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. tom hudson is off tonight. a sweeping plan announced today to drastically reduce the nation's enormous deficit. among the recommendations: raising the nation's retirement age to 68 and getting rid of the tax break for home mortgage interest payments. the cuts, suggested by a special commission appointed by president obama, would reduce the deficit by $4 trillion over the next decade. so, how will the proposals impact you? our washington bureau chief darren gersh has been studying the report, and he joins us now. >> susie: darren, this is quite a provocative plan. could it really happen? >> well, provocative is one way to put it. the list provokes just about everybody, doesn't it. i would say it is a serious plan, although the odds of it becoming law right away -- i think we have to say righ

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. the consumer keeps spending. tom, americans were opening up their wallets in october, giving a boost to retail sales. >> tom: susie, that report was surprisingly strong, and the nation's retailers are hoping this means a green christmas. the commerce department reported retail sales rose 1.2% in october, that follows a 0.7% increase in september. >> susie: today's results were the largest gain in seven months. as erika miller explains, that's welcome news for more than just the nation's merchants. >> reporter: when you think of retail sales, you probably think of shopping bags... and cash registers. but the big driver of retail sales in october doesn't have either. sales at auto dealerships posted their biggest gain since the last year's cash for clunkers program, up more than 5%. economist

my colleague susie gharib is off tonight. the holiday shopping season kicked off with a mad rush into stores around the country. today is known as black friday-- the time of year retailers hopefully move into the black, turning a profit. hopes are high this holiday season. the national retail federation predicts a 2.3% increase in sales in november and december much better than last year. other forecasts call for even stronger gains. as suzanne pratt reports, black friday could be the gift retailers are looking for. >> you can not enter here, go to the left or the right or keep the traffic moving. >> reporter: it's beginning to look a lot like christmas. from the massive crowds at macy's in herald square to the long lines at this best buy in california, retailers are ready for what could be the strongest yuletide season in four years. macy's c.e.o. terry lundgren says black friday is still a great way to gauge shoppers' pocketbooks. >> it's not just a kickoff to the season, but it is in fact the largest day of the year when i

i'm susie gharib. good night everyone, and good night to you too, tom. >> tom: good night susie. i'm tom hudson. 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

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 wpbtret two-year highs, inching towards $90. experts predict crude could reach $100 a barrel as next year. scott gurvey reports. >> reporter: nymex crude hit a 25-month high in electronic trading early today, then retreated to settle unchanged. but while traders may have decided to lock in some short term gains, experts say the recent oil price gusher is for real. chinese demand is a big reason. the chinese government today reported refineries in that country processed a record volume of oil in october. the chinese thirst for oil has been growing along with its economy. but oil trader ray carbone says there's more to the story than china. >> we have seen china be a big part of the rally back from the lows of march of 2009. but what were seeing now, which has spurred oil to these two year highs, is really some very g

this is "nightly business report" with susie gharib and tom hudson. ly 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. my colleague tom hudson is off tonight. world leaders agreed today to a cooling off period on prickly currency and trade issues. but as that two-day summit in south korea wrapped up, the reaction here on wall street was anything but cool. the dow fell 90 points, the nasdaq tumbled 37 and the s&p 500 off 14 points. investors are concerned about how trade and currency frictions will be resolved and word today that china will raise interest rates to fight off inflation in its economy. erika miller has more on the market pullback and the outlook. >> reporter: the concern about stocks here... actually starts here in the streets of china, where there is a growing for u.s. goods and services. investors are worried china might have to slowdown its economy in order to reduce inflation pressures

my colleague susie gharib is off tonight. as the nation prepares to go shopping this weekend, investors were buying up stocks. the dow popped 150 points higher, wiping out yesterday's losses. while shopping on the day after thanksgiving has become almost as much a tradition as eating turkey leftovers, this year both retailers and shoppers have a new game plan for black friday. erika miller reports. >> reporter: 'tis the season for decking the malls. not just with seasonal decor, but also with sales signs. this gap at a mall in new york city plans to open at midnight on black friday. district manager benny paulino says everything will be half price until 10 a.m. >> i think we're expecting a little more traffic than the previous years. i think we haven't been as promotionally driven in the past as we are this year. >> reporter: but many of the best deals will not be at the mall this year. they'll be online. retail analyst roxanne meyer says stores are using social media like facebook and twitter to drive traffic to their sites.

this is "nightly business report" with susie gharib and tom hudson.2; "nightly business report" is made possible by: this program is made possible by contributions to your &eeu station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by wpbt< >> susie: good evening, everyone. a sharp stock sell-off today after a surprise confrontation between north and south korea tom, the selling began at the opening bell on word that north korea fired artillery shells at a south korean island. >> tom: susie, that overshadowed some encouraging economic news.t the government says the economy grew by 2.5% in the third quarter. that made g.d.p. growth a bit faster than the first estimate of 2%. still, stocks sold off. the dow tumbled 142 points, the nasdaq lost 37, the s&p 500 off 17. >> susie: also weighing on the markets-- a revised economic forecast from the fed. at the central bank's last meeting, policymakers downgraded their assessment of the u.s. economy for next year. economic growth of around 3.5%) is now expected, down from a 4% forecast; unemployment in the 9% range rather than 8%.]cfa

i'm susie gharib. good night, everyone, and good night to you, too, tom. >> tom: good night, susie. i'm tom hudson. 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 >> more information about investing is available in: to order this dvd, call 1-800- play-pbs or visit online at shoppbs.org. >> be more. pbs.

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. call it "tarp european style." and tom, european officials have approved a plan that will bail out european countries with financial problems in the future. now the idea here? reassuring investors that europe is united in solving the region's massive debt problems. >> tom: susie, it's called the "european stabilization mechanism." here's what we know about it. it launches in 2013 and will provide emergency loans. 16 euro-zone countries can ask for help. if a country needs a bailout, anyone holding that country's bonds will have to agree to a haircut on their investment before bailout money is doled out. >> susie: europe's finance ministers also okayed a bailout for ireland, $113 billion worth. so what does all this mean to the u.s. economy and american investors? joining us now, kenneth rog

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. a "new" stock will trade here at the new york stock exchange tomorrow: general motors. tom, everyone's talking about g.m. going public just a year after emerging from bankruptcy. >> tom: susie, the automaker priced its shares late this afternoon. $33 dollars each, higher than originally planned. g.m. will raise about $23 billion, combining common and preferred shares, making it the largest i.p.o. in u.s. history. and it'll trade under the ticker g-m, same as the old symbol. >> susie: but the company is "new." leaner-- only four brand names remain, cadillac, buick, chevy and g.m.c. downsized-- 25% fewer workers. new management-- dan akerson is the c.e.o., the fourth in two years. it's profitable-- $5 billion dollars so far this year, and expected to report its first full-year profit since 20

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. investors and traders were still buzzing about general motors here at the new york stock exchange. tom, a day after the debut of g.m.'s stock offering investors are wondering whether or not g.m. is a buy. >> tom: susie, we can see that uncertainty in the two days of trading of g.m. shares. at one point, today g.m. came close to yesterday's offering price of $33 a share. but by the closing bell, g.m. gained traction rising seven cents to close at $34.26. rival ford also rose up 1%. >> susie: despite all the hoopla about g.m.'s rebirth, investors are wondering which stock is better: ford or g.m. erika miller reports. >> reporter: when shopping for a car, it's hard to decide which one to buy. do you go with the latest model? or the one with a proven track record? the same debate ap