>> susie: good evening, everyone. all around the world today, people were talking about and paying tribute to steve jobs, the great visionary, innovator, and c.e.o. of apple. at the company's cupertino, california, headquarters, flags flew half-staff. and tommourners placed flowers at apple stores from new york to hong kong. >> tom: susie, one question everyone's been asking-- what's next for apple without the creative genius of steve jobs? many people are wondering if the company can keep its innovative spirit. that spirit has pushed apple's market valuation to $350 billion, making it the second most valuable publicly traded company after exxonmobil. >> susie: it's too soon to say what the post-jobs era will look like, but as erika miller explains, many people believe apple has a strong core. >> reporter: at this new york apple store and others around the world, fans of steve jobs paid tribute to his legacy. >> a complete stranger to me, yet it hurts so bad. >> he certainly is a genius, and there's no belittling him. >> reporter: steve jobs was more than a c.e.o.; he was an inventor holding more than 300 patents. he is among a handful of people credited with transforming industries, and he is sometimes compared to thomas edison and henry ford. many wonder who will become the world's next tech visionary. analyst david garrity has some candidates, including the founders of google, sergey brin and larry page. he also nominates mark zuckerberg, the creator of facebook. and finally, a name you may not know-- elon musk, the founder of paypal and tesla motors, which makes an electric roadster. >> they are in the position right now of bringing that technology further down market. moving it more into a mass market. and doing so in a way that is outperforming what more established companies, such as a general motors or a toyota, are doing. >> reporter: another big concern is what lies ahead for apple without jobs. part of the reason apple products have been so successful is the spark of genius he provided and a culture of perfection he created. tim cook took over as c.e.o. two months ago and is considered an operational whiz with a focus on detail. the company's top pitchman, philip schiller, is well respected. and jonathan ive is the company's design star. but none have yet shown the magic that jobs had. technology expert lance ulanoff believes apple can still thrive. >> none of them, by themselves, is steve jobs. together, they have his essence. and they can help bring products to market that will have steve jobs' influence. >> reporter: apple shares were flat today, but over the past five years, they are up more than 400%. garrity believes the stock is still a good value. >> on a valuation basis, the stock is not expensive. it is trading at approximately 13 times this year's estimated earnings. the expectations for next year are that earnings will grow close to 20%. >> reporter: based on patents, some analysts predict apple could reinvent television to be more interactive. another possibility is a mobile device with a projector and gadgets that recognize individual voices. but for now, many people are not thinking about the next big thing; they are mourning an end of an era. >> it's going to be hard for somebody to replace him in that position. >> he set an example of a very high bar of competence. i never met anyone as competent as he was. >> reporter: erika miller, "nightly business report," new york. >> tom: while apple shares finished the day little changed, the blue chips managed their third straight triple-digit gain. helping them higher-- the european central bank kept interest rates steady at 1.5% and said it plans to resume buying covered bank bonds. the dow rose 183 points, the nasdaq added 46, and the s&p 500 closed up 20 points. trading volume fell from yesterday's pace with 1.1 billion shares moving on the big board and 2.3 billion on the nasdaq. >> susie: president obama urged lawmakers today to pass his jobs bill that comes to a vote in the senate next week. speaking at a news conference a day ahead of the government's release of the latest employment report, the president said the economy needs a "jolt." the president also said he would support a proposal to pay for the $450 billion job legislation with a tax on incomes above $1 million. mr. obama also weighed in on the occupy wall street movement spreading across the country. >> so, yes, i think people are frustrated. and, you know, the... the protesters are giving voice to a more broad-based frustration about how our financial system works. >> susie: meanwhile, more than a thousand supporters of the occupy wall street movement gathered in washington, d.c.'s freedom plaza, calling on the government to create more jobs for out-of-work americans. many of the movement's activists are young people who are worried about getting jobs or the types of jobs they want. darren gersh talked to some of them. >> when people's rights are under attack, what do you do? >> stand up, fight back! >> reporter: they come from all over the country. 22-year-old harriet rowan joined protesters from wisconsin. she's here for the same reason as many other young people-- they can't find a job. >> to get a job where i will be paid enough, where i'll be able to live and pay back my student loan. and it's something that i'm struggling with. i haven't figured out how to deal with it. >> reporter: it's hard to find anyone under 30 here whose biggest concern isn't the high level of unemployment for young people. madison-area community college teacher ben manski says he sees it in his classroom every day. >> i think there is a sense of hopelessness that is very widespread. and the inability to find a career, to find a job that pays a livable wage, that provides a livable income for people to start a family and to have a future, to be able to plan ahead, is a big part of that hopelessness. >> reporter: the protesters don't expect this to be a one- day event. many of the protesters brought their tents and plan to stay for days or even longer. some plan to go home for other protests around the country. in a park a few blocks away, washington, d.c.'s, occupy movement is planning for a long stay. 22-year-old rob wohl graduated from college in may and he's now working a temp job as a researcher. >> there are folks who they went to college, they borrowed to go to college. they were told that's a good investment-- go to college and you'll get a good job. and now they're, like, a lot of them are at best part-time or under-employed. >> reporter: 31-year-old legba carrefour dreamed of becoming a college professor, but now works at a coat check. >> i thought my life was going to be a lot different. sort of the promise of my parent's generation was i was going to follow this very strict patch of education, higher education, followed by years of working entry level job, followed by tenure, a good, happy life, follow by retirement. it's all very clear that i'm not going to have any of that. >> reporter: the protestors have been criticized for not having a specific complaint, but listen carefully and you'll hear a quiet anger among the young with a country that no longer seems able to deliver the good job and good life it once promised. darren gersh, "nightly business report," washington. >> tom: while a lack of jobs is a main gripe of the wall street protestors, one american city faces a different jobs issue. houston, texas, cannot find enough engineers, geologists and skilled workers for the oil industry. with tomorrow's employment report on the horizon, we continue our look at the jobs picture around the country. andrew schneider reports from our bureau at houston pbs. >> reporter: it sounds more like a problem out of the '90s than the limping recovery of today-- plenty of jobs, but not enough skilled workers to fill them. yet that's exactly the situation the oil and gas industry is facing. just ask kbr chief william utt. >> we're finding ourselves having to work doubly hard to maintain our expertise and our talent in our management ranks, while at the same time trying to grow our business to reflect the opportunities we see worldwide. >> reporter: the oil and gas workforce is spread thin, searching in ever more remote locations to meet the rising global demand for energy. companies are getting into bidding wars over salaries and bonuses to keep competitors from poaching their best employees. worse, the labor force is aging out. pat french is senior vice president for the texas alliance of energy producers. >> baby boomers make up a large part of our industry. they obviously will start to retire in significant numbers. >> reporter: the weak economy is giving the oil and gas sector a bit of a reprieve. older workers are postponing retirement. many nasa workers and contractors, laid off with the end of the space shuttle program, are providing a fresh pool of talent. the long-term solution depends on universities and community colleges producing a lot more scientists, engineers and technicians. brenda hellyer is chancellor of san jacinto college. >> there's an image that the petrochemical industry is totally blue collar. in the past, you could get in with a high school diploma. our industry has changed. they're much more technology savvy. there's also a requirement for a lot more science and math. >> reporter: the industry also has a serious public image problem with students, in no small part thanks to incidents like last year's b.p. oil spill in the gulf of mexico. >> many schoolchildren, their image of the oil and gas industry is negative, and that's had a major impact on our ability to attract the young professionals that we need. >> reporter: the potential costs of the labor shortage are serious. delayed or cancelled projects could slow production. weaker attention to safety standards could mean more and bigger accidents. for the consumer, it all adds up to higher prices at the pump. andrew schneider, "nightly business report, houston. >> tom: tomorrow, we head to colorado to look at how two very different food businesses are putting more jobs on the menu there. >> susie: still ahead on tonight's program-- a guide to navigating op enrollment season with your health insurance provider. >> tom, another good day on the markets as i think a lot of people are feeling optimistic about what the jobs report will be tomorrow. >> tom: in anticipation of jobs on friday and a bit of a holiday on monday with columbus day for the bond market. so lots on tap for tonight so let's get to it with our market focus. three straight sessions of triple-digit gains for the dow jones industrial average,elped by more confidence coming from europe and a stronger than expected showing last month by shoppers. even with the trio of up sessions this week, the dow remains in this tight range we've seen since august. this is the past 90 sessions. the index remains down more than 10% from its july high. bank of america helped lead the gains in the financial sector today, up almost 9%. it remains the most heavily traded new york stock exchange stock. shares are back ave $6 per share after falling to two-and- a-half year lows earlier this week. the economically sensitive materials sector was strong as well, led by metals maker allegheny tech. it gained another 8% today after similar gains yesterday. seed and farm chemical maker monsanto kept rallying after better than expected quarterly results this week. shares are at two month highs. and fertilizer maker c-f industries jumped another 7%. the mood of the market was helped by generally decent retail sales in september. of the 23 retailers tracked by reuters, same-store sales were up more than 5% last month. hurricane irene may have helped. it hit in late august, pushing some sales into september. while high-end retailers coach and tiffany did not report september results, their stocks led the retail sector, up more than 6%. but discount store tj maxx fell 1.4%, despite a strong september showing. target was on target last month. the roll out of its missoni fashion line was a big hit. same store sales were much stronger than anticipated. and the stock reacted, jumping 4%-plus. a break over $53 per share would take target to its highest price since february. but it was casino operator wynn resorts that led the consumer sector today. the stock jumped 10.5%. volume doubled on the move. it wasn't just wynn, though. melco crown, mgm, and las vegas sands all have casinos in macau, china. this group had reported a disappointing month in macau, but they recovered some today. lco saw big volume, up 14.5%; mgm up more than 8%, and las vegas sands gaining 4.5%. in the commodity markets, the buying was about metals and petroleum products. silver added 5.5%, copper gained 4.5%, and gasoline futures jumped 4.6%. and that's tonight's "market focus." >> tom: autumn means decision time when it comes to health care coverage for millions of working americans. open enrollment season is the time employees can make changes to health insurance and other benefits provided by their employers. mike gelin has a front row seat to open enrollment season, working with companies getting the word out about changes employees will see in their insurance plans. >> they should be on the lookout for increased deductibles, co-payments and out of pocket maximums. this is the way that employers are having to cost shift to reduce the cost of the monthly premium. >> reporter: employees at large companies are expected to dole out $2,300 for their share of health insurance. add to that the average out-of- pocket expense rising to over $2,200. both are double digit increases from this year. kai-lee bussey puts together the benefits package as director of human resources at chauvet lighting in south florida. once she settles on the insurance options for her and her colleagues, she compares it to the plan at her husband's company, and then it comes down to price. >> whichever is the least expensive to us, that's the product we take. so when i'm setting out to create the plans for the company, whatever increases we take on as a company, i'm going to take on as an employee. >> reporter: but not everyone concentrates on what will come out of their paycheck. boone zavik is single, healthy, and a marketing manager for immuno laboratories. he's looking for preventative care to be paid for, like regular check-ups and lab tests. >> i exercise, i eat healthy, but you always want to know, is there anything inside that i'm not aware of? how's my health going? >> tom: studies show we spend minutes deciding our health insurance, but hours choosing a new major appliance. and two-thirds of us make little to no effort at all. and it's not just health insurance. many companies also offer life insurance, long-term care and disability insurance. we spoke with carmen wong ulrich, author of "the real cost of living: making the best decisions for you, your life and your money" about those other insurance options. >> it is an exhausting process around this time of year. you're going to get e-mails. you'll get big pacts in your snail mail, loded with information and choices and i know a lot of folks really focus on medical coverage and health care coverage but a really scary stat is year after year we hear one-third of americans will have to file for disability or become disabled before retirement. and those odds are pretty dire, so i would love to see that number in terms of how many folks sign up for disability insurance really go up because you have to replace your income or help those people who intend on you and your income. >> tom: i want to ask you how to assess these policies in a moment, but when folks are facing 10%, 12%, 15% increase in their premiums and they're looking at the cost of life insurance or disability, maybe they're figuring, you know what, that's stuff i may not use but i know i'm going to the doctor next year so let me put my money towards that. >> you don't want to look at your whole benefits package with one limited pie with no other way to get money outside of it. here's the thing-- don't cut out that 10%, 15% from your other benefits-- meaning don't opt out of taking disability coverage because you'll be paying more in health care premium. yes, you'll be going to the doctor but do people depend on you and your income for their quality of life? and what will you do should you lose your job or should anything happen to you? >> tom: to that point, then, how do you assess how much disability-- if you can choose how much-- our how much life insurance you should get through an employer if it's being offered? >> when it come comes to life insurance coverage, in the past folks used to say five times this, three times that. here's the thing. everybody's life is different. your life insurance coverage should match the needs of you and your family. a am could you have questions you should be asking, what are your outstanding debt. what are your mortgages? do you have other debt that you owe? what about your kids? how many kids do you have? do you want to help contribute to their college education and in terms of your income, how much of your income goes to maintaining the quality of life of the people you will leal behind. don't forget, you can go for free to your employer and sit down and sit across the table from someone who knows these things inside and out and try to judge how much coverage you need. >> tom: carmen, you know that the job market is very strained at the time. folks are still losing their jobs. are these kind of benefits portable? in other words, you with health care you can go cobra, pay for all of it yourself to make up the gap governor patrick between jobs. are these benefits operated in the same way? >> only if you get a severance package this allows life insurance and disability to extend beyond however many months. but for most, those insurances do not carry over like cobra. >> tom: we appreciate the insight. carmen wong ulrich. >> let's take a look at what's on the >> susie: let's look at what's on the calendar tomorrow. we get an update on the u.s. job market-- the labor department releases september's employment report. also tomorrow, we introduce you to someone who's lovin' it after getting a job during mcdonald's spring hiring spree. and our "market monitor" thinks the bull market in gold is not dead. he's mark leibovit, strategist at vrgoldletter.com. lots of new job openings in tennessee. amazon will add 3,500 full-time jobs at new distribution centers in the state. the deal with tennessee will also allow the online giant to collect sales tax there in two years. amazon has struck similar deals in other states, including california and south carolina, but the company still wants a national standard on sales tax collections for online retailers. >> tom: one of sports and entertainment's most visible business partnerships is over. hank williams, jr., and espn's monday night football have parted ways. williams says he quit. but espn says it sacked the singer and his song with the classic line, "are you ready for some football?" it had been a monday night staple since 1989. the song was dropped from this week's game after the singer used an analogy to adolf hitler while discussing president obama during an interview. williams saypullg the song ts week violated s frdom of speech. >> susie: as we mentioned, steve jobs played a huge role in shaping silicon valley and technology as we know it. but as commentator harry lin explains, and broadcasting from his macbook, jobs had a unique way of making technology personal. >> it's impossible to overstate the impact that steve jobs had on the technology industry. like sam walton, walt disney, henry ford, the northern california hippie fundamentally changed an entire industry. he melded personal computing with consumer electronics, and elevated the consumers' expectations. he embraced business model disruptions, like in the music industry, and the mobile phone business. he even refined mundane tech like the operating system, and the display, and let's not forget pixar, that little movie studio he helped create that forever changed animated entertainment. if there's a through line to jobs' accomplishiment it's the melding of humanness with technology. i've often thought that apple stuff is the most analog, that pixar's movies the most hand drawn. i think that steve jobs recognized that people live life in a tactile and emotional way, and that's what he tried to do with his technology company. that was the genius of steve jobs. i'm harry lin. >> tom: we've been hearing from our facebook friends all day about steve jobs' legacy. emory wrote us: "he has allowed the world to become more creative electronically and digitally, as well." ralph shared a similar thought: "most of us can't do our jobs or even relax and have fun without something jobs had a hand in." kersi summed it up this way: "steve jobs equals visionary and game changer. he will be sorely missed." you can join the conversation. just friend us on facebook at bizrpt. >> susie: and as we say good night, there's no more fitting tribute to the legacy of steve jobs than his own words. here he is delivering the commencement address at stanford university in june of 2005. >> your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. don't be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people's thinking. don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. and most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. they somehow already know what u truly nt tbecome. everything else is secondary. 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