. >> tom: good evening. i'm tom hudson. susie is off tonight. new home sales cooled a little this summer but prices jump to their highest level since the recession. radio shack sacks its c.e.o., promising to move in a new direction. but how does a niche player find its footing between the big box retailers and online competitors? and paying for college. the confusing and complex business of figuring out financial aid. that and more tonight on "n.b.r."! a silver lining today in some so-so economic news. the commerce department says sales of new homes slipped slightly in august compared to july. but, year over year new home sales were up nearly 28%. the northeast saw the most robust action, but sales dropped in the south. in the midwest builders say consumers are scrambling to build before mortgage rates and land prices increase. diane eastabrook has more. >> reporter: oakley home builders didn't have a buyer when construction started last spring on this three story spec house in tony hinsdale, illinois. >> this is the great room, this is the fami

>> tom: i'm tom hudson. a game changer in the defense industry, two of europe's biggest players look to join forces, just as the u.s. defense industry prepares to slim down. >> susie: the latest census numbers are in, and a record 46 million people remain below the poverty line. >> tom: that and more tonight on "n.b.r."! >> susie: thinner, faster, taller. we're talking about apple's hotly anticipated iphone 5. it was unveiled today in san francisco, and investors were impressed, juicing the shares up to $669 a share. but does the new device live up to the hype? erika miller takes a closer look at whether the new iphone will be fruitful for apple. >> reporter: this is the new device that could upset the apple cart in the smartphone industry. apple c.e.o. tim cook unveiled the iphone 5 in san francisco. and it has new features designed to fend off competition from rival android phones. >> it is an absolute jewel. it is the most beautiful product we have ever made bar none. >> reporter: now the nitty gritty: th

. >> tom: good evening, i'm tom hudson. susie has the night off. calls for a sustained global economic rebound, not a bounce, as world economies slow. from higher minimum balances, to rising fees for a.t.m.'s and overdrafts, a new survey shows free checking is anything but. and apple sells five million iphone 5's over the weekend, but some expected more. that and more tonight on "n.b.r."! >> tom: u.s. investors began the week focused again on the global economy. the latest sign of worry: business confidence fell in germany for a fifth straight month in september. the international monetary fund today called on the international community to help finance the bailouts of euro- zone countries. that had u.s. markets following global markets lower. the dow fell 20 points, the nasdaq lost 19 and the s&p was down three. those worries in europe, are part of the reason the international monetary fund is shaving it's outlook for the global economy. the i.m.f.'s managing director says the trend has been clearly heading down. and, as darren gersh reports, she

. >> tom: we saw two discouraging reports today from the c-suite, from top corporate executives. in separate surveys, both chief executive officers and chief financial officers are losing optimism. and both have dialed back hiring expectations. this stands in contrast to a report just yesterday from the conference board indicating consumers are more hopeful about their job prospects. the "deloitte c.f.o. signals survey," which tracks companies with revenues of at least $5 billion, found somber expectations for growth in sales, earnings, capital expenditures and hiring, all falling to a ten-quarter low. and roughly a quarter of the c.f.o.'s polled say their biggest worry is the upcoming fiscal cliff: >> some thrding about where things really are going, so they can set strategy and execute that strategy. we're going to be stuck in this for a while. as for the c.e.o. survey from the business roundtable, the chief executives point to the coming fiscal cliff and the potential impact from higher taxes and government spending cuts. chairman of the business roundtable, boeing c.e.o. jim

. >> tom: good evening. i'm tom hudson. susie has the night off. there's almost $3 trillion in u.s. mutual fund money markets. regulators want to make them safer. the third quarter ends for investors. it's been a good quarter and it could get better if history is any guide. then the c.e.o. of platinum miner stillwater mining joins us. global demand and why platinum is cheaper than gold. that and more tonight on n.b.r.! an unusually public battle over money market regulation begins our broadcast time. the debate is testing the regulatory structure put in place by the dodd-frank financial reforms after the credit crisis. under pressure from treasury secretary timothy geithner, the new financial stability oversight council is making a strong push for controversial rules aimed at preventing a run on what many think of as a safer place for investors to put their money. darren gersh explains. >> reporter: for an investment designed to be as boring as possible, money market funds have set off a fierce regulatory battle. last month, the s.e.c. deadlocked over new rules to strengthen money m

. >> tom: i'm tom hudson. we continue our look at the national debt, this man says all that red ink is a national security issue. formerenator sam nunn joins u.s. >> susie: and with record low interest rates continuing, where best to invest in bonds, it's tonight's "street critique." >> tom: that and more tonight on "n.b.r."! >> susie: the housing recovery is looking better and better. more economic data showing that the housing sector is getting stronger. sales of existing homes jumped nearly 8% last month to a 4.82 million unit annual rate. that's a two-year high. construction of new homes and apartments rose 2.3%. the big gain was in single family homes. erika miller takes a closer look behind the numbers and gives us a status report on the housing recovery. >> reporter: when it comes to real estate, august is typically a slow month, but the latest housing data suggests there was strong momentum heading into the fall. the median price for a home resale surged to $187,400 during the month. that's up nearly 1

. >> tom: good evening. i'm tom hudson. hiring slows in august. just 96,000 jobs are added to payrolls. and that puts more pressure on the federal reserve to act when it meets next week. >> susie: i'm susie gharib. intel warns about chip sales and analysts blame it on the shift to tablet computing. >> tom: he's "n.b.r.'s" longest running market monitor guest and he's been in the bull camp for three years. tonight investech's james stack tells us why he's pulling in his horns. >> susie: that and more tonight on "n.b.r."! >> tom: hiring stalled in august. expectations were for robust job growth last month. but, susie, when the numbers were added up, they fell way short. >> susie: tom, today's disappointing jobs report is fueling speculation the federal reserve will have to step in to further stimulate the economy. here's a closer look at the job numbers: businesses added only 96,000 new jobs to payrolls last month: economists were expecting 125,000. meanwhile, the unemployment rate slipped to 8.1%: down from 8.3% in july. >> susie: but, that decline

. >> tom: i'm tom hudson. susie is off tonight. apple's expected to debut the i- phone 5 tomorrow. it may be technology's next big thing, but its influence extends well beyond apple. from freight to fashion to semiconductors-- three major bellwethers have warned recently about their financial forecasts. is corporate profit growth cracking? and another warning about the fiscal cliff-- find a solution or risk a lower credit rating for america. that and more tonight on nbr! in less than 24 hours, we'll get our first peak at apple's new phone, dubbed iphone 5. expectations are high it will offer everything from a larger screen to a panoramic camera. nevertheless, shares of apple dipped slightly today in advance of the announcement. and, as suzanne pratt reports, all investors should be watching how the stock performs. >> reporter: it's known as the "apple effect." apple's stock is up; so is the broader market. apple shares fall; major averages drop, too. the world's most valuable company makes up nearly 5% of the s&p 500 index. thanks to apple's huge gain this year, the s&p is up 14%.

happy end of the third quarter to you, sir, nice to see you again. >> and to you, as well, tom. >> tom: up more than 8% this quarter, more than 14% year to date. been a blistering rally for the s & p 500. more to come, you think. why? >> well i think certainly it's a possibility. we're coming to the latter part of an election year. and typically, no matter who gets elected, now that the uncertainty has run its course, investors tend to breathe a sigh of relief. going back to 1900, the average gain is a little more than 2.5% but more important is the frequency with which the market rises and that's about 75% with a majority of the full year peaks occurring in the final quarter of the year. >> tom: so pretty good odds to argue for that we haven't seen the highs this year. what about the fescal cliff? that big psychological and real threat to the economy and to investors that still is out there? >> well, it's almost like an olympic hurdler who sees all of these hurdles ahead of them, and i guess they're happy once they get over each successful one. once we get past the election, once we g

. >> tom: good evening. i'm tom hudson. a warning from fedex raises new questions about the health of the global economy, as shipping slows around the globe. >> susie: i'm susie gharib. so, how's your economy? our coverage of election 2012 continues, we ask small business owners if they're feeling better now than they did four years ago. >> tom: and nokia and motorola look to up the ante against the iphone, as the companies unveil new models in the smart phone wars. >> susie: that and more tonight on "n.b.r."! >> susie: more worries about the global economy. the trigger this time came from fedex. the giant shipper issued a profit warning for the current quarter overnight, saying weakness in the global economy is reducing international shipments. the gloomy fedex forecast weighed on investors who are already stressed out about the sluggish world economy, and on edge about what european policymakers will decide about the euro-zone's financial problems at a key meeting tomorrow. on wall street, the dow rose three points, but t

>> tom: i'm tom hudson. mitt romney releases his 2011 tax return. he paid an effective tax rate of just over 14%. >> susie: and the tax return highlights the debate over americans who contribute to the economy and people who take government handouts. we look at the campaign debate of the makers versus the moochers. >> tom: that and more tonight on "n.b.r." >> tom: a new phone and a new record high stock price during the day for apple. die hard fans lined up at apple stores worldwide to be among the first to get their hands on the new iphone 5. by one estimate, lines were almost twice as long compared to the wait for the last version. but un-characteristic for an apple product launch. there are growing complaints about one of the device's biggest changes. its maps. erika miller reports from new york. >> reporter: in a predictable ritual, apple fans camped out overnight to get their hands on the new iphone 5. many are loyal apple fans, eager to upgrade: what features are you most excited about? >> the screen-- the larger screen, the camera, i'm intere

. >> tom: good evening. i'm tom hudson. susie has the night off. housing prices continue rising and consumers become more confident-- two bright spots of the economy. was the bank bailout overdone? hear what a former top regulator says about the rescue. former fdic chairman sheila bair joins us. and if american airlines and its pilots strike a deal tomorrow, it could mean fewer delays for customers and the company's bankruptcy. that and more tonight on nbr! captioning sponsored by wpbt >> tom: some encouraging news tonight for the housing market and consumer confidence. first, housing-- a measurement of prices in 20 cities across the country rose four tenths of a percent in july. that's the sixth straight month of gains for the s&p case- shiller home price index. and consumer's are feeling more optimistic. the conference board's confidence index rose to 70.3 in september, marking its highest level since february. these two groups, consumers and housing, are significant because of their influence over the entire economy. >> with the improvement in c