Department. Who he is and what would he mean for millions of American Workers . Ramping up. Consumers are borrowing almost as much as they did no 2008 but is it different this time . Those stories tonight for thursday, february 14th. Good evening everyone and welcome. While you were focused on the stock market or the drama in washington something very important has been taking place. The economy started to pick up a lot of momentum and the increased activity is taking place across many sectors. Manufacturing his its highest level since 1984. Jobless claims remain close to record lows. Yesterday we reported that retail sales or sizzling and inflation is getting hotter, head in the direction of the Federal Reserve target number. Our first guest tonight agrees that sluggish Economic Growth is behind us and the u. S. Economy is set to take off. He wrote about in the the new york times. And he joins us now. Mr. Irwin. Welcome. The president today at his press conference said he inherited a mess in terms of the economy. Did he . No, this is kind of of what we wanted to see for years now which is an acceleration of growth, broad based kind of expansion that includes the job market as you say retails or consumers, the industrial sector, manufacturing. Hitting on all cylinders now and thats a good sign. One person that i talked to today its the stealth recovery that it seems to have gone unnoticed. Why do you think that is . This isnt a big flashy recovery. This happens with each jobs report, each retail report, manufacturing report. Each one that comes out is a little better than people expected and the accumulated weight of all that were in a better economy than we were six months or even a year ago. Its not as flashy or exciting. Its there nonetheless and its a good sign. The president today that jobs were pouring out of the country to foreign countries, is that correct . Hard to see that in the data. We added 227,000 jobs in january. Weve had consistent job growth for several years now. Unemployment rate 4. 8 . No one saying this job markets perfect but this is definitely not a crisis situation for the job market. I think Mother Nature may have helped out as well at least in some parts of the country. The Winter Weather has not been as severe in other parts and so people actually go out and spend money. Its nice to remember it seems like every time theres a weak number we say its because it was a bad winter or weather. Were having the reverse of that right now. Its been a pretty mild winter across most of the country so that creates a boost in the retail sales number, construction, some of the other sectors that are dependent on the weather. And how much faster could the economy grow under the best of possible circumstances . Most of the consensus views are low to midtwos. That would be a step up from what weve been having, 1. 8 or 1. 9 the last several years. Of course donald trump wants to see 3. 5 or 4 growth. If that happens we start to get into this question well how much leeway is there left in the economy, how much slack, room to grow . Thats going to be one of the big debates with the frag reserve. Thank you for spending time with us. Later in the program well focus on the health of the u. S. Consumer in light of a new report that shows that Household Debt is now at its highest level since 2008. At the start of a News Conference at the white house today, President Trump announced the nomination of alex acosta to be labor secretary. The decision follows the dramatic yesterday of his original nominee. Kayla tausche tells us who the new nominee is and why he was chosen. Reporter in a wide ranging press conference, President Trump appraised his choice of alex acosta for labor secretary. I think hell be a tremendous secretary of labor. Reporter the move came just one day after trumps first choice withdrew his nomination avoiding tough questions from republicans who took issue with his personal and business background. Unlike pudzer. He clerked for conservative justice before he was elevated to the supreme court. Was a member of the National Labor board and ran the Civil Rights Division under george w. Bush. One key detail in his cv makes him a politically safe candidate. Hes been through Senate Confirmation three times, confirmed, did very, very well. His ten years at the Civil Rights Division includes some high profile cases. He sued the Cracker Barrel restaurant chain for providing inferior service to africanamericans and reported a Muslim Student at an Oklahoma Middle School in a case against discrimination. One background item that could draw criticism an investigation of the Civil Rights Division under his leadership found improper use of political affiliates in hiring decisions. The Labor Department is currently in a wait and see mode with a key role investing investment advisors. Confirmation hearings and votes drag on. The democrats are making it very difficult. I think were setting a record or close to a record in the time of approval of a cabinet. The numbers are crazy what some of them had approved immediately. Im going forever and i still have a lot of people were waiting for. Just 13 of the president s 35 nominees have been confirmed a a Record Number of no votes for the ones that have. The top democratic on the committee that will voeft on the nomination said she will insist on a rigorous and thorough vetting process. For nightly Business Report im koit in washington. The senate today did confirm the president s pick to run the budget office. Mick mulvaney squeaked through, senator john mccain voted against him. He must now get to work on the president s upcoming budget plan. Will budget, Infrastructure Spending and tax cuts could be setting up the next political and economic battle. Not in the halls of congress but between some republican lawmakers and the head of the Federal Reserve. Steve liesman explains. Reporter two days of grilling from the Republican Congress made clear that not yet willing to join the trump economic party. While the stock market surges in anticipation of coming trump policies, yellen and the fed have stood most of my colleagues decided that they would not speculate on what Economic Policy changes would be put into effect and what theyre consequences would be. Reporter that stance is about the criticism like senator pat toomey. It just looks like on the surface they either believe its unlikely that any of those things will actually happen or they think that those things are not particularly pro growth. Right now the fed forecasts around 2 growth and that will hike three times this year or about three quarters of a percentage point. More stimulus from the Trump Administration could mean higher rates from the feds. Its just that yellen and the fed will decide wait until they see the whites of the eye of actual trump policies and that put yellen and the fed in a tough political position. He can get away with saying correctly thats nothings been proposed. What happens when something is if the fed doesnt boost its forecast, itll be seen in opposition. If he does, it could be seen as endorsing trumps policy. President trump hasnt said much of the fed as of late. And change big league. For nightly Business Report im steve liesman. Many have been wondering when legislation would be introduced to repeal and replace the Affordable Care act which of course was one of the president s Campaign Promises and today House Speaker paul ryan said that a bill will be introduced when Congress Returns from next weeks recess. Lawmakers are waiting on the nonpartisan to estimate the total cost of the bill. On wall street the nasdaq and the s p snap their winning streak at seven but the dow clawed its way to another record. For the most part stocks were loernt day. The dow rows just about 8 points to 20,619. The nasdaq dropped four and the s p slid two. Snapchat could be the next big Public Offering worth more than 20 billion. That would make it the biggest tech ipo since alibaba but snapchat isnt the only Company Looking to sell its shares to the public as bob pisani that are hoping to make their wall street debuts as well. Reporter so social media and Camera Companies ipo today with a valuation of roughly 22 billion. That would be the largest since alibaba went public way back in 2014. Theres a lot riding on the success of this big one because a lot of other companies are waiting to go public. Among them are womens apparel maker jay jill, canada goose, and private equity firm hamilton lane. There were almost no oil and gas ipos last year but theres several waiting in the wings right now including Liberty Oil Field services and propetrol holdings. The markets acting like it wants ipo right now. Its a basket of the most recent ipos has been moving up along with the rest of the market. Its now at an 18 month high. Whats different than before . Weve had lower prices. Buyers burned by high priced ipos in the last couple of years have demanded and gotten lower prices recently and thats helping these stocks outperform in the aftermarket. A notable rally since the election is the final icing on the cake. Its needs a period of calm to get the more than 100 ipos waiting in the wings out the door. For nightly Business Report, im bob pisani at the new york stock exchange. Still ahead americans are loading up on debt. Flirting with 2008 levels. Should you be alarmed . The president of the United Auto Workers would like to meet with President Trump to discuss nafta and he noted that the uaw has long criticized automakers for taking advantage of mexicos cheap labor. Denis williams said there are a number of things needed to correct the trade deal and that his group is looking closely at the agreement. Were doing an indepth look at what is it that will effectively help us have a trade agreement that is resiprical in nature where all three countries have a builtin purchasing power. Williams also said that uaw organizers are in contact with workers at tesla and that any former effort to organize workers will depend on the interest level of the employees. And following occupy on a story we told you about earlier this week, boeing rejected joining a union at a South Carolina factory. Boeing said 74 of the more than 2,800 workers voted against the machinist union. Vote was seen as an early test of labor strength in the trump era. Secretary of state Rex Tillerson is making his debut on the world stage. He has meeting with his diplomatic counter part of g20 group including russia and one issue on the table was spending on nato. Reporter its a u. S. Foreign policy offensive in europe over the next several days with the secretary of state as well as the Vice President planning to make stops in europe. Rex tillerson made his debut in germany today meeting with the ministers of the g20 nations. As well as conversations with saudi arabia over what to do about the situation in syria and yemen. As european leaders look to gauge the future with the united states, several questions loomed including nato spending. General james mattis, the new secretary of defense weighed in. Its a fair demand that all who benefit from the best defense in the world carry their proportion share of the necessary cost to defend freedom and we should never forget it ultimately it is freedom that we defend here at nato. U. S. Secretary james mattis went on that the u. S. Plans to moderate its relationship with how much they spend. In 2015 the u. S. Spent some 650 billion on defense spending for nato that was over 72 of the total nato budget and the u. S. Says they want yurp to pay more. For nightly Business Report im hadley gamble in germany. A von might need a make over and thats where we begin tonights focus. Continued that trend in its latest quarter of falling sales. Its lower than expected revenues was hurt by fewer reps selling its products. Sales were down in all markets except latin america. Avon shares plunged more than 18 they are at a low 4. 77. Profit and sales at wendys fell as the fast food chained operated fewer Company Owned chains. Profit missed slightly. The company also launched a new 150 million Share Buyback program. Hiked its Quarterly Dividend to 0. 07 a share. Still shares were down 4 to 13. 69. Dean foods reported flat sales but profit rose but not by enough to meet wall streets expectations. Saying it expects results will be sand bagged by investments in a joint venture and lower demand for milk. Shares were down 8 to 18. 80. Kate spade confirmed it is exploring Strategic Alternatives but said theres no guarantee a deal will happen. As we reported back in november, the luxury handbag maker was pressured by one of its shareholders to pursue a sale. While its profit beat targets. Shares popped 14 to 22. 56. Ca bell las said weak foot traffic was problematic in the quarter. They posted declines in same store sales calling the results disappointing. Theyre currently in the process of being acquired by his rival Bass Pro Shops for more than 5 billion. Shares were off nearly 5 to 46. 22. Gnc holdings saw its sales fall more than expected and it posted profit that was sharply blow forecast. The company also suspended its Quarterly Dividend but said its seeing encouraging trends and is optimistic about returning to profitable growth. Nonetheless, gnc shares were off 7 to 7. 72. And shares of trip adviser continue to fall following disappointing results after the bell yesterday. The trip review website had a drop in subscription revenue along with higher marketing cost called profits and sales to miss estimates. Shares were down almost 11 to 46. 92. More now on that Household Debt report we told you about earlier in the program. The total amount of debt climbed by the most in nearly a decade in the recent quarter driven by increases in Credit Card Debt enauto loans and student loans. According to the Federal ReserveHousehold Debt increased to more than 12 and a half trillion at the end of last year and that is just shy of the all time peak set back in 2008 around the start of the financial crisis. So what does the rise inhouse hold debt suggest about the health of the consumer . Lets turn now to scott brown for some answers. Scott, welcome. What does it say about the consumer . When you see that comparison to 2008, i hear alarm bells but apparently its a little different this time. Its a lot different, i think. Youre looking at a bigger economy compared to where we were in 2008 so the level isnt necessarily worrisome. I think when you look at the Fourth Quarter numbers you had a big pop but a lot of that was in mortgages and you had initial increase in Mortgage Rates and that tends to give a lot of people on the fence it really prompts them into action when they see Mortgage Rates starting to go up. You see a surge as Mortgage Rates begin to rise and things start to slow down more. I think the longer term trend, the Consumer Debt doesnt seem to be too far out of line relatively to the trend in personal income and thats pretty appropriate. We often say that debt doesnt matter until it does and if theres an economic down turn and debt becomes a force to make that down turn even weaker. I saw one of the stories post financial crisis, scott, was that the American Public had delevered its balance sheet, reduced its debt, not so . I think thats still definitely the case. Again, youre seeing Consumer Debt rising more or less in line with the overall economy and thats more appropriate. If you dont have any loan growth in the economy youre not going to get any Economic Growth, the question is is it excessive . When you look back at the boom years in the housing market, you had people taking a gigantic amount of home equity out and spending it on vacations, new cars and so on and when the housing collapse came that all went away so that was a very serious adjustment. Were not seeing signs that people are pulling equity out of their homes at this point to finance their spending. Job growth is pretty good still. We expect that to slow as the job market tightens. Nominal wage growth has been trending higher but compared to a year or two ago when we had that big drop in gasoline prices and consumers really had more money to spend, gasoline prices are up a little bit and so the budgets maybe getting tighter, so Consumer Spending growth ought to continue to improve but not very strong, not very weak either. If i understand what youre saying correctly, we could almost view this accumulation of debt as a sign of an underlying strengthening economy as we suggested at the beginning of the program and a consumer that is confident in jobs and the economy . I think thats exactly the case. We dont really see the kinds of excesses in the Consumer Debt market. We do have some problems with student loans. I think thats going to be a serious problem for them. Its not going to be a systematic problem for the economy as a whole. Well leave it there, scott. Thank you. Scott brown. My pleasure. And coming up, the red tape that Business Owners on main street would like to see rolled back the most. Delta is paying out about 1 billion in employee bonuses. Thats a little less than last years record payout but still among the best in Corporate America and its the third year in a row that the Airlines Employees received more than 1 billion in profit sharing. The amount of the bonus each year depends on how well the airline pfz foonlly. President trump undoing an obama destination coal mining rule. The bill gets rid of a regulation to protect water ways from coal mining waste that officials finalized in december. The legislation is the second administrative rule repeal this week. Main street Business Owners are waiting for the Trump Administration to lighten their regulatory load and as kate rodgers reports there are a few rules in particular that they would like to see go. Reporter Gourmet Popcorn Company popped republic has taken off in the past five years and shes considering franchising but she cant bring herself to take the leap just yet worried about a 2015 decision from the National LaborRelations Board known as the joint employer rule which holds Parent Company liable for violations at franchise locations. This. This rule would impact us because if we did do franchising, if something happened with one of our franchisees they had an issue with their workers and their workers were to sue them, we could actually have that liability too with the way the new rule is structured and we certainly as a Small Business are not looking at ways to liability. Reporter theyre stifling Small Business from investing in new employees and expanding. President trump has promised to cut washingtons red tape and eliminating the budget for new federal regulations in 2017 as one of his First Executive orders. Deregulation is welcome to many on main street just last year more than 400 regulations were finalized costing 164 billion to implement according to the conservative research group. Separate data from the nonpartisan national Small Business association finds companies are spending about 12,000 a year to comply. Reporter that compliance weighs heavily on the minds of entrepreneurs ceo of amerry cooler, the a manufacturer of walk in freezers. And has him considering ways to cut back. The Affordable Care act one of the unintended consequences is, you know, you try to avoid hiring people if you dont have to and the past we may need it would be nice to hire maybe ten more people to help capacity, now were like, theres no way. Lets try to figure out a way to make it happen without hiring people. Reporter theyre hoping for change. We love just to see more regulatory reform. I think, you know, its hard for us. We dont have a lawyer on staff to help us figure it all out and so it would be great if the government and agencies could take a little bit more care at looking at the Small Business impact of regulations before they just charge ahead issuing new ones. Reporter for nightly Business Report, im kate rodgers. And to read more about the regulations that small Business Owners would like to see lifted head to our web nbr. Com. And that does it for nightly Business Report. Im sue herera. Thanks for watching. Im tyler mathisen. Have a great evening everybody and we hope to see you back here. Announcer nightly Business Report is funded by all it takes say spark, to innovate, disrupt move us all forward. To explore a different perspective. At nasdaq we connect the world. Its ideas, its capitals and businesses, the people that drive global economy. The future isnt tomorrow its right now. All it takes say spark. Nasdaq. This is bbc world news america. Funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation. Newmans own foundation, giving all profits from newmans own to charity and pursuing the common good. Kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for americas neglected needs. And aruba tourism authority. Planning a vacation escape that is relaxing, inviting, and exciting is a lot easier than you think. You can find it here in aruba. Families, couples, and friends can all find their escape on the island with warm, sunny days, cooling trade winds, and the crystal blue caribbean sea