dr. bergsten. >> good to talk. >> tom: stocks battled back from earlier losses to end the day higher. the dow rose 134 points, the nasdaq added 60 and the s&p 500 was up 17. trading volume was slightly lower ahead of the weekend, 1.1 billion shares on the big board, 1.8 billion on the nasdaq. the dow snapped a four-week losing streak, gaining 4.3% this week. the nasdaq saw a nice recovery too, rising almost 6%. the s&p 500 is almost 5% higher today compared to a week ago. still ahead, our focus on fixing the economy turns to you the consumer and how you're holding up in a slow economy. >> susie: "irene." that's what people up and down the east coast were talking about today. millions are bracing for hurricane irene and preparing for a weekend of violent weather, and even though it was a sunny day here on wall street, the new york stock exchange was busy getting ready for irene. >> reporter: the massive american flag that usually drapes the pillars outside the new york stock exchange has been removed so hurricane irene doesn't blow it away this weekend. sandbags were placed around the