Measures signed contracts for purchase, fell unexpectedly in november. The National Association of realtors said pending sales slid 0. 9 from october. It is the third drop in four months, and diana olick explains, the reason why is very clear. Reporter Lynette Bruno knows real estate. She works for trulia, a real estate listing company. So, when she decided to trade up from her condo to a bigger home in redhot san francisco, she knew what she was in for. You cant get too wrapped up in this process, because it can emotionally drain you. Reporter it took more than a dozen offers and nearly a year for bruno to get her new home. Im not sure theres any offers that arent overasking in san francisco. Definitely, every single offer that i put in was overasking. There was one point i put in an offer of 52 over, and i was in the middle of the pack of 15 offers. Reporter driving prices and tight inventory are blamed for weak sales in november. Pending home sales, which are a measure of signed contracts, not closings, fell just under 1 , well below expectations of a gain. Sales are still up from a year ago, but by the smallest margin in over a year. And its not just san francisco, either. Here in washington, d. C. , half the homes for sale in november sold in less than two weeks. Theres barely a twomonth supply here, which pushed the median price to the highest november level on record. Sales are suffering everywhere, but especially in california, where prices have gained the most. Sales are down dramatically compared to a year ago because there is just so little for frustrated buyers to choose from. Many of them have already passed so many hurdles saving for the down payment, qualifying for a mortgage theyve done their work. Now its time for cities to do their work, and that could mean changing some zoning laws, allowing for different types of construction, adding Affordable Homes to the market. Reporter in other words, just giving people something to buy. For nightly Business Report, im diana olick in washington. And a little later, Courtney Reagan will look at how pricey rents in new york citys commercial real estate is causing some retailers to reevaluate. Oil prices were hit once again today, thanks to a couple of events. The biggest was an unexpected rise in u. S. Crude inventory, adding to the concern of a global glut of oil, which has cratered prices this year. Also adding to the route, comments from the Saudi Oil Minister who said the kingdom will not change its production policy of unrestrained output, adding that the policy is reliable. All of this added to a drop of better than 3 on the day for both the u. S. And global benchmarks. Both are also down 30 this year. And that drop in oil was one big weight on stocks today. On wall street, the indices started lower and the selling accelerated right into the close. In the end, the dow fell 117 points to close at 17,603. The nasdaq was off 42 points, hurt by better than 1 . Loss in apple specifically for that. And the benchmark s p 500 index dropped 15. And at this time of year, its expected that some investors will sell stocks for tax implications, but longtime market pro art cashin says things have changed, and you should keep an eye on changes for the sake of your portfolio. If you have a stock thats done very well this year, you want to postpone selling it until after the first of the year, because that carries you a whole year ahead hetaxwise. If you sell it today, youve got to think about it in april. If you sell it in the beginning of the new year, youve basically got a whole year to worry about it. So, with that in mind, these two days, what weve seen in the last five years, a phenomenon has developed where people start shorting those stocks, figuring they will be weak at the beginning of next year. Tim mauer is director of personal finance at b. A. M. Alliance and joins us now. Good to see you, as always. Welcome. Good to see you, too, sue. Thanks for having me. Individual investor, we just heard what art cashin said some of the pros basically short the stocks and buy them back in the new year when theyre lower. Does that impact the individual investor . Well, it may, and i certainly dont want to argue with art, but i do think that its possible in this particular year. We didnt have a great market up move. So, while there certainly are going to be individuals and institutions who have individual positions that have done very well, the chances may be better, but because the market wasnt up big this year, were not even going to see as much of this phenomenon. However, even if we did see the phenomenon, sue, its normally going to be a very shortterm move. I dont believe its a move that is actionable for individual investors. The chances of getting it wrong are much better than getting it right, and as a result, if someone has a really solid, disciplined, diversified strategy, i would recommend that they not do anything in advance of the first couple days in januarys trading, and instead, stick with their strategy. If we do end up getting a significant amount of volatility, there may be opportunities to do some rebalancing. Right. But i would not recommend betting on this phenomenon. All right, so, it comes down to discipline, you say. But a lot of people do expect increased volatility in 2016. I mean, the ranges out there are pretty broad. However, how does the individual investor then shield themselves a little bit from the volatility, which may be driven by Institutional Investors who have had such a hard time making money in this market . I certainly dont argue with seeing more volatility in 2016. We actually saw an uptick in 2015 as well. And interestingly, even though were going to end the year just about even for the broader markets, we saw a lot of volatility in 2015, and that created opportunities for disciplined investors. That opportunity is generally called rebalancing. I know youve heard this before, and it wont be the last time that i say it, but when we see meaningful dips and a portion of your portfolio shrinks relative to another rise, thats a great time to shift from the winners and go to the losers. This gives us an opportunity. I dont think people should be fearful of volatility. Look for the opportunities that volatility creates. Right. And if indeed we do see this phenomena play out where you see aggressive shorting by Institutional Investors, you would argue, if you have your discipline in place, that it provides the opportunity to probably, maybe add to those positions that have been weakened by the pros and use that to your advantage . It absolutely creates an opportunity for investors who are willing to recognize it, to not get emotional about what is not really a loss but a decline, absolutely. Thats the key. You only lose if you sell, correct . So true, sue. Thats absolutely right. How do you feel about the market going into this new year . Theres so many different opinions about the market. Very quickly, we have about 30 seconds left. Well, as my friend, larry swedro says, my crystal ball is looking a little cloudy. Its the way we actually begin every year. Those who make the big projections are almost universally wrong. So, i dont have a guess for you as to where i think the market is going to end up. I do feel the unease, however, but i still believe that a diversified, disciplined strategy helps with that. All right, tim. Thanks for joining us. Have a great new year. Thanks, sue. You, too. Tim mauer with b. A. M. Alliance. Well, as we know, commodities have taken a beating this year, and its been tough for material stocks in particular. With the s p sector down 9 , the second worst performer behind energy. But as Morgan Brennan tells us, there is a bright spot. Reporter many of the factors pressuring energy, including oversupply and slowing global growth, are weighing on the commodities and chemicals that make up the material sector. With oil still below 40 a barrel and chinas Economic Growth continuing to decelerate, Analysts Expect 2016 to usher in more headwinds, especially for miners. I look at the metals and mining being very difficult in 15, and certainly, we expect that to continue in 16. Chemicals is in a better situation, we believe. Yes, it underperformed the s p 500 by midsingle digits in 2015. Our sense is that in 2016, as long as the general economic environment continues on the pace that we expect, it should fair fairly well. Reporter metals and Mining Companies have taken a beating with mining giant freeportmcmoran and alcoa two of the worst performers, down about 70 and nearly 40 respectively this year. But the sectors not without a bright spot. Construction material stocks like bolkin and marietta which have gone up in a recovery story. Both companies produce rocks for concrete, and that business tends to be almost entirely u. S. Based, unlike other commodities that are exposed to china. As nonresidential construction has finally begun to take off this year, these stocks have benefited. Analysts are cautiously optimistic on chemicals as well. While lower for 2015, this group has jumped nearly 15 in the fourth quarter, thanks to the proposed dow chemical dupont mega merger. That could spur more consolidation, and experts say a strengthening u. S. Economy could help as well, despite rising interest rates. Im actually not as concerned about the fact that the fed funds rate is moving up. If i take a look at when that has happened in the past, 94 and 04, those are actually years of outperformance for chemical stocks. Reporter but much of the overall sectors performance hinges on china. The worlds second largest economy is the top consumer of many raw commodities, so slowing growth there has been a huge weight, cushing demand and creating a supply glut thats caused prices to plunge and companies to make production cuts. Thats a dynamic expected to only continue in the new year. For nightly Business Report, im Morgan Brennan. A big name shuts its doors in times square because of high rent. Well look at what the ripple effects could be, coming up. With iowa about a month away, the candidates are trying to distinguish themselves, and last night was no exception. When donald trump decided now was the time to step up his campaign spending. Ill be spending a minimum of 2 million a week, and perhaps substantially more than that. Im 35 million under budget. I thought as of january 1st, i would have spent 35 million on ads. I spent nothing john harwood joins us now from washington. John, its always good to see you. Mr. Trump has kind of thrown down the gauntlet to the other candidates. Whether or not he actually spends that money, hes letting it be known that hes under budget and he has a war chest. Reporter well, he does, of course. He says hes worth more than 10 billion, and so, hes got money to spend, if he wants to. But the fascinating thing about this campaign, sue, is that he spent almost nothing on advertising so far, and hes leading the race. People like jeb bush have spent 40 million already. Marco rubio spent 20 million. So, the amounts that donald trump are talking about are not likely to revolutionize the race. In fact, if he spends 2 million a week between iowa and the South Carolina primary, which are the three that he alluded to, thats just seven weeks, 14 million, well below what his rivals have spent, but hes prospered anyway. Does it make those other candidates, though, spend more, change their game, up their game, in some way, shape or form . Reporter well, everybody is seeing a new game this time. The candidates, as i mentioned, who have spent the most have been doing very poorly in the polls. And so, it may be that were seeing the first cycle where its become blindingly obvious that tv ad spending isnt going to be that important compared to other elements of the race direct voter contact and simply the personas that are portrayed through televised debates and public appearances. But you know, as new as the trump phenomenon is, we havent seen trump, plus Television Ads. We might be about to find out. We may be. It strikes me, john, and disagree with me if you like he reminds me of a disruptor, the disruptors that we see in business, like an elon musk, for instance, with tesla, or like the ubers and the lyfts of the world. Is that a fair characterization of mr. Trump in terms of the Political Movement that he has . Reporter no question about it, sue. This is a new model. We have not seen before somebody who had both the celebrity and the charisma to sustain public attention and galvanize public attention without doing the traditional things Like Television advertising. He has not spent the same kind of time on the ground in places like New Hampshire and iowa that his rivals have. Now, once voting starts, which is going to happen in a month, were going to have a test of whether what weve seen on the Television Screen and in the polls holds up under the real pressure of other candidates who are trying to turn out voter and doing the more traditional things. Thats when were going to know whether the old model is busted or whether its just been sidelined for a while and its about to return to the fort. It is going to be fascinati g fascinating. John, thanks for joining us. Have a great new year. You, too. Carl icahn wins the takeover battle for manny, moe and jack, and thats where we begin market focus. The investors will buy the auto part seller for just over 1 billion after japans bridgestone said it would not match the bid. Shares of pep boys fell 18 to 18. 39. Shares of weightwatchers soared today after a new Television Ad featuring Oprah Winfrey began to air. She also tweeted the ad yesterday to her more than 30 million followers. Winfrey took a 10 stake in the company back in october. Today, shares were up 19 to 23. 05 and have more than tripled since oprah bought in. A bullish note says tesla will deliver more than 18,000 cars in the fourth quarter. That means tesla is on track to meet the higher end of its quarterly guidance and its latest annual forecast. Tesla was up a fraction today to 238. 09, but it is up about 8 this year. Flat panelmaker universal display get a pop today on a report from koreas electronic times, saying that samsung and lg are close to final deals with apple to supply oled displays for iphones. This follows a similar report from japans nikkei just about a month ago, stating apple will launch iphones featuring oleds in 2018. As a result, shares of universal display were up about 7 today to 56. 02. And shares of Fairchild Semiconductor rose today after word it got a revised, unsolicited takeover offer to buy all of its outstanding shares for 21. 70 each. That comes out to nearly 2. 5 billion. Last month, onsemiconductor agreed to buy fairchilds outstanding stock for 20 a share. Today shares were up nearly 4 to 20. 75. Well, we know that manhattan is an island, but its also an island like no other in real estate. Skyhigh rents are forcing some companies to close and forcing others to really reevaluate whether the pricey real estate is even worth it. Courtney reagan takes a look. Reporter after 14 years, toys r us is closing the doors of its Times Square Store for the last time tonight. Five months ago, the retailer closed its legendary fao schwarz store on fifth avenue. And its more than just toys. Crate n barrel closed its madison avenue store four years before the lease ended. The rent is too darn high in new york city. But the shoppers are going to miss toys r us. I always promise my kids, i said i had to bring them today. Sorry to say its more for the experience, and i know thats probably whats hurting it, but the ferris wheel is so much fun. Wed definitely like to see it reopen somewhere else with the ferris wheel. That would be awesome. Reporter retail rents are sky a high with average rent for ground space up 40 in the flat iron area, nearly 30 on one part of east 57th street. However, the real estate board of new york says not every area of manhattan is seeing higher average asking rents than a year ago. Its down as much as 6 in some areas. The average asking rent for ground floor retail space in times square is up 3 . The second highest in manhattan at 2,390 per square foot. When a retailer looks at their expansion for the entire country, theyre going to want more stores in new york. They cost a lot more to build, they cost a lot more for them to pay, you know, rent, but theyre the most productive stores. Reporter stores located in heavily trafficked areas also offer retailers bigtime brand awareness. Many retailers justify the higher occupancy cost in part as marketing expenses. Frank lao, says the big apple is hard to beat when it comes to retail exposure, especially for tourists, even though tourism is down, due in part to a stronger dollar. Online shopping is hurting stores everywhere. Alex Partners Consulting retail practice says it might be worse for retailers catering to tourists in a city like new york. No one wants to lug around big bags while exploring the city, especially if online ordering and delivery is an option. For nightly Business Report, im Courtney Reagan in new york. Faith consolo joins us to talk more about the Real Estate Market and whether or not the models for Retail Stores is changing. She is chairman of the retail group at Douglas Elman real estate and was a real estate adviser on the toys r us Times Square Store. Good to see you, faith. Welcome. Welcome. Thank you, sue. All right, tell me more about this, because a lot of people basically think that the flagship model, if you will, is broken, but i think you might disagree with that. Oh, i do disagree. I think that bigger is still better. And for a brand, definitely a worldclass brand, the flagships important. If theres a decision that a retailer makes, whether its nike or a m or victorias secret, to have one, big flagship in the center with just new york city, because we are the shopping capital of the world, in a place like times square or on fifth avenue or on broadway in soho, thats a very good marketing decision. Its the face of the brand. Its the face to the world. They not only get the tourists, theyre acknowledged all over. And the foot traffic is here. So, i think if youre going to open five suburban stores or one new york city flagship, theyre going to decide one new york city flagship. But what does the message that toys r us send to not only landlords but the industry in general . Well, you know, its the toy business. It has nothing to do not nothing it has something to do with the location. Yes, fao schwarz closed, and yes, toys r us closed. And just to give you a point of reference, that lease was 9 million annual rent, which seemed enormous back when we had made that deal, actually, 15 years ago. But today, that rents 40 million, but the toy business has changed. You have all the toys being purchased not only online but at walmart, at kmart, at all the big box categorykillers. And the price differential has made that very unattractive for the toy business. Yet, we look at somebody like american doll, who remains on fifth avenue on the corner, a few blocks away, rockefeller center, and theyre not going anywhere. All right, so, someone you maintain, then, that that space that is being exited by toys r us will be filled very quickly. Well, it is filled. The lease is already signed. Its going to be a combination of the gap and old navy. And for the gap, this was a major decision, because once again, theyre reinventing themselves, redesigning, reemerging. You know, a lot of their Customer Base was taken away. They were pushed aside by the zaras. So, for them to make this decision was very important, and they believe that this will help reinvent the brand. Very quickly, i have about 30 seconds left. Okay, sure. How important is the online component of all of this to the box and Mortar Stores . Well, online will never displace bricks and mortar, but what we found is many Consumers Research online and then shop in the store, but its helped a lot of the bricks and Mortar Stores by generating more traffic. It may not seem that way, because online is a percentage, but it has reinforced that, combining with social media is just going to make sales go off the map. All right. Faith, thank you very much for joining us. Okay. Byebye. Faith consolo with Douglas Elleman real estate. The new battle for your money is being fought on social media with buy buttons. Did it work this Holiday Season and which companies are leading the way . Well take a look, next. Heres what to watch for on thursday. A snapshot of the job market is first up. Weekly unemployment claims come out. They are expected to remain near historic lows. Also out, a barometer of the overaller economy, the institut of supply management releases its index for chicago. And Just Like Oil inventories are closely watched, so, too, are nat gas inventories, so well get a look at whats on the watch list for the last trading day of 2015. Finally tonight, this Holiday Shopping season, you might have noticed Something Different as you wished your friends seasons greetings on social networks, new buy buttons. So, whats latest in the social networks battle for retail dollars . Julia boorstin has more. Reporter facebook, instagram, twitter, youtube, pinterest. This Holiday Season, these social platforms have been promoting buy buttons, making their ads shopable as they compete for retailers marketing dollars. Facebook and instagram worked with target, j. Crew and american girl, among othe, engaging with customers, starting with Gift Planning all the way through prompting them to buy. Twitter highlighted its tools, such as custom emojis to draw starbucks, best buy, macys and others to its promoted moments and trends. Social shopping is new across all platforms. And so, we endeavor to help advertisers find success with their marketing goals for discovery all the way down to capturing intent. So, were really encouraged that we have a product like the buy button, but i dont think its the only thing that were focusing on. Bulls eye here got to go on an advantage. Reporter this Holiday Shopping season, Online Retail sales grew 20 , but thats not thanks to these new buy buttons. To give a sense of how small social commerce is now, social media sites drove just 1. 8 of online sales this Holiday Shopping season at the 200 ecommerce sites powered by custora marketing software. But retail giants are likely to pursue their shopping experiments as a potential source of totally new revenue streams. Well, 100 of many Internet Companies revenue comes from advertising. And with the rise of adoption of adwalking, they need a second revenue stream, in case that one starts to report negative growth. So, i think revshare through commerce is a logical next step to try to diversify away from advertising in the face of the threat of adblocking. Reporter and some social platforms are looking for ways to offer unique tools for marketers to more effectively drive sales. Snapchat offering brands including cover girl the opportunity to integrate into users photos. And pinterest now sends users alerts when a buyable pin drops in price. Everyones watching to see which social shopping tools drive the highest return for marketers. For nightly Business Report, im Julia Boorstin in los angeles. And thats nightly Business Report for tonight. Im sue herera. Well see you here tomorrow. There was a night of tv that was Mary Tyler Moore. I watched the Mary Tyler Moore show. Theres not one show that i missed. Fey that show was big, big deal. Yeah. Who can turn the world on. It was Second Nature to me, i didnt feel that separate from the character i was playing. Who can take a nothing day she became americas sweetheart very quickly. Well, its you, girl, and you should know it Dick Van Dyke i mean she was gorgeous, and she had a sensuality about her. She was an embracer of the world. Love is all around. Betty white we became very close friends. And thats why it was such fun. Youre gonna make it after all Gavin Macleod she just had a gift from god. And, for me, she was a gift from god