erika miller looks at why those two energy markets are moving in opposite directions and where prices are likely to head from here. >> reporter: if you are driving to grandmother's house for christmas, the trip will probably cost you less than it did over the summer. now average about $3.25 a gallon nationwide. what's strange is that while gasoline has been falling the past few weeks, crude oil has moved in the opposite direction. oil was $75 a barrel in early october, now it's pushing $100. trader ray carbone says the diverging paths of gasoline and crude stems from a seasonal spike in gasoline production. >> when they do that, they use crude oil, drawing down the inventories, resulting in more gasoline product available. and therefore, the price diverges. >> reporter: but over the long term, gasoline and crude tend to move in together. some believe prices for both could soon start to fall due to weakening global demand. >> far and away the biggest concern, for us and much of the market, is europe. what can happen in europe? what can go wrong in europe? is what adds up to, in a night

erika miller takes a look at the impact the loan program is likely to have closer to home. >> reporter: american banks won't get a penny from the european central bank, but make no mistake, all of them will benefit if the e.c.b. loan program reduces stress on the global banking system. >> when you see this level of funding go to a banking sector that has really been under seige in the credit markets, and you add confidence back, you'll start to see a decline, theoretically, in bank funding and volatility in the markets. >> reporter: the e.c.b. will lend an unprecedented $643 billion to over 500 banks, none of which are being identified publicly. the loans are set at ultra-cheap 1% rate for 3 years. the e.c.b.'s goal is to make sure banks have enough money to keep lending to businesses and consumers. otherwise, the fear is the european credit crisis will spread, choking global growth. the generous terms of the loans will also make it easier for european banks to pay off high amounts of their debts coming due next year. the e.c.b. hopes banks will use some of the money to buy debt of str

erika miller takes a look at the impact the loan program is likely to have closer to home. >> reporter: american banks won't get a penny from the european central bank, but make no mistake, all of them will benefit if the e.c.b. loan program reduces stress on the global banking system. >> when you see this level of funding go to a banking sector that has really been under seige in the credit markets, and you add confidence back, you'll start to see a decline, theoretically, in bank funding and volatility in the markets. >> reporter: the e.c.b. will lend an unprecedented $643 billion to over 500 banks, none of which are being identified publicly. the loans are set at ultra-cheap 1% rate for 3 years. the e.c.b.'s goal is to make sure banks have enough money to keep lending to businesses and consumers. otherwise, the fear is the european credit crisis will spread, choking global growth. the generous terms of the loans will also make it easier for european banks to pay off high amounts of their debts coming due next year. the e.c.b. hopes banks will use some of the money to buy debt of str

erika miller takes a look at the impact the loan program is likely to have closer to home. >> reporter: american banks won't get a penny from the european central bank, but make no mistake, all of them will benefit if the e.c.b. loan program reduces stress on the global banking system. >> when you see this level of funding go to a banking sector that has really been under seige in the credit markets, and you add confidence back, you'll start to see a decline, theoretically, in bank funding and volatility in the markets. >> reporter: the e.c.b. will lend an unprecedented $643 billion to over 500 banks, none of which are being identified publicly. the loans are set at ultra-cheap 1% rate for 3 years. the e.c.b.'s goal is to make sure banks have enough money to keep lending to businesses and consumers. otherwise, the fear is the european credit crisis will spread, choking global growth. the generous terms of the loans will also make it easier for european banks to pay off high amounts of their debts coming due next year. the e.c.b. hopes banks will use some of the money to buy debt of str

erika miller takes a closer look at what this could mean for the nation's retailers. >> reporter: even frigid temperatures couldn't deter these madison avenue shoppers from waiting to get into stores today. but plenty of others are opting to shop from the comfort of home. this is the heaviest week of the year for online shopping, thanks partly to "free shipping day" on friday. retail forecaster craig johnson expects 11 cents of every dollar will be spent online this holiday season. >> e-commerce is having another bang-up year. it's going to be up somewhere between 13% to 16%, year over year. >> reporter: if you are wondering which retail categories are likely to be winners this holiday season, you can bet on apparel and electronics. but surprisingly, footwear is also expected to do well, as shoppers splurge on something extra for themselves. retail analyst rob samuels says uggs are flying out of stores, a big reason he's recommending shares of deckers. the other stock he likes is nike. >> you have a big event year coming up next year with the london olympics, the european soccer champi

erika miller takes a closer look at what's behind this flurry of activity, and the outlook for the class of 2012. >> reporter: michael kors was the height of fashion at the new york stock exchange today. we're not just talking the man, but also his stock. his company strutted down the i.p.o. catwalk, gaining more than 20% in its first day of trading. kors is one of many companies rushing to go public before the end of the year. >> issuers and some bankers want to squeeze the deal in for this calendar year for perhaps contractual reasons, or reasons to get compensated in this current tax year. >> reporter: now, investors are eagerly waiting for tomorrow's debut of zynga, the gaming company behind farmville, mafia wars, and words with friends. zynga is likely to be the biggest internet i.p.o. since google went public in 2004. but darren chervitz, co-manager of the jacob internet fund, is not a fan of the offering. >> certainly, the largest red flag that we see with their strategic and operational plan is the fact that they rely almost exclusively for their revenues on facebook. 90-plus per

erika miller takes a closer look at the options left for at&t and t-mobile. >> reporter: it's no secretthat we americans love our smart phones and tablet computers, maybe a little too much. there are more than 323 million wireless subscriptions in the u.s., and 307 million people living here. in other words, more wireless subscriptions than residents. cell phone companies like at&t are clamoring for more spectrum, or airwaves, to meet that growing demand. but analysts say at&t's options are limited. >> they can invest in the network that they have, and roll out 4g services with the road map that they laid forward with t-mobile, and they can try to gather additional spectrum through alternative means. >> reporter: so at&t is asking regulators to quickly approve its pending purchase of unused spectrum from qualcomm. but that small deal won't solve congestion problems for at&t and other providers long-term. they want congress to release additional spectrum. >> the carriers really want additional spectrum to be made available, so they can provide additional capacity to their customers witho

erika miller takes a closer look at the options left for at&t and t-mobile. >> reporter: it's no secretthat we americans love our smart phones and tablet computers, maybe a little too much. there are more than 323 million wireless subscriptions in the u.s., and 307 million people living here. in other words, more wireless subscriptions than residents. cell phone companies like at&t are clamoring for more spectrum, or airwaves, to meet that growing demand. but analysts say at&t's options are limited. >> they can invest in the network that they have, and roll out 4g services with the road map that they laid forward with t-mobile, and they can try to gather additional spectrum through alternative means. >> reporter: so at&t is asking regulators to quickly approve its pending purchase of unused spectrum from qualcomm. but that small deal won't solve congestion problems for at&t and other providers long-term. they want congress to release additional spectrum. >> the carriers really want additional spectrum to be made available, so they can provide additional capacity to their customers witho

erika miller takes a closer look at the options left for at&t and t-mobile. >> reporter: it's no secretthat we americans love our smart phones and tablet computers, maybe a little too much. there are more than 323 million wireless subscriptions in the u.s., and 307 million people living here. in other words, more wireless subscriptions than residents. cell phone companies like at&t are clamoring for more spectrum, or airwaves, to meet that growing demand. but analysts say at&t's options are limited. >> they can invest in the network that they have, and roll out 4g services with the road map that they laid forward with t-mobile, and they can try to gather additional spectrum through alternative means. >> reporter: so at&t is asking regulators to quickly approve its pending purchase of unused spectrum from qualcomm. but that small deal won't solve congestion problems for at&t and other providers long-term. they want congress to release additional spectrum. >> the carriers really want additional spectrum to be made available, so they can provide additional capacity to their customers witho

erika miller reports. >> reporter: this is what j. c. penney looks like now, not much different from other department stores. and that's the problem. to try to differentiate itself, j. c. penney plans to install mini martha stewart shops with specially trained salespeople. there will also be a joint website. analyst says it's a step in the right direction for the department store. >> if you shop j. c. penney stores, they skew a little bit older, a little bit tired, to be honest, and and this is an efforts to spice them up and to give it a brab image that's a little more junker -- more younger, more invigorated. >> reporter: this is the first big move by ron johnson, j. c. penney's new c.e.o.. his goal is to give consumers a reason to come into j. c. penney stores, instead of slopping online. if that strategy seems similar to apple's retail store, it's no coincidence. johnson was the man behind apple's bricks and mortar concept. a store within a store is not an entirely new direction for j. c. penney. for five years, j. c. penney has set up mini sepho

that gold jewelry in your christmas stocking won't just be beautiful to look at, it'll also be a shining investment. erika miller, "nightly business report," new york. >> tom: still ahead, we kick off a week-long look at businesses doing well by doing good-- it's our series "conscious capital." tonight, buying, selling and donating millions of books. >> suzanne: and tom, still no sign of santa claus rally here at the big board. what's going on. >> tom: he has yet to call yet, although maybe it's still early, that santa claus rally officially usually isn't until after christmas, no doubt though still some selling pressure here. let's get to it with tonight's market focus. between the usual worries about europe's economy and concerns about banks being held to higher capital standards, u.s. stocks could not keep their morning gains. the day started with some optimism about stocks, but the s&p 500 fell into negative territory about an hour and a half into the trading session. ended down 1%. financial stocks were among the biggest drags on the market. this financial sector exchange- traded fund fell more than 2%. it'

that gold jewelry in your christmas stocking won't just be beautiful to look at, it'll also be a shining investment. erika miller, "nightly business report," new york. >> tom: still ahead, we kick off a week-long look at businesses doing well by doing good-- it's our series "conscious capital." tonight, buying, selling and donating millions of books. >> suzanne: and tom, still no sign of santa claus rally here at the big board. what's going on. >> tom: he has yet to call yet, although maybe it's still early, that santa claus rally officially usually isn't until after christmas, no doubt though still some selling pressure here. let's get to it with tonight's market focus. between the usual worries about europe's economy and concerns about banks being held to higher capital standards, u.s. stocks could not keep their morning gains. the day started with some optimism about stocks, but the s&p 500 fell into negative territory about an hour and a half into the trading session. ended down 1%. financial stocks were among the biggest drags on the market. this financial sector exchange- traded fund fell more than 2%. it'

that gold jewelry in your christmas stocking won't just be beautiful to look at, it'll also be a shining investment. erika miller, "nightly business report," new york. >> tom: still ahead, we kick off a week-long look at businesses doing well by doing good-- it's our series "conscious capital."a tonight, buying, selling and donating millions of books. >> suzanne: and tom, still no sign of santa claus rally here at the big board. what's going on. >> tom: he has yet to call yet, although maybe it's still early, that santa claus rally officially usually isn't until after christmas, no doubt though still some selling pressure here. let's get to it with tonight's market focus. between the usual worries about europe's economy and concerns about banks being held to higher capital standards, u.s. stocks could not keep their morning gains. the day started with some optimism about stocks, but the s&p 500 fell into negative territory about an hour and a half into the trading session. ended down 1%. financial stocks were among the biggest drags on the market. this financial sector exchange- traded fund fell more than 2%. it

erika miller, "nightly business report," new york. >> susie: still ahead, your snail mail could move at a snail's pace. we lookuts coming to a post office near you. >> tom: senate democrats offered a scaled back version of their payroll tax cut extension today. it includes what senate majority leader harry reid calls a "tiny surtax" on millionaires. surcharge the move is designed to appeal to republicans who shot down previous versions of the bill because of a 3.25% tax on incomes above $1 million. the latest democratic version is for a surcharge of less than 2% on income over $1 million dollars. the legislation also would extend the payroll tax cut next year, but only for workers, not the companies they work for. with the tax cut due to expire at the end of e year, president obama today pushed for urgent action. >> not only is extending the payroll tax cut important for the economy as a whole, it's important for individual families. it's important insurance for them against the unexpected. it will help them pay their bills, it will spur spending. it will spur hiring and it's the right thing to do. >> tom: rep