this is "nightly business report" with susie gharib and tom hudson. "nightly business report" is made possible by: captioning sponsored by wpbt >> tom: good evening and thanks for joining us. my colleague susie gharib is on assignment at the berkshire hathaway annual meeting in omaha. we start with a look at the u.s. dollar. for years the american greenback was the go-to currency in times of worry and prosperity. but thanks to less than stellar economic data and expectations the federal reserve will keep interest rates low. tonight, the dollar is at its lowest value in more than a year against the euro, british pound and canadian dollar. it's at the lowest level ever against the swiss franc. we have two reports looking at the weaker dollar. in a moment, how the drop has meant big profits for some u.s. companies. but first, darren gersh looks at what a weak dollar could mean for you. >> reporter: if you couldn't afford to pop across the pond to celebrate today's wedding with kate and wills, don't feel bad. in fact, feel patriotic. by keeping your dolla

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 ben bernanke tomorrow. that's when the federal reserve chief will give his first-ever press conference. and tom, this will be the start of regular briefings between bernanke and the media. >> tom: first one, susie, in an unprecedented move, bernanke will talk to reporters shortly after the fed releases its statement on monetary policy. he can expect questions about inflation and when the fed is going to pull the plug on its bond-buying program that has pumped billions of dollars into the economy. >> susie: and as darren gersh reports, bernanke is trying to improve the fed's communication at a crucial time for the economy and the central bank. >> reporter: its popularity sagging and under fierce attack by critics, the federal reserve has good reason to up its p.r. game. d

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 major sell-off on wall street today after standard & poor's ratings agency lowered the long- term outlook for u.s. debt to "negative" from "stable." and tom, that change was a wake- up call for americans who always boast about the u.s.'s high- quality, triple "a" status. >> tom: susie, s&p says there's a one-in-three chance that it could lower the long-term rating on the u.s. within two years. the news spooked investors. the dow fell 140 points, recovering from a loss of 248 points earlier in the session. the nasdaq lost 30 and the s&p was off 14.5. big board volume starting out the week above one billion shares while nasdaq volume topped 1.8 billion shares. >> susie: it's the first time in history that u.s. has received a negative outlook for its debt. so how serious is this? and what do

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 >> be more. pbs.

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: 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. it's crunch time for uncle sam and the u.s. budget. unless lawmakers can agree on a budget deal, tom, the u.s. government will shut down at midnight tonight. >> tom: susie, the clock is running out. it looks like negotiators have agreed on the overall price tag of budget cuts: $38 billion. but republicans are still demanding policy changes that democrats are not willing to accept. one issue holding things up-- a provision to end government funding of planned parenthood. >> susie: here's darren gersh. >> reporter: republicans and democrats remain where they were a day ago-- close, but not close enough. senate majority leader harry reid said policy issues still divided the two sides with republicans refusing to compromise on funding for family planning services. >> they can keep t

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. harsh words today for goldman sachs from a bipartisan senate panel investigating the financial crisis. tom, this report is different from its predecessors. it directly assigns blame to the investment bank, credit rating agencies, and regulators. >> tom: susie, the report is critical of many financial firms, but it singles out goldman for "rampant conflict of interest." the report also includes 19 recommendations to prevent a future crisis. they include requiring lenders to own at least 5% of the loans it sells to investors, strengthen bank oversight, and hold credit rating agencies accountable in civil lawsuits. >> susie: the panel is handing its findings over to the department of justice to see if possible criminal charges are warranted against goldman and possibly its c.e.o.,

susie gharib is off tonight. the u.s. economy is creating jobs in a meaningful way and it's no april fools. tom, the march employment report was better than expected, capping off the strongest two months of hiring since the recession started. >> tom: suzanne, the labor market recovery finally appears to be gathering speed. the unemployment rate slipped to 8.8% last month. that two-year low came as more people stopped looking for work and were no longer counted as unemployed. employers added 216,000 new jobs to payrolls and the february number was revised higher. >> suzanne: it was the kind of labor news that wall street and main street have been waiting to hear for a long time. >> reporter: not one, but two straight months of solid job creation for the u.s. economy. the private sector did the heavy lifting in march adding positions across many industries, including retail, manufacturing and health care. still, lots of americans who stopped looking for work during the recession have yet to start pounding the pavement again

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 and thanks for joining us. stocks fell even as oil prices dropped more than 3%. susie, one reason behind the sell-off? a goldman sachs forecast calling for a sharp drop in oil prices, suggesting investors should take profits. >> susie: tom, goldman predicts crude prices in the u.s. could get below the $100 a barrel level over the next few months. in new york trading today, may crude futures closed at $106.25- - down $3.67. now that big drop in oil was a drag on wall street. in its biggest slide in a month, the dow tumbled 117 points, the nasdaq lost 26 and the s&p off 10. >> tom: besides energy concerns, investors were also on edge about a new batch of revised forecasts for u.s. and global economic growth and the outlook for corporate earnings reports. now among those anticipated reports this week? tw

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. all eyes are on the white house tonight as the u.s. inches closer to a shutdown. president obama is set to meet shortly with key republicans and democrats for another negotiating session to get a budget deal. tom, the meeting is scheduled for 7:00 pm eastern time. >> tom: susie, if they don't agree, we're facing the first federal government shutdown in more than 15 years. meanwhile, the house okayed a stopgap budget bill to fund the government for another week. but senate democrats oppose it and the president says he'll veto it. >> susie: the clock is ticking toward the deadline-- friday at midnight, eastern time. darren gersh looks at the issues holding up a budget deal. >> reporter: this morning, democrats and republicans seemed to be moving further apart. house republicans pu

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 head for the holiday weekend in an upbeat mood. the dow jones industrial average ended today close to three-year highs and, tom, that was thanks to another round of strong earnings. >> tom: susie, precious metals were also in rally mode again today. gold closed above the $1,500 level, a new record high. and silver prices rose sharply, up $1.60 to $46 an ounce, it's highest price in a generation. >> susie: the run-up in silver has been spectacular-- prices have more than doubled in the past year. suzanne pratt takes a look at whether silver will keep its luster. >> reporter: gold usually gets all the glitter but, lately, it's been out-shined by another precious metal. at $46 an ounce, silver is at a 30-year high, and it's nearing its record price of $50, hit when the hu

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. >> tom: good evening, and thanks for joining us. another amazing quarter for apple. susie, once again the company blew past wall street's expectations. >> susie: tom, its quarterly profit jumped 95%! apple earned a record $6 billion, or $6.40 a share. wall street was looking for $5.37. the company sold 18 million iphones. that's more than double than a year ago, thanks to verizon wireless unveiling its version of the popular smartphone in february. >> these rules came out the same day reuters reported a new iphone could hit the market in four months. while not commenting on tonight's conference call with analysts, apple's chief operating officer tim cooked called iphone success much larger than we thought we could do. the manager editor of the internet magazine joins us tonight from the nasdaq. if all the reports are accurate that we heard

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 down to the wire on the nation's budget. president obama is meeting with top democrats and republicans tomorrow at the white house to hammer out an agreement. tom, the president is counting on a deal before friday. >> tom: susie, that's the deadline for lawmakers to reach a settlement to avoid a potential government shutdown. senate majority leader harry reid and house speaker john boehner are among those invited to the meeting. but in a sign that an agreement is far from imminent, boehner said today that a tentative plan to cut $33 billion from the budget is not enough. separately, republican representative paul ryan will release the g.o.p.'s 2012 proposed budget resolution tomorrow. >> susie: that proposal is expected to slash more than $4 trillion over 10 years, including cuts to me

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. thanks for joining us. two big stories tonight. federal reserve chief ben bernanke says super-low interest rates are going to be around for a while. also, news from warren buffett's berkshire hathaway, where a former top executive violated the company's insider trading rules. >> susie: tom, let's start with the fed. in the central bank's first ever news conference, the chairman had a lot to say about inflation. he acknowledged it's rising, and he understands why americans are impatient with the slow recovery. before the news conference, the fed released a new economic outlook. here it is. it now sees slower economic growth-- around 3.3%-- but expects lower unemployment this year, and higher inflation. and, as expected, the fed confirmed plans to complete its bond purchases in june. >> tom: our washin

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. i'm joined by my colleague suzanne pratt. on wall street today, there was plenty of talk about berkshire hathaway and david sokol. >> suzanne: he's the executive who unexpectedly resigned from berkshire late yesterday amid surprising revelations about his personal stock trading. sokol was also considered a likely successor to berkshire c.e.o. warren buffett. >> tom: berkshire and sokol insist he did nothing illegal, but does even the suggestion of impropriety taint warren buffett and berkshire? erika miller reports. >> reporter: there's court, and then there's the court of public opinion. both matter in determining whether david sokol did something wrong. law professor jack coffee says criminal charges are highly unlikely. >> i think h

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. a bumpy start to a busy week for investors. stocks zig-zagged after the long holiday weekend and, susie, trading volume was the lightest for the year. >> susie: tom, investors stayed on the sidelines as they wait to size up all the headlines coming out in the next few days, hoping for a clearer picture of the market and the economy. >> tom: from corporate america to the federal reserve in washington, there will be lots of new information in the days head. suzanne pratt looks at what's ahead for investors and what it could mean for stocks. >> reporter: if ever there were a week for the market to lose its teflon status, some experts say this could be it. from ford motor to exxon mobil, corporate earnings will flood wall street all week long. on top of that, the fede

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 was the president's turn to present a deficit reduction plan today. president obama unveiled his long-term blueprint to reduce the nation's massive deficit by $4 trillion over 12 years. tom, besides spending cuts the president proposed to raise taxes on wealthy americans. >> susie: susie, that tax idea is a clear difference between the white house plan and last week's republican budget proposal to tackle the red ink. obama says his idea includes $3 of spending cuts for every $1 in higher taxes. and while he wants to slash medicare and medicaid by $500 billion, obama proposes no changes in social security. >> susie: president obama's speech at george washington university was tough and forceful, and as darren gersh reports, it laid out a very different view than the republican proposal of