>> susie: g.m. revs up for wall street, filing its much- anticipated initial public offering. >> now comes the hard part, which is doing all of the analysis to see whether or not this is truly a deal for everyone. >> tom: from bankruptcy back to wall street in just over a year, we look at the automaker's quick road to recovery. you're watching "nightly business report" for wednesday, august 18. this is "nightly business report" with susie gharib and tom hudson. "nightly business report" is made possible by: this program is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. captioning sponsored by wpbt >> susie: good evening everyone. general motors will soon be a public company again. tom, late this afternoon the automaker filed papers with the securities and exchange commission for an initial public offering. the i.p.o. is expected to be one the biggest ever in corporate history. >> tom: susie, some of the money g.m. raises will pay back american taxpayers, who bailed out the

g.m.'s earnings report marked the second straight quarter of profit for the auto maker. the company made more than $1.3 billion from april through june- - its best report in six years. that's on top of $865 million it made for the first three months of 2010. it was welcome news for a firm that went through bankruptcy protection a year ago, after receiving $50 billion in federal bailouts. >> in short, our goal is to get g.m. back on its feet, take a hands-off approach and get out quickly. >> lehrer: despite that pledge, g.m. was derisively dubbed "government motors." still, the company emerged from bankruptcy in just 40 days. in the process, it shed hundreds of dealerships, plus its pontiac and other unprofitable lines. instead, it focused on a core group-- chevrolet, buick, g.m.c. and cadillac. fritz henderson was c.e.o. at the time. >> from this point on our efforts are dedicated to customers, cars, culture and paying back the taxpayers. >> lehrer: henderson was replaced last december by

g.m. fell into bankruptcy. then taxpayers bailed it out with a check for $50 billion. today, g.m. took a big step on the road to recovery and breaking free of government control. g.m. filed papers to start selling stock again. a lot of people wondered if this day would ever happen and senior business correspondent anthony mason is here with the story. anthony, good evening. >> reporter: hi harry, taxpayers own 60% of g.m. but the government... and they still owe the government $43 billion. what taxpayers get back will depend on just how successful this stock offering is. g.m. has been jokingly called "government motors" since the bailout, but today general motors formally filed to become a public company again. >> this is not just an effort to raise $18 billion or $20 billion it is a major relaunch of the general motors brand. >> reporter: the filing comes just 13 months after a leaner, meaner g.m. emerged from bankruptcy. it has trimmed its models from eight to four, paid off almost two-t

still, he thinks g.m. could be successful. >> in the long run for g.m., you're looking at a very healthy balance sheet-- it's dramatically reduced its break- even now to 10.5 to 11 million vehicles a year. we're going to be selling way more vehicles than that in the coming years, so i think g.m. will be printing money. >> reporter: while that sounds good to summerfield, he still isn't sure he'll become a g.m. investor right away. >> i would consider it a year, maybe 18 months down the road. after we see what they do with some of their product problems. >> reporter: analysts think g.m. will be hitting the road in a few weeks to pitch itself to large institutional investors. the reception it gets could determine the popularity and the price of the stock. diane eastabrook, "nightly business report," chicago. >> tom, things look good for the markets at the opening bell. i thought it was going to end up as an up day but the downward trend continued right to the close. >> yeah, it didn't take too long for the ma

in its restructuring, g.m. cut four of its eight core brands and shed 13,000 jobs, but they eliminated all its debt. >> some painful cuts were made but necessary ones. >> reporter: now the view from the showroom floor is upbeat. >> this is much better. we had a rough year in the industry last year, but 2010 is responding. we're doing really well, sales are brisk. >> as soon as i found out i got my job i'm like, i'm going to need a car. >> reporter: the outgoing c.e.o. of general motors says he hopes that the rising sales in show- rooms and giving back taxpayers their dollars means that general motors can lose that nickname of "government motors." katie? >> couric: rebecca jarvis, rebecca thank you. no comeback yet for the housing industry, though. a report out today says more than 325,000 homes got foreclosure notices last month. that's 4% more than in june. and it amounts to one in nearly every 400 homes. now, if you're looking for the cause, kelly cobiella tells us you can skip the real estate section and go

g.m.'s ed whitacre unexpectedly resigns as the automaker prepares to go public again. >> apparently, he believes that he has set the company up for greatness, as he said, and he's now going to hand it over to somebody that can see them through the i.p.o. >> tom: what the management move means for g.m.'s much- anticipated return to wall street. you're watching "nightly business report" for thursday, august 12. this is "nightly business report" with susie gharib and tom hudson. "nightly business report" is made possible by: this program is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by wpbt >> tom: good evening everyone, and thanks for joining us. susie gharib is off tonight, i'm joined by suzanne pratt. fresh signs today of the much- talked-about slowing economy. suzanne, weekly jobless claims have hit their highest level in almost six months. >> suzanne: tom, the number of u.s. workers filing new claims for unemployment insurance

the government currently owns 61% of g.m.sing airfares could be pushing some people out of the summer travel market. fares are 20% higher in july than a year earlier with new baggage fees adding to the cost. planes are still full but mostly with business travelers. fewer people are going to5u:%÷ vacation spots. >> a newly publis#rzé study refutes a recent report that z harmful. 40% of sunscreens contain a form of vitamin a which has come under fire from an environmental group. but health and science reporter carolyn johnson reveals that criticism may be premature. >> the sunscreen controversy started with this report by the environmental working group entitled sunscreen additive may speed skin damage. the ingredient in question is a form of vitamin a and the data comes from the fda's own website. >> the most recent study, a one-year study, shows that rubbing the skin with vitamin a and then exposing it to the sunlight accelerating the development of skin cancer tumors. >> but the fda says this animal researches is still in th

g.m.c. acadia and saturn outlooks. g.m. says the bulk of the recalled crossover vehicles are in the u.s., but some were sold in other countries, including mexico and canada. >> tom: meanwhile, it looks like u.s. automakers are gaining ground with their buyers. a new survey shows ford's lincoln mercury and g.m.'s buick now top the list for satisfied customers. that survey, done by the university of michigan, also shows japanese and korean brands falling out of favor with their customers. >> susie: as we mentioned, government support of fannie mae and freddie mac has added nearly $150 billion to the national debt. with that debt now topping $13 trillion, there's great debate about cutting that number down. so tonight's commentator is challenging you to balance the budget. she's maya macguineas, president of the committee for a responsible federal budget. >> last year, the peterson-pew commission on budget reform-- of which i am a member-- recommended that the country enact a budget plan to b

he was at a g.m. plant last week. and the administration actually believes that talking about the auto industry is really good politically for them right now. because they think that the auto bailout has actually done something to preserve jobs, particularly in the midwest. and they're starting to see real traction. we're going to see an i.p.o. from g.m. and this might get out from under government protection at some point before too long. so they think that's a winner for them. particularly because they can talk about made in america, blue collar working class jobs. those are jobs that people want to they're about on the campaign trail. so you'll hear a lot about that from the president. >> talking is one thing. mid-term election coming up in november. is there anything they can do realistically between now and then to change that jobless rate? >> the problem is when you have 14.6 million people who are out of work as we have right now, it's just a horrific situation. and there's not that much that they can do. the i

when g.m. was rendered use to ninety ninety six seven percent of americans had three or more chronic illnesses within our years that went to thirteen percent to allergies doubled in less time food related illnesses doubled between one thousand nine hundred four and two thousand and one autism is an obesity is a diabetes is a no one is checking to see if the most radical change in the human food supply the introduction of genetically modified foods is contributing to these dangerous to just six however statistics that lower income areas very according to a report conducted by trust for america's health minority communities in the country are more vulnerable in fact to test its recorded and african-american as banneker native american communities are nearly double the rate of white american dr carolyn alexander suggests the alarming numbers plaguing minority communities is directly linked to g.m.o. foods i believe that these are certainly at the root cause of a lot of our children's health issues

we're on g.m. watch here over the last few days. bloomberg sources say that today g.m. file to once again become a publicly traded company preparing to sell shares in new york as well as the toronto stock exchange as soon as november. the same time the government is expected to sell some of the shares it hold in g.m. so the car maker hoping to raise up to $16 billion in this ipo and push to reduce and eventually end the government ownership. lower markets here this morning on the dow, s & p, nasdaq all trading down by a little more than a half percent here. the bloomberg silicon valley index trading down as well. new developments at apple after snubbing hbo to use the i-pad to offer streaming video. chinese newspapers say apple will introduce a new 7 inch mini i-pad this christmas it it may weigh less and have a faster cpu than the current i-pad. the i-pad saving the art of book binding in san francisco. says the case is built by hand to feel like a paper book. the doe doe case is made by only three commercial book binders in the city and one of those has been able to h

said no testing necessary at all for g.m. was no labeling us a story from intel and we're not going to come on centers are struggling condition obama has placed many key role monsanto or pro genetically engineering people in key positions in the u.s.d.a. and elsewhere these are the people making key decisions not only for the american food supply but also on which products and food policies are exported to the world market. they're supposed to be protecting the people but what it appears to me is that the department of agriculture is protecting and promoting monsanto what's left of america's organic farming industry is familiar with months until the stranglehold of the u.s. market bill gertz tin of grits and seeds farming in idaho took one center of the supreme court because of claims there around the radio the seeds were contaminated his farmland so this product will be out there so farmers will need to co-exist in the end girt still lost the case and monsanto won it's incredible what is going on obesity corporate domination

it's about g.m.'electric car that everybody that had it loved it but they wouldn't let anybody buy it. they were only allowed to lease it. and they took them all back sometime around the year 2000. they had to -- they were begging to let them -- we got all this money, let us buy them. they wouldn't let them buy them and then they -- host: i think we lost diana. can you respond, dr. patil? guest: i wasn't quite sure what her question was. i guess the only comment i would make was that that was the vehicle that was done with lead acid batteries. as i mentioned before, that was not going to be a sustainable solution for a mass-produced vehicle. up with way that i describe it is saying when you try to make electric vehicle with lead acid batteries you to to hut more batteries to carry the batteries you just put in. that's not going to work in terms of a mass production vehicle. wyatt work for a very limited range, limited customer base but that wasn't sustainable because it would continue to remain unaffo

g.m. is expected to file for an initially public stock options tomorrow. that would lead to the government selling the majority ownership of g.m. which it acquired during the auto industry bailout. >> if you're looking for a job, you may want to know about an event coming up in three weeks. abc 7 and the california job journal are hosting another job fair on august 31st at the hilton garden inn in emeryville. there will be a special focus on healthcare workers. we have full details at abc7news.com. >> presale of dell's stream tablet begin today with shipments starting tomorrow. dell is promoting the touch screen device as a combination cellphone tablet computer. it's half the size of an i-pad, makes phones. the streak will run you about $300 of course with the two-year at&t contract. otherwise it's about $600. >> 34 years of commiserating with women throughout the world, cats think is calling it quits. that's kathy of the comic strip theme. the final will run in newspapers on sunday october 3rd. she says she'd like to spend more time with family and try so

but, g.m. says, factor out the brands its retiring, pontiac, hummer, saturn and saab, and sales were five times higher. ford sales rose 3%. july's biggest winners were korea's hyundai motor, which posted a 19% gain, and nissan, where sales were up nearly 15%. toyota lagged the market, sales there were down 3%. >> suzanne: here are the stories in tonight's n.b.r. newswheel. those worries about consumer spending kept the bulls from following through on yesterday's gains. the dow fell 38 points, the nasdaq lost 11 and the s&p 500 was down five. volume on the big board fell slightly from yesterday's pace, while volume on the nasdaq picked up. fewer buyers signed contracts for new homes in june, the national association of realtors says its pending home sales index fell 2.6%. economists say buyers moved up purchases to the spring to take advantage of federal tax credits that have since expired. september, that's the latest estimate of when the senate will vote on legislation to eliminate caps on oil

g.m. chairman and chief executive ed whitacre said the company is working as fast as it can to go public. still, the timing of the deal remains questionable. he suggested an i.p.o. before november's midterm elections would be a stretch. while the paperwork has been started, the process will take months once it's been filed. whitacre says it could be the largest i.p.o. ever for the u.s. market. >> jeff: here's what we're watching for tomorrow: jobs, we'll find out how many were gained or lost last month, from july's employment report. also, our "market monitor" guest looks at investing trends for the second half of the year, along with attractive sectors and those you may want to avoid. she's mary ann bartels, head of u.s. technical and market analysis for bank of america, merrill lynch. >> suzanne: federal regulators are no longer trying to negotiate with cable and phone companies on a new policy for the internet. the federal communications commission said today it has called off meetings

tata motors makes about a tenth the number of vehicles as g.m., and its luxury brands are driving profits the company is based in india, but it has stock that trades in the u.s. those shares are at more than a three-year high. its luxury brands are jaguar and land rover. and that's tonight's "market focus." >> suzanne: as tom mentioned, stocks sold off sharply today on increased worries the recovery is faltering. for a different take on the health of the u.s. economy, we're joined now by eric spiegel, u.s. head of the global engineering conglomerate siemens. the u.s. market accounts for nearly 20% of siemens' revenues, and the company operates in the industrial, energy and health care sectors. mr. spiegel, welcome to the program. >> thank you. >> suzanne: so siemens has its hand in a variety of businesses. how do you think the u.s. economy is doing right now? >> we're usually a pretty good baroÓmetro for the u.s. economy. we have long cycle businesses, which means people place orders well in advance of when they'll be delivered. last quarter, our orders were up about 50%, almost across th

reuters says g.m. has finished the paperwork and will file with the s.e.c. tomorrow. >> tom: still ahead, deepwater drilling. it faces a rocky future in the u.s., but brazil is counting on big profits from under the sea. >> susie: our guest tonight doesn't think the u.s. economy is headed for another recession, but he's also trimming back on stocks. joining us now, stuart schweitzer, global market strategist at j.p. morgan private bank. hi, stu. >> hey, susie, good to be here. >> so what exactly are you telling your clients to do right now? >> oh, i think number one, susie, not to panic in here. there's a lot of fear and loathing around concerning the u.s. economy, the global economy, the outlook for policy, both monetary policy and from the government. and this is a time to, i think, to stay cool. the economy does not appear to be going back into a renewed recession. we have had a slowdown. the slowdown is continuing. but the economy is not reversing fieldss in our opinion. >> all right, now we are getting alot of economists who are calling for a recession,

ford doesn't view g.m.'s planned i.p.o. as a threat to his firm's stock. he says performance is the key to both automakers' success. >> susie: the tribune company's plan to exit bankruptcy has fallen apart. the media conglomerate told the bankruptcy judge today it has not reached a deal with creditors on a reorganization. tribune's lawyers will amend the plan next week, and if a deal doesn't happen, they could sue. one of the firm's biggest creditors, j.p. morgan, has dropped out of the settlement. it would have been one of tribune's new owners. >> tom: here's what we're watching for next week: our friday "market monitor" guest is jeff everett, president of everkey global partners. we'll also see reports on existing and new home sales. investing in emerging markets. all next week, we'll look at ways to make money by investing in each of the "bric" countries- - brazil, russia, india and china. our coverage begins monday with brazil. >> susie: if you're going to the airport tonight to meet a flight from europe, you might want to double check the arrival time

if g.m. is thought to be so prevalent in the u.k. local authorities have set up task forces to identify when children are risk but this is a practice that's gone on for centuries in some african and arabic countries and it's entrenched in families. in some communities. and. some female. procedure done to them but you will consider. that procedure is done to their own daughters and this is a. matter of education. as well. in the legal act despite being an illegal act there's never been a single conviction against someone who's arranged all performed female genital mutilation in the u.k. victim j. kumara says that's got a lot to do with the terminology used for me personally i hate even the term mutilation because i don't i'm not mutilated i've been caught. and i think the. term is very very negative and i think it just causes a lot of survivors to go underground because no one wants walk down the street with the term over the head with legislation proving ineffective it's a culture that the british authorities have so far failed to er