The dow surged 175 points to a five year high, the nasdaq added 32, the s p was up 19 points. Investors and traders warmed to the Federal Reserve chairmans steadfast support of the Central Banks bond buying spree, he thinks the asset purchases are necessary to keep Interest Rates low in order to spur growth and boost hiring. The fed has been buying 85 billion a month in american i. O. U. s since last september. While it wont stop the strategy, it will soon Start Talking about how to stop. We havent done a new review of the exit strategy yet. I think we will have to do that sometime soon. Even if we dont sell any securities, it doesnt mean that our Balance Sheet is going to be large for many years, it just would be maybe an extra year, thats all it would take to get down to a more normal size. Tom other factors at play on wall street today included, an auction of italian bonds was well received, fending off new worries about the european debt crisis. And here in the u. S. , january dura
Chest. At apples annual Shareholder Meeting today, cook said the companys board remained in quote very, very active discussions about options for cash sharing. Some apple experts say the tech giant is more likely to divulge those options some time in march. I think they can modestly raise the dividend and modestly increase the buyback without doing anything special any other sort of financing things like that. What investors are looking for is a way to use that 100 a share in cash and getting it back to the u. S. For more dividends and more buybacks. Reporter the push for apple to share some of its wealth has accelerated this year, as the stock once a market darling lost a lot of its shine. After hitting a high of about 700 a share in september, it now trades in the mid 400s. This year alone the stock has slide 17 , as the Broader Market has rallied. But hoarding cash isnt apples only problem. Theres been a growing perception on wall street that apples Growth Prospects are dwindling. T
Will play sideways until then. Maybe you think i am crazy. Lori that is beside the point. [talking over each other] lori who are you . John kerry . He had a big gap in a new country. Anyway. Good afternoon once again. I am lori rothman. Melissa i am Melissa Frances. Senators attack ben bernanke and the feds Bond Buying Program. The fed chairman says the benefits of the easy money policy out raise the rest. President obama on the road in virginia with a warning for shipbill is about automatic spending cuts but no sign of progress ahead of fridays deadline. Lori Housing Market recovery picking up steam, the case schiller report signals improving home prices but not everyone is convinced that we have turned the corner and that includes the reports coauthor Robert Schiller coming up. Lori youll want to stick around for that. Also today we have for you the latest on the battle over Martha Stewart, the queen of all things domestic testifying in court as macys tries to blocker deal with j. C.
Captioning sponsored by wpbt this is n. B. R. Susie good evening everyone. Im susie gharib. Worries about political gridlock, in italy and in washington, cause investors to dump stocks. Its the worst day for wall street since the november elections. Tom im tom hudson. With 85 billion in federal spending cuts just days away, we talk with congresswoman Cathy Mcmorris rodgers. Susie and the man who founded barnes and noble wants to buy his bookstores back, but he has no interest in the companys electronic book reader b ns nook business. Tom that and more tonight on n. B. R. susie a sharp sell off on wall street today, as stocks suffered their biggest drop since november. Italian and american politics put investors in a sour mood. Behind the selling a strong showing in italys elections by groups opposed to economic reform, on top of that, u. S. Equities face a looming friday deadline for massive government budget cuts, known as sequestration. The dow tumbled 216 points, the nasdaq fell nea
Profits in 2013. Weve seen First Quarter Earnings Growth expectations shrink to just a little over 0 from expectations of 3 or 4 . So, its almost as if for every percentage point companies were beating Fourth Quarter numbers analysts were cutting the First Quarter numbers by a similar amount. Reporter so even if sequestration doesnt kill the stock market rally. It could certainly amplify a correction that may have already gotten started. Suzanne pratt, n. B. R. , new york. Tom as suzanne mentioned, were just days away from 85 billion in federal spending cuts hitting the u. S. Economy. Today, the war of words over the sequester continued. President obama called on the nations governors today to pressure lawmakers over the sequester, saying citizens of their states will be out of work. The American People are out there ef row day meeting their responsibilities, giving it their all to provide thor their families and their communities. A lot of are you doing the same things in your respect