sylvia hall looks at what it could mean, for the hedge fund industry, and investors. >> reporter: it would be really hard to look around times square and not see an advertisement. businesses of all kinds pay big bucks to put their brands here, but one thing you won't see plastered across these billboards, or any billboard or advertisement, are the words "hedge fund." for decades, they have been banned from advertising to the general public. but earlier this year, congress loosened the ban as part of the jumpstart our business startup, or jobs act. the s.e.c.'s proposal starts the process of lifting the restriction, giving hedge funds the ability to brand themselves, and disclose more details to the public. >> i think it will actually make the industry much more competitive, differentiated, and better. you will see better players and stronger players coming out from the jobs act, and it will also help create jobs. >> reporter: adam guren is with a small firm called hunting hill global capital. like many in the field, the firm's website doesn't offer many details about its investment s

cuts looming, defense makers are looking overseas, and as sylvia hall reports, it turns out, the industry has become quite the exporter. >> reporter: we've all seen the bombs, planes, and tanks that support our military, but did you know troops all over the world count on american made equipment? the u.s. is one of the biggest arms manufacturers in the world. and right now, the defense export business is taking off. >> typically, these kinds of things have gone in waves, but we've really seen an uptick in our international business. >> reporter: chris raymond of boeing says almost a quarter of the company's defense sales went to other countries last year. that's up from 7% about a decade ago, and this year, he expects it to rise. they deliver equipment like apache helicopters, c-17 fighters, and p-81 aircraft to about 30 countries in the middle east, europe, and asia. india is one of its newest customers. both the navy and the air force just bought boeing planes. >> asia pacific and the middle east i think right now is where you see sort of the biggest growth. i think it's growth in defen

sylvia hall, "n.b.r.," washington. >> susie: the u.s. postal service warned today that it's low on cash. the agency reported a quarterly loss, much worse, almost double, the same period a year ago. the post office lost $5.2 billion in its fiscal third quarter. the big drop comes as first- class mail volumes continuto fall, and the agency is now predicting it will be close to running out of cash next month. the postmaster general continues to call on congress to implement cost-cutting reforms, lawmakers failed to act on the post office's problems before leaving for summer break. >> tom: a day of modest moves for the major stock indices. but even with a small gain, the s&p 500 has put together its longest winning streak since march, up five sessions in a row. the index searched for a steady direction throughout the session, as it traded in a very narrow range. trading volume moderated a bit from yesterday's pace. 575 million shares on the big board. just under 1.7 billion on the nasdaq. materials up a 0.5%; energy rising 0.4%. hopes of new

sylvia hall takes a look at the heated ad war already underway. >> reporter: summer may be ending, but the fight for the presidency is heating up. you just need a remote control to see it play out. >> these are the results of president obama's failed stimulus policies. >> if romney wins, the middle class loses. >> last time had 90% of the spending. television campaign spending. is on pace to break records. and this year, super pacs are set to spend huge sums of money on advertising, for or against the candidates. >> romney and his collaborators will probably spend a billion. obama will be less than that, maybe 800 million dollars. >> reporter: but most of the country won't see the ads that spring from all that cash. so far this year, spending is concentrated in nine swing states. >> the tide does not rise >> reporter: by law, campaigns pay fairly low rates for television ad space. but for super pacs, it's a different game. some super pacs pay as much as twice what a campaign pays for airtime. >> the irony is there are a very few number of undecided voters this year, so we're going to s

sylvia hall, "n.b.r.," washington. >> susie: j.c. penney reported a steep drop in sales and a big quarterly loss, but surprisingly the retailers stock skyrocketed 6%. the company posted a loss of $0.67 a share. much bigger than the $0.25 analysts were expecting. sales tumbled 22% to just $3 billion. despite the dismal results, there are signs c.e.o. ron johnson's plan to re-invent the retailer may be taking hold. ruben ramirez reports. >> reporter: some silver lining in today's quarterly numbers out of j.c. penney, which at first blush looked pretty bleak. penney was able to move more merchandise at full price and widen its profit margins. the showstopper though, j.c. penney expects to end the year with $1 billion in cash, money it can use for c.e.o. ron johnson's turnaround plan. >> one of the fears was even if this all well and good, great plans, great strategy, if you run out of money before you get to lap those easy comps, you're not going to get to do all those exciting things you planned on. >> reporter: much of the plan hinges

sylvia hall, nbr, washington. >> reporter: i'm erika miller in southampton, new york. coming up, i'll take you behind the scenes at an ice company that makes 225 tons of ice a day! >> susie: relief came to part of the drought-stricken midwest today-- rain drenched iowa through ohio. but some of the southern areas are still scorched. the drought is taking a huge toll on livestock farmers. the heat is stressing animals and the cost to feed them is soaring. as diane eastabrook reports, that will eventually mean much higher meat prices in the future. >> reporter: it's lunch time at the walter farm in ottawa, illinois. but this summer, the cows are dining on hay, instead of pasture grass they normally eat this time of year. >> it's been so dry so long, it's pretty much burnt up. like right here, with the last rain, there's some grass starting to come. but it might take awhile; it might not recover this year. >> reporter: this is yet another cost the drought is dealing u.s. farmers. walter typically doesn't start feeding his cows hay until late fall, but with no grass, he ha

as sylvia hall reports, there's a lot more on the line than you may think. >> reporter: in this research lab in baltimore, dr. curt civin and his team of researchers are trying to answer some of our toughest health questions. they study stem cells in test tubes and in mice to understand leukemia and, hopefully, to find a cure. >> it's a long, long enterprise that we have to learn how to do, and find the right drugs and optimize that drug further, make new and different drugs. we have to test them in test tubes, test them in mice. test them in clinical trials in people. only then does the pharmaceutical industry really want to license that drug. >> reporter: he counts on grants from the national institutes of health to pay for the process. but the institute stands to lose nearly $2.4 billion as part of the sequester's cuts to discretionary spending. it's unclear how that will affect civin's team, but for researchers across the country, it could mean fewer and smaller grants. >> if we cut that much from the n.i.h. budget, we're going to have fewer jobs and fewer cures. >> reporter: dr. civ

tonight, sylvia hall tackles the defense budget, which faces $500 billion in cuts, and what's at risk for the nation's defense industry. >> reporter: in the early 20th century, johnstown, pennsylvania thrived on steel. with those days long gone, much of this economy has found new life in the u.s. defense industry. j.w.f. industries stands on the site of an old bethlehem steel mill. where workers used to stoke furnaces and weld iron, the 400 employees cut, bend, weld, paint, and assemble high-tech radar systems, vehicle armor, and other equipment for the military and its contractors. c.e.o. bill polacek says it's a re-invention in jeopardy. >> our defense business is about 50% to 60%. if sequestration takes effect, we s thagoindown rapidly. problem with that is, when you cut 20% of a budget, the big companies will pull the work in, and they'll give less to small businesses. >> reporter: he says already, orders from big defense companies are down this year. he estimates that if congress doesn't avert the sequester, he'll ultimately lose up to 60% of his annual profits. and he'll have to

sylvia hall explains. >> reporter: the big question for the fed these days is simple-- is it time for more action? but the answer is proving to be much harder. across the country, regional fed bank presidents have very different opinions. >> the fed obviously is in very unusual times. we're in what they call unorthodox, unusual circumstances, so monetary policy is being conducted in a very different way than it has been in the past. we don't have a lot of experience about how that works, what to do, how much of it to do, and what the ultimate impact will be. so just in that scenario, there's going to be a wider set of opinions. >> reporter: unemployment still hovers over 8%, and the economic recovery is only creeping along. just last month, the central bank's interest rate setting committee indicated it was strongly considering a program of bond buying, known as quantitative easing or "qe 3", if the economy didn't make significant gains soon. since then, data has improved, and more help would come with some risks. >> the larger the fed's balance sheet, the more complicated the future

sylvia hall, "n.b.r.," washington. >> tom: in the money file tonight: three ways to save money when choosing a financial advisor. here's manisha thakor, co-author of "on my own two feet: a modern girl's guide to personal finance." >> did you know that for each incremental 1% in fees you pay over a 20 year period, you will see your nest egg shrink by nearly 20%? what's an investor to do? understand the fees you are paying. if you are working with a financial advisor, make sure you understand these three things: "a": what you are paying the advisor for advice, "b": what the average management fee is on any investments recommended by the advisor, and "c": any trading or additional costs like custody that you will incur. personally, i'm a big believer in the value of financial advice, at the right price. to figure out that price, a rule of thumb i like is to aim for the all-in costs of working with an advisor to be less than the average fee on an actively managed equity mutual fund which today is just over 1.3%. always remember, fees matter. i'm manisha thakor. >> susie: and finally tonight, it