captioning sponsored by wpbt >> susie: good evening everyone. my colleague tom hudson is off tonight. it was another ugly day on wall street. the dow plunged 520 points, wiping out all of yesterday's gains. in washington, president obama met with federal reserve chairman ben bernanke and treasury secretary geithner. no word yet on what they discussed. but here at the new york stock exchange, investors were dumping stocks on new worries about europe's debt crisis-- this time in france. here's how things looked by the closing bell: the dow was down 4.5%, a loss of 520 points. the nasdaq tumbled 101 points and the s&p 500 fell 52. volume remained heavy. on the big board, 2.1 billion shares were traded, and 3.3 billion on the nasdaq. so where do stocks go from here? suzanne pratt reports. >> reporter: on wall street these days, what goes down must go up. and down. and up. and so on. experts say vertigo is the new normal for stock investors, and that's unlikely to change until there's clarity on the global economy. today's worry? france and its bigge

>>nice have to you with us tonight. >> good evening, susie. >> susie: it was really a nasty day, i'm going to ask you is this the beginning of a bear market. >> i don't think so susie. they reported 8% off the high. we showed a chart of the s&p 500, and all year long we've been 50 points either side of 1300. right now that doesn't feel so good, but we're bouncing around with lots of cross currents of late more negatives but there are still some positive out there. >> susie: we expected to have a relief rally now that the deal was signed. where do you stand on this, on the rationale behind the selling? was it about the debt deal or was it about the economy? >> i think it's more about the economy, susie. but they are related. at the end of the day, i don't think there's anyone in the financial market to really have debt default by the u.s. and so the assumption was in the 12th or 13th hour, we get something done. i think the skepticism is okay, you've got something done, that's good news. but over half the cuts are still to be identified. markets have uncertainty and we now have more o

you, too, susie. >> susie: good night, tom. i'm susie gharib. we'll see all of you again tomorrow evening. "nightly business report" is made possible by: this program was made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by wpbt captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org 

good night everyone, and good night to you too, susie. >> susie: good night tom. i'm susie gharib. we'll see what happens on that vote tomorrow. good night everyone. we hope to see all of you again tomorrow night. "nightly business report" is made possible by: this program was made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. captioning sponsored by wpbt captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

. >> susie: housing prices rebound in the spring. while the news is good, the market's home improvement may be only temporary. >> tom: and consumer confidence plunges amid wall street turmoil, drama over u.s. debt and fears that an economic recovery was stalling. it's "nightly business report" for tuesday, august 30. 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. stocks flip-flopped today as investors tried to make sense out of a new batch of reports that gave mixed a picture about the u.s. economy. tom, everyone's worried about recession so each new data point is important. >> tom: yeah, and can really drive the market. susie, here's what we learned today: a closely watched consumer confidence index fell to its lowest level in two years. the conference board survey said consumers are pessimistic about the outlook for

good night everyone, and good night to you too, susie. >> susie: good night tom. i'm susie gharib. good night everyone. we hope to see all of you again tomorrow night. "nightly business report" is made possible by: this program was made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. captioning sponsored by wpbt captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> more information about >> more information about investing is available in "nightly business report's" video "how wall street works". to order this dvd, call 1-800- play-pbs or visit online at shoppbs.org. >> be more. pbs.

captioning sponsored by wpbt >> susie: good evening, everyone. my colleague tom hudson is off tonight. it was up, up, and away here on wall street today. >> it was in stark contrast after alternating days of ferocious losses and gains. the focus of today's trading-- conflicting reports on the health of the u.s. economy. an encouraging report from the commerce department showed retail sales rose more than expected, up half a percentage, in july. it was the biggest one-month increase since spring as consumers spent more on gasoline and electronics. but the latest survey on consumer sentiment revealed how pessimistic american consumers are feeling about the future. the university of michigan index showed accept theiment dipped in august to its lowest . in 30 years. now here's how things looked by the closing bell. the dow add 125 points, the nasdaq knand 15, the s & p 500 notched up six. the pace of trading settled to a more normal range with 1 billion shares trading here on the big board, two billion on the nasdaq. the major averages almost finishe

>> susie: losing its luster. gold prices tumble over $100 just one day after setting a new price record. >> tom: is this the buying opportunity some have been waiting for or a bigger turn in what has been a shining investment? it's "nightly business report" for wednesday, august 24. 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 >> tom: good evening everyone. are the golden days over for gold? gold prices plunged over $100 today while stocks rallied for the third straight day. >> susie: tom, it was a dramatic reversal for gold. it's been steadily hitting new record highs. >> tom: susie, gold surely lost some of its lustre today. gold futures lost $104 for the biggest one-day slide in more than 20 years. gold closed at $1,757.30 an ounce. the past year for gold has seen prices rally from $1,200 to a record just yesterday. even wit

susie, it was a 5.8 magnitude quake. thankfully, there were no injuries and no major damages. >> susie: tom, it lasted only 20 or 30 seconds, but people felt the shock waves up and down the coast, even here at the new york stock exchange. now, the earthquake was centered near mineral, virginia, just south of washington, d.c., around 2:00 p.m. eastern time. rumbles were reported as far west as milwaukee and pittsburgh and up to martha's vineyard, where president obama is vacationing. homes shook along the east coast. the pentagon, the capitol and many government buildings were evacuated. flights were grounded in new york city as well as washington d.c. so equipment could be inspected. cell phone service was spotty as networks were jammed with people calling friends and family. >> tom: on wall street, stocks rolled to their best gains in eight sessions. by the closing bell, the dow was up 322 points, back above the 11,000 mark. the nasdaq jumped 100 and the s&p rose 38. trading volume on the big board was just under 1.25 b

of challenger gray and christmas, joins us now. >> susie: hi, john.hi, susie. >> >> susie: well, as you knowwe're economy. what do you think are the fixes that would help small businesses and help innovators and aunt preupentrepreneurs? >> entrepreneurs need access to capitol. they use to go to famlies, dip into savings accounts, credit cards or get a home equity loan. it's hard to do. people are opting for safety. even with high unemployment they're going back into the job market and stay ago way from the extra reugs can of trying to start a business. >> susie: what would they needts and feel confident about going out and starting a new company? >> well we need -- easier access to and lighter regulations for companies and entrepreneurs to get licenses quickly. we need bankers and ways for the government to help community banks support the lending that they do on taking chances, like they use to do, for local businesses. we need to open up our export market. it's crucial that the u.s., if we think about the 21st century become again the shop keeper to the world. we provide our goods and

hi, bob. >> hi, susie. >> susie: so, is the president right, that it's really not the economy that's broken? it's the political system. >> i think a lots of things are broken. i think it's true that we have basicry a bad economy because you don't have a good economy in war economy. and right now we have a civil war between democrats and republicans. they're fighting battles with partisan agendas and the nation, i think, has been left out. it's become collateral damage. >> susie: so what should the president do? >> i think options are limited to some extent. one of the problems is that we've leaned on the fed so much and with the sports season coming, we know in football if you run the ball and run the ball and run the ball, eventually they stop that. the way you're successful is mixing your strategy. republicans are redlining any kind of fiscal policy move and i don't think we should take anything off the move. with 9% unemployment the most risky thing that could happen is not to get control of our budget but the slide into recession and i think everybody should be focused on that. i

thank you for both joining us. >> good evening, susie. >> susie: gene, let me start with you. certainly steve jobs is a tough act to follow, but can tim cook keep the momentum going at apple. >> yes, and i think the reasons that the road maps aren't in place for the next three-- are in place for the next three to five years, we know about the iphone and i pad but the television that steve jobs has worked on, should carry the company for the next several years. so we continue to look very good about the next five years for apple. >> susie: you know, jeff, it's an understatement to say that steve jobs brought creativity and innovation to apple. he did that and so much more. but are those characteristics institutionalized in the company and the culture so that the company does succeed even without steve jobs? >> it's hard. because steve jobs himself, of course, represented the creative edge, that sense of pav rick zeal, going against the grain, against the status quo and to you become they become the mainstream dominant player. still, you look at great legends, whether or not it

and susie, there are growing worries that europe's financial problems could spread to the u.s. >> susie: tom, investors also dumped stocks on several negative reports on the u.s. economy's performance in july: an uptick in inflation-- the consumer price index rose more than expected; weak home sales-- national association of realtors said existing home sales dropped by 3.5%, worse than expected; a significant slowdown in manufacturing-- the philadelphia federal reserve said its regional index plunged to a reading of minus-30; and from the job market-- a spike in filings for unemployment benefits, up by 9,000. >> tom: now, that picture of a stalling u.s. economy led to massive selling on wall street. the dow tumbled 420 points, the nasdaq lost 131, and the s&p down 53. big board volume rose to 1.6 billion shares, while nasdaq volume climbed to 2.75 billion shares. here's the dow's intra-day performance. as you can see, it was down, down, down at the open, and we stayed lower all day. since the selling began on july 21, the dow is down almost 13%. suzanne pratt was on wall street today an

good night, everyone, and good night to you, too, susie. >> susie: good night, tom. i'm susie gharib. good night, everyone. we hope to see all of you again tomorrow night. "nightly business report" is made possible by: this program was made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by wpbt captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> be more. next on "great performances"... you sprinkle a little fairy dust... sometimes your dreams can come true, especially if you're jackie evancho, the little girl with the big voice. already an overnight sensation, jackie joins legendary producer david foster to perform new and classic songs.

. >> susie: irene's aftermath. in some parts of the country, that means travel delays, flooding, no power, and damage estimates in the billions of dollars. >> tom: but other areas are back on track and conducting business as usual. it's "nightly business report" for monday, august 29. 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 >> susie: good evening everyone. call it the irene effect. a day after the massive hurricane slammed the east coast, stocks on wall street were in rally mode. as millions of americans were cleaning up from the storm, investors went on a buying spree, relieved, tom, that hurricane irene wasn't as bad as expected. >> tom: susie, it certainly felt like a relief rally. also powering up stocks? some good news on u.s. consumer spending and a giant greek bank deal, giving hope to that country's financ