Government could buy more boeing planes and the stock hits a new high. Coal country celebrates. The president follows through on his promise to roll back regulations. But is it enough to get the ailing industry back on its feet . Those stories and more tonight on nightly Business Report for friday, february 17th. Good evening, everybody. Kraft heinz is hungry for a deal, a big one. One worth more than 140 billion. The food conglomerate, backed by billionaire Warren Buffett and the brazilian private equity ferm 3g made a takeover offer for unilever in what would be one of the biggest deals ever. But unilever said hold the mayo and kraft heinz may not take no for an answer. That may be why shares of both companies soared double digits in trading today. Sarah ieisen explains why this may just be the beginning of a Consumer Food saga. Kraft heinz, which itself was born out of an acquisition put together by brazilian private equity giant 3g and Warren Buffett is trying to combine itself with the mega britishdutch company unilever. Unilever owns dove soap, axe deodorant, hellmanns mayo and ben and jerrys. And while it rejected this current proposal, kraft says it still looks forward to reaching an agreement on the terms of a transaction. The real key is just the willingness of unilever, clearly stated that they dont think theres a financial or strategic merit to the offer as it stands at the right price. Theres something that looks like it might be likely to happen. Whats particularly interesting here. Everyone expected kraft heinz and 3g to pursue a new deal in food. Unilever is both a food, and household products company. About half and half. And what the Common Thread in both of those industries is . Lack of growth. Big food and Household Product Companies have struggled to keep up with changing consumer tastes. And habits. Eating healthy. Change in the way they buy basics. Theyre going now online and to their mobile phones. Coupled with a slowdown in emerging markets, which accounts for about 60 of unilevers sales, the going has been tough for these big companies. So 3gs playbook, swoop in, buy up the companies, and cut costs. Were talking major slashing of costs that boost profit, and often include job cuts. What happens next . Some analysts say that the price of this offer will go up, kraft hat until march 17th to announce a Firm Intention to make a specific offer or walk away under british law. 3g is pretty quiet about its strategy. Maybe all they want is the food. The speculation, which i think makes sense is they probably dont want dove soap and all the personal care products. Either Way Investors are certainly excited about the prospect. For nightly Business Report, im sarah eisen. And as sarah just explained, 3g is known for its harddriving management and deep cost cuts. Whats happens when the Brazilian Private Equity Firm swoopes in . What happens to workers and jobs . Fortune magazine wrote about exactly that. The writer of that article, Senior Editor at large, and he joins us tonight from fortune. Good to see you. Thank you. You said you anticipated that they would be making an acquisition that was large but this one even surprised you. Thats exactly right. This was totally predictable, because it was clear they had to make another acquisition. Thats how 3g companies grow. They dont grow organically, they grow by acquisitions. So they had to make a buy. What was astounding was that no one on wall street nor i imagined they would ever go after a target as big as unilever. Do they really want, i think you sort of referenced this, do they really want everything that comes with unilever . From axe deodorant to soaps and other things, or do they just want the food brand . Well, they first of all, they never announce stuff like this and they dont talk much to the press. But i find it hard to believe that they really would want anything other than the food. The whole history of 3g is food and beverage. Beer, burger king, tim horton, kraft, heinz. Its all food and beverage. You know, jeff, its the Political Climate for job cuts and things like that is not favorable for 3g. Now granted it is a Brazilian Private Equity Firm, but what about the way they might have to do this because their m. O. Is to kind of come in, close plants, slash jobs, cut costs . Thats exactly right. And im sure that thats the playbook they would be following this time. Its going to be a real problem. Because theyve done it in the United States, and mostly without trouble. The environment in europe is very different. Worker protections are far greater. Unions are far stronger. They could have a problem trying to run their playbook in europe. So kraft heinz is 3g on the one hand, it is also Warren Buffett on the other. Right . Oh, yes. In fact, he owns more of kraft heinz than 3g does. How active a driver do you think he would be in this kind of acquisition . And as you point out, they have to do this because theyre not growing otherwise. Thats exactly right. Buffett is an important source of financing. But he has made clear that he doesnt want to run these companies, and, in fact, he has said that 3g runs them far better than he ever would. So i think his role will probably be in the background as a financier. Do you think that they can pull this off, jeff . I mean they did it, certainly, with beer. But the food business, as sarah pointed out in her piece, is very different and consumer tastes are changing. Fairly rapidly, as well. Well, they are. I mean, the first question is, will they actually be able to do the deal . It seems no one has ever stopped them from getting what they wanted. They are formidable. How they can manage in the food business, as tastes are changing, well thats what theyre trying to adapt to. All right. Thanks so much for spending time with us. You bet. Jeff colvin with fortune magazine. Softbank is reportedly making a new attempt to merge sprint and tmobile. According to a reuters report sprints majority owner softbank plans to approach tmobiles majority owner Deutsche Telekom about a gettogether. Softbank has to wait until the end of the fcc spectrum auction in april. The Japanese Multinational Company first tried to merge sprint and tmobile back in 2014 but abandoned the pursuit on regulatory concerns. The report sent shares of both tmobile and sprint higher, as you see there. On wall street, the dow inched higher just minutes before the bell to extend its win streak to seven Straight Record closes. The upbeat merger news and a climb in boeing shares ultimately helped offset a decline in the energy sector. Well have more on that in a moment. The dow jones added four points to 20,624. The nasdaq was up 23, and the s p 500 rose 3. For the week, the three major indexes all reported gains that exceeded 1 . Boeing was one of the top performi ining dow stocks today after the president praised the company at its South Carolina plant and suggested the government could buy more planes from the corporation. It is the same plant where just days ago workers rejected joining the machinists union. Phil lebeau has the story from charleston, South Carolina. Here in South Carolina, President Trump spent more than an hour touring the boeing plant, drusing the new dreamliner the 78710 and talking in front of about 6,000 boeing workers about their future. About manufacturing in america, and about his pledge to bring even more jobs into this country. We want products made by our workers, in our factories, stamped with those four magnificent words, made in the usa. The 6,000 boeing workers who were here listening to President Trump gave him several rousing applauses, as he was talking about the importance of manufacturing in america. And when he ended his speech, he said god bless the United States of america, and god bless boeing. Music to the ears of these workers. It was really neat experience being able to hear what he thinks about aircraft. Its been a long time coming, and its just been incredible. I think it represents what South Carolina is looking, especially with the union vote that didnt go through. Were working for South Carolina, and for boeing. Were here to stay. I love the fact that hes looking out for america. For boeing ceo Dennis Mullenberg this is the third time that he has met with donald trump. Once at trump tower in new york, once at maralago in florida and today here in South Carolina, as boeing rolled out its newest dreamliner. The 78710. Phil lebeau, nightly Business Report, north charleston, South Carolina. Energy shares weighed on the market today. It tends to be a sector that stocks follow pretty closely. And as bob fasani reports its not clear if the bulls are in control or the bears. The markets may be at new highs but one sector is showing signs and thats big oil. The broad markets drifting higher since the beginning of the year, but oil stocks have been drifting lower. Its not a oneday affair. Its a trend. The evidence is everywhere. Chevrons at a new low for the year. Exxon mobil is down nearly 10 . The oil and Gas Exploration and production etf was weighted towards u. S. Producers down 5 for the year. Whats happening . A reasonable conclusion is that theres a valuation problem for energy stocks. The markets are still discounting a significantly higher price for oil and a lot of people doubt that thats happening. How much higher . I dont know. But a lot of people at the end of last year were talking about oil in the 60 or even 70 in 2017. The oil bulls insist demand is improving, opecs agreement to cut production is holding and all thats true. But look at the supply side. Traders have noted that more than 200 additional drilling rings have been added this year. U. S. Production is back up to 9 Million Barrels a day and oil its 53. Its exactly where it was two years ago. Thats right. Oil is 53 on this day two years ago. It touched 60 briefly in june of 2015. Hasnt come close since. What needs to happen . In the short run we certainly need to see inventory levels come down and that doesnt look like its going to happen either any time soon. You can see why the energy bulls are having a tougher time of it recently. For nightly Business Report im bob fasani at the new york stock exchange. Still ahead, kraft may want to buy unilever but theres another Consumer Products company on market monitor says investors may want to consider. Wells fargo says it Retail Operations were, quote, relatively stable in january. The bank has been reporting monthly customer activity in its Branch Banking unit ever since its fake accounts scandal was unearthed last fall. 30 fewer checking accounts were opened in january as compared with a year ago. But the number was up from december. At t has expanded its unlimited data plan offering. Earlier in the week verizon did the same. Analysts say the move to unlimited plans reflect an intensifying price war within the Wireless Industry that could put pressure on companies to cut costs. The government backed Mortgage Companies fannie mae and freddie mac are paying 10 billion in dividends to you and me, to the treasury. Both companies earned billions of dollars of profit in the fourth quarter. Now, new treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin said at his confirmation hearing that fannie and freddie should not be left under government control without a fix. But he also says he does not want to limit housing finance. The Consumer FinancialProtection Bureau was established in the aftermath of the financial crisis. And pretty much ever since, the Banking Industry has been pushing for changes at the wa h watchdog agency. But not everybody agrees on how that should be altered. Eli has the story from washington. Good to see you. What does the cfbp actually do and why do the banks want to change it . The cfbp is americas consumer watchdog agency. An independent agency established during the financial crisis, and most importantly, its run by a single investor, and the president has limited power to remove that director. Of course, banks dont like that. Theyve been arguing for a long time that the cfbp should be run by a fivemember, bipartisan commission. They say that will provide them more stability so that the rules and regulations coming out of the cfbp dont change according to the whims of whoever might be the director of the agency. So they are looking for big changes to the structure of the cfbp. How about lawmakers . What kind of changes to that structure are they proposing . What would the gop like to see happen . Well, one bill that weve heard about from representative jeb henner is link who is chairman of the House Financial Services committee would make the cfbps single director removable at will by the president. Essentially the president would have the ability to fire this person whenever the president decided was appropriate. Other legislation out there that weve seen, dr. David per due has a rule out there that would allow the cfbp to be in to be funded through congress. Right now the cfbp is funded through the Federal Reserve so the congress would have control of the Purse Strings and senator ted cruz has a bill that would eliminate the cfbp altogether. Just do away with the agency. That was what i was going to ask, is it possible that that might happen . Does mr. Cruzs proposal have legs . Well it would take a legislative action for the cfbp to be entirely eliminated. And you Better Believe that democrats are not going to let that happen without a fight. This is a signature piece of president obamas financial reform changes that he made after the recession, and this is also the brainchild of senator Elizabeth Warren of massachusetts. So, she is not going to let this agency be killed quietly. Thanks. Have a great weekend. You, too. And to read more about americas consumer watchdog, you can head to our website, nbr. Com. General mills slashes its full year guidance. Thats where we include tonights market focus. Weak demand for yogurt and soup products in the u. S. Would cause sales to come at the lower end of the companys previous guidance. The miker of honey nut cheerios and Betty Crocker reduced its profit expectations. Shares off more than 3 to 59. 23. Campbells soup saw profit and sales fall more than expected as higher promotional spending and weakness in the companys fresh food business hurt results. The Worlds Largest soup company did reaffirm its outlook for the year, though. That wasnt enough. Shares fell 6. 5 to 58. 48. More food to talk about. Smucker said weak demand for folgers coffee and pet Food Products hurt results in the latest quarter. The maker of jif Peanut Butter missed expectations. Shares down 1 to 135. 95. Despite facing soft market conditions, farming equipmentmaker deere said it saw sales improve in the latest quarter. The company said its beginning to see signs of stabilization in key agricultural markets. The company also raised its outlook for 2017, so shares were up 1 to 1 10. 27. The Justice Department has joined a whistleblower lawsuit from 2011 that alleges that the Health InsurerUnited Health group overbilled the governments Medicare Program by hundreds of millions of dollars, maybe even billions of dollars. United health group said it rejects the claim, and plans to contest them vigorously. Shares were off more than 3. 5 to 157. 62. And Health Insurance insurer aetna said it is doubling its Quarterly Dividend to 50 cents per share. The annual yield is now more than 1. 5 . The company also said it would add 4 billion to its existing Share Buyback program. Aetna shares were down 3 to 1 25. 27. And now to our market monitor who has names of stocks she says could grow 15 over the next year or so and also provide some nice Dividend Income and get this, the last time she was on in july, she recommended the following stocks. And they have all risen double digits. Some 58 . Marianne montaine. Welcome. Lets say we do it just like last time. Im a tough act to follow. Follow yourself here. Lets start with British American tobacco. Why do you like it . Right. This is a company that is acquiring reynolds american. And they can leverage off of reynolds portfolio around the world with products like newport, and the vapor ecigarette. It yields 3. 5 . Its valued far lower than any other consumer staple stock, and particularly the other tobaccos. Next on the list invesco. You say its not like some of the other banks that are out there. Why . Yeah, when you look at the financial sectors, the banks have done extremely well since the election. And heres a financials aim thats not a bank, its an asset manager and perhaps you know the Exchange Traded funds that they offer, power shares. So with the gains in the stock market they gain assets under management, and their fees grow, and along with the explosion, and Exchange Traded funds, we expect them to continue to do very well. Again, nice dividend yields, about 3. 2 . And a multiple of 12 where the market is more like 17 times. You know the food business, marianne, much in the news today. With that proposed merger of kraft and unilever. Your third pick, probably benefiting one way or another, from these discussions, is nestle. Why do you like it . Well nestle offers a 3. 5 field. So, again, were looking forward 15 total return from these three names over the next year or so. So thats a nice start with 3. 5 yield. But their focus has been on wellness and for the first time in about 100 years, theyve actually gone outside their own ranks to bring in a new ceo who happens to be from the health care side of things, who we expect to change the portfolio toward a faster growing wellness type product, and those happen to be higher margin products. At the same time theyve embarked on a nice, substantial, threeyear Cost Reduction program. So, i think, you know, being where they are, global, around the world, in europe, its already i think they stand a better chance at cutting costs than unilever might when 3g encounters the european commissions, and they try to take out the head count. I think theyre up for a big battle in europe. Very quickly, do you like the u. S. Markets . Or it seems as though you are favoring the International Markets, maybe a little bit more. Yeah, the International Market has underperformed the u. S. Backed market on a oneyear, threeyear, fiveyear and tenyear basis. So we think valuations are better overseas than in the u. S. We think the u. S. Is fairly valued, not fully valued. Still upside in the u. S. But still upside overseas. Marianne, thank you again for being with us. Congratulations on your very good picks last time. May you do it again. All righty. Coming up, did coal country just get a shot in the arm . Im Contessa Brewer in ohio. This is coal country and coal country gives President Trump a big thumbs up for taking a first big step towards fulfilling his Campaign Promise. Thats ahead on nightly business repor heres a look at what to watch next week on tuesday, dow components home depot and walmart report their earnings. Macys done as well and it has seen seven straight quarters of falling sales. Wednesday the Federal Reserve releases the minutes of its latest meeting. Investors will be looking for any hint on the timing of the next rate hike. And on friday well find out how many new homes were sold in january and thats what to watch next week. The senate today confirmed the president s pick to head the Environmental Protection agency. The votes for scott pruitt were mostly down party lines. He is expected to waste little time when it comes to scaling back high profile environmental regulations. Pruitt was one of about two dozen mostly republican state attorneys general who sued the Obama Administration over many of its environment rules. Coal country cheering today as President Trump takes a step toward fulfilling a Major Campaign promise to bring back a declining industry. As we told you yesterday, the president signed a law that removes an environmental rule that coal miners saw as too broad, too burdensome and illogical. Contessa brewer reports from powhatton point, ohio. Along this stretch of the ohio river, the coal comes pouring in around the clock. And yet in this county the Unemployment Rate is higher than the national average, and families have been hurting with coals decline. This town is nothing kard to what it used to be. This used to be all stores. Groepsry stores, clothing stores, everything. Retirees like Marianne Anderson are helping keep the riverside restaurant afloat. Its customers used to be mainly coal miners. The public part of my job is having to sit across from a grown man and watch him crying balls i had to tell him he was laid off. As harbor master at the ohio valley loading company, he has seen his share of layoffs. 30,000 coal jobs have disappeared in the last five years. And the industry was predicting many more. It claims the stream protection rule finalized in december would cost 281,000 jobs in a worst case scenario. The Nonpartisan Congressional Research Service estimated it would cost 260 jobs per year. But would create roughly as many. A major threat to your jobs, and were going to get rid of that threat immediately. President trump signed a law overturning the governments regulation fulfilling a Campaign Promise he made to bring back coal. Environmentalists are furious about what the new law means for habitat and ground water. The epa, department of the interior and army corps of engineers had worked for years to structure this stream protection rule to prevent mining related pollution and environmental damage. Thats not the way coal leaders saw it. It was a deliberate attempt by the radical people in the Obama Administration to eliminate underground coal mining. Experts say regulation is not the only challenge facing coals revival. They say automation is among the biggest job killers. And coals struggling to compete with cheap, natural gas. I dont believe theres anything wrong with, you know, more forms of energy. Just dont destroy a industry to make room for another one. It doesnt make sense. And quite frankly, this country cannot survive without coal. This county certainly cant. And theyre looking to President Trump to tip away at a mountain of regulatory roadblocks, they see barring the path to coals future success. For nightly Business Report im Contessa Brewer, ohio. And that does it for nightly Business Report for tonight. Im sue herera. Thanks for joining us. And im tyler mathisen. Thanks from me, as well. Have a great weekend, everybody, its a long one. See you on monday. Nightly Business Report has been funded in part by all it takes is a spark. One idea to take flight. The courage to seek the unknown. To innovate. Disrupt. To move us all forward. To explore a different perspective. At nasdaq we connect the world. This idea is capital. Its businesses. The people that drive global economies. The future isnt tomorrow, its right now. All it takes is a 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