you mentioned, because of this el nino, we have warmer winter this warmer winter weather in many parts of the country. in terms of businesses that it is not so good for, a lot of ski resorts don t benefit from this. also some of the apparel retailers stocked up on winter coats and other types of cold weather apparel. in terms of winter, home depot, at this location here in new jersey, the location says that it is selling a lot of christmas trees now and mulch. mulch is something you don t normally see a lot of demand for at this time of the year. the company says despite the fact the midquarter can t share a lot of specifics, consumers aren t necessarily purchasing as many winter products right now, that overall when you see warmer weather in december, it is overall good for business. it drives a lot of outdoor projects. that s something wall street analysts say is the case for lowe s as well. auto parts retailers like auto zone because you see warmer weather, more driving. that mean
and financial performance. another tech giant made the top of the list as well, that was apple. although coming in at number two, it was at number one last year. but all that disappointing f financial news offset some of the love people are feeling for apple s product and services. disney, google, johnson & johnson rounded out the top five. someone asked me, and i guessed apple, but, no, number two. cool. so who is at the bottom? a huge shocker. are you sitting in financial companies. financial companies are in the caboose. aig was at the bottom of the list winning the worst reputation for the fifth year in a row. consumer s aren t impressed tha it paid back the bailout money. goldman sachs came out a little better, but not by much. it is the only other company on the list with a score below 59. halliburton, it looks like people aren t all that crazy
going to school? no. immigrants create jobs. they don t take jobs. they come here and buy housing and good and services. we have been a country of immigrants for 400 years. i don t buy the arguement that the immigrants steal jobs. if we had the right policies in washington we d have plenty of jobs for everybody in america. those who want to come here. eric: but they took up services. you travel a lot, i travel a lot. everywhere i go, immigrants do grunt work in economy. i don t know how the economy would survive without the workers. eric: i see 72 high on the dow. 14,000. pass the graveyard with news? i m nervous. i m not in market now. this is a bull run we have had on the market. as you know is it sustainable with the tax and regulations? i m skeptical. eric: when the news is bad and market continues in the upward direction, usually it s on its way especially when you reported today consumer confidence is down. consumers aren t spending.
recovery act, you guys are the first american factory to start high volume production of advanced vehicle batteries. i met with david and some of the a123 team here in the white house back in april, and it s incredibly exciting to see ho uf you guys have come since we announced these grants just over a year ago. reporter: despite hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer support it did little for a123, which today announced it is indeed filing for bankruptcy protection. the bottom line is gas prices that are knocking on $4 a gallon electric car sales are dismal, little interest in the chevy volt or the fiska carma whose batteries are made by a123. they are all disappointing sales. consumers aren t interested. reporter: we ve asked the white house for a comment on the bankruptcy. no response.
it hasn t been much income created over the last couple of years. consumers are starting to get more anxious and starting to say, let s wait and see what s happening with the economy before we make to that he is major purchase. soft consumer spending, it s an endless cycle. it feeds on itself and the economy can t recover, if that s the case. consumer spending is the main engine for economic growth and if consumers aren t spending, businesses can t expand and hire. manufacturers are worried about flowing global sales, they re worried about what s happening with tax and regulatory policy. so much is on hold right now until the election takes place that manufacturers are really uncertain. there s a lot of anxiety out there. anxious about what will happen to tax rates, federal spending, to health care costs, a cloud of uncertainty that darkens the business climate. given those problems, i understand why folks would be reluctant to hire more workers or expand their operations.