economic data, on the other, european concerns. what kind of action are you seeing this there morning? >> very good morning to you. we had retail sales for october in the u.s. which gave a bit of boost to the markets there, and showing arise in october and also suggesting steady consumer spending ahead of the big christmas shopping season. and that eased a little worries surrounding the eurozone debt worries you mention there as well. let's look at the opening levels here for the nikkei and topix. both are trading higher in the first few minutes. topix just dipping into the negative there, a bit of a mixed picture as you can see. the focus in japan the past couple weeks has been on olympus, and remains tangled in that corporate bookkeeping scandal, and the share price really has been quite volatile. last couple days, up 40%, and today just before the markets opened, it was also bid only. in other words, only buy orders coming in. that makes it three days in a row it has been only buy orders coming in for olympus. we'll keep track o

we'll see some positive economic data point, some negative economic data point, but at a very high level, for 30 years, the american economy borrowed money to fuel our consumption. now americans are paying down their dekbt, which is a good thing, but we're more limited than we used to. in the next seven years, we're in for a harder adjustment period and, unfortunately, sustained high unemployment. >> neil, during the recent republican debates, we really saw a strong distaste for any bailouts once again. you heard them on the gop presidential debates, whether it be automakers, europe, and america's financial institutions. you were the administrator of the government's $800 billion t.a.r.p. program. how do you defend the program looking back with the perspective that you can give? anything you would have done differently? >> we defend the program -- we were a republican administration that believed in free markets and hated intervening to stabilize banks and bailing anybody out. the analogy that i think ben bernanke used, which is a great analogy, imagine you told someone don't smoke in be

economic data has been thin, but next week they will have a slate of u.s. economic data and over the weekend in hawaii andy we will see if the prime minister can clarify japan's position on the tpp. back to you. >> thanks a lot. that was from the tokyo stock exchange. standard and poor's issued a message about a cut in the debt rating amid growing concerns about the european debt problems. the u.s. rating agency said on thursday that the message was sent out to subscribers due if a technical error. it retracted the message immediately. the company reaffirmed that the reading of french government bonds remained at the highest great of aaa. the incident comes at a time when were attention is on whether friends can retain the cop rating. the selling of the bones surged immediately following the erroneous announcement. they asked european and french regulators to investigate the causes and consequences of the error. the largest international motor show in the mideast got under way. japanese automakers are taking part, but the floods in thailand are casting a sh

. >> tom: better economic data here at home helped wall street shake off worries about europe. the dow rose a modest 17 points. technology helped lead the nasdaq higher, up 28 points. the s&p 500 rose six. trading volume remained light with just 779 million shares moving on the big board and 1.7 billion on the nasdaq. behind the move up, a drop in inflation at the wholesale level. the prices manufacturers and wholesalers pay for goods and materials fell in october by a bigger than expected three- tenths of a percentage point. also encouraging the markets, a better than expected retail sales report for october. americans bought everything from new cars to electronics last month. the government reported retail sales rose five-tenths of 1% in october. that's after rising by 1.1% in september. the strength in retail sales suggests the economy is on solid ground at the start of the fourth quarter. and as suzanne pratt reports, it also bodes well for the holiday sales. >> reporter: a quick look at your inbox tells you the holiday shopping season is starting even earlier this year. at

there was new economic data out of japan today.owing that it has returned to a deflationary spiral. consumer prices falling for the first time in four months. compared 2% for the previous month. no stranger to deflation, deflationary situation, really much the last ten years or so. >> yeah, i think many of the people are our generation know that pretty well, andrew. the situation hasn't changed yet. if we come back to europe, hone in on what's playing on investors' mind, another debt downgrade. moody's has now cut hungary bond rating by one notch, it now stands in speculative grade. moody says it downgraded hungary to be 1 because of its high debt and doubt about its ability to meet targets. the currency there is trading at a record low. hungary requested more help from imf. so, things don't bode well for this country. and of course, andrew what it really means it's not just euro zone country that they're worried about, the fast-growing european countries having trouble paying their debt back >> absolutely. how did hungary get into

but with a shortened trading session and no economic data untapped all eyes. angela merkel disproved rumors she has softened on issuing euro bonds as an issue to the debt crisis. as a result, the continued lack of a clear plan to solve europe's debt crisis weighed on asian trading today with the nikkei spending most of the day near a two and a half year low. olympus shot up in speculation that a recent accounting scandal may not cause the company to be listed. australia's government approved miller's $11 billion takeover of foster's group as long as they keep brewing the aussie beer brand in australia. it doesn't look good for at&t on a roadblock to its merger with t-mobile. it has $4 billion to cover its costs if the deals fall apart. if you're short of things to be thankful for yesterday, here's one. a woman got a frozen turkey home and it had an expiration date of november 23rd, 2007. your turkey disaster was not so bad. >>> coming up, tony romo rallies the cowboys for a last second win. >>> and one lions turns out to be a beast of burden, and not in a good

. >>> back here at home, thanks to a run of recent economic data and strong corporate earnings, investors feel on more solid grounds. that includes jobs. friday's numbers were weaker than expected, but employers added 102,000 more jobs than estimated for august and september. that cut unemployment to 9% after three straight months stuck at 9.1%. earnings this week will include macy's, gm and cisco wednesday. thursday, media giants disney and viacom. keep an eye on groupon which closed 31% above its ipo price friday. many say this could encourage other cups to pursue their own ipos. >>> finally, a cleaner at a german art museum who thought she was removing a stain has permanently damaged an abstract sculpture called when it starts dripping from the ceiling, valued at over $1 million. oops there. >>> coming up, which tebow showed up yesterday and david beckham is poised to add an american championship to his trophy case. >>> plus, big ben and the steelers came back, but could they hold it against the ravens? your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. >>> once again, we're start

economic data show the growth in the u.s. may be possible pretty soon. >> the german bank index finished the day lower at not quite 8% lower. in new york, the dow jones industrials had gains. the hero is at $1.35. -- euro is at $1.35. the parliament has voted to ban naked credit defaults swaps. bailout speculator is to bet on the risk of a company -- they allowed speculators to bet on the risk of a company going bankrupt. a credit defaults what is actually a kind of insurance against default. and naked default is one in which speculators do not own the debt but bet on buying it at a lower price after default. the european union commission has plans to tighten the rules on ratings agencies. they do not go as far as some would like. his proposals were watered down at the last minute. >> the european commission has agreed to a series of measures to regulate craving agencies like standard and poor's, fitch and in jade regulate credit rating agencies like standard and poor's, fitch and moody's. issuers would have to change their r

economic data is this week, it may not be enough to help the stock market. strategist steve freedman says the wild card is what happens in europe. >> you are in a stage where you are just getting a lot of comments from different countries, from policymakers, and those things are random and hard to predict. i think that they do have the potential to continue promoting volatility in the markets. >> reporter: so in this week before thanksgiving, brace yourself for the possibility of more market indigestion. erika miller, 'nightly business report," new york. >> tom: still ahead, tonight's "word on the street" wal-mart. the world's biggest retailer reports earnings just before the most important season for its industry. thestreet.com's jeanine poggi joins us. president obama's health care overhaul is headed to the u.s. supreme court. the justices announced this morning they will hear challenges to the law, which could lead to one of the court's most important decisions in recent history. at issue? a mandate that requires all americans to enroll in a health insura

no major economic data in the u.s. we get mcdonald's monthly sales number. ey're interesting to watch for economic trends. the dow up 85 points to 12,068. also a judge approving a $410 settlement in a class action lautd that affected more than 13 million bank of america customers charged overdraft fees on their debit cards in the past decade. the judge says the agreement is fair, but that hasn't stopped some customers from grumbling. and yep, it could be the biggest entertainment launch ever. no, it's not a blockbuster movie. some viewers have been playing call of duty for a few hours now. it went on sale at midnight. it's expected to blow away records. i couldn't avoid the pun. one analyst expecting sales of $1.1 billion by christmas. probably should have gotten into computer programming instead of journalism, but those are incredible numbers. >> never too late, brian. >>> a storm system moving through the midwest has produced a lot of tornadoes. we have intense video to illustrate mother nature's fury. a storm chaser got dangerously close to a tornado in ok

more on home sales and the latest fed economic data. tuesday, a jump in consumer confidence helped stocks finish with some gains. the dow was up 32 points, while the nasdaq lost nearly 12. >>> wall street will be watching this morning for reaction after standard & poor's downgraded the biggest banks in the u.s. the following banks were among those cut at least one notch. s&p says the changes reflect a new formula for determining risk. >>> american airlines says its bankruptcy filing will have little, if any, effect on its passengers. filed for chapter 11 protection yesterday. 240,000 people fly with american every day. the carrier says it will continue to fly its normal schedule and honor all tickets and reservations. >>> facebook has reached a deal with the federal government over charges it gave away too much information about its users to advertisers. under the settlement, facebook agreed to get customers approval before sharing their data and a blog post ceo mark zuckerberg admitted facebook had maide, in his words, a bunch of mista

>> we had some good economic data. but look at industrial production, up 0.7%, not bad at all. there might be a little bit of a recovery going on. the homebuilders are crucial sector to for the american economy -- too for the american economy and they are still generally weak. have one problem today -- we have one more problem today, the oil prices up again, over $100 per barrel. that could be a problem for the next couple of months to come. >> in and year, mario monti will be the next italian prime minister. -- looking at europe, mario monti will be the next italian prime minister. what are people saying? >> it is not much of the deal on wall street anymore today, but europe, of course, is. the focus is more to the bank of england. they have quite a dire prognosis out today about their own growth. were weak numbers from other european countries -- there were weak numbers from other european countries. if the eu does not take tracks -- take drastic action, we will see severe problems for global and european growth. that is not news. ever you have a statement like that, of cours

. >>> back at home, thanks to healthy economic data and strong corporate earnings, investors feel one solid ground. that includes jobs friday's october numbers were weaker than expected. employers added 102,000 more jobs than estimated for august and september. that cut unemployment to 9% after three straight months stuck at 9.1. earnings will week will include macy's, gm and sysco. thursday media giants walt disney and viacom. >>> groupon closed 31% above the opening ipo price. many say this ipo could influence other companies including facebook to pursue their own ipos. >>> talk about a major oops. a cleaner at a german art museum who thought she was removing a stain, permanently damaged an abstract piece of art. >>> david beckham is poised to add an american championship to his american trophy case. big ben and the steelers came back but could they hold it against the ravens? your first look at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. a present. thanks for the gift basket. you're welcome. you're welcome. did you see hr just sent out new... ...office rules?

let's not forget all these issues have hidden the fact that economic data from the u.s. this week have proven to be dronger than what and lists expected. retail sales, industrial production, and inflation numbers, largely in check, and also we had jobless claims yesterday show a more positive side there. we'll see if fundamentals can break through what's been gripping the markets, which is the eurozone debt issues. for now, nikkei down over 100 points this friday morning. back to you. >> thanks a lot for that. >>> let's look at some other market figure >>> that's the latest from business. back to katherine. >> thanks very much. >>> the japanese government ordered fukushima prefecture to suspend rice shipments. from one district of the region. radioactive cesium higher than allowable levels has been detected in rice grown there after the nuclear accident at fukushima daiichi. >> translator: i told the fukushima governor to ban shipments of rice harvested this year in the onami district of fukushima city. >> the fukushima prefectural government on wednesday announced it de

strategist jonathan golub says the other big factor helping stocks was improving third quarter economic data. >> you have an economy which grew at 2.5%-- not stellar, but almost double what you had the first half of the year. and all indications are the fourth quarter is going to be a decent quarter as well. so that fundamental backdrop is pretty good. >> the stock market posted impressive gains in october, but november could also be a key month for the markets. the u.s. economy and the european financial situation will continue to be watched closely. and don't forget, a third of the firms in the s&p 500 still have to report third-quarter results. so far this earnings season, the message from corporate america has been pretty encouraging. >> as we've gotten through this earnings season-- the third quarter reporting season-- we are still seeing 70% of companies beating expectations-- about 16% year-over-year-growth. in terms of profits, it's still very, very strong. >> reporter: many strategists predict stocks could gain 5% to 10% by the end of the year. the big caveat is what happens in euro

economic data and higher interest rates in europe. you can see the battle between buyers and sellers on the daily chart of the s&p 500. the market hit its low of the day just before noon, eastern, and the high came about two hours later. the minutes from the last federal reserve meeting buoyed hopes for the possibility of more stimulus. but the market couldn't hold on and ended down a fraction. the drop continues eating away at the gains from october. the index is now at its lowest price since the first week of october. while stocks sank, bonds continued to rally, sending interest rates lower. the yield on the ten-year government note fell again, down to 1.93%. we're looking at the last 180 sessions. yields are now at the bottom of the range they've been in this month. the drop in bond interest rates did not help the traditional dividend paying stock sector of utilities. it was the weakest today, down 1.3%. the energy and financial sectors also led the losers. powering the utilities lower, a.e.s., integrys, and c.m.s. energy, each fal

i think if you're the romney campaign, you look at economic data. you understand that he can sound masterful and like a technocrat. talking about points on the economy. and for now, that's fine. chris: let's get out of our rut here about assuming romney is going to be the nominee because dan raised an interesting point about newt. wouldn't it bug you, and i'm not going to be too much in the personalities here but newt gingrich of course, he's been flew a career. he was speaker. house. he did get pushed out and he was reprimanded and he has been married three times and a party that doesn't look kindly on that serial marriages. and yet he's running even. roughly with mitt romney. doesn't mitt romney, doesn't that bother him psychologically to know that newt with all his badge is overtaking him -- baggage is overtaking him? >> i would be suicidal if that were the case, does it bother me. does it bother mitt romney? the romney campaign's view on this is that this ceiling how romney can't break through 25% in national polls for a year they believe that's

. >>> now, today, wall street will receive economic data and new home sales for the month of october. investors keeping a close eye on europe's debt crisis. italy's borrowing rates skyrocketed on friday. the european country had to refinance some $300 billion. checking the numbers here at home, the dow standing at 11,231. dropped 25 points in a holiday shortened trading session on friday. nasdaq down by 14. s&p down by 3. last week, the dow lost more than 500 points. >>> europe's economic challenges will be on the agenda later today at the white house. president obama hosts a summit today for leaders of the european union. disappointing news for national harbor. disney says it will not follow through with plans to build a hotel on the potomac river. the 500 room disney resort hotel was being counted on to add $100 million to the county's tax revenues. disney says the times, they just ain't right. the company will move on to other opportunities. obviously big disappointment there. >> it is a beautiful complex. i was just there to see ice over the weekend. it is a lot of fun. >> it is g

frankly, we have seen that overriding even fundamental issues here such as earnings reports and economic dataay lot of companies, japanese companies coming out and forecasting better -- actually some of their earnings for the rest of the fiscal year ending march 2012. however, on a bright note we did have the three major financial groups in japan on monday coming out and giving their earnings. and actually one or two of them upping their forecasts for the year as well. so we're going to keep track of all the exporters relating to the stronger yen and also financials and banks as well as olympus shares. let's not forget it gained almost 15% yesterday and it's been up around 60% since last friday. also on another note, ai, today sees the release of the beaujolais nouveaux wines here in japan. so it could be a good idea to stock up before the weekend. thank you. >> thanks a lot, ramin. ramin mellegard from the tokyo stock exchange. let's also take a look at some other market figures now. ♪ and that's the latest from business. now it's back to catherine. >> thanks very much, ai. >>> the harvest s

economic data we've been seeing has been improving recently, like retail sales.hey rose more than expected yesterday. europe's debt crisis continues to hangover investors. in fact, the european markets were bracing a two-day losing streak. bond yields were declining as well. italian bond yields started to creep back up again. we'll get data out on consumer prices and industrial production. we saw the dow rise 17 points to 12,096. nasdaq up to 2,686. meantime google plans to take the wraps off the online music store. google music features songs from three of the world's four biggest record companies. that songs will cost $1.00 each. users can share one or two free listens with their friends on google plus. citigroup is reportedly planning to cut up to 900 jobs from the banking and securities division as it's dealing with the volatility in the stock and band markets. the "wall street journal" saying they could shed up to 1% of its global workforce. >>> in other news, the nba cutting more games from their season. the players are now suing the league. the nba has can

reaction now oil prices are in the red of worsening concerns about the euro zone and we global economic data pointed to further slowing why it's we're just trading at around ninety one dollars per barrel while brant is that one hundred nine dollars asian markets are also heading down with the nikkei two percent in the red strongly again worsens losses of japanese exporters carmakers honda and mazda both wrong sort percent in the red this hour in financial side among the main retreat as in hong kong with both h.s.b.c. and bank of china losing over two percent. and clearly here in moscow the trading session will kick off in less than one hour on tuesday the russian markets have their own steve was due don't drop in a month there actually has lost five percent rather most of those just under three percent in the red as you can see it's not risking from much of course as news from greece home once again the roost on wednesday. yes and this correction i would say that we have to concentrate on news coming from europe because in the streets of basically looking at abuse. potential results of the p