices rise year over year in the case of d.c. by about half a percent. and as we close out the month of january, there are a couple of market indicators that folks on wall street like to watch. right now the s&p 500, which is the broader market index is flirting with a 4% gain for the month. now for -- if it reach it is 4% level, the stats show that s

. >>> i'm bertha coombs at the nasdaq, nasdaq big caps outperformed allers of. today, they close the day just in positive territory. for the month, up 8.25%. as you can imagine, megacaps that have been leading the way. of course, apple, near all-time highs, about a dollar and change off the all-time high, 455 dollars, but a lot of the big winners on earnings last week moving things higher, in terms of the biggest gains percentage-wise today, definitely amylin, the company's big win on by dur yin, type two diabetes drug. piper jaffray a very attractive takeout candidate, acquisition price of $33 a share that would value the company at ever $4 billion. maria, of course you will have that exclusive interview, very interesting question to put to mr. brad burrry. >> so does a company with zero debt and a cash stockpile make a good buy? we asked the cnbc data team to look for names with that very criteria. all this week, zeroing in on what we call the cash cows of business. look at the list, ch robinson worldwide, t rowe price and software firm, auto deck. should thes

cnbc's bertha coombs has more on that. good morning. >>> good morning.hold a jobs forum on wednesday, highlighting companies that have returned jobs here to the u.s. in his weekly radio address, president obama says the event is called in sourcing american jobs. and it's going to discuss ways businesses can bring back more jobs here to the states. on friday, the government reported that the economy added 200,000 jobs last month. unemployment fell to 8.5%. >>> walmart, meantime, wants to help with your taxes. the retail giant is opening in-store kiosks with h&r block and jackson hewitt today offering free preparation of simple ten40 ez tax forms. the service will be offered at about 3,000 stores through the end of february. that's it from cnbc. i have one quiz for you, though. >> uh-oh. >> five years ago today, what happened? it changed almost everyone's world. five years ago they launched the iphone. >> only five years? i guess, it's been five years? hard to believe. has changed the world of cell phone use, hasn't it, though? >> amazing. >> it is. thank

cnbc's bertha kooms is live with more on this story. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. seems like it's harder to get a cheap fare to get away to the sunshine, delta's raising prices b s by $20 on long haul trips. that was matched by american, united, continental, usairways and southwest. the fcc meantime plans to look at whether it's time to dump rules squaring cable and satellite providers to black out sports events if local channels don't carry the games. advocacy groups say the rules should be dropped because they prevent fans from accessing local games, especially with ticket prices and unemployment at high levels. the nfl and other major sports leagues have generally opposed lifting blackout rules. but these days, you ought to think maybe the fact that they are not so popular with all of these threats of -- of strikes and things like that, they'd want to keep their fans happy. we'll see how it goes. back to you. >> all right. thank you. >>> they sacrificed their careers for their spouses and their country. now nbc 4 is helping military families with today's militar

cnbc's bertha coombs is here. what do you got for me? >> we got good news out of europe for a change. we had debt options in spain and italy this morning that saw pretty good demand but the data in the u.s. a little disappointing. retail sales in december were up 0.1%. when you strip out auto sales overall retail spending was actually down. part of the reason we're just not buying electronics and big items like that. and then initial unemployment claims rose 24,000 to 399,000 last week. that compares to an expectation the number would come in around 380,000 although some analysts say you always get a little seasonality with some of the retail people coming off. good news on that front though. home depot is adding more jobs for its usual spring remodeling hiring season. they'll hire 70,000 people, up 17% from last year. i want to update you on the orange juice situation. futures are back to where they were at the beginning of the week after spiking on concerns about the fungus ide found on brazilian oranges. coca-cola flagged the fda. thi

i'm bertha comes a.t the ceo at the next hour to talk about the type two diabetes drug but it is a huge start. as far as the big move for the year, bank of america merrill lynch stays is the nasdaq 100 what it terms the year of the megacaps. it thinks the growth is what is going to push this hire them see a breakout potentially levels around 3,000. right now, it is on track, the highest levels since 2001. led by apple today and in great part this year, but one of the stocks that b of a merrill likes is one of the big dogs of the dow, intel. although has been up it is a high yielding stock there you get a double exposure between the nasdaq 100 and the dog of the dow high yield. they say intel is one to watch this year. back to you guys at the nyc. >> thank you. didn't finish my thought from the last segment, talked about exxonmobil the second largest company in the world, market capsize who is number one? apple, okay? anyway, where were we? about 18 minutes left in today's session, the time for a quick ma

for details and the rest of the news before the bell we turn to bertha coombs. good morning. >> good morning. we've got the futures now kind of flat, yesterday we did start to the down side and ended on an up note. we started down after jobless claims were more than expected and retail sales rose less than expected. this morning in about 10 minutes or so we'll get data on the trade deficit, import prices and consumer sentiment. jpmorgan, disappointing, not as strong as some on wall street were expecting. the dow ended up though, 21 points to 12471. looking at a 1% gain, the second straight week of gains. the nasdaq up 13 to 2724, looking at a 2% gain for the week. if you are curious, wall street doesn't suffer from friggatriskaidekaphobia, the fear of friday the 13th. stocks are higher and close higher. video games well 21%. consumers bought fewer games. while not surprising the tally was disappointing especially since we had a big debut with call of duty modern 3 warfare. consoles are long in the tooth. the x box 360 turns seven and the play station 3 and the w

for a look at that we turn to bertha coombs live at cnbc world headquarters.ood morning. >> good morning, jon. the first five days of the year we had a pretty nice strong move to the up side. then that often bodes well and sets the tone for the year. 85% of the year is higher. alcoa is the stock to watch. the company says it expects growth. we saw asia rise, europe is higher today ahead of a meeting between angela merkel and christine lagarde. one report on path wholesale trade, the dow now looks to be up over 100 points at the open. yesterday it rose about 32 points to 12,392. the the nasdaq expected to get a pop as well adding 2 yesterday to 2676. jpmorgan's ceo believes the housing market is at or near the market though it could strap along the bottom for a while. he says when employment picks up, that's when the u.s. is going to need more homes because people then will be encouraged to buy into the market. this bud's, well, it's not tops. coors light has passed budweiser to become the number 2 u.s. beer brand. it's the first time in 20 years that anheuser-

let's check in with cnbc's bertha coombs. shes that rest of the day's headlines for us, too. >> stocks flat today. markets are, again, worried about greece. investors holding its bonds taking a big cut in the payouts and european leaders are pressing for more reforms before they will approve new bailout money for athens in order to avoid a big default. they have a big debt payment due in march. earnings not really helping the mood all that much. although coach reported profits that rose more than expected on strong holiday sales. driven in part by its growing mail customer bas-- driven by t male customer base. mcdonald's saw earnings top on stronger sales in the u.s. and overseas. even after the fast food giant raised prices over the last year. overall hires in washington, d.c., grew in 2011 according the the latest statistics from the labor department. the district is one of the regions in the country unemployment remained well above the national average last year. as governor jobs have been shed. new figures from the labor