consecutive record close, the s&p 500 also hit an all-time high. more on that in a minute, and investors put money into financial stocks ahead of the start of a two-day meeting. many say the grind higher will continue as long as economic growth remains solid. the dow jones industrial averages gained 63 to 22,331. nasdaq was unsix, s&p 500 added three. bob pisani with mork on the week ahead and the markets' move higher. >> the markets rose to new highs again. there's several factors -- first strong momentum. crossing 2500 the s&p was a important kolodziej wall mar the s&p is up more than 1%, this month, if we end here, it would -- then there's north korea where tensis you are lower. president trump spoke for the first time at the understand, gave a moderate speech. the hard part is ahead where he will be seeking to put world leaders for even tougher sanctions against north korea. finally a fed meeting, no rate hikes expected, but expected to announce normalization of its balance sheet. janelle yellen said it will be, quote, like watching paint dry, meaning it would be slow and designed not to surprise anyone. for "nightly business report" i'm bob pisani at the new york stock exchange. here to discuss how all the factors could shape the market is michael farr, the president of the farr miller & washington. good to see you. >> nice to see you, sue. thanks. it's a fed week. are we risk on or risk off, given all the things that bob has detailed for us. >> we are risk on once again. we had the hurricanes coming at us. we had missiles from north korea flying over japan, and i'm smiling, and i really shouldn't be. these are dramatically serious horrible things going on around the world and potential more horrible things to come, at least over in north korea. markets just go higher, that risk-off trade was very temporary where bonds rallied, they have given back all of that, the dollar has been weaker, but stock prices are going higher. nothing is keeping stocks down here late loy. >> there any that would cause you to change that view, michael? in other words should i be prudent and taking profits that >> tyler, i think that anytime the market is making new all-time highs, as it has here, you have to remember the old rule that you buy low and you sell high, and this certainly isn't low. so you have to be buying with caution and you have to be very careful about the exposure that you have out in the market. and, you know, i think one of the things that'sing going on that's been driving stocks is people have buying the dips. i think people have been shorting stocks, when they shot them and the stocks continue to rally, you know, the people say, you know, we'll cover those short positions. they're driving them higher. so i think there's a lot that's been driving stocks higher. until we reach that one point and nobody can ever predict it. maybe it's a north korea thing. maybe it's something we can't think about yet in terms of whether we get tax reform or not. there will be that one moment where people say i'm not going to buy this dip. >> would that -- >> that happens every time, about you it's been looming out there and we've been wait fog it if over a year and a half. >> we have. might that moment surround whatever the federal reserve to this week? >> i doubt it. sue, this still seems to be the most dovish fed we've ever had in the history of feds. i think too little attention is being paid to this roll-off and taper of this $4.5 trillion portfolio. the fed is set to do it. this is a tightening move, so it's a big deal, but they're not going to tighten it, and i think people on the street will pay more attention to the language that we might not tighten the rest of the year rather than the rolling off of the portfolio. >> michael, thank you very much. >> thank you for having me. to you to the economy. home builders are growing more cautious following hurricanes harvey and irma with maybe another yet to come. according to a new report builders are growing concerned about the availability of labor and the cost of building materials, but once the post-hurricane rebuilding process is under way, the industry does expect builder confidence to return to the higher levels of last spring. investors are always keeping an eye on geopolitics. today secretary mattis says the u.s. has not shot down any of the north korea's missiles, including the two that really flew over japan, because they did not pose a direct threat. meantime u.s. military forces carried out several flight over the korean peninsula in joint bombing drills with allies amid growing tensions. it is those rising tensions that led to a deal in the defense industry. northrop grumd will bike orbital atk. that sent shares up. northrop rose more than 3%. as morgan brennan reports, it puts northrop grumman front and center of the space race. >> reporter: space and missile defense. the forces behind the nearly $8 billion deal. the surprise acsig could close next weeks and or bittal will operate as a stand-alone segment. on a conference call, the ceo said this would enable northrop grumman to better compete for cont >> together we will be able to serve or customers' growing need to rearchitect the approach to broad space mission in light of the larging threat profile. we can no longer treat space as a permissive environment. >> reporter: the portfolio will expand, precision-guided missiles and missiles defense, three key areas poised for big growth thanks in part to north korea. analysts say the deal will drive sales on top of the surge already expected as northrop benefits from a secretive bomber, as well as more f-35 fighter jets orders, in which the company is a top supplier. it marks a big shift in strategy that's sure to spur industry reaction. >> you'll see some of the larger companies, competitors look lockheed martin, boeing, reassessing their portfolios seeings ways to mike adjustments to possibly deal with any sort of competitive threat with the combination of northrop grumman and orbital atk. >> reporter: but it raises questions whether the government will give the green light, since defense is highly regulated and already very consolidated. it will createn for certain types of contracts. so too smaller defense suppliers, harris corp, defense and security solutions, and aeroenvironment, when analysts say are now sure to become takeover targets. for "nightly business report" i'm morgan brennan. still ahead, the pressure is building on insurers as the fight against opioid addiction intensifie european countries have signaled that they want to hike taxes on internet firms but they're divided on how to do it finance minister from ten european countries over the weekend announced a plan to support revenues of, who have been accused of paying too little by booking profits in low tax rates companies. >> we feel those companies should pay their share of tax where they create values and profits. there was a first discussion we already have some proposals will a -- we are working in the framework of g-20, and we want to work in that global fora. >> smaller members of the bloc like denmark, luxembourg and orel have warned that higher taxes could eventually push companies away from europe. the eu hopes to reach an agreement by year's end. the department of justice has reportedly opened an insider trading investigation into equifax. according to bloomberg, regulators are looking specifically at executives who sold stock before they disclosed a data breach, which exposed the personal information of 143 million americans. three senior executives sold almost 2 million of equifax shares. a statement from equifax said the executives had no knowledge of the breach before they sold. shares are off more than 30% since that breach was disclosed earlier this month. the opioid crisis has focused attention on whether too many doctors prescribe too much of the highly addictive painkillers too often, but now a spotlight is on the role that insurers and the pharmacy benefit managers that run the programs play in steering patients towards opiates instead of more expensive, but less addictive alternatives. meg tirrell reports. >> reporter: insurance coverage can have a huge impact on which med continues are prescribed and ta now they are examining that, what they call the preeminent public crisis of our time. the group wrote a her today to the ceo of america health insurance plans, urging it to encourage members to review their policies. they asked ahip members to review prioritization over opioid p over the treatment of pain, saying no comprehensive efrts can ignore the, quote, ever-increasing number of prescriptions. the her comes after a "new york times" investigation suggested health insurance policies could be contributing to opioid prescribing. the analysis of drug plans covering more than 35 million people sounded almost every health plan covered common opioids with fewer prescriptions, but that pain medications require additional steps to receive coverage. moreover it found that it can be easier to -- than for treatment for opioid addiction. in addition to the letter, new york attorney general eric snyderman sent letters last week to the three pdms, seeking information about their role in administration periods of time amid the crisis. both insurers and psh express scrips pointed to actions its taken to pry vent addiction including counseling. they have said in a statement it shares the commitment to erat indicating the epidemic in america. health plans work closely with doctors and nurses on the safes, most proven and most effective approaches. the insurer group said many health plans have instituted new programs that are helping to dramatically reduce how much and how often opioids are prescribed. the focus on insurer and pbms as well as heightened scrutiny, all why the epidemic rages on. for "nightly business report" i'm meg tirrell. ubs turns bullish on caterpillar. analysts at the firm listed their rating from buy to neutral, saying the equipment maker is expect to do benefit from a rise in private construction activity here. ubs also cited the growing cash position, saying it is sees new evidence that the earnings will continue. known sht s andrew left is taking aim at i next target. he called ubiquity networks a total fraud, saying the company's operating margins don't line up with the industry average. he also said it's only a matter of time before the s.e.c. launches an investigation into that company's finances ubiquity shares fell about 8% for 5062. energy and water analytics company said it will buy silver springs network. it provides internet technology to help cities and utilities operate more officially. i-tron said the merger will not only grow its footprint, but also expand its services. it rose 5% to 7650. silver springs spiked to 1610. on friday we tom you that evercore gave a bullish call on inindividually, today the company received more prai. and said nvidia could be the dominant product supplier to the $30 billion artificial intelligence market. today invideo rose. huntsman said it expects this quarter's results to improve, this as the company said it suffered operational issues following hurricane harvey. huntsman said the expected strength in earnings will come from solid performance of its polyurethane business. huntsman rose nearly -- and ahead of its earnings report, the shichg giant fedex said it will change shipping rates for 2018 delivery. it will raise rates by about an average of 5%. the price hikes take effect january 1st. an mba degree used to be the gold standard for american students. while americans still strive for a business degrees, schools are finding that students from abroad are having second thoughts. kayla tausche has our story. >> reporter: mohammed came to indiana to study jobs. the face value of his u.s. education. when he graduates in 2019, he hopes to the u.s. -- and. >> others students weren't as willing to take the same leap. international application at kelly school fell 19%. a trend familiar to other business programs. 75% of two-year mba programs surveyed by gmac saw fewer applicants from outside the u.s. >> they are actually making a fairly long-term bet. >> the ceo of g-mac which administers the admissions exam for business school. >> without clarity of what happens when he exit business school has them looking for other options. >> in the year 200 on u.s. business schools represented 32 of the top 40 rankings in the world. by last year that number was cut in half form the highest ravened u.s. business schools are not being declined, by others like university of iowa are. the college of business in august announced it would end the traditional two-year mba program and focus or mo specialized degrees. >> no question there's a financial impact. anytime out of state students d. out of country students as well. anytime that number goes down, that would make it harder for us to make up the finances. >> g-mac surveys show administrators anecdotally about living in the u.s. and not finding employment. >> they're worried, will they be as welcome as in previous years? >> reporter: the programs have largely remained unchanged, but president tr for preismd that ensured companies hire americans. in august trump backed a bill to shrink legal immigration. he said uncertainty has ripple effects overseas. >> as lodge as some of these bills in trong around the visas do not get closure, that uncertainty will get in the way of students actually making an ployment. the upshot -- more u.s. students are applying and going to scoot, but administrators says diversity is paramount, and wroird there will be an impact on hire. for nightly business report, i'm kayla tausche, joining us now with more on this is dennis yem, for the capellan test prep. i wish ed taken more of my prep before i did my law school exams. kayla just tausche about international applicants to business schools, they are down. she said american applicants to business schools are actually steady to up. what's the total look like? as you know. we like to remind ourselves that it's cyclical. if you think about the landscape, you werely when the job market is poor, you because they want to make -- hope the job market will improve, but in teems like this, in 2017, we have seen the job market be very robust. for that reason, there's no risk for these prospect tiff applicants. they have student loans to pay. >> undergraduate student loans to pay. >> that's right. and it's hard to make that investment in pursuing one of the most expensive graduate programs. >> buzz does it pay off if they do pursue it? >> that's the current interesting kind of situation we're in. g-mac has also released information that both compensation in the short and long term, and the job market has never been better for a business school graduate. >> the cumulative difference is really huge, something like -- they maid a median of 2.5 million if you look at the tome year by year income than a person who doesn't have it, as kayla mentioned, where the weakness in applications is most accuse it would seem would be in the lower-tier schools, the whartons, harvard, stanford. >> that's correct, top tier programs will less likely feel that drop, whereas lower-tier programs will probably have a harder time attracting applicants who have a strong outlook. >> does it come down to price then? harvard doesn't necessarily have to cut its praises, but kayla profiled the university of iowa. do they have to become more competitive on some sort of a different basis? >> there's a lot of factors that students have to consider. i want to touch on the current political climate as well. we talked about the uncertainly of what happens. there's a lot of different factors. price is one of the them, the price is another. we've seen a loe of competing programs that are gearing more towards one-year programs. >> and they are becoming more competitive, and another then, one of the deans set, when you have fewer out of said or out of country applicants, who don't have that tuition, that proves a problem. the numbers don't work as well. >> dennis, thank you very much. >> thank you. can capellan. coming up. the power of streaming video takes center stage, toys "r" us could file for bankruptcy as soon as this week. there are reports that the toy retailer has hired a law firm to address its $400 million debt load coming due next year. like its rivals, toys "r" us have struggled to keep up with the increase in online shopping, which has forced retailers to cut pieses. according to "wall street journal," some of the store's suppliers have reportedly held back on shipments unless toys "r" us pays for deliveries in cash. shares of mattel and has broke fell in simply today the longtime cisco executive john chambers is stopping down. he's decided not to stand for reelection when he terms expires in september. he's stepped down as ceo about twoiers after 20 years at the helm, he served from 1995 to 2015, making him with you silicon valley's longe-tenured executives. the big traditional networks didn't feel instead it's streaming video. they take a like at the push into the tv game. it was a momentous night on the red capital, making gains on broadcast in traditi >> "the handmaid's tale." >> hulu made history. for "handmaid's tale" as the media giants, hulu's growing investment in original on the controversial novel pa. >> i think it's a bread move for them to have done this. i think it's very risky material. it says a lot about who consumers are interested in, compelling content wherever it's >> put it in third place behind hbo with ten and nbc with six. hulu was award of netflix whileal zone came home empty-handed with no awards at last night's show. amazon may be working on another way to get a piece -- reportedly with a talk by small tv channels. worldwide. >> we know that amazon is a big data player, from that perspective, they would have access to views that would's loy them access to the phone, just enhance the knowledg. as traditional paid tv providers look to offer skinny bundles, amazon prime's video offering could take advantage of the niche channels. for "nightly business report" i'm julia boorstin in los angeles. amazon prime members can stream nfl games on thursday night. if you're lucky you'll be able to watch one of the most valuable franchise football franchises. for the 11th straight year the cowboys hold the top spot, despite not having been to the super bowl in 22 years. number two, the patriots have been to the super bowl plenty, rounding out the top three. number four, sue, my washington redskins. >> i noticed that. packers not on the lith. oh, well. that does it for us tonight. thanks for joining us. >> thanks from me as well. we'll see you back her >> this is bbc world news america. funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, covert their foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. >> planning a vacation escape inviting, andng, exciting is easier than you think and you can find it here in aruba.