that and more tonight on nbr! a break in the heat wave here on wall street, but investors still warmed up to stocks. the major averages rose again, making it three up days in a row. stocks got support from a string of solid earnings from big-name companies. also, after listening this week to fed chairman bernanke's economic outlook, investors are counting on him to do more to stimulate the economy. the dow added 35 points, the nasdaq rose 23, and the s&p gained nearly four points. suzanne pratt reports. >> reporter: with all the recent noise in the economy and financial markets, you might have missed that stocks are doing pretty well this year. the dow is up 6%, the s&p 500 has added 10%, and the nasdaq has inked an impressive 14% gain. market pros credit earnings for the resiliency. >> when we get into earnings period, reporting period, the market tends to do better, because the one bright spot for the last three or four years has been corporate america, corporate earnings. >> reporter: nevertheless, retail inves

that and more tonight on nbr! pessimism about corporate profits triggered a fourth day of selling here on wall street. the dow fell 83 points after posting a triple-digit gain earlier in the day. the nasdaq lost points and the s&p slipped 11. a sales warning from engine maker cummins added to nervousness about earnings season. and, as suzanne pratt reports, investors have reason to fret. >> reporter: wall street could certainly use another topic to focus on, what with europe dominating headlines for weeks. earnings season is likely to provide that distraction. but it's also likely to make many investors unhappy. that's because s&p 500 firms are expected to report only a 5.5% gain in second quarter profits. a few months ago, the number was a healthier 9%. >> it's very worrisome, because companies have already given a lot of negative pre-announcements. in fact, for every one positive pre-announcement, we've received three negative pre-announcements, which is the weakest showing since the fourth quarter of 2008. >> r

>> this is nbr. >> tom: good evening. i'm tom hudson. a big jump in revenue but flat earnings for facebook's first quarter as a public company. shares fall hard in after-hours trading. >> susie: i'm susie gharib. mario draghi to the rescue. the head of the european central bank says he'll do whatever it takes to boost the euro-zone. that lifts stocks around the globe. >> tom: that and more tonight on nbr! >> susie: facebook lost face with investors today-- its first earnings report as a public company failed to impress. after the market close, the social network posted profits of 12 cents per share, excluding a charge for employee option grants. the results were right in line with analyst estimates. revenues were a bit better than expected at $1.18 billion. but disappointed investors dumped the shares in after-hours trading. facebook fell as much as 9% to $24. erika miller reports. >> mobile is a huge opportunity for facebook. our goal is to connect everyone in the world. and over the next five years, we expect four billion or five billi

"nightly business report" is brought to you by: >> this is nbr. >> americans are earning more and spending less. >> what he think that is means for the economic recovery. >> i'm susie gharib. a day of no electricity for india. why the problem could continue even when all the power comes back. >> and from occupy wall street to the big bank fees. how smaller banks are benefitting as we continue our series looking at regionsal banks. >> susie: that and more tonight on nbr. >> tom: worries about the consumers appetite to spend rose today. we're worried about saving more money so we're not spending it. it was changed again, the second month of no growth. less spending and disappointing profits for coach. is this asummer slowdown or something more serious? erika miller reports. >> reporter: what do coach customers like more than the handbags and accessories. discounts on those items, as much as 30% off at the company's outlet store. coach is going to bring back coupeons in june after eliminating them earlier. >> discounts were needed to get the traffic which was down, and they had trouble conver

suzanne pratt, nbr, new york. >> susie: still ahead on the program-- we ask c.e.o. mike jackson why sales of autonation are speeding up while other retailers are stalling out. "nightly business report" is brought to you by: captioning sponsored by wpbt >> susie: some more signs today that companies are in the mood to make deals-- ppg industries today agreed to buy georgia gulf's chemicals business for $2 billion. recently, pfizer sold its baby nutrition business to nestle for almost $12 billion, and anheuiser busch inbev spent $20 billion to take control of the corona beer brand. but so far this year, m&a deals are down more than 20%. so, will that change in the rest of the year? joining us now to talk about the outlook for m&a, bob profusek, chairman of the global m&a practice at jones day. >> bob, you were responsible for two mergers today, including that c p&g deal we just mentioned. do you see more deals picking up the rest of this year? >> it's actually a pretty good deal environment. the numbers are down year over year, but the first half of 20 len wa2011 was

>> this is nbr. >> tom: good evening. i'm tom hudson. apple falls short of expectations, missing the mark with its quarterly earnings and revenues. >> susie: i'm susie gharib. is housing really making a comeback after five brutal years? yes, according to one real estate firm. >> tom: then, the interest rate banking scandal that began in great britain continues expanding. >> susie: that and more tonight on nbr! a sour earnings report tonight for apple. the company reported a big miss after the market close today, and shares tumbled as much as 6% in after-hours trading. apple earned $9.32 a share in its fiscal third quarter, a dollar less than analyst estimates. revenue of $35 billion was also below expectations by more than $2 billion. suzanne pratt takes a look behind the numbers. >> reporter: yes, it is possible for the most valuable company in america to disappoint investors. still, analysts are putting a positive twist on the miss. they say consumers are simply holding back on buying iphones now in order to wait for the next generatio

erika miller, nbr, new york. >> reporter: i'm diane eastabrook. still ahead--i'll tell you how the weber company is still keeping the grilling industry on fire after 60 years. "nightly business report" is brought to you by: captioning sponsored by wpbt >> tom: "whatever it takes to preserve the euro. with that phrase, the head of the european central bank helped spark a stock rally, and added to expectations central banks in europe and the u.s. may act next week to help their struggling economies. those expectations led to higher stock prices today. the dow rose almost 212 points, the nasdaq added 39, the s&p 500 up 22. e.c.b. president mario draghi's comments today came after borrowing costs for troubled european economies had climbed to dangerous levels. spanish and italian government bond interest rates shot up earlier this week over worries abouthose countries' ability to pay theirills. on tsday, the spanish government ten-year bond interest rate was 7.59%. it dropped just below 7% today. a lower interest rate means lower borrowing costs. ital

silv cra hall, nbr, washington. >> susie: gold prices fell slightly today, and silver rose a bit, but both metals are flat so far this year. what are the trends for the second half of the year? we turn to joe foster for his forecast. he's portfolio manager of the van eck international investors gold fund. >> what is your forecast? you have geld closing today at 1565 an nounce. where do you see prices by the end of the year? >> i think gold can test the highs we made back in saeptd of last year, the high was $1921 an ounce. and i think as we go through

suzanne pratt, nbr, new york. >> tom: still ahead, our week- long series about online security continues with the cyber-attack threat to businesses and national security. "nightly business report" is brought to you by: captioning sponsored by wpbt >> tom: earnings worries, weak economic data, and european anxieties all weighed on the major indices. in europe, greece may need to restructure its debt again. here in the u.s., one measure of manufacturing fell to its slowest growth in two years. u.s. factory production fell to 51.8 in july from 52.5 the month before. any number above 50, though, means manufacturing is growing. the dow lost 104, the nasdaq's fell 27, the s&p dropped 12. >> susie: those disappointing apple earnings could set the tone for trading tomorrow. joining us now to talk more about apple, joe mayer, technology analyst at motley fool. joe, you heard our report, a lot people, a lot analysts are saying that apple should get a pass this time because so many customers are waiting for that iphone 5. so is that fair? what do you say to that? >> i had a feeling you were going t

. >> tom: i'm tom hudson with an nbr news brief. sour earnings for apple after the bell.ipads and iphones earned $9.32 a share in its fiscal third quarter, a dollar less than analyst estimates. even though revenues were almost $35 billion, that wasn't as high as anticipated. ahead of that report, stocks fell deeper into the red, as worries about europe pressured the major indices. the dow lost 104 points, the nasdaq down 27, while the s&p lost 12. >> reporter: i'm erika miller. tomorrow, i'll tell you why store-brand products are surging in popularity even as the economy improves. >> tom: for more financial news, tune in to nbr weeknights on this public television station.

that lifts stocks around the globe. >> tom: that and more tonight on nbr! >> susie: facebook lost face with investors today-- its first earnings report as a public company failed to impress. after the market close, the social network posted profits of 12 cents per share, excluding a charge for employee option grants.

banking scandal that began in great britain continues expanding. >> susie: that and more tonight on nbr! a sour earnings report tonight for apple. the company reported a big miss after the market close today, and shares tumbled as much as 6% in after-hours trading. apple earned $9.32 a share in

. >> this is nbr. >> tom: good evening. i'm tom hudson. apple falls short of expectations, missing the mark with its quarterly earnings and revenues. >> susie: i'm susie gharib. is housing really making ama comeback after five brutal years? yes, according to one real estate firm. >> tom: then, the interest rate banking scandal that began in great britain continues expanding. >> susie: that and more tonight on nbr! a sour earnings report tonight for apple. the company reported a big miss after the market close today, and shares tumbled as much as 6% in after-hours trading. apple earned $9.32 a share in

erika miller, nbr, huntington, new york. >> susie: we continue now our series on the foodie craze with a look at what's behind the price of the food on the menu. the restaurant business model is pretty simple-- buy ingredients, cook food, and sell it, hopefully at a higher price. but diners tastes change quickly, and competition is fierce. as tom hudson reports, that can make it tough for even top chefs to find the balance between creativity and profit. >> tom: michy's can be considered the home base for superstar chef michelle bernstein. she's won the top award for chefs, written a cookbook, and has been a regular on the tv show "top chef." but it's this small restaurant on the north side of miami that she calls home. >> my sister basically designed it with me in mind of a barbie house, when we were kids, of what i used to like. just made it fun and funky and frilly and not so serious, because david and i come from a world of very fine dining. >> tom: david martinez is her husband and business partner. they broke many rules of the restaurant business when they opened michy's in 2006.

silv cra hall, nbr, washington. >> susie: gold prices fell slightly today, and silver rose a bit, but both metals are flat so far this year. what are the trends for the second half of the year? we turn to joe foster for his forecast. he's portfolio manager of the van eck international investors gold fund. >> what is your forecast? you have geld closing today at 1565 an nounce. where do you see prices by the end of the year? >> i think gold can test the highs we made back in saeptd of last year, the high was $1921 an ounce. and i think as we go through the second half, the things that will drive gold will be a lot of the things that have been driving it all along. >> and we see a round of qe out of the fed, and sovereign debt problems in europe. financial stress in general that has been driving this gold market throughout the credit crisis. >> you know investors were fruflterated when there was no hint that the fed would do more stimulus. what are the chances that the fed might not do any stimulus for the rest of the year and the impact that would have on gold prices? >> we're in the m

be more, >> this is nbr. >> tom: good evening. i'm tom hudson. a big jump in revenue but flat earnings for facebook's first quarter as a public company. shares fall hard in after-hours trading. >> susie: i'm susie gharib. mario draghi to the rescue. the head of the european central bank says he'll do whatever it takes to boost the euro-zone. that lifts stocks around the globe. >> tom: that and more tonight on nbr! >> susie: facebook lost face with investors today-- its first earnings report as a public company failed to impress. t after the market close, the social network posted profits of 12 cents per share, excluding a charge for employee option grants.

for more financial news, tune in to nbr weeknights on this public television station.

that and more tonight on nbr!eak in the heat wave here on wall street, but investors still warmed up to stocks. the major averages rose again, making it three up days in a row. stocks got support from a string

that and more tonight on nbr!t wave here on wall street, but investors still warmed up to stocks. the major averages rose again, making it three up days in a row. stocks got support from a string