josh bolton, former chief of staff for george w. bush, said that optimism is based on potential tax reform. u.s. businesses remain optimistic, he says, but there is also a potential downside from failure. that should add to the urgency with which they pursue the reforms. the survey took place between may 3rd and 24th, three weeks when the house passed its health care bill and the president fired then-fbi director james comey. corporate america has made it clear it's optimistic but conditionally so. for "nightly business report," i'm kayla tausche in washington. >>> there are more job openings in the u.s. than ever before. according to the labor department, a record 6 million positions were posted at the end of april. hiring, however, decreased. and that gap between job openings and hiring may suggest employers are having trouble finding qualified applicants. >>> it may be one of the hottest housing markets in history. a new report shows a nearly 7% rise in home values versus april a year ago. but that 7% is down slightly from the pr

the organization's chair jpmorgan's jamey dimon and ceo josh bolton say the report shows the confidence for tax reform going forward. the white house legislative director told reporters last night tax reform remains a fall agenda item, though acknowledging there is a lot to do between now and then. carl? >> kayla, thank you. sounds like ceos are still hopeful on the legislative agenda. meantime, qatar's foreign minister announcing doha is ready for mediation efforts, after a group of arab states cut ties with qatar this week. hadley gamble is in riyad with the latest. >> reporter: sara, they may be open to mediation but it has not stopped saudi arabia from escalating tensions just in the last 24 hours. they've shut down the offices of al jazeera tv group and also asked qatar airways employees to leave the country. in the last 24 hours, 175 regional flights have been shut down. they've closed the land border with qatar between saudi arabia and qatar that has major implications for the import of food into qatar, basic staples of life, and questions of course over whether or not the united