on j.c. penney's macy's and merck. overall a cautious tone. a fed meeting on interest rates begins tomorrow, while widely expected to be a stand-pat kind of session. the gop will release details of tax bills. thursday we should learn who the next fed chief will be. friday brings the latest jobs report. in the middle of it all, apple and facebook will release earnings. stocks seemed mostly nonplussed on today's news that paul manafort and a business partner were charged with money launders among other crimes as part of the investigation into the 2016 election. both men pleaded not guilty. here's how stocks fared. the dow lost 83 points, merck the biggest loser down 6% after pulling a key cancer drug. the nasdaq slips two, and the s&p 500 gave back eight. stocks took a bit of a dip midday after one media report hinted that the cut in the corporate tax rate may not happen at all, at least 23409 al and that's the warm-up for the being release. ylan mui has more. >> a new report suggests it could include a gradual reduction in the corporate tax rate. according to one report, lawmakers are considering saving in the tax rate over four years. this could be the way to offset the broader tax overhaul costs, and today sarah huckabee sanders appeared to throw cold water on this idea. >> the president laid out his principles. it doesn't include the fazing in, so we're committed to that moving forward, but -- and i don't have any reasonable changes on that -- >> republicans have already had to walk back plans to completely get rid of one of the most pop ought lars detux, kevin brady said individuals will be able to keep the deduction for property taxes after he got push-back from members was his own property who live in high tax states. unclear if that's enough to win them over americans against double taxation, a lobbying group, says it's still opposing the plan. >> the proposal is an unprecedented washington intrusion. it pits winners and losers among states and it penalizes states that rely heavily on income taxes. >> members of the ways and means committee are holed up today and tomorrow to debate all of these issues, and there is no time to waste. if reps wants this passed, the score wins before thanksgiving. for "nightly business report," i'm ylan mui in washington. now on to the federal reserve where president trump is expected to reveal on thursday his pick to head the fed bank next year. the fin line is inside a race that's seen an extensive amount of lobbying for all of the various candidates. steve liesman handicaps the outcome. >> president trump will announce one of the most important decision to date this thursday, when he names his choice to head the federal reserve. the white house confirmed the announcement will come thursday, a choice that's been rumored for days, weeks and months with many lobbying in favor of one candidate or another. many believe the president has decided on fed governor jerome powell, something of a compromise candidate. powell is a republican, appointed by president obama, who supports recent fed policy, but also favors some of the financial deregulation proposed by president trump. the market seems to welcome a powell appointment, because it means continuity at the fed and continue ways of the fed's gradual policy of raising interest rates. economics professor john tayor is also said to be a candidate up to recently this was talk of reappointing janelle yellen. the only question is, does president trump follow through on market expectations for powell, score he decide to do something more unexpected and dramatic. for "nightly business report," i'm steve liesman. on wednesday, the make automakers will rele their sales figures for octobe right now sales are expected to be relatively strong thanks to greater demand for new cars. for that, you can thank a rebounding business in the southern u.s. following the hurricanes harvey and irma. well, this weeks some of the world's biggest internet companies will head to capitol hill, as lawmakers look into the role their companies potentially played in russia's meddling in the president uses election. top lawyers from facebook, twitter, google, will appear in three hearing. separately facebook will report earnings on wednesday, and apple will report its quarterly results, as we m. and the employment report for october is due out on friday. last month, the economy lost jobs for the first time in seven years, but economists are not expecting a repeat performance. expectations are for the creation of about 315,000 jobs in october, which could represent the strongest growth in more than two years. the unemployment rate is expected to remain steady at 4.2%. as we just told you, there is a lot of new information out this week on many fronts, all with the potential to rattle stocks, or maybe fuel them. here with us to discuss what the market is looking for and how it might react to this week's new is brian leavitt, a senior strategyist at open himeser funds. always good to have you with us. >> thank you. >> let's go one at a time here. take your pick, but i'll take the possibility of a jerome powell-led fed. is that going to be markedly different from a yellen fed? good for investors in neutral? >> i don'tening it's going to be markedly different. the big concerns was perhaps president trump might select someone more hawkish than janet yellen, something the likes of john taylor. if you look at the shape of the yield curve now, it's not significantly steep, so aggressive moves on the short end of the curve could have foretold a looming recession. i think in jerome powell is the choice, that risk goes down considerably. >> let's move on to tax reform, which hasn't happened yet, but they seem to be making some progress. does that have the potential to unnerve the market? because there's in back-and-forth about what deductions will be allowed in, how retirement savings might be treated, et cetera. >> the good news is a lot of the moves were in the growthier segments of the markets, so if this market rally was all about expectations of tax cuts, then you probably would have seen small caps outperforming large caps and value outperforming growth, so it does not seem as if the market is set up for significant disappointment. on the oth upside potential in the more value-oriented parts of the market. if you get tax cuts, the problem is it's going to be very difficult, because the initial plans that we have seen, something along the lines of $5 trillion in cuts, in order to get $3.5 trillion in offsets so that the deficit doesn't go up by more than a trillion and a half over the next ten years, that will be very difficult. i do the market will be significantly disappointed. it could be upside, but it would be hard to get there. >> on to the economic, good numbers out today on consumers spending, but end of the week, the jobs number, what are yo >> so you got it right when you talked about the forecast over 300,000 jobs. we shouldn't read into that to say that the economy is picking up significant steam. we lost jobs last month and that was the result of the hurricanes and the disruptions that happened. so we should average out those two months, which takes you pretty much in line with where we've been, call it, you know, roughly 150,000 jobs. the interesting thing to note on a year-over-year basis, we're a bit slower than we were, so don't overemphasis that number, if it happens. >> thank you for the advice, brian. coming up, why investors should get used to seeing the price of shares sitting in the hundreds, even thousan . consumers have taken out their wallet, spended recorded its biggest increase in more than eight aye, in part because of a rise of vehicle sales. according to the commerce department, personal spending, which measures household spending on everything from cars to clothing to haircuts rose 1% last month. personal income, a measure that includes wages and government assistance rose 0.4%, in line with estimates. a number of deals to tell you about. le noor and the smaller rival are merging to form the largest u.s. homebuilder. the price tack to -- the company's hope it would allow them to better handle some of the challenges. the merger announce meant sent shares soars and le noor falling. >> for-profit college, strayer and capela plan to merge, the tie-up will create one of the country's largest for-profit kludge companies. together they will reach 80 those students and will continue to operate as independent and separately accredited institution. shares of both companies hirer in trading today. consist traces plans has been become the first to invest in legal marijuana. the deal is considered by some to be a precedent-setting move for an industry that's largely remained on the sidelines of growth in legal cannabis. landon dowdy has the details. >> constellation is chasing a new kind of buzz. the maker of corona taking a nearly 10% base in canopy growth. the world's largest publicly traded cannabis company. constellation is planning to work with the grower to develop and market cannabis-infused beverages, as the company looks to grow behohn the beers. it's seen as a big bet on the nationwide legalization of marijuana in the u.s., saying our company's success is the result of our focus and this is another step in that direction. the brewer's big best highlights the long-debated question of if booze and pot goes hand in hand. rising cannabis use in the u.s. has a historically negative effect on alco >> what we have found in the u.s. data is that since 2008 we have seen a steady increase in reported cannabis consumption among 18 to 25-year-olds, and simultaneously we've seen very steady reduction in alcohol. i wouldn't be surprised to see others follow. >> but sand says he doesn't see it as a threat to booze. he wants to be able to offer it all. the deal is expected to close by early november and gives constellation the option to increase its stake. for "nightly business report," i'm landon dowdy. as we medd ementioned on fr two high-profool stocks are trading above $1,000 a s those are just two of many stocks trading at high levels. when you see prices like that, you might wonder why the companies don't split their shares, to make them more affordable dominic choo wonde' wondered the same thing. >> it isn't just valuation or how much you pay in stock price. it's also just plain old how much you pay in stock price period. as of last week, the average price of a share of stock in the s&p 500 stood at $103. according to analyst howard sill she blatt, that's the highest on record. there's a number of reasons why a company would want to see a higher share price. >> i think now there's sort of a badge of honor to have a high stock price, you know, where, you know, companies like amazon breaching 1,000, while apple is over $200, you know, and certainly berkshire hathaway. all in all it's a cachet, if you will of having an exclusive on a high-priced commodity. >> those higher per share prices are a result of a trend away from stock splits. fewer companies are not splitting their shares. this year there's only been five s&p 500 splits, only eight in all of 2016, compared to 102 in 1997. companies used to split their stock prices so if a stock got to be $200 a share, the company would just issue 4 for 1 stock price, the price would go down to $50. it wouldn't change your position, but it would be easier for more investors to buy in. >> a higher per share price says not about an overall company or market valuation, but as markets have evolved toss more etf driven, some argue there's been less demand from retail investors for buying and selling individual stocks, for "nightly business repor" i'm dominic chu. >> sales take off with the snack maker, and that's where we begin the market focus. the maker of or i don'ts said cost cuts and stronger demand helped top expectation. and the international markets were a particular sweet spot. they took off in the extended-hour session, but figured the regular day do you think more than 3%. after the bell, texas roadhouse helped overall revenue beat street estimates, earnings were in line with expectations, and the company said it's well positioned for continued growth. shares were initially lower in after hour. they also closed down 1.5% during the regular session for $50.41. alison transmission, a provider of fully automatic transmissions saw sales grow at a faster clip than the company and analysts were expecting. allison said a rise in demand in north america topped its own guidance. profits were also better than expected, still shares fell about 1.5%. the potential merger between sprint and t mobile has reportedly hit a nab. cnbc says the telecom companies are having difficulty working through regulatory and pricing issues. earlier reports said the two companies disagreed over who would have control over the combined entity and that interrupt owner softbank would withdraw from the deal talks. cnbc says that softbank won't take that step, at least not yet. shares of spring down 9% to 6.34. t mobile shares off 5% at 59.58. the power producer vistra will buy dynagj, the combined company will have a market of more than $10 billion and have power-generating assets and retail businesses in some of the -- shares fe 8 publics%, but diynajy got a nic bump. chevron has reversed its decision to leave bangladesh without a reason. it's decided not to sell the local subsidiaries to a china-based company, instead it will hold on to the assets and work to provide reliability energy for that country. shares ros it was five years ago today that the disney paid a hefty sum for lucasfilm. today the purchase price, and as julia boorstin reports, the payoff is -- around a galaxy far far away. >> disney's $4 billion perform since then, the force awakes and "rogue one" have brought in over $3 billion. the force awakens is still the third highest grossing movie of all time. >> disney's acquisition has been an absolute home run. it's hard to think of something they could have done with $4 billion that would have been better and more impactful. >> with three more movies in the work, inclusion "the last jedi" in december. it's projected to bring in at least $1 billion globally, and could even hit a $2 billion growth. it's more than just the box office. disney aims to bring "star wars" characters to every part of the business, to exploit the popularity of the films in every way possible, from consumer products to parks. toy sales alorne between september 2015 and september 2017 brought in over a billion 1/2 according to npd group. they predict this year total consumer products for "star wars" will top $5 billion. luke cabflips also produce -- for disney xe, and another for the youtube channels. they could create more of this type of short-form content, laumplging in 2019. disney has an even bigger commitment to "star wars" at its parks s. investing a billion in each of the "star wars" -- set to open in 2019. the success of all of these investments hinges on ongoing interest in the "star wars" films. >> i think the biggest concern is they've ascended to such heights, i'm not convinced they can get much bigger. they have gotten to, i think the peak, but that's a great place to be. i think the view is really nice. >> the value is not just "star wars." it also overs "indiana jones" which disney aims to reboot with a film scheduled for 2020. for "nightly business report." i'm julia boorstin in los angeles. thieves know exactly what they're looking for, and it's not what y. recreation at boating is a $36 billion industry in the u.s. sales are on the rise growing 6% last year on pace for the same this year, according to industry numbers, but thefts of boats are on the rise, too. contessa brewer has learned that thieves target not the boats, but the high-priced engine that these can easily ste >> these criminals just broke into a boatyard, but they're not the boats. they're afte the valuable and more portable engines, specifically high-end yamaha engines. watch the surveillance video. it's clear they know exactly what they are looking for. >> as sickening, embarrassing and it just makes you feel like a total helpless victim. alex may owns six boat dealerships in texas, would thieves have struck four separate times, getting away with 41 engines worth more than $700,000. >> these thieves were so sophisticated they walked past engines sitting in the boxes they could have just loaded up. they had or forklift running. they took specific types that are more valuable. >> the fact they know how to do all of this, it's not a casual kid down the street who decides they need an engine for his boat. >> these are guys targeting this particular item. no doubt about it. >> there's no nati database, but industry experts say they are seeing a huge spijs. dawn rutherford oversees marine claims. >> in my 35-year career, i've never seen as many units being stolen from as many marinas. >> how are they getting the engines ou where wherever they're stealing from. >> stealing trucks, breaking through fences, satellite guys usually lifting the engines and putting them on the truckbed. here in the enclave the gable by the sea, we see expensive boat after boat s. docked on the intracoastal waterway. so many sought-after engines. >> unfortunately with the amount of waterways, it's a target-rich environment, and sad to say, it is very easy for someone to try to evil a vessel like this, especially engines. we're having and lower units, they could just pull up to the back of a vessel, takes off six botts. >> florida sees more boat thefts. surveyian s routinely capture, yet the recovery rate is just 36%, according to the national insurance crime bureau. that's for the boats. engines are easier to transport and to hide. >> i believe we were just watching to suspects trying to take a boat motor -- >> james barrett says it's very difficult to tray the stolen engines, in part because serial numbers gets erased or altered. we have to work our way back to see where that motor is supposed to be right now through the records. >> all these yamaha engines just sitting in plain sight, even experienced investigators can't we're they when a team of miami-dade police officers shows up unannounced to a boat repair shop. it doesn't take long for them to find what they suspect is a stolen boat and two stolen engines. one of them a yamaha. >> this engine here doesn't have any numbers, it has a sticker where it used to be, but the numbers seems to be obliterated. for some reason it's not there. without that, without like this who the owner of this engine is. >> police removed the boat. two engines for further investigation, as they're loaded onto a flatbet the owner of the engine shows up. he tells cnbc he paid $3500 for the used engine from a local repair shop. >> i worry about losing my money. obviously i paid for it. i'm not worried because i do nothing wrong. i just pay a person. if you go to ebay, you know who the person is, you buy something, you don't know. >> shortly after we did those interviews in houston and miami, hurricanes harvey and irma hit. i saw damaged and displaced boats all over, which of course makes they vulnerable to ins industry is eves. already trying to get the claims, and storm, insurance fraud, with people claiming damage, and thieves who used these disasters to >> so yamaha says high resale value and reliability, we note -- in south americas of mechanics, who now hose to do repairs, so they are highly sought off around the world. >> where are these hot boats and engines going? who is buys them? >> the coast guard say it's for local thieve want to resell the boats or the engines. veteran insurance agents tell me they're going south of the border, there are car tells or organize the crime rings that know how to turn around and resell them, but the coast guard says they have seen no evidence of that, not currently. >> contessa, thank you, as always. and to read more head to our that will do it for us tonight. have a great evening, everybody. we will rr >> this is "bbc world news america." funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, and kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. >> planning a vacation escape that is relaxing, inviting, and exciting is a lot easier than you think. you can find it here in aruba. families, couples, and friends can all find their escape on the island with warm, sunny days,