>> i do not. >> tom: daniel rohr with us, he is with morningstar. >> reporter: i'm erika miller in newyork. tomorrow, we'll talk to the c.e.o. of kitchen chain sur la table and hear his outlook for holiday spending. >> susie: finally, we want to remind you about a special guest on "n.b.r." tomorrow: "n.b.r." founding co-anchor paul kangas will join us tomorrow night, december 6. and we'll talk about the markets, and he'll answer some of your questions. that's tomorrow night. and you can submit your questions on facebook or twitter at bizrpt. i'll be in miami with both of you. >> tom: we've been straightening up the studio for your visit here, susie. we've been sweeping up and cleaning up. >> susie: i was counting on that. thanks, tom. >> tom: you've got it. >> susie: that's "nightly business report" for wednesday, december 5. have a great evening, everyone. and you, too, tom. >> tom: good night, susie. we'll see you online at www.nbr.com and back here tomorrow night. captioning sponsored by wpbt captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> join us anytime at nbr.com. ther

. >> reporter: i'm erika miller in new york. coming up tonight, we'll talk to the c.e.o. of kitchen store sur la table and get his outlook for holiday sales. >> tom: lots of theatrics today, but few visible signs of progress in washington towards a fix for the fiscal cliff. the only hopeful sign is that republicans and democrats are talking privately again. but they haven't worked out any of the big issues, including what to do about the nation's debt limit. washington will hit its borrowing limit early next year, darren gersh has the latest. >> reporter: sitting around the kitchen table with a middle class family in virginia, the president once again pressed for congress to avoid the fiscal cliff. >> if this family has a couple of thousand dollars less to spend, that translates into $200 billion of less consumer spending next year. and that's bad for businesses, large and small. >> reporter: behind the scenes, the two sides are talking again. but there was no progress in public. senators today fought over the debt limit, and ended up deadlocked over a bill to allow the p

erika miller takes a closer look at the forces driving stocks this year. >> reporter: many investors are asking themselves why the stock market did so well this year, when the economy was so weak? the answer is the fed. >> you have to give them a good deal of the credit. they have had quantitative easing again and again. bernanke has said he does not want us to sleep into that kind of economic coma that seemed to take over japan. >> reporter: and that support from the fed was enough to overcome worries about a weakening global economy, and a debt crisis in europe. but many small investors have missed out on the market's gains this year. on the whole, they've taken money out of stocks, and put it into bonds. >> small investors have become dubious of equities because essentially from 1999 until the beginning of this year, there was no return on equities. they feel they're at a disadvantage to institutional investors and computerized trading. the economy has been lackluster. >> reporter: some of the most aggressive stock buyers have been institutional investors and hedge funds-- searchi

but as erika miller reports, some gold bugs believe next year will be far better for the precious metal. >> reporter: if you got gold jewelry as a holiday gift, it may be more than something beautiful to wear. it may also prove to be a shining investment. some gold traders think the yellow metal could hit $2,000 an ounce next year. the reason? >> monetary easing. all these governments have debt and there's only one way to pay it back and it's to devalue their own currency. and it's a race to the bottom. >> reporter: there are other factors that could also help support gold prices. central banks worldwide have been boosting their gold holdings to diversify their portfolios, and protect against inflation. this year, central banks bought roughly 500 metric tons of gold, up 8% from last year. in addition, many small investors are buying gold as a safehaven from global instability. >> political certainty is a major driving factor. it is not just here. but, in the western europe, and in the far east. and, in china. >> reporter: strong demand for gold exchange traded funds has also helped supp

but as erika miller reports some gold bugs believe next year will be far better for the precious metal. >> reporter: if you got gold jewelry as a holiday gift, it may be more than something beautiful to wear. it may also prove to be a shining investment. some gold traders think the yellow metal could hit $2,000 an ounce next year. the reason? >> monetary easing. all these governments have debt and there's only one way to pay it back and it's to devalue their own currency. and it's a race to the bottom. >> reporter: there are other factors that could also help support gold prices. central banks worldwide have been boosting their gold holdings to diversify their portfolios, and protect against inflation. this year, central banks bought roughly 500 metric tons of gold, up 8% from last year. in addition, many small investors are buying gold as a safehaven from global instability. >> political certainty is a major driving factor. it is not just here. but, in the western europe, and in the far east. and, in china. >> reporter: strong demand for gold exchange traded funds has also helped supp

as erika miller reports, retailers hope they'll turn a ho-hum christmas into a merry one. >> reporter: the success of the holiday season for retailers depends on procrastinators, and also on families like the greers picking up a few extra gifts before the big day. >> we are looking for stationery, for frames. >> reporter: and that also means more gift wrap. >> we want gifts that you wonder if you really want to open them. that's what we want, those that catch your eye-- the beautiful bows, the wired ribbon. it's all so much a part of it. >> reporter: statistically, men are far more likely to leave their holiday shopping till last-minute. >> we do notice a lot of men coming into the store. i would say the difference between the men and the women-- the men come in, and they want us to take the lead and show us how it's done. >> reporter: not surprisingly, most stores are pulling out all the stops today to lure shoppers, offering deep discounts. >> the weather hasn't gotten cold in the majority of the country, through the midwest and the northeast. so cold weather categories like sweater

erika miller spent a morning finding out. >> reporter: if you want to know santa's true helpers, they're people like tony roshdy. i met up with him recently at 9 a.m., both of us dressed in brown polyester. >> you ready to do some work? >> reporter: i am ready! by then, most of the packages had already been loaded on the truck: is there a strategy to loading up the truck? >> there's definitely a strategy. like every building. let me give you an example. i already know that this is 31 west 27th. i don't even have to look at it. i'm going to go over here, it's gonna say 31 west 27th. >> reporter: typically at this time of year, how many packages are in your truck? >> i'm averaging somewhere between 300 an 380, on a regular basis. but that's only the delivery portion. >> reporter: but, suprisingly, there's no special treatment for fragile items: >> you can't sit there and say this is fragile, i'm going to treat it different. because that means you're treating your other boxes unprofessional. you have to treat every box as if it was fragile. >> reporter: now it's time to do a safety check. >

erika miller, nbr, new york. >> tom: more americans bit into a meal from mcdonald's last month. sales of burgers, fries, and shakes in november were much stronger than expected. it's been a difficult year for the restaurant chain, but as diane eastabrook reports, 2013 is looking better. >> reporter: mcdonald's credits its limited offer cheddar bacon onion burger, beverages, and dollar menu for luring more customers back to stores last month. same-store sales were up 2.4% in november, after falling just shy of 2% in october. that was the first sales decline in a decade. while november was an improvement, the sales gain was a fraction of what mcdonald's did during the same month a year ago. mcdonald's has been facing stiffer competition lately from other fast food chains, and with unemployment still high, some cash-strapped consumers have cut back on fast food. david henkes from the restaurant consulting firm technomic says mcdonald's is just in a funk. he thinks the chain can ring up better sales in the coming months with more specialty items and better marketing. >> so many peop

erika miller takes a closer look at what's expected. >> reporter: the fed may announce a new twist in its bond buying plans, but that doesn't necessarily mean the stock market will shout. at it's final meeting of the year, the central bank is not expected to simply extend its operation twist program. that's the nickname for the fed's strategy of buying long- term treasuries and, at the same time, selling an equal amount of shorter-dated bonds. that's important because it keeps the bank's balance sheet the same size. now, the fed may be ready to do a new stimulus dance. >> under twist, they've been purchasing $45 billion longer term treasuries while at the same time selling $45 billion short term. they've pretty much run out of short-term stuff to sell, so i think they'll be continuing to purchase the long term, but purchasing outright, expanding their balance sheet. >> reporter: and that would be on top of $40 billion a month already committed to buy mortgage-backed securities. some experts worry that $85 billion a month in spending will escalate inflation and, eventually, it could ca

>> reporter: erika miller, "n.b.r.," new york. >> susie: tom, something for you to think about. >> tom: shaving cream in my shocking, maybe. >> susie: that's "nightly business report" for wednesday, december 19. have a great evening everyone, and you too tom. >> tom: goodnight susie, we'll see you online at: www.nbr.com and back here tomorrow night. captioning sponsored by wpbt captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> join us anytime at nbr.com. there, you'll find full episodes of the program, complete show transcripts and all the market stats. also follows us on our facebook page at bizrpt. and on twitter @bizrpt. narrator: explore new worlds and new ideas through programs like this. made available for everyone through contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. matthew morrison: he was the third generation in a family of theatrical producers. his grandfather oscar the first in opera, his father, willy, in vaudeville, his uncle arthur in operetta. oscar the second was blessed by genes and genius. he wrote the lyrics for over a thousand songs a

>> reporter: erika miller, "n.b.r.," new york. >> susie: tom, something for you to think aout. >> tom: shaving cream in shocking, maybe. >> susie: that's "nightly business report" for wednesday, december 19. have a great evening everyone, and you too tom. >> tom: goodnight susie, we'll see you online at: www.nbr.com and back here tomorrow night. captioning sponsored by wpbt captioned by mediacc as group at wgbh access.wgbh.orcch. >> join us anytime at nbr.com. there, you'll find full episodes of the program, complete show transcripts and all the market stats. also follows us on our facebook page at bizrpt. and on twitter @bizrpt.

erika miller, "n.b.r.," new york. >> susie: using your phone for shopping, is just one of the ways you will use your cell phone in the coming year. as processing power gets bigger and the physical size gets smaller, companies are using that mobile technology to make products you use every day smarter as well. as ruben ramirez reports, those are two of the top tech trends we'll see in 2013. >> reporter: people use smartphones to play games, watch movies and keep up with social media, but for many the mobile phone will become a bigger part of their lives in the coming year. trendwatchers call it the mobile fingerprint or a smartphone as unique as your fingerprint. no need to type in passwords, your phone tells your computer its you, and then locks the screen when you step away. on the health front there's technology to let a smartphone help diabetics measure their glucose levels. and with retailers, going mobile means more than processing payments. >> we do something very specific which is not just focus on the mechanics of payments but the experience around it. everything from the point

erika miller reports. >> reporter: the new york stock exchange has been the symbol of capitalism for nearly two centuries, but now it wants to give up its independence and be bought by a little-known rival in atlanta. the intercontinental exchange, or "ice" for short, was started 12 years ago as an energy trading platform. since then, the exchange has evolved into an internet-based marketplace trading futures, options, and derivatives. the reason it wants to buy the n.y.s.e. is not the plain vanilla stock trading business. the jewel in the deal is a division called "liffe," a leading futures and options exchange. it's based in london and drives over 40% of n.y.s.e. profits. >> it has a business that deals, for instance, in financial derivatives. these are derivatives contracts tied to financial products like interest rates, and ice has been wanting to expand in that direction for a while. >> reporter: as for the n.y.s.e., it's no secret that this year has been a tough one for the stock trading business. in addition, fewer companies are going public, so the i.p.o. market has dried up.

as erika miller reports, that wasn't the only surprise in today's report. >> reporter: almost no one on wall street saw this good news coming. there was every reason to think hiring would be weak last month. after all, many parts of the east coast are still recovering from devastation caused by superstorm sandy. >> i think the most likely explanation here is sandy's impact was significant but was so short-lived that it didn't extend to the sample period of the employment report which was the week that covered november 12. >> reporter: hiring was also supposed to be weak due to worries about the fiscal cliff. with $600 billion in automatic tax hikes and government spending cuts set to start next yer, why aren't more firms postponing hiring decisions? >> what we're hearing from businesses is that it is really hard to actually pull back hiring right now, because they've already fired so many workers, gotten so lean that it's really difficult. >> reporter: but not all the surprises in the report were good. at 7.7%, the unemployment rate hit its lowest level since december 2008. but that