this is "nightly business report" with susie gharib and tom hudson. "nightly business report" is made possible by:

this is "nightly business report" with susie gharib and tom hudson. "nightly business report" is made possible by: >> reporter: halloween is just days away, and with it comes the start of a season that's anything but spooky for the stock market. according to standard & poor's, november to january is the best three-month period for stocks. since 1930, the s&p 500 has added an average of 3.2% during that stretch. and, it's been an up period in two thirds of those years strategist sam stovall says the gains happen because investors shift their focus. >> i think the reason why november starts off the strongest rolling three-month period is that investors, after they start getting the news about third-quarter earnings reports, start to focus on the year ahead. they start to focus about five quarters ahead-- pretty much giving up on the current year. >> reporter: past history does not necessarily guarantee that this november through january will be a good period for the stock market. but, those experts who believe it will point to attractive valuations for

this is "nightly business report" with susie gharib and tom hudson. "nightly business report" is made possible by: this program is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. captioning sponsored by wpbt >> susie: good evening everyone. when it comes to the federal reserve, it looks like less is more. tom, the talk today in the markets was that the central bank will announce a smaller- than-expected stimulus package to boost the economy. policymakers meet on tuesday and wednesday in washington. >> tom: susie, that headline was disappointing for investors and traders. they've been counting on a big package from the fed. as much as $1 trillion worth of treasuries was the number market pros were expecting. >> susie: they sure were, and this small step strategy pulled down stocks today. so, what will happen to stocks once the markets get past that critical fed decision next week? suzanne pratt reports. >> reporter: halloween is just days away, and with it comes the start of a season that's anything but spooky for the stock ma

i'm tom hudson. >> susie: good night tom. i'm susie gharib. good night everyone, we hope to see all of you again tomorrow night. "nightly business report" is made possible by: this program was made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. captioning sponsored by wpbt captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> more information about investing is available in "nightly business report's" video. >> be more. pbs. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> brown: good evening. i'm jeffrey brown. there were more warnings of

this is "nightly business report" with susie gharib and tom hudson. "nightly business report" is made possible by: this program is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. captioning sponsored by wpbt >> susie: good evening everyone. up, up and away-- that's where u.s. treasury prices headed for the third straight day. tom, another weak report on private sector employment that ignited today's rally in bonds. as government bond prices climbed, the yield on the 10- year note fell as low 2.36%. >> tom: that's the lowest level for the benchmark note since january of last year. >> susie: the recent run-up in treasuries has renewed talk of a bubble in the bond market. suzanne pratt takes a look at whether it's a mistake for investors to buy bonds at current high price tags. >> reporter: as if small investors don't have enough to worry about, now there's a debate on wall street as to whether a bubble is brewing in government bonds. if there is and it pops, it would create big losses for bond investors, who have been seeking t

this is "nightly business report" with susie gharib and tom hudson. "nightly business report" is made possible by: this program is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. captioning sponsored by wpbt >> susie: good evening everyone. the nation's top housing official said today there are no signs of "systemic" troubles with u.s. home mortgages. tom, that comment from housing secretary shaun donovan came in response to concerns about the impact of the foreclosure crisis on the economy. >> tom: susie, donovan also said the obama administration is investigating foreclosure and mortgage practices at major lenders, including j.p. morgan and bank of america. >> susie: he's prepared to "take action" to force them, if necessary, to fix paperwork problems. our stephanie dhue caught up with secretary donovan after a high-profile meeting focused on the foreclosure mess. >> reporter: the players were here. that's treasury secretary timothy geithner leaving a meeting that included s.e.c. chairman mary schapiro, f.d.i.c. chairman sh

this is "nightly business report" with susie gharib and tom hudson. "nightly business report" is made possible by: 1f1f1c1c1c1c this program is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by wpbt >> tom: good evening and thanks for watching. susie gharib is off tonight. i'm joined by suzanne pratt. suzanne, corporate america is on the doorstep of quarterly earnings season. and despite the slow economy, wall street is gearing up for another solid stretch for revenues and profits. >> suzanne: tom, the market seems to be anticipating pretty strong results with the major indices tonight at five-month highs. dow component alcoa kicks off the third-quarter reporting season on thursday after the closing bell. >> tom: expectations are for generally upbeat results. but as scott gurvey reports, the quarter is likely to include its share of surprises and disappointments. >> reporter: wall street expects to see better than 20% earnings growth when companies report third-quarter profits, and the quality

good night, everyone, and good night to you, too, tom. >> tom: good night, susie. i'm tom hudson. good night, everybody. we hope to see all of you again tomorrow night. "nightly business report" is made possible by: this program is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by wpbt captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> be more. pbs.

it is october 1st, i'm tom hudson, have a wonderful weekend. >> susie: you, too, tom. i'm susie gharib, good night everyone. we'll see you on monday. captioning sponsored by wpbt captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

i'm tom hudson. good night, everyone, and good night to you, too, suzanne. >> suzanne: good night, tom. i'm suzanne pratt good night, everyone. we hope to see all of you again tomorrow night. "nightly business report" is made possible by: this program was made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by wpbt captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org to order this dvd, call 1-800- play-pbs or visit online at shoppbs.org. >> be more. pbs.

this is "nightly business report" with susie gharib and tom hudson. "nightly business report" is made possible by: this program is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. captioning sponsored by wpbt >> susie: good evening everyone. the financial sector was under the microscope today because of big earnings news and more worries about the foreclosure crisis. tom, bank of america said it's planning to end its moratorium on foreclosures in 23 states. but it's still studying foreclosure paperwork in 27 other states. >> tom: susie, on the earnings front, citi reported better- than-expected quarterly results. take a look at the results here. the bank earned seven cents a share, a penny more than analyst estimates in the third quarter. that's citi's third straight quarterly profit. bank stocks rallied on citi's results. still, there are continuing concerns about the impact of the foreclosure crisis on banks, and freddie mac and fannie mae. we have two reports. we begin with suzanne pratt in new york. >> reporter: bank of am

this is "nightly business report" with susie gharib and tom hudson. "nightly business report" is made possible by: this program is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by wpbt >> susie: good evening, everyone. the clock is ticking for the mid-term elections. americans on main street are eager for their voices to be heard. and tom, investors on wall street are waiting for a post- election market rally. history shows they might just get one. >> tom: susie, mid-term elections are classic case studies for the stock market. in the third year of a first- term presidency, which would be next year, stocks have rallied every time, since 1939. the "stock traders almanac," which tracks these things says in years where there's a democrat in the white house, stocks have rallied more than 21%. >> susie: this time, the run up might have come early. s&p strategist alec young notes the dow has surged more than a thousand points since september. >> there is building anticipation that the republicans w

this is "nightly business report" with susie gharib and tom hudson. "nightly business report" is made possible by: this program is made possible by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. captioning sponsored by wpbt >> susie: good evening everyone. the foreclosure fiasco is now getting ben bernanke's attention. the federal reserve chief said today the central bank is "looking intensively" at lenders' policies, procedures and internal controls. >> tom: susie, bernanke's comments come less than week after the obama administration's top housing official said there are no systemic problems in the mortgage market. but now it appears the fed is weighing in, trying to figure out whether problems with the system led people to lose their homes to foreclosure. >> susie: speaking at a housing conference in virginia, bernanke also talked about the impact of risky lending on the american dream. >> homeownership is only good for families and communities if it can be sustained. home purchases that are very highly leveraged or unaffordable subject t