. >> tom: i'm tom hudson. wall street is working on a comeback with plans to reopen stock trading tomorrow, despite heavy flooding in lower manhattan. >> susie: from crippled transportation throughout the northeath to canceled flights, the federal response and nctential election impact. we'll have all that and more right here on nbr! >> tom: hurricane sandy is now super-storm sandy as it clashes with another weather system, bringing wind,ain, and snow to parts of the mid-atlantic and northeastern u.s. a she has cut a path of destruction, flooding, and massive power outages as the de th toll from the storm stands at 17 across seven states. even as sandy makes her way to canada, the destruction is devastating. high winds pushed the atlantic ocean up and over seawalls, flooding entire neighborhoods. the wind and water teamed up to cut power to millions of people along the eastern seaboard. the storm surge even continued today as sandy tracked through western pennsylvania and new york state. the storm has affected

there you go. >> stephen: oh come on, tom, tom, tom.plause) look at that. >> i know, i know, isn't it great. and it's so simple to makement you probably have a volleyball at your house, or just steal one from the local high school. and then just use the blood in your body, and it's a real penney pincher. >> stephen: thank you, thank you very much, thank you. (cheers and applause) >> stephen: tom, that's great, but listen, if you want to talk about your movie ca remember -- >> no, no, no steph en, steve be, stephen, my career speaks for itself. and is available on dvd and blue ray. (applause) you know t makes a great sugar-free alternative to halloween candy which is so important, what with america's childhood obesity epidemic. (cheers and applause) >> stephen: okay well, okay, so so you do care about the children. >> yeah, sure, why not. >> trick or treat. >> stephen: oh, hey, well, okay, tom, i guess i stand corrected. i don't recognize any of these guys. who are all of you. >> i'm dr. goose. >> i'm isaac. >> i'm duster. >> and i'm tog

. >> tom: i'm tom hudson. energy prices and supplies were hot topics in last night's presidential debate, we look at where they're headed next. and how contract workers are changing the field of public relations, as we continue our look at america's freelance nation. that and more tonight on "n.b.r." >> susie: we begin tonight with more signs of the rebound in housing. the number of builders breaking ground on new homes in september rose to the highest level in four years. housing starts surged 15% from august to september. but things are booming when you compare building activity to last september: up a healthy 35%. >> reporter: when housing recovers, so will the economy. that was the mantra during the financial crisis. and finally, it looks like the recovery is here, as construction workers are busy across most of the country. in september, the west and south showed the biggest pickup in new home building, but the northeast was still slow. and there are other lingering problems. >> in some parts of the recov

me >> tom: the u.s. economy actually sped up in the third quarter, surprising economists and maybe you too. thanks to a pick-up in spending by conumers, the federal government and the housing c sector, the gross domestic product grew at a 2% annual rate in july through september. that 2% pace was stronger than expected and much better than what the economy experienced in the second quarter. suzanne pratt takes a closer look at the data and what it suggests about the economy the final months of this year. >> reporter: an economy growing at a 2% annual rate is hardly anything to celebrate. sure it could've been worse. but, clearly at three-years post great recessi , it should be a lot better., experts call it a side-ways economy, one that is unabltona create enough jobs to bring down the nation's stubborn unemployment rate. but, people on the streets of new york have different takes on what a 2% economy means to them: >> it means first of all that anyone trying to look for employment is going have a tough

. >> tom: i'm tom hudson. today's selloff comes as wall street marks one of its darkest days, the 1987 black monday crash. >> susie: and we wrap up our look at america's freelance nation, this woman says the flexibility freelancing brings could keep her out of the office for the long haul. >> tom: that and more tonight on n.b.r.! >> susie: a nasty sell-off here on wall street today, coincidentally on the 25th anniversary of the 1987 market crash. the major averages tumbled as investors dumped big name stocks on concerns about quarterly earnings and the business outlook for corporate america. shares of mcdonalds fell 4.5% after reporting weaker than expected earnings and revenues. the fast food giant also said earnings growth will be quote "pressured" going forward. profits were up at general electric, but revenues came in below analyst estimates and g.e. also warned of a tough economic environment. the stock slid 3.5%. nervousness about the outlook for technology companies pulled down stocks. microsoft angod l

. >> tom: i'm tom hudson. they say big things come in small packages. apple finally unveils its much anticipated ipad mini with a not-so-mini price tag. >> susie: and is a deal in the works to solve the fiscal cliff? a look at president obama's surprise promise in last night's debate. >> tom: that and more tonight on nbr! for the second time in three sessions, u.s. stocks suffered a sharp sell-off. prices fell as weak financial results from corporate america fed fear about the global economy. at the closing bell, the dow shed 243 points, the nasdaq lost 26.5, the s&p dropped almost 21 points, sending markets to levels not seen since early september. the heavy selling came after several household names reported weak quarterly financial reports and lowered their expectations for the rest of the year. 3-m, dupont, and xerox were among those releasing disappointing results. erika miller reports worries about revenues have cast a shadow over the profit picture. >> reporter: yes, it's earnings season. but earnings are not the most important indicator this qua

. >> tom: good evening. i'm tom hudson. susie gharib will be along a little later in the program. with 50 million people in her path, hurricane sandy makes her full presence felt in the northeast. the slow moving storm has wall street closed for business, cancelled thousands of flights and shut down countless businesses. sandy's reach stretches hundreds of miles. we will talk about its potential impact on everything from economic growth to energy prices. that and more tonight on "n.b.r."! as we go on the air tonight, hurricane sandy is ready to make landfall in the u.s., already it's an historic storm, with historic preparations. stock markets closed. and coast lines evacuated with tens of millions of people sitting in the forecast path of the massive storm. sandy is a huge storm expected to come ashore in southern new jersey. but the hurricane force winds have been battering the eastern seaboard for hours. those winds extend out 175 miles from the center of the storm. those winds are pushing the atlantic ocean up and over many coast-lines. from rhode island, south to the jersey s

. >> tom: i'm tom hudson. tonight is the first presidential debate, and the economy will be front and center. what are the important economic numbers to listen for? >> susie: and metro p.c.s. says "hello" to t-mobile, in a merger that will make t-mobile the fourth largest wireless carrier in the country. >> tom: that and more tonight on "n.b.r."! >> susie: private sector hiring was surprisingly perky in september. that's according to data out just two days before the government's crucial and more complete monthly jobs report. payroll processor a.d.p. said employers added 162,000 jobs last month, stronger than expected. but the pace is slowing, and numbers for july and august were revised lower. still, there are signs the job market is improving, but no where close to replenishing the jobs lost in the great recession. suzanne pratt reports. >> reporter: few things would make more americans happy than a healthy job market. from recent college grads to president obama, their future might look more certain if comp

. >> tom: good evening. i'm tom hudson. citigroup c.e.o., vikram pandit, calls it quits. from pandit's legacy to challenges facing citi's new boss, the resignation is one of the biggest surprises on wall street this year. >> susie: i'm susie gharib. two tech titans report better- than-expected earnings-- intel and i.b.m.-- but both stocks fall in after-hours trading. we run down the numbers. >> tom: also, student loan servicers get an "f" from regulators complaining school loans are handled a lot like the subprime mortgage market. >> susie: that and more tonight on "n.b.r." >> tom: citigroup c.e.o. vikram pandit abruptly stepped down today in a management shakeup that stunned both investors and employees. he will be replaced by longtime citi executive michael corbat. he most recently headed the bank's middle eastern and european division. pandit not only gave up his c.e.o. position, but he also quit the board of directors. the news comes in the heart of earnings season for financial firms and just one day after citi reported stronger than expected earnings. shares of citi

you, too, tom. >> tom: goodnight, susie. we'll see you online at nbr.com and back here tomorrow night. captioning sponsored by wpbt captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> join us anytime at nbr.com. there, you'll find full episodes of the program, complete show transcripts and all the market stats. also follows us on our facebook page at bizrpt. and on twitter @bizrpt. >>> push for peace. the u.n. and arab league envoy to syria tries to rally support for a temporary truce. muslims mark the holiday of

. >> tom: i'm tom hudson. ben bernanke defends his strategy at the federal reserve to do more to help the economy. >> susie: and how technology is making it possible for doctors to go paperless. >> tom: that and more tonight on "n.b.r."! >> susie: the first day of the new quarter, kicks off with a blue chip rally. investors were encouraged by a report showing that american factories were busy in september. a popular index of national factory activity rose to 51.5 last month, from 49.6 in august. it was the fastest pace of production since may. but that upbeat news was overshadowed by comments from federal reserve chief ben bernanke, saying the economy is not growing fast enough to bring down the unemployment rate. we'll have more on that in a moment. those two events led to volatile trading here on wall street. the dow rose about 78 points, but was up as much as 155 points earlier. the nasdaq drifted in and out of positive and negative territory, finally losing more than 2.5 points, and the s&p rose almost fou

." >> tom: citigroup c.e.o. vikram pandit abruptly stepped down today in a management shakeup that stunned both investors and employees. he will be replaced by longtime citi executive michael corbat. he most recently headed the bank's middle eastern and european division. pandit not only gave up his c.e.o. position, but he also quit the board of directors. the news comes in the heart of earnings season for financial firms and just one day after citi reported stronger than expected earnings. shares of citi climbed 1.6%, closing at their highest price since march. suzanne pratt takes a closer look at pandit's tumultuous tenure. >> reporter: the citi management skeup had many people on wall street scratching their heads today about the timing. not only is the big bank finally regaining its footing, but there were no hints about the boardroom shuffle during vikram pandit's conference call yesterday on earnings. but 24 hours later, citi's new c.e.o. michael corbat and citi chairman michael o'neill hosted a call of th