earlier every year, but is it worth it? that and more for this wednesday, november 26th. good evening and welcome on this thanksgiving eve. susie has the night off. a quiet day on wall street ahead of the thanksgiving holiday with a winter storm blasting the east coast with snow, sleet and rain and temperatures that could freeze anyone's giblets. enough to push the dow and the s&p 500 to a closing high and this happened despite another slump in oil prices, and a flood of economic da that that was as soggy as the weather. steve liesman looks at the numbers and what they may mean for the economy moving forward. the weather turned sower ahead of the thanksgiving holiday and so did the economic data. a feast of economic reports released earlier than normal mostly came in below expectations and raised doubts where the upbeat economic data from the this cont to the fourth. the street was looking for a gain. jobless claims spiked up by 21,000 to register the first read above 300,000 since early september and lackluster housing data with a lukewarm report how much americans earned and spent. this economists is optimistic. >> we wouldn't expect it to be booming but it's advancing and advancing when you compare to the difficulties europe is dealing with and some of the countries in asia. i think the state of the expansion is in fairly good shape. >> reporter: but it's hard to argue after today's data we are headed for another plus 3% quarter of growth. the u.s. is on track for growth around 2.5%, enough to reduce the unemployment rate but not make up lost ground from the financial crisis. the 5% savings rate suggest when americans have extra money in their pockets from higher incomes or lower gasoline prices, they remain cautious inclined to save it rather than spend it. retailers can only hope that doesn't remain true when spending starts in earnest for the holiday season. the proposition is the u.s. economy accelerating gets another chance to prove itself next week with surveys on manufacturing and services and the much-watched jobs report, looking for 200,000 plus jobs created. that's 200,000 people with more money in their pockets to spend for the holiday season. have a great holiday, i'm steve liesman. >> as steve mentioned, there was a round of housing reports out today, a triple dose of data that tells the sail story. diana olick has more. >> reporter: the one thing not cooking with gas this thanksgiving is the nation's housing market. new reads on october sales were disappointing. signed contracts to buy existing homes fell unexpectedly even a mid a 5% jump in listings. it was the lowest sales pace since june and went along with a drop in mortgage applications during the month. >> largely depending on interest rates and what the economy is going to do in '15 and '14. >> mortgage applications surged in november but surged off as 30-year fixed rates dropped below 4%. realtors blamed credit but some say that's old news. the biggest problem is stagnant income and no possibility of that getting better any time soon. so people really feel nervous about the future, and i think that is what is making them not go and spend the big bucks on a house. >> another read on new construction was also disappointing. sales for the builders were up less than 1% in october compared to september but only because september's gains were revised down. year to date, new home sales are nearly flat. the only jump was in prices. up a whopping 15% in october from a year ago to a record high and million-dollar homes are seeing sales sour. >> just sold this house, another property right across the line in maryland in the low 4s and got two offers on that, right at thanksgiving. >> while the rest of the market falters, the high end on fire. >> with the market up, rates are down and they just say gee, could it be more next year? i should make this decision now. >> the high end maybe juicing numbers for now but there are a limited number of buyers, barely 2% of the market. for housing to start cooking, all levels of fires need to have a seat at the table. for "nightly business report", i'm diana olick in washington. >> more on the action or lack of action today in wall street. the major averages close slightly higher on a low volume day ahead of the holiday and in spite of that mostly disappointing economic data. the dow was up 12 points to an all-time high at 17827. nasdaq added 29, a 14.5 high there and the s&p up five. new record close of 20.72. will they or won't they just one day to go now before a highly anticipated opec oil ministers meeting where member nations will vote on whether to cut production to try to end the five-month slide in oil prices and apparently energy traders do not think a cut in crude prices is coming. as they settle add a fresh low with domestic oil down 40 cents, it ended at 73.69 a barrel. the international benchmark down 58 cents to 77.75 a barrel. our steve is austria with a preview. >> reporter: the opec ministers are set to meet on thursday for what is seen as the most highly anticipated meeting in many years. of course, the price of oil has fallen aggressively 30% since june, as well, and opec is desperate to find some defense in that price with the oil price under $80 a barrel and yet, who would do the cutting and that's where distinction within the ranks and other producers remain. the russians came to town early and said yes, they would like someone to come but weren't prepared to do so. russians are the biggest producer in the world producing abou 10.5 million barrels a day. they are prohibited at the moment because there are sanctions over the nuclear situation. the shoulders would have had to bear the blunt would be saudi and they are looking to play the long-term gaime. they are concerned shell producers and not opec is sealing market share as the prices come off and don't want to lose more. we may, despite many people's i can -- expectations may get no cut. john joins us to talk more about the upcoming opec meeting. he's the founding partner, john, good to have you back with us. to cut or not to cut? do you think they will do and what do you think is next for oil prices? >> i don't think they will cut. the saudi's need to hold firm and let the market stabilize and work its way out and draw a line to squeeze out some higher cost competition out there. the very shale production that brought prices down so much and the cartel to its knees potentially. >> the last time you were here you said what you saw or were starting to see was the dawning of a price war, and that the saudis were going to squeeze out and say we can produce more profitably and at a lower price than you shale guys. >> that's right. they tinker the with the price, to china to hold on to market share and the saudis are telling everyone we can produce cheaper than the shape guys. let's sit tight and squeeze them out and to their credit, we've seen several companies in the u.s. shale space and now reduction and spending plans for next year because what they see is a lower price environment. it may be to the advantage -- >> we're at $73 now on west texas on domestic crude. where do you see that going in six months or so? >> i think the market will take this in no decision. it will head 70, 68 over the next couple weeks here fairly rapidly, in fact, and i think come the first -- mid first quarter next year, you'll see a price down in the low to mid 50s. everyone's metal will be tested -- >> low to mid 50s sometime early next year. for gasoline, what does that mean? >> that will translate into a national average potentially below $2 a gallon to as low as $1.80 in areas. >> is this unbalance good for america or not good, an oil price at that level if not sustain sustained? >> ours is a con economy. 80% drives the economy and this is a shot in the arm when this happens and it is also a huge competitive advantage to our industry that energy intensive like transports but like heavy industry and other companies that have a huge energy input here this is tremendous lly stimlative. >> you said there are a lot of smaller producers in the u.s., the frankers who are out there who are a, highly leveraged and b, do not have the capitol behind them potentially to with stand oil prices at these levels and you thought there was high risk for some of them. >> they are most certainly high risk for some. we've been finding out their break even point or breaking point is lower than we thought. the range of cost goes from as low as $25 up to about $80 and they spread the cost of their fracking process overall the barrels that come out of the ground so your inextra mental barrels get cheaper and cheaper however that's going to be the worry. you see the sector get hit hard and i think it will continue to get hit very hard and there will be bankruptcies. some of my colleagues say this could be representative of a renewed financial crisis. $50 a barrel oil will test, and range from smaller or highly leveraged to venezuela itself that will default next year. >> provocative words. thanks very much. >> thank you, sir. business is really picking up at the ride sharing service uber after a new round of fundraising that secured at least another $1 billion in investments. that company has an evaluation estimated to be as high as $40 billion. that's double the value in june and would make it more valuable than the likes of twitter and hertz. whether you're in a car hopping or hopping in a car or on a plane or taking a train, the start of the annual thanksgiving get away is getting pummeled by a wicked snowstorm cancelling some flights at the bus airports but there are millions of drivers getting a reason to be thankful. phil lebeau has more. >> reporter: traveling for thanksgiving is never easy with crowded airports and highways but this year the estimated 41 million americans driving at least 50 miles will be paying far less to fill up their car. gas on average is selling for $2.81 a gallon, almost 50 cents cheaper than a year ago. >> gas prices being lower, it's really great, really happy about it. >> it influenced my thoughts for going just about anywhere. recently with the gas prices where they are, i just go. >> reporter: they are not alone. the number of people traveling for thanksgiving 4. 2%. >> clearly the economic picture is brighter this year than it was last year at this time. and it's helping to fuel consumer expectations and drive the increase in thanksgiving travel. >> reporter: it will be a messy trip for many due to a winter storm churning it's way up the east coast but amtrak is ready. >> we see there is snow from north carolina up on through new england but we believe that we'll be able to operate and move people and we appreciate the fact that it will be difficult for all the travelers. >> reporter: that includes 3.5 million americans flying for thanksgiving. overall, airfares are slightly higher this year and yes, those who waited to book tickets are paying for to fly over thanksgiving. >> we looked at actually bookings the week of thanksgiving or the week before versus advance and prices tend to go up 9 or 10%. >> reporter: regardless how much people are spending to travel, they have one thing in common. the chance to spend thanksgiving with family and friends. phil lebeau, "nightly business report", chicago. coming up, nearly half a trillion dollars in tax breaks on the table and with little more than a month to make them permanent, the president threatens to veto. what next? we'll take a look. administration is looking to clear the air on ground level ozo ozo ozone. a new proposal would lower current ozone emission limits from autos and power plants but industry groups and congressional republicans say the stricter rules would mean higher cost for businesses and place a heavy burden on the u.s. economy. >> well, something a lot of republicans and democrats agree on, passing a so-called tax extenders bill which would lock in nearly a half trillion in tax breaks. president obama has already threatened so veto the legislation. john harwood joins us from washington with more. john, good evening. what is in this bill and why would the president veto it? >> ttyler, it's a $450 billion ten-year bill with renewals of the research and development tax credit dispensing depreciation for business, congress knows they will extend and they are this time again, too, but they don't do it on a permanent basis in order to preserve something that will be an engine to take other legislation through congress. it is kind of a game but washington has not decided to get rid of the game. now what happened is the democrats and republicans negotiating and democrats knowing they are losing control of the senate negotiated a deal to make some tax breaks permanent. that creates two problems for administration. one, is it lowers the amount of future revenue the government will have so that if we do a tax reform deal that is revenue neutral next year thanks means the government is starting from a lower base, won't have as much money to fund the things the president believes they need. the second is what gets permanent status, and the things like the research and development tax credit would be permanent, but the earned income tax credit that goes to low income working families would not be made permanent, liberals and the president say no go. >> is any of this dispute tied up in what the president did last week on immigration? that's number one and briefly number two, i thought that the deal that had been struck had been in part negotiated by the democrats own harry reid, the current majority leader soon to be the minority leader. >> that's right. this reflects the fact that they are at odds reflects tension between the senate democrats that lost the majority, a lot of the members blame president obama and the white house. the difference for administration is that some of these tax breaks like the earned income tax credit by not being permanent, that represents a rejection of democratic priorities and the president simply says he can't live with that and that means they will go back and have to negotiate a different package, but these extenders will eventually get pasted. >> thank you very much and happy thanksgiving to you. >> same to you. we begin tonight's market focus with the farming equipment maker john deere. the company said the revenue and profit will keep falling in the new fiscal year as sales remain weak. the stock down 1% $86.99 the finish there. cbs and dish agreed to another extension of the contract talks meaning no cbs blackout over the thanksgiving day weekend. this is the second contract extension in six days. cbs shares down a fraction to $54.20. dish finished at $78.24. bristle myers is expanding the use of their drug and the company wanted to market the drug with another experimental medicine that it abandoned in october because of competition for more potent rival drugs. despite that, bristol myer shares up. wonder if today's big mover sea drill, that stock plunged after the offshore drilling contractor reported earnings that missed. it said it was suspending dividend payments. investors were not happy, not at all. shares fell almost 23% to $15.99. shares of go pro took off after they are launching their own line of consumer drones. the company plans to sell devices between 500 and $1,000. the stock up about 6% to $79.05. there is no avoiding it. it's christmas creep. the pressure to get consumers to do more holiday shopping and do it earlier and earlier each year. but are consumers taken abate and does the strategy work? courtney regan with a look. >> reporter: the holiday shopping season unofficially kicks off friday or is it tomorrow? it's gotten harder to pinpoint the start of the holiday season with the christmas creep moving earlier every year. it's all about market share for retailers and what it takes not to lose it to a competitor. the ultimate early bird gets the worm. it's always been competitive. convincing consumers to buy non-vital items is a feat itself. online shopping that never closes and the holiday dollar fight got hotter and never cooled off. >> it is a fight for market share. what is occurring is the retailers recognize with this every dollar counts economy, that they must in fact bring shoppers into the stores as early as possible. christmas creep is actually changing the shopping experience as we know it, so shopper haves learned they are going to search for deals, they will search for prices and availability early in the season to a war game where will they shop this season. >> reporter: kmart starting running tv commercials about holiday lay away in september and they were holiday commercials before back to school wrap up. target wrapped up deals on november 10th and had various deals since. in 2012 may scys experimented w a midnight thanksgiving opening and it worked. now it's a game to see who makes what move first and shoppers are responding. ibm says online sales the weekend before thanksgiving increased nearly 19% year over year and the national retail federation says nearly 55% of americans begin holiday shopping in early november or before. many consumers do refuse to shop on thanksgiving, but last year an estimated 45 million americans did shop on turkey day and those planning to shop on thanksgiving this year, the majority of them did it last year, too. most retailers pay over time, offer meals and offer discounts for employees asking for volunteers for thanksgiving hours. j.c. penney ceo said the store employees voted to open at 5:00 p.m. on thanksgiving so they could be earlier than competitors. while it's debatable whether earlier deals add to total sales or shift the timing, expects don't expect the christmas creep to ever retreat. for "nightly business report", i'm courtney regan. up next, need help in the kitchen? we'll show you a high tech assistant for whipping up that thanksgiving meal. blp. thanksgiving is just a day away on course and you can almost smell the turkey roasting now unless of course you can't cook, but of course, there is an app for that, jane wells has more. >> i think i'm charring the brussel sprouts whether than charring. >> reporter: if it leaves you sliced and diced, there is an app for that. it is that time of the year we spend time in the kitchen and spend money to be there but the american farm burro federation says the average turkey dinner for ten will cost $49.41 this year only 37 cents more than last year. in fact, the turkey is a little cheaper this year and you might want to consider turkey for christmas because if you try a roast, it could roast your wallet. the federal government estimates sky high beef prices already up over 11% this year will rise another 5% in 2015 as the cost of feeding cattle stays low. why the disconnect? the usda believes beef producers will feed cattle longer and hold back cows as they expand herds. back to help in the kitchen, that new app is called side chef which talks you through recipes with pictures and audio queues like a gps created by a former game operator. >> instead my computer had youtube running so i try to open up all these things and cooking and throwing ingredients in. it came out and looked somewhat similar to the photo but honestly, it was a big mess. >> add crushed red pepper flakes, one half tsp and one pch to the sprouts and cook. >> reporter: i tried it out on a challenging side dish. well, i burned the garlic, some of it but i'm going with it. despite my shortcomings, the result, a definite improvement. now if i can only figure out what to do with the turkey. for "nightly business report", jane wells, los angeles. finally tonight, if cooking a thanksgiving dinler isn't for you, the old homestead in new york city is offering what it calls the most extensive feast in thanksgiving history. nine courses, an organic turkey dressed with imported ground beef. sounds delicious but so does the price tag, $35,000 for four people. that's "nightly business report" for tonight. i'm tyler mathisen. thanks for watching. enjoy your thanksgiving. we'll see you back here tomorrow. 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