Sales decline in the united states. Lets begin in washington where Phil Mattingly has details on negotiations. What are the outstanding issues and the talks . Days beforeour more we reach the deadline when negotiators are supposed to finalize a potential budget deal. What it has been. Finding a revenue. To basically bridge a gap stop negotiators working with 1 trillion. The biggest Sticking Point for democrats is benefits. Between the suggested numbers in the top line number is had how much federal and please how to put in to retirement accounts. Some democrats are weary. But what about Unemployment Benefits . Democrats are trying to push for an increase in the deadline. People familiar said it will not happen. A Sticking Point. They wanted this included. They are willing to leave it out as long as republicans opened the door to put it through another vehicle. As of now, the extension needed to be passed by december 28 who lose emergency benefits will not be included in the budget deal. But lawmakers expected to only be at least at this point and session another four days. Have the budget. You have Unemployment Benefits. What else are they going to try to finish up . A lot to do and very little time. What harry reid laid out today is a very long list of items they want to complete. Funding of the pentagon. Nominations. Federal reserve chair janet yellen. She is on the dock. The farm bill. An important piece of legislation that today are trying to reconcile. Chambers foroth the a ton to do. They are really trying to finish as much as they can. A number of lawmakers are boarded a plane to south africa. They will be joining president obama at the Memorial Service for Nelson Mandela. You pose problems for all of the does not sound like you. More than 20 lawmakers on their way for the Memorial Service. They should be back by wednesday. We expect if there is a budget deal, it would happen by late tomorrow. Subject should happen later. It should not cause a big problem. Rex Phil Mattingly joining us tonight. A victory for wall street, regulators will not require ceos to confirm they are complying with the vockel rule according to people familiar with tell us the wording will be a relief to who werek executives concerned they would have to personally guarantee and their firms were in compliance. Instead, they would have to sign off on having policies and systems in place. Five agencies are set to approve. The mostation is among complex and controversial arising from the dodd frank act in 2010 to overhaul the banking crisis. To the credit the Congressional Health care clock is ticking. Biting into the day, lawmakers need to enroll in a plan under obama care or risk losing their government subsidy. Peter cook has more. By having to sign up for obama care, lawmakers are eating some with her cooking and facing glitches that their constituents are seeing as well. The process is a little different. The reality is and they have more options than average americans. They can pick among 100 gold levels. The government picks up as much as 75 of remembrance. That means the d. C. Health exchange. Empress of spared the same problems. John boehner said it took him several hours to sign up for his individual plant and it is not like the end result. In a hundred dollar an 800 a month bill. They will double. My copay will triple under obamacare. Many democrats reported no big problems. They are getting the better coverage and cheaper premiums. Lawmakers have a choice. They can opt out. That could cost them cash. A senator decided to enroll at and hee weight way gets no government subsidy. He is paying nearly 600 a month in premiums. Others do not need to roll the they are covered by other insurance. Ted cruz is covered by his wifes plan. She wears a goldman sachs. For thepassing democrats have tried to make an goldman covers an issue in this debate. Only one guest colleague is down one who said he colleague who said he will pay the penalty. The botched rollout of healthcare. Gov may have served as a cautionary tale for other u. S. Agencies. The fcc announced decided to push back its broadcast auction to make sure the software works. Megan hughes reports. Tom wheeler said the systems and need to work from the moment the first bid is placed. Unlike healthcare. Gov, he is willing to push back the timeline. The original plan was for the end of the year. In spectrum auction would be 2014. Wheeler has pushed back to 2015. A new timetable will be voted on. He said i defined the complexity of this process as being like a rubiks cube. As part of our system, we will check and recheck the software and system components. Here is why it is important. Sold in blocks for Companies Like verizon and at t. It will be key in dealing with more and more mobile traffic. As the delay, on both sides seem to be understanding. A rep from at t said it needs to be done right and broadcasters like cbs and fox and disney were complaining that agency was rushed. One analyst said it is better to have the systems in place and working on delayed the launch weather than what was seen with the healthcare. Gov. Reportedly millions of visitors tried to visit when it went live but only a handful could use it. Another way wheeler is doing things differently is either will be a data version. There will be testing. The technology will be demonstrated in a mock auction. One of the big complaints about the exchange was not adequate into to and testing before it launched. , god, for over 30 years, coming up, for over 30 years iranand israeli relations have been strained. Bottom linen continues. Welcome back. This is bottom line, on Bloomberg Television and streaming on your phone, tablet, and on bloomberg. Com. Lesson of the equity markets finished. S p roseose to the to another record. Lets look at the numbers. The broader index was up to 180 8. Dow was up. Nasdaq was up six points. You the stories behind the numbers. Su is in the newsroom with the details. A good evening. People get more comfortable with the idea that that may begin to taper. Fed may begin to taper. Could impact from the vockel rule create more ways . Had this to say. It is a possibility we will be going to far. Watch and see. I am not being a pessimist. I am being pragmatic. I do think i know more about adult margins than most. I am alarmed it may be too far. It may have unintended issues. It could be impactful. Today big movers include Cisco Systems soaring. Biggest gain in a decade. And so the strain. A different story for mcdonalds. The fast food chain under pressure at reports sluggish sales in november. A petition is a big issue here and abroad. That competition is a big issue here and abroad. Sinceggest monthly drop february. Twitter up nine percent, the biggest oneday gain. Gmafter the bell, news from and texas instruments. What is the latest . The treasury the Market Department announced it has sold all the gm shares. No longer government owned. It treasury secretary saying is important chapter of u. S. History that is closed. Five years of government ownership. In may that 39 billion. Investors are reacting to texas instruments. Shares were up. They have fallen back into the last hour. The biggest maker of chips in the range of . 48. That is within the forecast. Quotedalysts that we said industrial and automotive demand has been strong for this company. The first day of trading for the new american airlines. After completing the merger with us airways, a new by at deutsche bank. Thank you. The Senate Returns from recess. Iranse back some of nuclear, they are asking for a new round of economic sanctions against the islamic republic. President obama said he is committed to continued diplomatic efforts to resolve tensions over irans program even as he puts the odds know better at 50 . Ra joins me. Good to see you. The president put the odds at 5050. John kerry said he is unconvinced that i run a leaders irans leaders will make the hard decisions to reach a final nuclear of court. What is the point of the talks . What you saw from president obama and secretary kerry was refreshing candor in authority at the state and pragmatism. Nobody is saying the deal is perfect and will succeed, it simply the alternative available. Of the options on the table, the only thing that could work right now. It is going to be a better solution than simply imposing Economic Cost that cannot change iranian hater. Limited sanctions as part of the preliminary accord. What is he going to mean for the countrys economy and the average iranian . Devon caught in the middle of the tensions between washington for over 30 years since the revolution. Limited, word is there will be relief. Is a small percentage. Congress wants to see more sanctions put on iran. If in six months there is no progress, id at research is pushing back. They said we have a firm sanctions. The administration is pushing back. You will not see dramatic changes. You will see relief on sanctions that were lifted. The auto area and sanctions. What about the average iranian . They havent caught in the middle. They have been in support of what is going on with the diplomatic deals. You will more support for raw honey Rohani Andy Lee leeway. The iranians have been supportive as the american public. Rohani leeway. Picture. S a clearer what you have seen since 1979, iranians have been isolated. Not been able to the oil revenues they had historically. Billions lost. A huge part of their economic progress. That is a key area. There been sanctions on automobiles, aviation, and all of these are things to watch for in the upcoming months to see how it changes. Mentioned what is happening on capitol hill. President obama said it is a starting point but there are democrats and republicans who said they do not care. They want sections to be increased. They want us to ratchet up until we are clear and convinced they are no longer having Nuclear Capacity and to the centrifuges which can be used for Nuclear Energy but as other critics said, used to make nuclear bombs. This calls for tougher sanctions. Is that going to derail the diplomacy underway . To get inot need do not need to give my opinion. The message that it will undermine. That is going to derail. Can Congress Passed a resolution . Cheats, at some later point in time, event sanctions might be put in place. That might be a compromise measure. It does not Like Congress will have the time to put together comprehensive sanctions. They were needed to do it and if that tactic that is being described as a likely scenario. In the Defense Authorization bill that has to be passed by the end of the year. I do not think they will be able to get sanctions in a definitive way of greed upon by the close of the year. They might be up to get a resolution about future sanctions. Is not the only diplomatic challenge. There is afghanistan. Chuck hagel on a recent trip. What are the Sticking Points to a Bilateral Agreement hawaii has an afghan president karzai signed off . There is still tension between the powers that be in the united states. It is quite troubling what we have seen in the past few weeks with karzai not willing to sign. We thought he was. It seems to be similar to what they were in iraq. Not getting a sticking agreement. Highlight deja vu. How bad is it . Hagel would not meet with karzai . He snubbed karzai. Karzai said he would not let you wantallow certain detainees released from guantanamo. He said he might be postponing signing an agreement until april. The u. S. Is not ok. The end of they year. They need to start planning the troops will stay. Joined me. Ler good to see you. Coming up, shopping for bitcoin. The Virtual Currency scavenger hunt. Digital currency, bitcoin, has had a wild ride. Last week it plunged more than 20 . Like baidu suspended accepting payments. So much focus, matt miller went to find out what one can actually do with a bitcoin. The incredible volatility of missed lastd not be week. The price shot up to more than 1200 and dropped to 600 momentarily. We thought because of that and the Media Attention we should do something to really figure out what this is and how it works. Theame up with the idea of 12 days of bitcoin. I will do Something Else every day. Boughtthe first day, i one. It was more difficult. I went to a number of sites. Blockchain. Info. I had an a month issue. The each time, i had an issue. I would have to enter too much information that i do not feel comfortable with. I needed to have a visa card and i only use mastercard. Ofh local bitcoin, a lot people who advertise bitcoin for a lower price than they were willing to sell when you actually gotten their or do not have any. Want to people do not let go. They are not easy to get. A bitcoin veryot easily by finding someone who had a one who was a buddy. Cashave me one for 800 in and i will set about seeing how i can spend it tomorrow. Well tell you all of the things you can abide. I bought a few pieces. I would try to good air jordans and wine and maybe a miniature can, a vacation. All of the things i cannot afford with my bitcoin. The by a trip to space. That you can buy a trip to space. The different aspects of the currency. Up next, top headlines including the preparations for the Memorial Service for Nelson Mandela. In ukraine and thailand. These and other stories when bottom line continues in just a moment. Welcome back to the second line onr of bottom Bloomberg Television. I am mark crumpton. Thank you for staying with us. As we hit the bottom of the hour on this monday, december 9, 2013, a big acquisition in the food industry. 500,g the most in the s p a company that announced an agreement to buy its rival u. S. Food and an 8. 2 billion deal, and the s p 500 index closed one point up above its previous level, the Broader Market at 1808. Index, it composite was up about six points today, 4068. Of the top some stories we are following for you. President obama and ban kimoon will be among World Leaders speaking at a mass Memorial Service for Nelson Mandela. Obama, the first lady, and george w. Bush and his wife la ura will arrive around 1 00 a. M. On tuesday mr. Obama and others. Bill clinton and timmy carter will join them in johannesburg. The service is tomorrow at a soccer stadium. That was where Nelson Mandela made his last appearance during the 2010 world cup. Right police were out in full force in ukraine on monday after the weekend to saw some of the biggest marches in the country since 2004. Police also raided the headquarters of an Opposition Party and tore down. Kate put up by antigovernment tore down barricades put up by antigovernment protesters. In bangkok, some are calling for the Prime Minister to stand down. Prime minister xinhua truck called for new elections in an effort to diffuse the public anger against her Prime Minister shinawatra called for new elections. With the commodities report, su keenan joins us with details. Two of the biggest movers in commodities, orange juice and natural gas, have everything to do with the weather. A bull market as dry weather threatened the output in florida. 20 , as youre than can see on the righthand side of the chart. It is the smallest crop since 1990. The fourmonth high in futures ces meanwhile, natural gas is the other big gainer, and a big winter storm pounded texas and tennessee, pushing gas nat gas to a sixmonth high. Is an additional three to six inches forecast across Northern New York and new england as well as washington, d. C. , and temperatures are well, aboutdrop, as 15 below normal. And some areas not usually subjected to snow, it included eagles game in philadelphia, turning it into a snow bowl. There are bullish bets for natural gas. Gas, energyatural futures were lower across the board with gold and Metals Higher on that weekend weakened dollar. And we are seeing hedge funds the least bullish on gold since 2004. ,et long positions in gold fell more than in five years, according to trading data last month. This was within half a percent of the record reached in july. Lookinge, analysts were at the Oil Prices Falling for a second week, it as they boost the oil supply. The bullish bets on oil are the most since july. Su keenan, thank you. Nigeria has developed considerable wealth for a small percentage of its population, and the high level of wealth has led to an increasing appetite for Luxury Brands. Bloombergs tom gibson reports. These sparkling watches are not in the shop windows of london or zurich. Is the largest city in nigeria. Here, the wealthy used to have to go abroad for luxury staples. Now, big brands come to them. It is a big luxury for the brands to be here. End, butat the highest there is also a middle class that is growing here that also wants access to Luxury Brands and brands from around the world. Wealth flowed into nigeria as crude oil pumped out from 1960 on, and this is expected to grow in 2014, andent that is according to a bloomberg survey. Unsurprisingly, International Brands are keen to get a foothold. One of them is the german sports hasmaker porsche, which operations in victoria. Largestis the fourth area globally for porsche, and the emerging markets are with chinare key, even with africa now. With more and more nigerians able to afford a 911, you can expect more flashy