. >> upscale furniture maker ethan allen reported stronger than expected earnings but said a drop in store traffic caused same store sales and written orders to fall. the company plans a new marketing campaign and hopes it will bring in more customers. >> we will now feel comfortable that our products and offerings are in good shape, that our manufacturing is better, and we are going to increase our advertising this quarter by 33%. >> ethan allen shares fell 7% to $25.05. and the grocery chain operator kroger reportedly in talks with the chinese e-commerce giant alibaba about working together. reuter's says the discussions are at an early stage and may not result in any kind of partnership. but kroger shares rose more than 2.5% to $30.26. alibaba gained 1%. they finished the day at $198.33. and to the economy now, where the number of americans filing for unemployment benefits rebounded from the a 45-year low last week. jobless claims for state unemployment benefits increased $17,000 to a seasonally adjusted $233,000. that rise, less than expected, and points to a labor market that is

to the delight of very excited students, we will be right back with that >>> well, students at ethan allen school in philadelphia got a surprise visit for their reading achievement. >> children were filled with excitement when fanatic came marching in their assembly this morning. s part of the phillies reading program that encourages children to read 1inutes a day and only top participants received a visit f fanatic. >> lets get a final check of the forecast. >> chilly today, breeze stays in the evening hours and then dropping down in the 20's overnight tonight, tomorrow is our coolest day next several days back in the 50's with the chance of rain by sunday for upcoming weekend and then getting a little cold as we head into next week. >> thanks, lauren. >> that is "eyewitness news" for today at noon aim jim donovan. solomon. thanks for watching. >> "ey at 5:00. >> we are always on line cbs ne. centers of america in philadelphia to have her breast cancer treated, she's coming for the expertise that we have, for the multimodal therapy where the specialists talk to each other and form a treat

stay with us on power lunch with ethan allen. ♪when sundown pales the sky i want to hide a while behind your smile ah, but i may as well try and catch the wind♪ our mission is to make off-shore wind one of the principle new sources of energy. not every bank is willing to get involved in a "first of its kind" project. citi saw the promise of clean energy. we're polluting the air less. businesses and homes can rely on a steady source of power. this will be the first of many off-shore wind farms in the u.s. ♪for standing in your heart is where i want to be and long to be ah, but i may as well try and catch the wind♪ >>> i'm group of senators met last night to discuss immigration. >> well, we have a deadline, and that's really important. we all intend to meet the deadline we had a very good meeting i think there is probably 25 or 30 senators there on bipartisan basis and everyone is committed to reaching a solution. >> fda advisory panel ruled phillip morris should not be able to claim tobacco decease 8-0 one ab exception manmade glo

laura tiyson of berkeley and thomas de rosa back at home, the ceo's of american airlines and ethan allen. and the mayor of dallas on that city's battle for the amazon headquarters that and much more ahead on "power lunch," starts in about minutes don't move, "the halftime report" is back after this commercial break this is a tomato you can track from farm to pot to jar to table, and serve with confidence that it's safe. this is a diamond you can follow from mine to finger, and trust it never fell into the wrong hands. this is a shipment transferred 200 times, transparently tracked from port to port. this is the ibm blockchain. built for business. built to run on the ibm cloud. >>> welcome back to "the halftime report. five years ago today, the financial world stopped while jaws dropped >> if he stays longer, he'll lose his entire investment >> this could be the mother of all short squeezes >> the war of words between two hedge fund heavyweights is heating up with carl icahn bashing bill ackman over his short position in herbalife. >> he's got one of the worst reputations on wall street i