<Show: NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT> <Date: March 13, 2013> <Time: 18:30:00> <Tran: 031301cb.

118> <Type: SHOW> <Head: NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT for March 13, 2013, PBS> <Sect: News; International> <Byline: Susie Gharib, Tyler Mathisen, Courtney Reagan, Kayla Tausche, Mary Thompson, Eamon Javers, Brian Sullivan> <Guest: Paul Viollis> <Spec: Business; Dow Jones Industrial Average; Economy; Stock Markets; Government; Internet; Meetings; Policies; Safety; Catholic Church; Religion> <Time: 18:30:00>

ANNOUNCER: This is NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT with Tyler Mathisen and Susie Gharib.

SUSIE GHARIB, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT ANCHOR: Grinding higher. The Dow ekes out a gain, another record high and the first nine-day winning streak since 1996.

TYLER MATHISEN, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT ANCHOR: Taking the threat seriously. The president meets with CEOs about how to deal with possible cyber attacks on American businesses and critical infrastructure. We`ll tell you what it means to you.

MATHISEN: And a new leader. The Catholic Church elects a new pope. We`ll tell you why this pope will need to be part spiritual leader and part CEO.

Good evening, everyone. And welcome to our public television viewers.

So, Tyler, history in the making, not only in Vatican City but on Wall Street.

MATHISEN: That`s exactly right. The day began with lots of suspension in both places and it ended in both places with definitive outcomes. On Wall Street, that outcome was another record high close for the Dow, and we begin there tonight.

Now, the Dow`s win streak continues, nine in a row. The blue chip index hasn`t done that in 16 years. In fact, it hasn`t had a down day this month. Today, the Dow added five points, ending at 14,455, its seventh straight record closing high.

The NASDAQ was up nearly three points and the S&P 500 inched two points higher. That leaves it less than 11 points from its all-time closing high.

Now, the markets got an early boost from strong retail sales last month, which rose 1.1 percent, nearly double what economists had expected. That`s the biggest spending gain in five months.

But as Courtney Reagan tells us, those top line numbers can be deceiving.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COURTNEY REAGAN, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Well, the government`s headline retail sales number came in nearly double what economists expected for February. The details reveal a less than rosy picture when it comes to discretionary spending.

MATT ROSS, JPMORGAN RETAIL ANALYST: I think the consumer is still in a fragile state. Remains very resilient but with an air of underlying stability, which is the key. I think that`s what you`re seeing come through in the numbers right now.

REAGAN (voice-over): The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline rose more than 20 cents in February from the end of January, accounting for the five percent increase in spending at gas stations. Auto dealership spending also increased. And as the housing market continues to recover, consumers are spending on building equipment and garden supplies.

But areas of more discretionary spending didn`t post such strong numbers in February. Department store spending fell 1 percent after increasing half a percent in January. Furniture and home furnishing store sales dropped 1.6 percent. Electronic and appliance store sales decreased 0.2 percent.

Americans also ate out less in February with spending in food service locations dropping 0.7 percent.

ROSS: I think what we`re seeing is underlying stability, but I do still think that the consumer is susceptible to some of the headwinds out there, whether it`s gas prices, the payroll taxes, or whether disruptions.

REAGAN (on camera): Lower income Americans seem to be the most fragile. On Tuesday, Walmart CFO Charles Holley said taxes are his shoppers number two concern, adding it`s the first time in a long time taxes were a top concern at all.

(voice-over): ITG investment research chief economist Steve Blitz says this retail sales report illustrates two separate consumer groups. With higher income Americans spending on autos and building supplies, while lower income Americans continue to be adversely impacted by higher payroll taxes, rising gas prices and delayed tax refund checks, a sentiment echoed by the national retail federation.

For NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, I`m Courtney Reagan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATHISEN: And as Courtney just mentioned, consumers are spending on housing and garden supplies. And coming up, we`ll take you behind the scenes of the home depot product walk. It`s where companies showcase their hottest home items for this spring.

GHARIB: Chief executives of some of America`s biggest companies are optimistic about the U.S. economy, expecting it to grow more than 2 percent this year.

The Business Roundtable is out with its latest CEO economic outlook index. It rose to a score of 81 in March. Now, that was much higher than the previous reading of 65 back in December. Anything above the score of 50 indicates economic expansion.

Another positive, the survey was taken even before the recent run-up in the stock market.

Now, 72 percent of those CEOs surveyed expect their company sales to rise in the next six months, 38 percent plan to boost capital spending in that same period, but only 29 percent of them expect to hire more workers over the next six months.

Now, if you`re thinking of making new investments, here`s your chance to get into the exclusive world of private equity. Carlyle Group, the giant buyout firm, is letting in newer investors by sharply lowering the minimum amount of money needed to get in. And while many investors love the idea of investing with the big boys, Kayla Tausche warns us: buyer, beware.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAYLA TAUSCHE, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Admission into Wall Street`s inner circle has long been expensive. If you didn`t have millions of dollars in your bank account or 401(k), investing with top money managers would have been completely off limits. Not anymore. Top private equity firms have been lowering the barrier to entry, slowly introducing new funds open to everyday investors.

The pitch: for future retirees, a more sophisticated approach, one beyond plain vanilla stocks and bonds and access to the complex, yet profitable investments of Wall Street.

The Carlyle Group, one of the largest of these firms, is just the latest to make this offer. For those making more than $200,000 a year and with more than $50,000 to spare, Carlyle will spread your money across its buyout investments which rise when it takes over new companies.

(on camera): These deals for decades were the industry`s bread and butter. Takeovers of American icons like Nabisco or Hilton Hotels pumping up their profits.

Until it was time for the private equity firms to go public themselves, they needed more diverse revenue than just deals alone.

(voice-over): Now, the four largest firms Carlisle, Blackstone, KKR (NYSE:KKR) and Apollo manage half a trillion dollars. But only a handful of mutual funds making up just a tiny fraction of that total are open to retail investors and most of them have just launched in recent months.

Morningstar (NASDAQ:MORN), which rates mutual funds, waits three years to evaluate a fund`s track record/ But for these funds in the short time they have been open, the S&P 500 has proved a better investment.

For NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, I`m Kayla Tausche.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATHISEN: A lot of movement in technology, and that tops our "Market Focus" tonight.

BlackBerry again the most active stock as it booked an order of more than a million new Z10 smartphones from an established partner company.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) was the biggest gainer of the day, up 12 percent, as it goes social, giving users a tool to tell their Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) friends what they`re watching, however dangerous that might be.

And Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) itself was down more than 2 percent, as the FTC tells social media companies to make sure their ads on their screens are clear and truthful.

Now, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) announcing an executive change in its Android division. Andy Rubin is stepping down.

Well, who`s Andy Rubin? He`s the guy who developed the Android operating system now used on roughly two-thirds of all the world`s smartphones. He`s going to stay with Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) in a yet to be disclosed role.

Shares were down, closing at $825 and change.

GHARIB: Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is trying to get more consumers to buy its large-screen Kindle so it`s cutting the price by $100, undercutting Apple`s iPad. The Kindle Fire, the HD version, with wireless capability, will now start at $399.

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) shares gained slightly to $273.

Well, a clear message to J.C. Penney`s investors from the struggling retailers top management today. Penny`s chief financial officer, Ken Hannah, told the conference he`s not resigning and the same goes for CEO Ron Johnson. Hannah said, quote, "We`re not going to run and hide."

JCP shares rose for a while for those comments but close unchanged at $15.65. They`re down 20 percent so far this year.

MATHISEN: The Securities and Exchange Commission is allowing four of the biggest banks, Citigroup (NYSE:C), JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) Chase, Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Morgan Stanley (NASDAQ:NBXH) (NYSE:MS) to block shareholder

votes on potentially breaking up the companies. The shareholder proposals had been made by corporate watchdog groups affiliated with the AFL-CIO and religious organizations.

Here`s how those banks did today. Three of them higher, JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) Chase down 12 cents.

Nissan is recalling five 2013 models sold in the U.S. because the front passenger air bag may not deploy properly because of faulty sensors. The models are the top selling Altima and Sentra, the Pathfinder, the Leaf and the Infinity JX35.

Now, Nissan did not provide the number of vehicles affected, but said there have been no reports of injuries or crashes.

Nissan shares, which do not trade heavily here in the U.S., were up 1.5 percent today.

Well, the big news today, of course, is that the Catholic Church has elected a new pope. Argentina`s Jorge Bergoglio, the first pontiff from outside Europe in more than a thousand years. He will be known as Pope Francis I.

The crowd in St. Peter`s Square rejoiced as he was introduced to the world for the first time, an electrifying moment. Not only will he be the spiritual leader of the world`s one billion or so Roman Catholic, he will also have to lead in a lot of other ways.

Mary Thompson is here to explain.

What will Pope Francis I have to bring to the table in terms of management skills, the skills of a CEO?

MARY THOMPSON, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: That`s right. You know, I spoke to Dr. James O`Rourke, who`s a professor of management at the University of Notre Dame. And he said, basically, there are four things that the new pope has to have.

First of all, he has to have a strategic vision. What does he need to change within the papacy?

Second of all, and probably most important, is he needs team-building skills. Anyone will tell you if they spent time at the Vatican, it`s not the friendliest place. There are a lot of people there who are very ambitious. They have their own agenda, one they sometimes put ahead of the Holy See. So he needs to build a team and say, we`re here to do this for the people, for the Vatican, put aside your individual ambitions and let`s go ahead.

Thirdly, he needs strong financial skills. It`s odd. Would you need a pope with an MBA? Maybe not an MBA, but certainly interest and acumen about financial matters.

And lastly, Professor O`Rourke said he needs charismatic empathy. He has to tell his followers why they should follow him. Why he has a path to a better life.

GHARIB: Harvard Business School has a new CEO training program with Michael Porter, he might want to check that out.

But, seriously, in terms of looking at the Vatican and what he`s overseeing, we know it`s a huge empire but exactly -- what are the business units so to speak?

THOMPSON: Well, from a financial standpoint, he does handle the day- to-day financial operations of the Vatican and most importantly, the Vatican Bank, which has had its shares of problems. You might recall a couple of years ago they fired the president of the bank, accused him of gross negligence.

Pope Benedict started reforms and a number of people hope will continue under Pope Francis. He brought in a new president and also you need to get the Vatican Bank up to European Union banking standards and that`s a goal that they want the Vatican to stay on track of.

MATHISEN: Very quickly, do we know much of anything about him as a manager and administrator?

THOMPSON: Not that I know so far about Pope Francis I, but he did run an archdiocese and not a small one in Buenos Aires.

MATHISEN: In Buenos Aires.

THOMPSON: Yes.

MATHISEN: Mary Thompson, thank you very much.

THOMPSON: Sure.

GHARIB: Well, moving from the Vatican to Washington, security is always an issue. Today, President Obama sat down with some top CEOs to talk about cyber attacks. We`ll have the latest on that meeting and we`ll also explore the biggest threat to our cyber safety.

But first, let`s look at how stocks fared around the globe.

(MUSIC)

GHARIB: A federal judge is ordering Apple`s CEO, Tim Cook, to testify in the government`s antitrust case against the company. The lawsuit, which was filed last April, claims Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) conspired with several book publishers to hike ebook prices. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has denied the charges.

MATHISEN: Senate Democrats released a federal budget proposal today that includes nearly a trillion dollars in tax hikes and almost another trillion dollars in spending cuts over the next decade. That is in sharp contrast, of course, to the House Republican budget unveiled just yesterday outlining more than $4.5 trillion in total spending cuts and no tax increases.

Meantime, President Obama went to the Hill today to meet with House Republicans, hoping to sell his proposal to strike a so-called grand bargain of tax increases and entitlement cuts, but when the president releases his own budget plan in April.

GHARIB: Also in the spotlight in Washington today, President Obama meeting with some top CEOs to talk about the threat of cyber attacks and the huge economic losses that come from computer hacking. The president said he`s taking cyber security seriously, so seriously that he met with those business leaders in the Situation Room at the White House.

Eamon Javers joins us from the White House with more -- Eamon.

EAMON JAVERS, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Hi, you guys.

Well, it was about a dozen CEOs here at the White House. The White House itself has been a little cagey about the list of CEOs who attended this meeting. We staked them out. We didn`t see a whole lot on their way in or way out, but we`re told Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) was here, also Rex Tillerson of ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) was expected to attend and a long list of other top business CEOs from a range of industries.

Clearly, this was a meeting that the president said was important for his agenda, and we talked with David Cote, the CEO of Honeywell on his way out. He explained that a lot of the CEOs were really behind what the president had to say today.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID COTE, HONEYWELL CHAIRMAN & CEO: This is a scary area. And when I think about any single thing that I worry about the most when it comes to what could happen that I just don`t know about, that kind of unknown threat that could just really cause pain, cyber security is it. So I`m fully supportive, and so is every CEO who was in that room.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JAVERS: Fully supportive, but what Cote also said in that interview was that he wants a light touch from government in terms of regulations and requirements on cyber security for companies.

Now, that`s something that we`ve heard from other CEOs as well.

Clearly, there`s a little bit of a point of tension from the company`s perspective over how much authority the White House and the U.S. government is going to have over cyber security issues.

GHARIB: You know, Eamon, we`ve been getting warnings about cyber attacks ever since 9/11 and yet, we`re still talking about it, we are still vulnerable.

Why do you think that businesses and the government have been dragging their feet to fix this problem? Did you get any sense of that from talking to people today?

JAVERS: Well, there`s two real reasons for that. The first one is it`s just very hard to tell who is actually doing these cyber attacks, tracing them back to their source can be infuriatingly complicated. And also, when you do trace it back to its source, often it`s offshore in a remote location. In some cases it`s a unit of the Chinese government that`s sponsoring a lot of these attacks.

That makes it very difficult in terms of geographic location and also diplomatically with foreign governments and foreign intelligence services. It gets very, very complicated. And that`s part of the reason why this is so difficult.

GHARIB: All right, Eamon, thanks a lot.

JAVERS: You bet.

MATHISEN: Our next guest says cyber attacks are a war on American businesses and consumers.

Paul Viollis is CEO of Risk Control Strategies, a New York security firm that advises companies on how to protect their businesses against cyber attacks.

Mr. Viollis, welcome. Good to have you with us.

PAUL VIOLLIS, RISK CONTROL STRATEGIES CEO: Thank you.

MATHISEN: I`m wondering whether cyber attacks are becoming much more frequent or are we just hearing more about them?

VIOLLIS: Actually, certainly not new to us (ph). I mean, this is something that`s been going on many years right now. It`s starting to come more and more into the press, but it`s certainly not a new concern to us whatsoever.

MATHISEN: But are there more of them? Are you detecting more of them? Are more of your clients saying we`re getting hacked or we`re worried about getting hacked?

VIOLLIS: I can say, you know, without question over the last several years, we`ve seen an exponential increase in attempted hacks into -- as well as successful hacks into our corporate as well as our private clients. And the interesting part about it is, though, the business model associated with this is so strong that it attracts the major organized crime groups, such as those out of the eastern bloc and those coming from various parts of China.

GHARIB: Paul, you heard our report and you heard the reaction from the CEO of Honeywell.

How do we fix this problem? Is it going to come from the private sector? Is it going to come from government or is it going to come from both working together?

VIOLLIS: Well, I think, you know, it`s got to come from both. One, when you take a look at government, you have to look at our infrastructure and just where that is right now and what we have to do to make that stronger. It`s no great secret that it`s weak and it`s vulnerable. So, that`s going to take a government commitment and I commend the president by stepping up and doing the right thing and bringing a group of leaders in there to discuss that.

But it can`t stay there. It`s got to start there. It`s got to build from there.

The government is going to have to do their part to protect our infrastructure, to protect what we have as a country.

And corporate America is going to have to step up. They`re going to have to invest in making sure that they begin to holistically identify their vulnerabilities and then develop a strategic plan to mitigate those vulnerabilities preemptively.

MATHISEN: It`s pretty easy to see how this is a major threat at the corporate level, particularly in critical infrastructure, water systems, power companies and so forth. But round third base and bring it home for me as a consumer, as an individual investor, as a person living in this country.

What is the risk to me? How am I going to feel it?

VIOLLIS: All right. That`s a great question. Think about it this way. When we look at the individual itself, you`ve got to take a look at who the perpetrators are and who`s actually focusing on the potential target.

So from the general consumer, the one thing we need to recognize more than anything else is that we cannot simply just send our proprietary, our financial information over the Internet without a decent level of protection. Hence, the recommendation there, the solutions that more people are moving towards is attaching

a small encrypted box, firewall, to their existing router so when they are communicating proprietary information, that`s communicated safely and securely.

When you take a look at the collateral effect to the consumer today for corporate America not doing what they should, on the small ending, you`re talking about losing your personal identifying information all the way up to your financial information.

And let`s put it this way, when something is gone and your identity or that information is stolen, it`s stolen forever. It`s not going to come back to you.

GHARIB: What about the Cloud? A lot of people feel like if everything is backed up on the Cloud and they have password protection, that they`re OK.

VIOLLIS: Right. If you speak to any real cyber security expert, they`re going to tell you that the Cloud is just another example of putting information in a place you can`t completely control. The part that we really need to identify here is that whenever we have a human element, a human element that controls the gate to that data, whether it`s the data center or the Cloud, wherever it maybe, we have to make sure that the integrity of that individual is intact.

So, any information that goes to the Cloud, or anywhere else, where you don`t have complete and total control over who`s accessing that information is subject to breach. That`s the part that I have never been enamored with the cloud.

MATHISEN: That`s kind of my feeling too, Paul. If it`s out there, it`s out there. That`s the way I`ve felt.

Paul Viollis, CEO of Risk Control Strategies, thank you very much for being with us.

GHARIB: And coming up on the program, as we head into spring, what some important CEOs think will get consumers to spend.

But, first, we look at where currency closed today.

(MUSIC)

MATHISEN: And on our radar for tomorrow, we`re going to get a measure of the health of the labor market when we see the weekly jobless claims numbers. We`ll also hear from Treasury Secretary Jack Lew in his first on the job interview. And Samsung expected to unveil its new Galaxy 4 phone. That is all tomorrow.

GHARIB: Well, spring officially begins one week from today -- the heart of the real estate spring selling season and a chance for many of us to plan some home repairs and lawn cleanups. The nation`s largest do-it- yourself chain, Home Depot (NYSE:HD), is getting ready too.

Brian Sullivan takes us to the company`s annual new product walk in Las Vegas to show us what companies are banking on this spring.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN SULLIVAN, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): The home improvement business is massive, with some estimates of how much consumers spent on their homes last year peaking as high as $300 billion. After years of sluggish growth, thanks in large part to a major housing downturn, that figure looks poised to go even higher.

Fitch Rating says home improvement spending will increase by another 4 percent this year and an industry group projects spending will balloon to nearly $345 billion over the next five.

So, what is driving all that growth?

FRANK BLAKE, HOME DEPOT CEO: Housing we think is getting better. You can see it in terms of household formation, housing turnover, new home starts. There are a lot of data that says housing is actually improving. So as home prices increase, they`re more likely to do projects in their house because they know they`re going to get the value out that they put in.

SULLIVAN: Home Depot (NYSE:HD) takes the job of getting all its employees ready for the spring season seriously.

(on camera): Over the next two days, 3,100 store and district managers for Home Depot (NYSE:HD) will gather here at the company`s annual product walk. The goal: make sure the managers and employees know everything about the products they`re selling.

(voice-over): And there are lots of products. Everything from toilets to tile cutters, with more than 600 exhibitors spread out over 400,000 square feet of display space, about four times the size of the average Home Depot (NYSE:HD) store.

But there have been some signs that the red-hot market is starting to cool down. According to the latest remodeling index from BuildFax, the number of building permits fell by 6 percent in December from the previous year. If you take out the rebuilding efforts in the Northeast following superstorm Sandy, that drop would have been even bigger.

Some of the industry`s major players have taken notice.

TIM WADHAMS, MASCO CEO: I think your pointing about the consumer is certainly one that has not played out yet but possibly could, just in terms of, you know, less disposable income.

SULLIVAN: And when it comes to a more cautious consumer, even the queen of home and garden can be humbled.

MARTHA STEWART, MARTHA STEWART LIVING OMNIMEDIA, INC.: I think the consumer is coming back. I`m an optimist. I certainly hope that the turn- around is occurring and with the stock market doing so well, I think it would be a great thing.

SULLIVAN: For NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, I`m Brian Sullivan in Las Vegas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GHARIB: Tyler, I don`t know about anybody else but I can speak for my husband. He`s going to contributing not just to Home Depot (NYSE:HD) but the U.S. economy. As soon as the weather gets like this, he`s out there --

MATHISEN: He`s going to be out there buying and spending.

GHARIB: I say go and get a hose and he comes back with $500 of stuff.

(LAUGHTER)

MATHISEN: I`ve got to meet him. He`s a good guy, because I do the same thing. I`m really looking forward this weekend to planting some grass seed in my --

GHARIB: Isn`t it kind of early?

MATHISEN: It`s OK. It`s OK. It will come up. So I look forward to spending some time at Home Depot (NYSE:HD).

It`s a really amazing day. Nine days in a row of gains for the Dow and a new pope in Rome. Whether you`re Catholic or not, it is an electrifying moment to see all of those people gathered there in Vatican Square rejoicing over a new leader.

GHARIB: It was pouring rain. Everybody was waiting to find out who this was going to be.

And I think from what Mary was telling us, he sounds like he`s at a crucial point for the Vatican and it will be very interesting to watch what he does.

MATHISEN: The pope was announced about 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time and I bet they all went out and had a very nice dinner for us.

All right.

GHARIB: That`s it for us, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT for tonight. And we want to remind you, this is the time of year your public television station seeks your support -- support that makes programs like NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT possible.

MATHISEN: All righty. On behalf of your public television station, thank you very much for your support. Good night, everybody. We hope to see you right back here tomorrow night.

END

Nightly Business Report transcripts and video are available on-line post broadcast at http://nbr.com. The program is transcribed by CQRC Transcriptions, LLC. Updates may be posted at a later date. The views of our guests and commentators are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nightly Business Report, or CNBC, Inc. Information presented on Nightly Business Report is not and should not be considered as investment advice. (c) 2013 CNBC, Inc.

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