. >> tom: i'm tom hudson. meantime, with the election expected to be close, and the fiscal cliff fast approaching, how republicans and democrats interpret the election results will set the tone for the talks. >> susie: and a double whammy fopeople in new york and new jersey: another storm takes aim at the region, as sandy's recovery slogs on, and the hunt for fuel heats up. >> tom: that and more tonight on "n.b.r."! >> susie: the u.s. presidential election is just one day away, and that was the hot topic here on wall street. but investors were still cautious about making major moves ahead of the election, so stocks posted just modest gains, and trading volume was light. the dow rose 19 points, the nasdaq added 17, and the s&p up three points. but, where stocks go from here may depend on who wins the white house tomorrow night. suzanne pratt reports. >> reporter: wall street is hardly back to normal, with reminders of hurricane sandy still obvious everywhere. but, at least the presidential election could provid

i'm tom hudson. president obama says he's open to new ideas, on raising government revenues, but elim

captioning sponsored by wpbt captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org i'm tom hudson with an nbr news >> 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. >>> the most expensivle

. >> tom: i'm tom hudson. top democrats and republicans express optimism on avoiding the fiscal cliff after meeting at the white house. today.

i'm tom hudson. susie is off tonight. almost half of the country is expected to shop this weekend. from big box retailers to big discounters and shopping malls, americans hit the stores in search of black friday bargains. the c.e.o. of macy's tells us for holiday shoppers the line between online and in-store is blurred like never before. and market monitor guest bernie schaeffer is making his list. we'll tell you what he's buying now. that and more tonight on "n.b.r." we begin with what has become the un-official post- thanksgiving past-time for many americans: shopping. the black friday doorbuster sales began earlier than ever. yesterday, in fact. but stores were busy with shoppers hunting for deals. holiday sales are expected to increase by about 4% this year, to more than $580 billion, according to the national retail federation. allison worrell kicks off out coverage of retail's big day. >> it's 5:30 in the morning at one of miami's most popular malls, and while it may look tame now, but this is the calm before the black friday shopping storm. >> reporter: from the victoria's s

. >> tom: i'm tom hudson. china makes its once-a-decade leadership change just as the chinese economy faces pressure from outside and in. >> susie: and the fiscal cliff isn't the only uncertainty for c.e.o.s. the future of financial regulations with the c.e.o. of florida-based bank united. >> tom: that and more tonight on nbr! $4.5 billion and guilty pleas to charges of manslaughter and lying to congress. that was the admission today from b.p. two and a half years after the "deepwater horizon" disaster in the gulf of mexico. that disaster killed 11 people and led to the worst oil spill in u.s. history. in its guilty plea, b.p. said it deeply regrets the loss of life and almost five million barrels of oil that into the gulf. darren gersh reports. >> reporter: justice department officials hope today's settlement and criminal pleas will bring justice to the families of the men who died when the "deepwater horizon" exploded. >> perhaps the greatest tragedy is that the deaths of the 11 men on board the "deepwater h

>> tom: i'm tom hudson. automakers go green. general motors' unveils its newest all-electric chevy spark. >> susie: and what would you do if you won powerball? some advice tonight on how to handle winning $550 million. >> tom: that and more tonight on "n.b.r." >> susie: a parade of business leaders in washington today to persuade president obama and congress to avoid the fiscal cliff. with just 33 days left to nail down a deal, c.e.o.s made the rounds to explain to lawmakers that because of cliff gridlock, they're holding back on hiring and spending. as darren gersh reports, c.e.o.s weren't the only ones campaigning hard today. >> reporter: the president and republicans focused today on staging events designed to pressure the other side. the president called on americans to tweet, facebook and call members of congress to tell them to pass tax cuts for everyone making less that $250,000 a year. >> 97% of small businesses would not see their income tax go up by a single dime. even the wealthiest americans would still get a tax cut

i'm tom hudson. conagra launches its recipe for growth, spending nearly $5 billion for private label food maker ralcorp. >> susie: i'm susie gharib. greece gets a badly needed bailout and avoids bankruptcy. a look at what the deal means for europe and american investors. >> tom: and it's "giving tuesday," a new effort to add charity to your gift list this holiday season. >> susie: that and more tonight on nbr! >> tom: a lengthy courtship finally resulted in the marriage today between conagra foods and ralcorp. conagra is paying $5 billion to buy private label food giant ralcorp. that works out to $90 a share, a nearly 30% premium to ralcorp's closing stock price on monday. the deal will make conagra the largest manufacturer of private label foods. suzanne pratt takes a look at what's become a booming business. >> reporter: it used to be consumers would buy private label products to clean their bathrooms or wash their clothes. lately, however, they're eating them, too. from sodas to peanut butter, pri

. >> tom: i'm tom hudson. it's cyber monday, and shoppers are online, and spending; they'll shell out an estimated $1.5 billion online today. >> susie: and change comes to the nation's top securities regulator: mary schapiro is stepping down. we look at what's next for the securities and exchange commission, and its new leader. >> tom: that and more tonight on "n.b.r."! >> susie: americans were back at work today after a long holiday weekend, but returned to the same worries about the fiscal cliff. and a new report from the white house added to the worries, showing that unless there's a deal on solving the crisis, the u.s. economy would suffer big time. the obama administration's economists estimate consumers would spend about $200 billion less next year than they would have otherwise. congress and the administration have only a few more weeks to nail down a deal. but that deal will have to address some tough issues, including entitlement reform. darren gersh explains. >> reporter: the big money in entitlement

i'm tom hudson. susie will be along a little later in the program. disappointed-- that's how the top republican on capitol hill described the pace of progress on avoiding the fiscal cliff. we discuss where the talks stand with a top democrat, senator kent conrad of north dakota. and the glitter of silver-- it's up over 20% this year. we go digging for the outlook on precious metals for the year ahead. that and more tonight on nbr! the path away from the fiscal cliff is neither straight nor smooth. talks hit a snag today as both republicans and democrats traded verbal fire over who goes first. republicans said they'd offered up new tax revenues, but have heard nothing from democrats about spending cuts. democrats said republicans were dragging their feet. we begin with darren gersh reporting even a visit by treasury secretary timothy geithner did little to change the mood on capitol hill. >> reporter: house speaker john boehner emerged from his sit- down with the president's negotiating team to declare he was disappointed. two weeks after the election

i'm tom hudson. with the presidential race down to the wire, i'm reporting tonight from a polling place in the swing state of florida, where it's the economy and healthcare bringing out voters. >> susie: i'm susie gharib. we'll also hear from voters in virginia, wisconsin and new jersey. but whoever wins the white house, he will need to solve one of the biggest problems facing the country, the fiscal cliff. we'll have all that and more tonight on nbr! election day is finally here, and americans across the country stood in long lines to vote for the next president of the united states. on wall street, stocks rallied ahead of the election results. there were no big headlines for investors to react to, but the presidential election is expected to lift a cloud of uncertainty that has been weighing on investors. by the cse, the dow surged 133 points, the nasdaq rose 12, and the s&p added 11 points. polls show that president obama and governor romney are in a tight race. ultimately, voters in a few key sta

. >> tom: i'm tom hudson. earlier than ever thanksgiving store openings have workers speaking out, how black friday sales starting on thanksgiving day are affecting labor relations. >> susie: i'm susie gharib. more than three million travelers are flying to get their turkey dinners this year, we have an update on holiday travel. >> tom: and two of the taxes scheduled to go up if we go over the fiscal cliff will hit investors. we ask the c.e.o. of utility next era energy lew hay about higher taxes on dividends and stock gains. >> susie: that and more tonight on "n.b.r."! black friday comes early this year. all across the country americans are already lining up outside stores, camping out for the earlier-than-ever start to the holiday shopping season. scenes like this are popping up in shopping mall parking lots. these tents are pitched outside a best buy in tampa, florida, where shoppers are hoping to get the early-bird holiday specials. with big retail chains opening their doors for black friday, on thursday n

i'm tom hudson. president obama says he's open to new ideas, on raising government revenues, but eliminating tax deductions for the rich doesn't go far enough. >> susie: i'm susie gharib. stocks slide to four-month lows, on worries that a fiscal cliff deal is a still a long way off. >> tom: and with a national health care insurance overhaul underway, a company's share of health insurance has risen at its smallest pace in a decade. >> susie: that and more tonight on "n.b.r."! >> tom: with 47 days left for president obama and congress to agree on avoiding a combination of higher taxes and government spending cuts, the president today said he won't extend tax cuts for people who don't need them. that hard line came during a white house press conference just as a negotiations with republican leaders get underway to avoid the fiscal cliff. as darren gersh reports from washington, even before republicans and democrats sit down to talk on friday, both sides are laying down markers. >> reporter: just two day

i'm tom hudson. susie is off tonight. 7.9%. that's the nation's unemployment rate as we head into the final weekend befores the election. u.s. businesses added 171,000 jobs in october across many industries. four days after sandy, the gas crunch in jersey, access to cash in the northeast and controversy nixes sunday's running of the new york ci maratho that and more tonight on "n.b.r.!" we begin with jobs. employers beefed up their payrolls last month, adding more bs than expected as more americans counted themselves among the labor forcbs the official labor department count shows 171,000 jobs wereor created last month. that's much stronger than the 125,000 analysts were looking for. and the government revised its september w job count up to 148,000. thanks to more people lookingco for work, the unemployment rate rose slightly t7.9%. darren gersh has the story from washington d.c. >> reporter: the october employment report makes it clear a jobs recovery is solidly underway. >> i think the key message there is that employment gr

. >> tom: i'm tom hudson. we're going global with legendary investor mark mobius, franklin templeton's top strategist on the state of emerging markets now. >> susie: and picture this: the u.s. is just a few years away from being the world's top oil producer, and self-sufficient. we'll tell you who's making that prediction, and investment strategies for your portfolio. >> tom: that and more tonight on "n.b.r."! >> susie: the u.s.'s top-notch credit rating is at risk. that's the warning today from moody's investor's service. the ratings agency told u.s. lawmakers that when it comes to the fiscal cliff, the time to act is now, not next year. moody's said if action on averting the cliff is delayed until 2013, it might downgrade the stellar credit rating on u.s. debt. right now moody's has a negative outlook on the u.s. economy. worries about a fiscal freefall, kept wall street stocks in check: the dow and nasdaq fell a fraction, while the s&p was up a fraction. american businesses are not only concerned about the

. >> tom: i'm tom hudson. this man has many lawmakers pledging never to vote for higher taxes. find out what grover norquist thinks will happen with the fiscal cliff. >> susie: and hewlett packard stuns investors with news of an $9 billion mistake. >> tom: that and more tonight on nbr! >> susie: federal reserve chairman ben bernanke came to new york city today to send a tough message back to washington-- get your act together. he urged lawmakers and the white house to reach a quick deal to avoid the fiscal cliff, saying it might mean next year could be "a very good one for the economy." ben bernanke didn't endorse any specific tax or spending policies to solve the fiscal cliff, but he urged lawmakers to think creatively. he said an agreement on ways to reduce long-term federal budget deficits could remove road blocks to growth. on the other hand, going over the cliff might mean a recession. on top of that, worries about a deal were already causing trouble. >> uncertainty about how the fiscal cliff, the raising of the debt limit, and the longer-term budget situation will be addr

. >> tom: i'm tom hudson. the election is over but the fiscal cliff, is just eight weeks away, and it will play into every decision the president makes until january first. >> susie: and the fiscal cliff is a big worry for business leaders. the c.e.o. of caesars entertainment, tells us it'll be "very damaging" for his company. >> tom: that and more tonight on "n.b.r."! wall street greeted the election results with a big sell-off in stocks. investors dumped shares of almost every type, giving the s&p 500 it's worst day since june. beyond the u.s. elections, europe also brought fresh worries for investors with concerns in greece, and germany. here's how the numbers stacked up on wall street. the dow lost 312 points, at it's worst point of the day, the blue chip index was down 369 points. the nasdaq tumbled nearly 75 points and the s&p 500 off 33. suzanne pratt takes a look at where the market goes from here. >> reporter: let's be candid. this is not the election outcome that wall street wanted to see. after all