u.s. economy? one of america's top bankers says there are signs of life that they're watching. >>> and my conversation with golf great annika sorenstam. how she's teaching winning ways to a new generation of female athletes. "the wall street journal report" begins right now. >> this is america's number one financial news program, "the wall street journal report." now, maria bartiromo. >> a crucial european summit this weekend, the goal? to chart a comprehensive course out of the sovereign debt crisis, stabilize the banks and calm international markets. the summit led by german chancellor angela merkel and french president nicolas sarkozy taking place on sunday in belgium. the markets had a choppy week moving in concert with worries about europe, down 250 points on monday, up 180 points on tuesday, then bouncing around later on in the week. the markets rebounded on friday. we're in the thick of earnings season and so far, a mixed picture to report, though not as bad as some had feared. goldman sachs

u.s. economy from someone who knows. my conversation with a top banker about hidden economic flowers ready to bloom. >>> later on, golf great annika sorenstam off the green and on the business of getting more kids involved with sports. take a look at how the stock market ended the week. back in a moment. ♪ [ male announcer ] how could a luminous protein in jellyfish, impact life expectancy in the u.s., real estate in hong kong, and the optics industry in germany? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing. this is not how witness protection works! when we set you up with that little hardware store we didn't intend for your face to be everywhere. but fedex office makes it so easy. not only do they ship stuff, they print fly

u.s. economy. >> reporter: 2.5% growth is welcome relief the economy is not on the brink of recession. better yet, the data may be just the sign some firms need to start hiring again. >> 2.5% to 3% growth is strong enough for businesses to ramp up hiring. right now, businesses have been subdued-- one, because they're concerned about the events in europe; and two, we did have this first-half growth slowdown. >> reporter: the economy has been expanding for nine straight quarters. in the latest reading, stronger consumer spending was the key driver of the gain. consumers are responsible for more than 70% of economic growth. but economists are also pleased that businesses are investing more in equipment and software. >> corporate spending was strong. it looks like large corporations that have a lot of cash on their balance sheets are still deploying it, even in this environment of uncertainty. >> reporter: the focus now is whether the momentum in the third quarter will continue into the fourth. many economists think it will, with growth coming in above 2%. the real concern is what happens

u.s. economy. this is two hours. >> hearing today is on the year zone debt crisis and implications to the united states. ask unanimous consent mr. lynn of massachusetts and mr. greene from texas both members of the financial services committee can silt in with the must members of the subcommittee today for purposes of delivering a testimony and asking the witnesses questions today. we limit time to 10 minute, and i recognize myself for as much time as i might consume. today we're focused on the eurozone debt crisis and impact on the u.s. economy. despite the systems, the e.u., international monetary fund, imf, greece, portugal, and italy plunged into the deep this year. the economies show sign of strain. in the past year, there's a series of credit rating downgrades for many e.u. members following the grounds of stress tests on important european banks. these rating agencies warned about the risks associated with the global connectedness of banks and the inestment of government bonds. they have to t

u.s. economy. it's "nightly business report" for wednesday, october 5. this is "nightly business report" with susie gharib and tom hudson. "nightly business report" is made possible by: this program is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. captioning sponsored by wpbt >> susie: good evening everyone. stocks rallied today on a wave of optimism about the u.s. job market and some encouraging developments about europe's economy. tom, officials in europe are talking about propping up the fragile financial system by pouring money into european banks. >> tom: and susie, those hopes that the global economy might be recovering also pushed up oil prices. in new york trading, crude futures rose to $79.68 a barrel- - a $4 increase. it's a sharp rebound after months of declines. >> susie: there are pros and cons to higher oil prices. erika miller takes a closer look at what they mean for consumers and the economy. >> reporter: oil prices may be up sharply today, but it's important to keep perspective. crude is still within striking

u.s. economy slowing. but ends the quarter around $1,625 an ounce. and u.s. light sweet crude oil saw its biggest quarterly drop since the financial crisis. from the mid-'90s down to below $80 a barrel tonight. >> susie: billionaire investor warren buffett was busy investing in the third quarter. he told me today that he bought $4 billion worth of stocks in the past three months. buffett came here to the new york stock exchange to ring the opening bell with business wire c.e.o. cathy tamraz. they were celebrating the 50th anniversary of the news wire service owned by buffett's berkshire hathaway conglomerate. as buffett mingled on the floor with traders, stocks were falling, but the oracle of omaha told me he's still buying and upbeat about the u.s. economy. >> the economy is doing pretty well. we own 70-plus businesses. we own about five that are associated with home construction. they're flat on their backes, and they're just like they've been for three years now, four years, almost. and so there's been no bounce there. everything else is moving forward. we

u.s. economy. europe is america's biggest trading partner. and default in greece or anywhere else could send shock waves through our banking system. >> if greece were to default, banks across the globe would really take a huge hit. then the next step, stock markets tumble. bang. our 401(k)s, our i.r.a.s start to suffer. from a company perspective, american companies might not have access to lending and borrowing would freeze up and maybe there would be a whole other round of layoffs. >> reporter: now that the eu has attempted a deal, the trick is if you go it in action. it remains to be seen how committed they are to this plan. still, asian markets liked what they saw. after news of the debt deal, japan's nikkei gained more than 2%. hong kong's hang seng was also sharply higher. most european markets are also opened on the upside. wall street will get its chance to react to the news a little later this morning. the hint of progress sent stocks higher yesterday. the dow gained 162 points. the nasdaq tacked on 12. terrell? >> that continues to

u.s. economy was not growing as fast as he had ascended with earlier in the year. barrett, he conceded, it was not going in all. it was greenspan who won the president that the economy was so fragile even a 15% increase in the price of oil must be enough to tip the u.s. economy in the economies of its trading partners back into recession with the rest of government failures and bank collapses. in the oval office that day greenspan explained that oil prices have caused so much chaos in the international financial system that the lending flexibility the big bang said banished and financial mccourts across the world stretch than. he added the huge increase in debt when oil consumers had tried to borrow their way out of the fiscal hole with found themselves than have badly ship in the constant -- confidence of markets, governments and big business. essential that we show restraint. when i first read that transcript more than four years ago in a full year-and-a-half i was perplexed. in fact, i could not place the conversation with any coherent from work because if what i

u.s. economy that will help it all now to know the u.s. economy is a basket case economy right now the official government data that's released every every month by the labor department the commerce department has been faked essentially so systematically and so long that the real economy is running at a level of best estimates of economists friends of mine who monitor this of twenty to twenty three percent of the employable labor force so a twenty three percent unemployment is as levels of the great depression of the thirty's so so. the language x. of sanctions. he isn't something isn't the language understood by countries like china here you know it's saber rattling by by washington and they're dependent on china buying. more than two trillion dollars of u.s. government debt the debt situation of the federal government this is different from the great depression because today the debt of the federal government is simply growing exponentially it's out of control this is the this is what make them made me wonder by the way u.s. and chinese e

u.s. economy. has his positive outlook been shaken at all by the recent downturn in global markets? we'll look into the crystal ball with the oracle of omaha. that's just ahead. ner with b vitamins, the first and only one to help support a healthy metabolism. three smart new ways to sweeten. same great taste. new splenda® essentials™. [ female announcer ] improve the health of your skin with aveeno daily moisturizing lotion. the natural oatmeal formula improves skin's health in one day, with significant improvement in 2 weeks. i found a moisturizer for life. [ female announcer ] only from aveeno. >>> welcome back. all this week "world business today" is taking the lead in the cnn freedom project, our campaign to step stamp out modern-day slavery. it's the ugly side of business, but between 10 million and 30 million victims worldwide, we're covering everything from human trafficking and sex slavery to how consumers are complicit in the global slave trade. and we aim to open your eyes to a huge but hi

u.s. economy a mile said and he asked for the u.s. is a lose lose situation the u.s. is importing stuff it doesn't need and looking to export other stuff to other countries that can make it even cheaper a large grain of salt said great now we get to compete with a country where people are killed for trying to organize unions and corporations will get to hide their money and not pay us taxes all this while moving more jobs out of the country can told us it will hurt the economy there is no free trade in america that helps people. only the rich tell me idle at is as you think free trade agreements help the us economy then you should move to china and work in a sweat shop because that's the only way we will be able to say that our products are american made so the majority who rode in it did not think more free trade agreements were going to help the us economy in fact back in november of two thousand and ten a pew research study found that shows thirty five percent of americans who said free trade agreements were good for the u.s. well forty four percent said they were

u.s. economy is growing at a lower pace than forecast in june.e says the european banks are posing a threat to the u.s. he said the need to address the sources of the fiscal problems has slowed the process of finding solutions. bernanke added the fed will continue to closely monitor economic developments and is prepared to take further action if appropriate. >>> u.s. stocks rallied before the close on hopes for turnaround in the fortunes of the eurozone debt problem. to see how things are kicking off here in japan, let's cross over to ramin mellegard, he is at the tokyo stock exchange. ramin, quite a big shift in sentiment in just one session. how are markets reacting at the open this wednesday morning? >> good morning to you, ai. we've been talking about the volume tilts and the u.s. session provided more of that, and in fact in the first few minutes of trading here let's have a look at the opening levels shall we, in fact more volatility, because i can tell you, both indexes started in the positive, but are now just mixed. the nikkei was lookin

u.s. economy turning around. the occupy demonstrations have spread across the country, wall street has been building towards its best month in history. >> and this milestone that major surge indicated. dow jones gained nearly 12% since the first of the month, more than 300 points today. also a 2.25% expansion of the u.s. economy over the summer tripled a grej rate of spring. and there are best numbers in a year. >> the european debt deal sent stock market soaring. investors will write off half of the public debt. carey san economic expert at golden gate university school of business. >> our worry is that there wasn't a way we can see where this fire was going to have a fire break, now there are outlines of a good break in place. there is now a plan. >> saying the businesses are on firmer ground, he's been add advisor more than a quarter century. the rise in gross domestic product comes when profits are increasing and so, too, is business spending on equipment and software. >> companies are making money and are ru

u.s. economy and the western economies will be really very badly damaged. this is not some trivial sort of small local thing. this is a global -- of global significance if the u.s. does this. >> martin wolf, always a pleasure to have your insights. i wish you were more optimistic. maybe that will happen next time. >> i wish i were, too. >> and we will be back. >>> if this of a company, if this was a business, the business would be bankrupt. [ multiple snds ng melodic tune ] ♪ [ malennounc ] at northrop grumman, makthworld a feplace. th's value performance. northr gruan. aspercreme breaks the grip, with maximum-strength medicine and no embarrassing odor. break the grip of pain with aspercreme. >>> so just what would a snapshot of the u.s. economy taken this week look like? my next guest has a fascinating perspective on that. he has more than 11,000 data points, that is how many cafes starbucks has in this country. my next deficit is the coffee chain's ceo and chairman, howard shultz. so thank you for being on. >> my pleasure. thank you. >> when you look aroun

u.s. economy is supported by a service industries by the tune of 70%. that means the united states service industry is the most competitive in the world. >> when we talk about service industries, what are we talking about? financial? >> financial. express delivery services. i.t. services, and media. >> if someone in america goes samsung television or lg tv, will that benefit the american consumer? >> yes. >> how so? >> because again, the average tariff on korean goods when they enter the u.s. markets is somewhere around 3.5% range. that translates into less expensive items. >> where does this stand in the national assembly in korea? will it pass? >> i think so. we are talking about two different sets of agreement. the first one was signed in june of 2007. that agreement actually passed the extending committee of the korean national assembly some years ago, but as you understand, last december, december of last year, we had an additional agreement, which focused mainly on some amendments to the automotive chapter of the agreements. in order for us to dea

u.s. economy. if european leaders can't agree on a solution, economists say, the u.s. will be dragged back into a recession. europe is, first of all, our biggest trading partner. but a default in greece could also send shockwaves through the american banking system. the congressional research service estimates u.s. bank exposure to the european debt crisis at $640 billion. that's nearly 5% of total u.s. banking assets. u.s. banking also have more than a trillion dollars in loans with german and french banks which are in turn the biggest lenders to the troubled european economy. if a european bank goes down, the concern, is scott, it could provoke a crisis of confidence that freezes up the global financial system. >> pelley: thanks, anthony. a lot of folks are worried about their money, and we got an eye-opening report today about the widening gulf between the haves and the have-notes in our country. the congressional budget office tells us between 1979 and 2007, america'sy wealthiest 1% saw their incomes increase by 275% to, at least $352,000. the incomes for america's

u.s. economy.mentioned the news about that europe deal and economic growth has proven to be a big boost for the stock market. you're taking a live look at the big board. there is some increased buying towards the end of this trading down -- tray trading down. -- of this trading down. the dow is up. it is still far from the all time high that was over 14,000 back in october 2007. the nasdaq is also up 95. that is over three and a half percent. the s and p is up 45. >>> during the past hour govern jerry brown unveiled plans of a proposal that would over hall state workers pension. it would shift it to a hybrid system where benefits are combined with a 401k style man -- plan. it would raise retirement age from 55 to 67. it would raise the retirement age beyond 50 for newly hired public safety employees. governor browns plan would require approval from the legislation. >>> ahead, we'll check many on the trail of -- check many on the trial of michael jacksons doctor as the defense makes its case. we'll

u.s. economy. 2.5% is how much the u.s. economy grew in the third quarter of the year. that was better than many had anticipated, given we were worried we were headed into another recession. but that's still not fast enough, brian, to actually generate real jobs. and so that continues to be the question. an up stock market, two things it does. it creates confidence in the ceo suite perhaps. that gets them feeling better about maybe spending money to open a new plant, and it creates more wealth, maybe more consumer demand a la spending. demand could also create jobs as well. >> david faber from cnbc, thanks, as always. >>> speaking of disconnects, the man who got filthy rich in a ponzi scheme at the expense of so many people and so many charities is back in the news tonight. his family is as well and many of the people who suffered so much are outraged that the madoffs are now once again getting so much attention. the story from nbc's ron allen. >> reporter: retirees judith welling and dewitt baker now live on pension and social security. gone is $2.5 million invested wi

u.s. economy and the western economies will be really very badly damaged. this is not some trivial sort of small local thing. this is of global significance if the u.s. does this. >> martin wolf, always a pleasure to have your insights. i wish you were more optimistic. maybe that will happen next time. >> i wish i were, too. >> and we will be back. >>> if this of a company, if this was a business, the business would be bankrupt. [ male announcer ] robitussin, advil, clorox disinfecting wipes and...a digital recorder. i'm finally feeling better. good honey, you turn into such a little whiner when you're sick. no i don't. [ bawk! ] honey, i'm sick. i can't reach the remote. that sounds nothing like me. [ beep ] honey, i'm sick. i can't reach the remote. that kind of does. [ male announcer ] get low prices every day on everything to prepare for cold and flu season. we're so confident in our low prices, we back 'em with our ad match guarantee. save money. live better. walmart. and having a partner like northern trust -- one of the nation's largest wealth manager

u.s. economy. the labor department said payrolls grew by 103,000 and the unemployment rate is still stuck at 9.1%. it turns out this summer may not have been quite so bad for jobs are originally thought. the government now says 57,000 jobs were created in august. zero was reported previously. >> susie: as good as all that sounds. some experts say it's not enough to keep the u.s. out of recession. suzanne pratt reports. >> reporter: 103,000 new jobs in one month is an okay number. but, it falls way short for the millions of unemployed. sure several industries hired people in september, including retail, construction and health care. the problem is the economy needs to add more like a quarter million new jobs a month for many months, before the unemployment rate can fall sharply. economist bruce kasman says there's little to celebrate in the latest jobs data. >> the basic problem that we have a weak labor market. that we're generating some jobs but not enough. that there are risk here with labor inco

u.s. economy outlook. and expectation that the u.s. central bank will take additional monetary easing measures. the dollar is currently trading between 75.69 and 75.72 yen. japan's central bank has decided to take additional monetary easing measures by expanding the amount of its asset-buying program. we report from bank of japan. >> reporter: the bank of japan held its board meeting on thursday and decided to raise the amount of the current scheme by five trillion yen to 55 billion tren. that's about $720 billion. the bank said the economies that recovered to the level prior to the march disaster and it's picking up. however, a slowdown in the overseas economies due to the european debt crisis and the appreciation of the yen are having a negative impact on japanese economy and the economy. the central bank said the expansion of the program is intended for buying long-term japanese government bonds. the major objective of today's move is to stem the strong yen. but the impact on the currency market is so far limited. whether this new m

u.s. economy is not falling off a cliff. the u.s. economy is plugging along. we grew at a 2.5% rate. it's not great but we're not falling back into the the abyss and new recession. >> woodruff: does that mean there will not be a double dip? >> it could always happen but if it did happen it did not smart third quarter are it would appear. even as the job market is very rough, we're not seeing robust growth, but we're seeing a certain resilience. businesses keep vofsing, consumers keep spending money. it's very slow, it's very painful, it's very sluggish but it is growth and that's something. >> woodruff: what are businesses investing in do we know? >> equipment and software spending has been rising. for two years running it rose at a 17% annual rate in the third quarter. back in '09, they weren't investing in new factories. therethere is a catch-up effectg on. so that's creating real driver for the economy. that's been one of the sources of strength in recovery. >> woodruff: one keeps hearing businesses are still-- there is still this air of uncertainty hanging over everything, that b

u.s. economy evolves over the next year or so. and by extension, president obama's election prospects but the protest is on -- the protesters seem to be motivated by much more parochial concerns, what happened on wall street, what is happening in chicago and boston. some of the protest leaders do say, we're just doing what the guys in madrid are doing. there seems to be a strong link of -- with spain and there is a mention of greece. it is very much an american protest. watching "bbc world news america." could the taliban be making a comeback? with a special report. the lockerbie bomber claims his role in the attack has been exaggerated. according to his family al- megrahi said the truth about what really happened will emerge soon. he was repair treated two years ago when doctors said he was suffering from cancer and had little time to live. he says he has few drugs left to keep him alive. >> pan am flight 103 bombed on route from london to new york in december 1988. the man convicted three years later has rarely spoken publicly.

u.s. economy from the federal reserve. its beige book survey of regional economies showed weaker conditions for growth. all that led to a negative close on wall street. the dow lost 72 points, the nasdaq dropped 53 and the s&p slipped 15. earlier in the day, averages were solidly in positive territory. as suzanne pratt reports, today's volatility is a pattern of trading that will be with us for a while. >> reporter: one day we're up. one day we're down. with the u.s. stock market experiencing such wild movements, it's no wonder investors are scratching their heads. take a quick look at the dow since the beginning of august. it's traded in nearly a 2,000 point range. experts like trader teddy weisberg point fingers directly across the pond, saying u.s. stocks pivot on every tidbit of eurozone news. >> the markets at the moment, in my opinion, are simply hostage to the politicians, whether it's in the eurozone or whether it's in washington, and that's not a good place for the markets to be and that's not a good a place for in

u.s. economy. it's "nightly business report" for wednesday, october 12. this is "nightly business report" with susie gharib and tom hudson. "nightly business report" is made possible by: this program is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. captioning sponsored by wpbt >> susie: good evening everyone. high hopes on wall street today. u.s. investors bought up stocks after european officials rolled out what's seen as the most credible plan so far to prop up european banks. tom? >> tom: susie, the plan was rolled out today by the president of the european commission, jose manuel barrosa. he called on european leaders to act quickly and agree at a meeting in two weeks. here's what he's calling for. european banks would be required to temporarily increase their capital reserves. that extra cash should come from the private sector first, then from governments. and as a last resort, banks would be allowed to tap into the eurozone bailout fund. that plan was one reason the major stock averages moved higher. the other? word that