suzanne pratt, nbr, new york. >> susie: still ahead on the program-- we ask c.e.o. mike jackson why sales of autonation are speeding up while other retailers are stalling out. "nightly business report" is brought to you by: captioning sponsored by wpbt >> susie: some more signs toda that companies are in the mood to make deals-- ppg industries today agreed to buy georgia gulf's chemicals business for $2 billion. recently, pfizer sold its baby nutrition business to nestle for almost $12 billion, and anheuiser busch inbev spent $20 billion to take control of the corona beer brand. but so far this year, m&a deals are down more than 20%. so, will that change in the rest of the year? joining us now to talk about the outlook for m&a, bob profusek, chairman of the global m&a practice at jones day. >> bob, you were responsible for two mergers today, including that c p&g deal we just mentioned. do you see more deals picking up the rest of this year? >> it's actually a pretty good deal environment. the numbers are down year over year, but the first half of 20 len wa2011 was v

suzanne pratt reports. >> reporter: no matter what newspaper you read, when it comes to the economy these days, the headlines can be bleak. and, it's not just european nations that are in trouble, the u.s. economy has also de- celerated in recent months. federal reserve chairman ben bernanke is worried. and, so too are some economists. >> in my mind, just given the fact that we're more likely that not in a low trend growth rate world and periods of unevenness such as now, the odds of recession at any point in time could be as high 1 in 3. so, i think those are reasonable estimates. >> reporter: but, there are also reasonable positives: little nuggets that support the belief the economy will gain momentum in the second half of this year. those tidbits are pretty large including a stabilization in housing, and surging car sales. don't forget lower prices at the pump. a gallon of gas is $.47 cheaper today than in april. and, finally there's at least some faith in how much corporate america will earn in the final quarter of this year. >> the quarter that you want to focus on is the fourth qua

suzanne pratt takes a closer look at whether the u.s. can keep cool, as europe's troubles heat up. >> reporter: central bankers from europe, england, and china moved to give their respective economies a boost on the same day, within the same hour. and, don't forget just a few weeks ago, ben bernanke and company moved to keep long-term rates low longer. so, investors are now wondering whether all of the action suggests world leaders finally have a grand plan to rescue the global economy or, could it be the slowdown is worse than we originally thought? economists say it's probably a bit of both. >> there is a big problem. it's why we see central bankers around the world putting stimulus in place. i think there's a recognition certainly in europe that action needs to be taken. so, that's a good thing. >> reporter: after the european central bank trimmed rates today, e.c.b. president mario draghi raised the economic red flag, noting the downturn was spreading. he said "we can genuinely say that this measure is addressed to the whole of the e

suzanne pratt, nbr, new york. >> reporter: this is darren gersh in washington. the beleaguered blackberry maker, research in motion, faces shareholders. analysts see a company fighting for its life, but the c.e.o. says there's nothing wrong. "nightly business report" is brought to you by: captioning sponsored by wpbt >> susie: back now to our top story-- outlook for corporate earnings. one topic that you'll be hearing a lot-- how the strong dollar and weak euro is impacting quarterly earnings. with us to talk about that, wolfgang koester, the c.e.o. of fire-apps, a consulting firm that advises companies on currency strategies. so wolfgang, how much of an impact will the euro and the dollar have on corporate earnings this season? what can you tell us? >> it's going to be significant. it's not just the euro and the dollar which move quite well, it's also other currencys as well. europe having after overall impact from the dollar versus the euro strength, and then the dollar versus other currencies. that doesn't help >> susie: can you give us some names? >> yeah, a

suzanne pratt, "n.b.r.," new york. >> i'm sylvia hall in washington. still ahead, a new government report shows the private market for student loans operated a lot like the sub-prime mortgage market last decade. we break down that report. "nightly business report" is brought to you by: captioning sponsored by wpbt >> susie: stocks on wall street fell today, breaking a three-day rally. worries about europe's debt crisis dominated trading on word that spain's government said its economy will remain in recession next year. the downbeat forecast came on the same day that spain received approval for its first round of bailout money from european finance ministers. the dow tumbled 120 points, the nasdaq fell 40 and the s&p down 13. those economic problems in europe will weigh on the u.s. economy. that's the forecast from tonight's market guest: nick colas, chief market strategist at convergex group. nick, worries about europe have been on the back burner. are we back to worrying about europe again? >> i'm afraid we are. we got that news out of spain this mor

suzanne pratt, "n.b.r.," eastchester, new york. >> susie: that's "n.b.r." for thursday, july 12. good night everyone. we'll see you online at: www.nbr.com and back here tomorrow night. "nightly business report" is brought to you by: captioning sponsored by wpbt captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >>> the following kqed production was produced in high definition. ♪ ♪ ♪ >>> every single bite needed to be great. >> twinkies in there. >> wow! >> it's like a great, big hug in the whole city. >> that food is about all i can handle. my parents put chili powder in my baby food. >> french fries everywhere, all over the table and just a lot of chili.

suzanne pratt, "n.b.r.," new york. "nightly business report" is brought to you by: captioning sponsored by wpbt >> tom: banking stocks lead the rally on wall street today, susie, helping the dow and the s&p end a six-session losing streak. >> susie: tom, investors liked those j.p. morgan results and snapped up shares. j.p. morgan surged almost 6% and the financial sector overall jumped almost 3%. that pushed the dow to its best performance this month, up more than 200 points or 1.6 the nasdaq added 42 and the s&p rose 22 points. >> susie: despite the popularity of j.p. morgan's stock surge today, our next guest says there are still outstanding issues hanging over the bank. when i talked with fred cannon of k.b.w. today. i asked him what issues worry him the most. >> well, the key outstanding issues, and remember, tay have built a strong balance sheet, are europe. what about the big banks in europe, the big mortgages tie into those closely. what about the libor manipulation issue? they're one of the panel member that is

suzanne pratt, "n.b.r.," eastchester, new york. >> susie: that's "n.b.r." for thursday, july 12. good night everyone. we'll see you online at: www.nbr.com and back here tomorrow night. "nightly business report" is brought to you by: captioning sponsored by wpbt captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

suzanne pratt, "n.b.r.," eastchester, new york. >> susie: that's "n.b.r." for thursday, july 12. good night everyone. we'll see you online at: www.nbr.com and back here tomorrow night. "nightly business report" is brought to you by: captioning sponsored by wpbt captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org vo:geico, committed to providing service to its auto insurance customers for over 70 years. more information on auto insurance at geico.com or 1-800-947-auto any time of the day or night.

suzanne pratt takes a look behind the numbers. >> reporter: yes, it is possible for the most valuable company in america to disappoint investors. still, analysts are putting a positive twist on the miss. they say consumers are simply holding back on buying iphones now in order to wait for the next generation. >> no one expes the next iphone, which we're calling the iphone 5, to be the same as the iphone 4 and iphone 4s, at least in the way it looks on the outside. >> reporter: as a result, only 26 million iphones were sold in q-3. many on wall street were hoping for 29 million units. nevertheless, ipad sales were strong, with consumers snatching up 17 million of the tablets compared to the 16 million anticipated. we still don't know when iphone 5 will hit the stores, but this fall is when it's widely expected. and with a wide variety of android phones nibbling at apple's market share, hopes are high for something innovative. >> apple needs it to be dominant. it needs to basically... this fall, to raise the bar in the smart phone space. if the iphone 5 doesn't do that, i think apple wi

but first, suzanne pratt takes a deeper look at today's employment report. >> reporter: when the economy creates 80,000 jobs in one month, it's good enough to keep us from another recession. but, it's not good enough to chip away at that pesky unemployment rate. in the first quarter of this year, employers added an average of 225,000 jobs. but, in the second quarter the average downshifted to a disappointing 75,000. some economists credit warm winter weather for the early boost in hiring, saying it robbed jobs from the spring. but, no matter how you slice it, the economy is slowing and businesses are afraid to commit to new workers. >> the debt crisis in europe has the potential to dip the economy back into recession, although that's unlikely, it's probably a concern for businesses. and, secondly we have a lot of uncertainty related to tax policy and fiscal issues this year. >> reporter: today's weak data sparked new debate about what more the federal reserve can do to help. to some, a new round of bond buying, known as q.e.-3, looks like a strong possibility. >> it has to put quantitati