Youre watching First Business financial news, analysis, and todays investment ideas. Good morning. Its monday, november 19th. Im angela miles. In todays first look a better tone out of washington is giving a lift to the stock market. The market made gains on friday, but it wasnt enough to wipe away losses for this week. In Market Action last week, the dow fell 1. 8 , the s p was down 1. 5 , and the nasdaq edged lower by 1. 8 . President obama is still traveling in asia today, where he is calling for continued political reforms. American pilots will vote again on a Contract Offer from the airline, which remains in bankruptcy. The pilots rejected a previous offer in august. And a quick check of gas prices shows the price of a gallon of unleaded dropped a couple of pennies last week, but is down dramaticaly from a month ago. Lets get some trader thoughts now from scott bauer of trading advantage. Happy monday morning to you scott. Good morning angie. There is a lot of talk about this fiscal cliff as you know. But i am hearing that traders really believe there is already a backroom deal in the works. You know, that is what they say, and i tend to agree with that. There is no way, its just inconceivable to think that something has not at least been in the works for a while. Certainly there are no is dotted or ts crossed, but something has been in the works for a while. Keep this in mind whats really important and we saw the start of this last friday, when the two parties sat down with president obama and said, ok, were going to get this thing done. We need to see continuation of that. We dont need the resolution by the end of this week. We dont need it next week. But we need to see continuing, positive news coming out of the white house, because any time we dont the market is so onedge right now, that any time that we dont see anything positive, that is actually going to be taken as a negative. We are going to see some added volatility in the marketplace over the coming days or maybe even weeks, unless this positive tune out there is continued. What do you think about trading this week . Because it is a short holiday week. It is going to be thin. I expect it to be very light volume. And at times, i think we may see it extremely whippy as news comes out of the white house. The market right now is hinging on every speck of news that comes out of washington. Every speck of news. It doesnt seem like anything else matters. So, between the holiday with lack of traders, lack of staff, lowvolume, and then at any moment news possibly coming out, i think we are in for a bit of a whipsaw week. Thank you scott. Any time angie. As retailers prepare for the endofweek shopping craze, workers are preparing to strike. Walmart employees plan to strike this week ahead of black friday in protest of low wages and higher healthcare premiums. Walkouts began at a few stores last week, and are planned at a thousand Walmart Stores this week. In an emailed statement, walmart called the coming strikes just another exaggerated Publicity Campaign aimed at generating headlines to mislead. At target, 200,000 employees have signed an online petition in protest of the retailer opening at 9pm on thanskgiving. Cyber monday is a week away, but according to some retail analysts, its already here as consumers gobble up deals. Banana republic, lands end and levis. Com are among the retailers promoting early sale prices. The Forrester Research group predicts this will be a blockbuster year for for cyber monday, with consumers buying 68 billion worth of merchandise online. Last years spending totaled just under 42 billion. In our cover story, hostess brands, maker of wonder bread and lunchbag treats such as twinkies and dingdongs, has shut down its 82yearold business and let go more than 18,000 workers. The company says a oneweek strike brought down the second largest bread baker in the country that has been going through chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in eight years. Where the twinkie was first created more than 80years ago schiller park, illinois people who worked as mixers and packagers, making at least 17 an hour, contemplated what next . The plant was closed behind them after they walked out upon hearing an ultimatum an 8 pay cut, fewer guaranteed hours and that theyd pay more for health insurance. Workers were also told their pension witholdings had been spent to pay company bills. For ten years, its where jose garcia worked to support his wife and three children. We were very productive. We worked a lot of overtime. I dont know what happened to the money, thats not up to me. All i know is that we came to work everyday, we worked hard and we did what we could. In exchange for the concessions, hostess ceo Gregory Rayburn offered unions a stake in the company while it went through restructuring under chapter 11. On the companys website, this statement hostess is unprofitable under its currect cost structure, much of which is determined by union wages and pension costs. We do not have the Financial Resources to weather an extended nationwide strike. Observers say hostess is looking to liquidate its assets and sell its portfolio of iconic snack cakes to the highest bidder. In bankruptcy, hostess is controlled by private equity firm Ripplewood Holdings and hedge fund monarchs alternative capital and silver point capital. Restructuring specialists say brand names like twinkies may be more valuable in newer, more efficient factories with nonunion labor. Its a kind of vampire capitalism at its worst. And theres really nowhere to go. These workers were going to be liquidated anyway, and all investors really wanted was out. The closing will shut the door on 33 bakeries, 565 distribution centers, and 570 outlet stores. Stores will no longer receive products after last weeks final deliveries. Bankruptcy documents list hostess estimated value of its trademarks at roughly 135 million. Our repeated efforts to reach hostess directly for a comment were not met. Top lawmakers are promising to set aside bickering this week and work out a deal that could avert 500 billion in spending cuts and tax increases by january 1st, better known as the fiscal cliff. Showing americans a united front following a white house meeting, congressional leaders say they are on the fast track to broker a deal to avert the socalled fiscal cliff. I was focusing on how we send a message of confidence to consumers, to the markets in the shortrun too. That is to say that we should have a goal in terms of how much deficit reduction. We should have a deadline before christmas. Gop members contend making a deal happen comes down to cutting entitlement programs, and possibly raising taxes. Were prepared to put revenue on the table provided we fix the real problem, even though most of my members i think without exception believe that were in the dilemma that were in not because we tax to little but because we spend too much. President obama, who led fridays meeting, seemed confident the two sides have common ground. Weve got to make sure that taxes dont go up on middle class families, that our economy remains strong, that were creating jobs. More meetings at the white house are expected over the next month. The epa is rejecting a request to relax rules requiring corn ethanol in gasoline. Governors from north carolina, new mexico, georgia, texas, virginia, maryland, delaware, utah, and wyoming, nine states in all, asked the epa to lower standards on a law that requires refineries to use ethanol derived from corn to produce gasoline. However, governors say the summer drought caused lower Corn Production and higher prices for the commodity. The epa says it does not believe the economic harm warrants a waiver of the standard. The sudden resignation of cia director general David Patreaus was due to an extramarital affair. In some states, cases of infidelity can lead to larger divorce settlements, divorce Attorney Says sometimes out of guilt by the cheating party or in other instances, if it involves highprofile couples, the cheater is willing to pay more to keep the matter private. They will pay a higher settlement to keep it confidential and with the agreement that everything will be confidential, the cause the effect as much as possible about the underlying issues of the other person, and because sometimes the other person is someone with a lot to lose. That was divorce attorney gemma allen of ladden and allen. She says wives are quicker to forgive than men and the most popular reasons why people cheat are because of stress or boredom. A new Study Reveals surprising data about bank fees. According to the u. S. Public interest Research Group u. S. Pirg, 6 out of 10 small banks offer free checking services, while only a quarter of big banks offer the service for no charge. The study also found Smaller Banks have lower checking and overdraft fees. However, the data shows most banks big and small neglect to provide detailed fee information to customers. Plenty of americans will be doing their Holiday Shopping at retailers that are popular with wall street and with main street. Americas most successful store, not too surprising, is apple, by a wide margin, followed by 2. Tiffany co. 3. Lululemon athletica 4. Coach 5. Michael kors 6. Select comfort 7. True religion 8. Vera bradley and, 9. Birks mayors in the ipo market this week, Paper CompanyBoise Cascade hopes to raise up to 200 million in its ipo. The Public Offering may have traders watching office max. Shares of office max spiked 27 on friday due to the large stake it holds in Boise Cascade. Meanwhile, wifi company ruckus wireless had a shaky first day in the markets. The stock fell 4 following its ipo. And, watch for alon usa partners, which hits the market this week. The Oil Refinery Company is pricing in between 19 and 21 dollars. If your flock plans on eating an organic, freerange, specially fed bird, heres one. This big bird could set you back 335. The heritage turkey farm in virginia is reporting brisk sales of the 20pound birds. It may sound like they were raised at the waldorf, but the birds are really just given sufficient space and nutritous feed. Some chefs say the superior taste simply doesnt compare to supermarket brands, while other chefs say the key to the best tasting bird is how you prepare it. Nintendo is already scoring big with its latest release. Pre orders for games for the new wiiu game system have already doubled that of nintendos original wii. Video Game Retailer gamestop has received over a million preorders for wiiu software, and sold out its supply of a half million game consoles as well. Nintendos new get ripped off by car techs. And, when it comes to booking holiday travel, the sooner, the cheaper. More on that next. But first, coupon cabin announces a new way to stay on top of terrific deals around the web. Thats in todays in the know message. If youre planning on going over the river and through the woods to grandmothers house for the holidays, you better book soon, ideally before black friday. Domestic airfares for late december are averaging 417, according to travelocity. Thats a slight increase over last years 407 average. More importantly, prices are quickly going up, and each day you wait to book could force passengers to pay 10 to 50 more. For people who just want to get out of dodge for the holidays, theres still time even if you are on a budget. Sara gavin of expedia. Com joins us. Good morning, and what are some steals and deals . You know, the big thing about the holidays is, while everybody else is staying at grandmas, if you are doing your holiday at home, it is a great time to get away. So if you think about that weekend before or after thanksgiving or the weekend before or after christmas, those hotels are really empty. So its a great time to sort of look at a drive trip and get away to one of the big cities near you. Take in some culture, do a little bit of shopping, help the economy that way, and you can really save a bundle on that trip. What trends are you seeing with people driving vs. Flying . You know, we really have seen over the last year that drive trips are where its at. There are some really good things happening with airfare right now. So while airfare itself is high, this idea of packaging your travel, taking that same flight you would have taken plus the same hotel you really want to stay at, and booking them at the same time, you can save a ton of money. So you think, we americans are sort of trained to think about gaming the system and saving 20 or 50 on your airfare by booking and a certain day or booking a certain number of days out, and we spend a lot of time on that, and we totally miss that theres this big savings. So, if you just book your hotel and your flight at the same time, you can save up to 500 on a trip, which is really significant. Take you for your tips. That is sara gavin of expedia. Com. Still ahead, a former car tech joins us with insights into how to avoid extra charges the next time you get your car repaired. We will be right back. This morning we are shaking up the auto repair industry with the truth about why men are charged less for car repairs versus women. Pam oakes of National Automotive authority is also the author of car care for the clueless. Good morning. Good morning, how are you . I am wonderful. You are a certified car tech, so you know the real deal. Do car care technicians typically charge women more for service . I am sure they do. Not all shops, but i know there are quite a few shops out there, because i have seen the estimates. Why do they do that, and how do they get away with it . Well, they get away with it when somebody doesnt ask for a second opinion. And why do they do that . I have not the foggiest. Because, you know, if anything, the technician has to be honest with the consumer, and they have to let them know their options and what is available and what is really needed for their car. Should a woman take a man with her to ensure that she is getting the best deal . Does that help . No because we need to be empowered by asking a lot of questions so we understand. Its not how to fix your car in the driveway or in the garage, but how to have your car repaired properly by an certified technician. There are two words that all of us have to remember. The first one is, why. Why do i need this repair . Show me. Show me on the car why i need this repair. And the second word is how. How will this affect my vehicles performance, and how will it affect my wallet . And if you dont get a straight answer after all the questions that you ask, never be afraid to ask the question. What can be done if you have been overcharged . You can always ask them for a rebate, possibly. But before you have the work done, if you feel like you are being bamboozled, get a second opinion. Is this something that applies to men as well . Unfortunately nowadays it does. Before there was a bigger gap and it was mainly us females that kind of got taken advantage of. But the way vehicles have progressed, and its so complicated that the average guy used to go out and work on a 69 mustang in the backyard. Well, that application doesnt apply to todays cars. So, either way, you have to find an honest, reliable shop. Ask by wordofmouth. I love the honest shops. Thank you for your time. Thats pam oakes, author of car care for the clueless. That was fun. Thanks bill. Up next, why its hard to find worryworts on wall street. Chart talk is next. Dan deming of stutland equities joins us now for some chart talk. Good morning dan, and where is the fear in this market . [laughsgood question angie. Really, lets talk about it. Over the last weekanda half, leading into this new week, we saw the market fall about 5 from the election, and yet the vix is down around 5 as well from the election. It came in on election tuesday at 17. 58, and closed last week at 16. 49 i believe. So, a very unusual situation right now, with the market kind of falling off here. And actually the momentum has been fairly heavy. It has been a pretty constant downward move, yet we are not seeing much of a reaction in volatility. We really arent. Is it rare to see Something Like this . It sounds like it is to you. Yeah, it is very unusual. I guess you can kind of look at it in a couple of different ways. Were trying to piece it together ourselves. One thing is it appears that a fair amount of Market Participants were bloated up with some volatility, some downside puts in the spx per se, and had those to go on the way down. So its like there was some protective put buying going on ahead of this down move. But, ultimately you would expect, certainly, the vix to be higher than it is currently, given the market conditions. What are you expecting this week, especially because it is a holiday . We talked to one trader who said it could be thin this week. Well, typically it is thin in those first three days before thanksgiving. But nonetheless, thin days with whats going on out there, as far as the news. We saw last friday the possibility of maybe the fiscal cliff being settled before christmas, the s p jumped 10 points in a matter of a couple of minutes. So, ultimately, i think we are going to be a newsdriven kind of marketplace over the next couple of weeks as they sort this thing out in washington d. C. That coupled with the fact that we kind of went down and tested a pretty key level in the s p future 1340 was a critical fibonacci number, as they call it, from a technical standpoint, and we held there Early Morning on friday and now kind of bounced off there. So, short term, possibly some more consolidation, but you have to say, the trend still looks lower. That seems to be the consensus. Thank you dan deming. Thanks angie. Thats it for now. Coming up tomorrow, our tax man will be here answering critical questions about the fiscal cliff and how it affects endofyear tax planning. Thank you for watching today. From all of us at First Business, have a great monday a man hunt is under way in san jose for one of two men involved in a string of Violent Crimes across the city. Well tell you about the homicide they are both accused of carrying out. Israel and Gaza Continue to exchange rocket attack us this morning. The International Efforts at peace being made this week. And right now president obama is continuing his trip through asia. How he made history overnight. Its all ahead on the ktvu channel 2 morning news. Good morning. Thank you for joining us on this monday morning, november 19th im pam cook. The rain came in just like Steve Paulson said. Did you get that little break you were looking for if i did get a little break on saturday. The system on friday into saturday was good. The one on sunday was good but now its gone. A lot of cloud cover today. Highs in the 60s. Here is is sal. Steve, good morning. Right now we are looking pretty good. Not a lot going on on the road. Just the way we like it. Im sure it wont stay that way for too long. This is a look at 280 northbound. Also the morning commute looks good westbound bay bridge at the toll plaza. 4 29 lets go back to the desk. Toppin