i'm susie gharib, goodnight everyone and goodnight to you too tom, >> tom: good night susie. i'm tom hudson goodnight everyone, we hope to see all of you again tomorrow night. "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 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 wpbt >> susie: good evening, everyone. blockbuster earnings from apple this afternoon on a day when investors have been focused on the health of the tech giant's visionary c.e.o., steve jobs. tom, even though apple reported better than expected earnings and sales in the latest quarter, investors still worry whether its shares will go up or down, now that jobs is on medical leave again. >> tom: susie, no question jobs has the magic touch when it comes to satisfying consumer appetites. from the first ipod nine years ago to the ipad last year, the profits keep piling up. apple earned $6.43 a share in its fiscal first quarter, over a dollar more than analyst estimates. revenues also came in much higher than expected, up 71% from a year ago to $26.7 billion, thanks to huge sales gains ipads, iphones, and its mac computers

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. my colleague tom hudson is off tonight. another business-friendly announcement from the white house today. president obama named general electric's c.e.o. to head up a new jobs council and also made him his chief outside economic advisor. speaking at a g.e. plant in schnectady new york, the president said he chose jeff immelt because he can find new ways to promote private sector hiring. >> the past two years were about pulling our economy back from the brink. the next two years, our job now, is putting our economy into overdrive. >> susie: immelt's appointment came just hours after g.e. reported better than expected quarterly numbers and a big jump in new orders. g.e. earned 36 cents a share, four cents more than analyst estimates. that's a gain of 33% compared to a year ago. l

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. from wall street to washington the talk today was about the job market. the nation's unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in a year and a half-- slipping to 9.4% in december. and american businesses added a disappointing 103,000 jobs. >> tom: susie, those job numbers came as president obama announced the new leader of his economic team. he named gene sperling as the new head of his national economic council-- the top economic advisory position in the white house. sperling held the same job in president clinton's administration and replaces larry summers. >> susie: also in washington today, federal reserve chief ben bernanke told lawmakers on capitol hill that a normal economy is still years away. we have two reports looking at bernanke's testimony and the outlook for the j

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. solid earnings tonight from alcoa and a bullish forecast for this year. the world's largest aluminum company is the first dow component to report quarterly numbers, and tom, analysts are hoping these strong numbers will set a positive tone for the upcoming corporate earnings season. >> tom: susie, the results also beat analyst estimates. excluding special items, alcoa earned 21 cents a share in the fourth quarter-- two cents more than estimates. revenues were in line with expectations-- $5.7 billion. alcoa also said it expects 12% growth this year for aluminum products, and it's calling for global demand to double by 2020. >> tom: here are the stories in the question is whether italy, spain and portugal will be able to sell their own bonds this week. if interest rates are at those auctions,

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. it's a new day on capitol hill with the swearing in of the 112th congress. ohio republican john boehner was elected as house majority leader, ending four years of democratic control. as nancy pelosi passed the speaker's gavel to him, boehner said, "i'm still just me." >> tom: susie, that folksy demeanor may go by the wayside as boehner takes the lead on the people's business. that likely means we'll see fights over spending, namely on health care and the nation's massive red ink. >> susie: in his acceptance speech, senator boehner promised to make congress more transparent and to restore the american people's trust in the political system. he said, "a great deal of scar tissue has built up on both sides of the aisle." >> tom: joining us now to talk more about the challenges facing the new c

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. mixed signs today about the mind-set of consumer. they're spending a bit more, but tom, they are still uneasy about the economy. >> tom: that's right, susie. we saw conflicting reports today. retail sales for december rose six-tenths of percent-- the biggest annual gain since 1999. but, a measure of consumer sentiment took a unexpected dip in january. >> susie: so are consumer attitudes changing when it comes to money. suzanne pratt gets some answers. >> reporter: since the great recession americans have gotten a lot more familiar with these little guys. that's because we're saving more, spending less and paying down debt. barbara whitehead, director of the templeton center for thrift and generosity, says our rediscovered frugality is here to stay. >> just even in a cultural way

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. violent street protests in egypt sent shockwaves through financial markets around the world. egypt has been viewed as one of the most stable economies in the middle east, but now tom, there are serious concerns about that and the impact on the global economy. >> tom: susie, the turmoil roiled stock markets overseas and here in the u.s. the major stock averages fell 1% to 2%. oil prices rose sharply spiking nearly $4 to almost $90 a barrel. gold prices also surged as investors looked for safety: up $22 to $1,340 an ounce. >> susie: as tensions intensify in egypt, darren gersh looks at the implications for the global economy. >> reporter: the conditions that brought egyptians out in mass protests can be found across the middle east-- high inflation, high unemployment and little ho

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 blizzard is the third one this winter and it's been disruptive for many companies. >> tom: it sure has, especially true for u.s. airlines. more than 6,000 flights were canceled today, that means of course lost revenue and extra costs to reroute passengers, planes and crew. >> susie: erika miller takes a look at how big a toll will this take on the major carriers this >> reporter: snowy weather has left thousands of planes grounded, so will airline profits get pounded? that's a big concern for investors in those stocks. the s&p arca airline index hit turbulence starting back in november. though it's a typical seasonal pattern, analysts say the volatility was made worse by bad storms. according to analyst estimates, the snowstorms so far this winter could cost the industry as much as $500

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. well, move over at&t. verizon announced today it will begin selling apple's popular iphone. tom, this ends ma bell's exclusive rights as iphone's sole carrier. >> tom: susie, a lot of people have been waiting for this, especially with so many complaints about dropped calls on the at&t network. a recent j.d. power survey put at&t last among the major wireless carriers for call quality in four of six national regions. starting february 3, existing verizon wireless customers will be able to buy the iphone 4. then on february 10, the verizon iphone will launch to the public in apple and verizon stores and online. the cheapest version will sell for $199. >> susie: the question of when verizon would sell apple's iphone has been a hot topic for years. today, when i talked with verizon

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. a big-- and surprising-- top management change at google tonight. eric schmidt is out as c.e.o., and google co-founder larry page takes over the top job, as of april 4. tom, schmidt will stay on at the company as executive chairman, and as he said on twitter, "day- to-day adult supervision no longer needed." >> tom: susie, as you remember, when schmidt was brought in ten years ago, he said the young co- founders-- page and sergey brin- - needed "adult supervision." they've certainly grown up, given the spectacular earnings google reported after the bell this afternoon. the internet giant earned $8.75 per share, 66 cents higher than estimates. revenues also came in better than expected, jumping almost 30% percent to $6.4 billion. google stock was up over 2.5% in after-hours tradi

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. all eyes will be on president obama tomorrow night. that's when the president will deliver his second state of the union speech. and tom, there's a lot riding on what he tells the american people. >> tom: susie, the president will discuss a wide range of issues, but with all the concerns about jobs, the deficit and the weak housing market, the economy is sure to top the list. >> susie: here's darren gersh with a preview of what to expect. >> reporter: in a youtube preview, the president made it clear obama the pro business centrist will be standing before congress tomorrow night, and the key focus will be restoring american competitiveness. >> to do that, we're going to have to out-innovate, we're going to out-build, we're going to have to out-compete, we're going to have to out-educate oth

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 >> tom: good evening and thanks for joining us. susie gharib is off tonight. wall street wrapped up 2010 with some sizable gains. all of the major stock indices marked double-digit rallies for the year: the dow up 11%, the nasdaq up 17%, and the s&p 500 up 13%. the big questions this new year's eve-- where do stocks go from here? and how should investors position themselves in the new year? erika miller asked the pros. >> reporter: the hats are out, and so are the noise makers as the nation gets ready to ring in the new year. the good news is 2011 could be another prosperous year for stock investors. bank of america merrill lynch strategist david bianco is predicting an 11% gain for the s&p 500. >> the catalyst should be that we are putting the recession of 2008 and 2009 behind us. investors are still worried a

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, and happy new year. investors kicked off 2011 with a rally. tom, it looks like they're feeling positive about the outlook for the economy this year, and all the major stock averages rose on that optimism. >> tom: susie, stocks surged right from the opening bell this morning, but pulled back a bit by the close. still some decent gains. the dow rose 93 points, the nasdaq added 38 and the s&p 500 was up 14. those gains came on a pickup in trading volume. a billion shares moving on the nyse and nearly two billion on the nasdaq. >> susie: so now what? is this the time to make some new investment moves? suzanne pratt reports. >> reporter: it's a new year. it's a new decade. so is it time for a new portfolio? experts say radical changes are unnecessary for most investors. there is room for serious

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. captiong sponsored by wpbt >> tom: good evening and thanks for joining us. push and pull in washington tonight, as president obama hosts chinese president hu jintao on his official state visit. while obama called on china to respect human rights, susie. he also welcomed that nation's rise as a global economic power. >> susie: tom, the prickly issue of china's currency also came up. president obama said he believes it's still undervalued, and that he'd like to see a faster appreciation of the yuan. president hu said his country is committed to letting market forces determine the value of the yuan. >> tom: hu also vowed today to give u.s. companies "equal treatment" in china, something president obama said is key to our mutual futures. >> with china's growing middle class, i believe that over the coming years, we can more than double our exports to chi