tom. >> tom: thanks, ruben, will you >> tom: thanks, ruben.we have more on how insurance companies manage risk when it comes to natural disasters.÷ learn about catastrophe modeling on our web site, nbr.com. just look for the "nbr-u" tab. >> susie: americans were feeling a little richer recently, thanks to gains in real estate and the stock market. the federal reserve said today that household net worth rose to nearly $65 trillion between july and september. that's up nearly $2 trillion from the previous quarter. net worth is total assets, like homes and stock portfolios, minus liabilities like mortgages and credit card debt. that wealth effect could make consumers feel more comfortable about shopping this holiday season. there are still 20 days before christmas and the rush is on. toys are always popular gift items. but there's one category that's expected to do even better and, no, it's not electronics. erika miller reports. ♪ ♪ó'2e÷ >> reporter: for many families, the holidays are all about the home. few retailers know that better than sur

saw in ruben's story, go online to nbr.com to watch an extended interview. "right to work" laws were in the spotlight today. president obama criticized them, saying they represent anti-union politics and deprived workers from better wages. the president weighed in on a controversial law pending in michigan's legislature while visiting that detroit engine plant that we mentioned earlier in the program. republican supporters of the measure say it will attract businesses. the measure could be signed into law tomorrow. more developments today on the bankruptcy process at hostess. the maker of twinkies and wonder bread says it needs to borrow $30 million from its liquidator in order to finish selling off its baking business. hostess says it has received more than 100 inquiries for the rights to its popular snack food brands, but that money from potential sales won't come until spring. well, on wall street investor kos use a little comfort food. stocks have been meandering as investors are waiting on that fiscal cliff as suzanne reported a little earlier in the pr

. >> i'm >> reporter: i'm ruben ramirez. still ahead, we'll take a look at how mobile payment technology may soon replace having to carry a plastic credit card. >> tom: we got another look at the economy between july and september, and it grew faster than first thought. third quarter gdp was revised higher today to just over 3%. that's up from the first estimate of 2.7%, and more than double the growth in the second quarter. fast forward to last week, and more americans filed for first- time unemployment insurance. new claims for jobless benefits rose by 17,000 to 361,000. but home sales continue strengthening. sales of previously owned homes jumped almost 6% in november to an annual rate of just over five million units. that puts 2012 on track to be the best year for sales since the housing the bubble burst. >> tom: the deal between the new york stock exchange and the intercontinental exchange caps really quite an eventful year in this industry. back in february the nyse merger with deutsch-- was blocked by european regulat

ruben ramirez, "n.b.r.," new york. >> susie: tomorrow, ruben takes a look at the top trend for companies next year. here's one clue: it could get your creative juices flowing. also tomorrow, our friday market monitor guest says the theme for stock investors in the new year is cuba. tom herzfeld gives the names of three stocks that could soar when the embargo is lifted. he's president of thomas j. herzfeld advisors. tonight, we continue our look at the worst c.e.o.'s in 2012 with a couple of top executives who almost made the list. tom hudson talks with sydney finkelstein of the tuck school of business at dartmouth. >> sydney finkelstein is with the tuft school of business at dartmouth, with us again from new york. we spoke last time about your four worst c.e.o.'s. you had two more that were really seen at visionaries but really brought down-to-earth this year. they almost made your list of bad c.e.o.'s. the first is well-known mark zuckerberg, c.e.o. of facebook. the company seems to be trying to get its legs under it now that it is maturing a little bit here. >> what worried me about ma

ruben ramirez, "n.b.r.," new york. >> susie: whatever you do, we hope you make it a safe celebration. i'm susie gharib, from all of us here at "nightly business report," happy new year. we'll see you right back here tomorrow night. captioning sponsored by wpbt media access group at wgbh media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> join us anytime at nbr.com. there, you'll find full episodes of the program, complete show transcripts and all the market stats. also follows us on our facebook page at bizrpt. and on twitter @bizrpt.

ruben ramirez, "n.b.r.," new york. >> susie: as 2012 winds down, the end of the year is often a time when we reflect. tonight, "lou's been thinking" about old friends and the best gift ever. here's author and educator lou heckler. >> in the past few weeks, i have lost three friends. i know it's part of getting older, and it still gets you thinking: how will we be measured? poet philip james bailey writes: we live in deeds, not years, in thoughts, not breaths, in feelings, not figures on a dial. there are many deeds to recount in business: profit and loss estimates, new product introductions, new markets entered and conquered. all are notable deeds in their own way. for my part, i could think of degrees earned, positions held, places traveled, ideas shared. somehow they pale compared to the older woman who approached me after a speech i gave at a senior citizens group in florida. i had talked about the healing power of humor and she waited tentatively to speak to me when the speech was over. thank you so much, she said, taking my hands in hers. i told her i should be thanking her, thi

ruben ramirez reports from washington. >> reporter: we all know the numbers. failing to reach a deal by january 1 will result in $109 billion in automatic cuts to federal spending. and while that's a big number, what matters most to states and municipalities is the small print, detailing just where those cuts will happen. and standard & poors' gabe pettek says those details could still be months away. >> even if the policymakers in washington, d.c., resolve the immediate issue before january 1 or shortly thereafter, we think there are going to be several details related to the administration of tax policy and the way the federal government spends money that will have an important effect on state budgets. >> reporter: the pew center on the states reports around 18% of federal grants to states would be subject to sequestration's spending cuts. that works out to about $7.5 billion the states could ultimately lose. >> the real worry right now for states is that as many states start there legislative sessions next month is just the uncertainty from capitol hill. >>

ruben ramirez, "n.b.r.," new york. >> susie: as 2012 winds down, the end of the year is often a time when we reflect. tonight, "lou's been thinking" about old friends and the best gift ever. here's author and educator lou heckler. >> in the past few weeks, i have lost three friends. i know it's part of getting older, and it still gets you thinking: how will we be measured? poet philip james bailey writes: we live in deeds, not years, in thoughts, not breaths, in feelings, not figures on a dial. there are many deeds to recount in business: profit and loss estimates, new product introductions, new markets entered and conquered. all are notable deeds in their own way. for my part, i could think of degrees earned, positions held, places traveled, ideas shared. somehow they pale compared to the older woman who approached me after a speech i gave at a senior citizens group in florida. i had talked about the healing power of humor and she waited tentatively to speak to me when the speech was over. thank you so much, she said taking my hands in hers. i told her i should be thanking her, this

ruben ramirez, "n.b.r.," new york. >> tom: that's "nightly business report" for wednesday, december 12. have a great evening, everyone. and you, too, susie. >> susie: tom, we're coming to the close of 12-12-12. and i hope it's been a good day for you. thanks for watching, everyone. join us online at www.nbr.com and back here tomorrow night. captioning sponsored by wpbt captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> join us anytime at nbr.com. there, you'll find full episodes of the program, complete show transcripts and all the market stats. also follows us on our facebook page at bizrpt. and on twitter @bizrpt. >> your brain is involved in everything you do, yet few girls or women, ever think about their brains. i'll show you five ways to unleash the power of the female brain and the amen clinic's method for radically improving it. it works so well for our patients, i know it can help you too. [music] >> the information in this program will also help boost your energy, mood and focus and it will help you look and feel younger and more beautiful, no

and as ruben ramirez reports, generic drug makers have been preparing for the slowdown. >> reporter: 2012 has been a boon for generic drug makers as 40 brand name drugs lost their patent protection, opening the door to what amounted to around $35 billion in sales. 2013 will be a different story, with only about half as many drugs scheduled to lose their patent protections. lipitor, pfizer's blockbuster cholesterol drug, was the biggest seller to lose patent protection this year. >> there are still individual product opportunities in 2013, but i think probably more importantly is we'll see in 2013, which we'll see more of going forward, is more alternative sources of growth to sort of bolster the traditional u.s. generic source of growth. >> reporter: 2013 could also see industry consolidation as some of the bigger players look to acquire smaller rivals to beef- up their product portfolios. >> it's going to be acquiring the niche companies to help support or enable the development of a particular generic in the market. or it's going to be making strategic partnerships with types of co

ruben ramirez, "n.b.r.," new york. >> tom: that's "nightly business report" for wednesday, december 12. have a great evening, everyone. and you, too, susie. >> susie: tom, we're coming to the close of 12-12-12. and i hope it's been a good day for you. thanks for watching, everyone. join us online at www.nbr.com and back here tomorrow night. captioning sponsored by wpbt captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> join us anytime at nbr.com. there, you'll find full episodes of the program, complete show transcripts and all the market stats. also follows us on our facebook page at bizrpt. and on twitter @bizrpt.

ruben ramirez takes a look. >> reporter: joyce and g.h. are baby boomers. joyce left her job in ad sales about five years ago. g.h. is an artist. they live comfortably and feel they've got a good financial plan. getting off on the right foot with finances usually starts early. >> my parents were both depression-era people so, yes, they talked about saving. they talked about not spending more than you can pay. all my life, they would say, "have you been participating in your savings plans?" >> reporter: a new survey from t.d. ameritrade found 74% of people who felt they were prepared for retirement had automatic deposits into their 401(k) plans. the traditional advice of starting early and maxing out contributions remains true today. >> yes, you need to learn about investing; yes, you need to know about what's prudent investing for you. but ultimately, it's about putting aside money from your income, figuring out a way to budget that is within your means. >> reporter: having the discipline to save money can be challenge, but joyce and g.h. found a system tha

ruben ramirez, seaside heights, new jersey. back here on wall street, tom, some interesting revolutions from netflix today saying it got a wells notice and being investigated by the securities and exchange commission. behind it is a very interesting debate going on. the reason for the investigation is that the ceo reid hastings had posted some information on his facebook page about developments at the company and the fec said you didn't disclose this property, should have been a press release or filing with the sec and raises new questions about social media and fair disclosure. >> tom: this is all about how technology is changing and regulations have a hard time susie keeping up with it. we see it with high frequency trading for instance and how companies disseminate information using social media getting it out argue me to more people faster than what a traditional press release or sec filing. so we'll have to see how this one plays out. that stock did not move much today on the notice although we did have plenty other moveme

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