Being considered for secretary of state. Cost and controversy. Donald trump takes aim at another Defense Company. This time its Lockheed Martin. Those stories and much more tonight on nightly Business Report. Its monday, december 12th. Good evening, everybody. Im Bill Griffith in for Tyler Mathisen tonight. And welcome. Thank you. Im sue herera. Another record close for the dow jones average today. We are going to begin tonight with the widening of opecs production deal. Another 11 countries pledge to cut supply. It is the first global pact in 15 years to jointly scale back on output. And saudi arabia, the largest exporter of that commodity, says it could reduce supply even further. The decision in effect ends the in fighting that prevented a Production Cut and exacerbated the global oversupply of crude. Today domestic crude hit levels not seen in about a yearandahalf, rising more than 2. 5 , extending a rulely that pushed prices up by more than 45 over the past year. And the rise in oil prices helped lift energy stocks, including exxonmobil and chevron today. Higher Oil Prices Also increased costs for transportation so here are the final numbers today. The dow the lone gainer, 39 points. And new record at 19,796. Its 15th record close since the election. Write it down in pencil. The nasdaq dropped by 31 points, the s p down 2. As for exxon and chevron, they both rose more than 1 today. Exxonmobil ceo is reportedly being considered by donald trump for the position of secretary of state. Rex tillerson is known as an aggressive dealmaker, with ties that reach across the globe and into russia. Jackie deangelis has more. Reporter Rex Tillerson is used to being in the spotlight in the energy world. Now hes center stage in a whole new way. Recognized as president elect trumps top contender for secretary of state, people want to know more about this oil man. Tillerson has been at the helm of exxon since 2006. After starting at the company in 1975. He is 64 years old, and must retire from the energy giant before march of 2017 when he turns 65. Under tillersons leadership, exxon stock has seen fluctuations in tandem with the Global Market and oil prices. But overall, its higher. The question now, how tillersonrun state department will impact reelgszs and the industry industry. Donald trump said this about the candidate. In this case, much more than a business executive. Hes a worldclass player. Hes in charge of i guess the Largest Company in the world. Reporter as the ceo of exxonmobil, tillerson has overseen operations in over 50 countries. While he has no formal diplomatic experience, he has longlasting relationships with many global leaders. But hes also being skrut niced for his ties to russia and relationships with vladimir putin. Are they too friendly . Some worry that tillerson mindset, having an oil ceo in the trump cabinet, may have a broader impact, even though it presumably could be positive for Energy Companies. For example, how would he advise the president elect on iran, a country with Plentiful Oil resources but a regime with policies that present conflicts . There is a lot of uncertainty in the world today. Certainly in the big producing regions of the middle east. The relationship with russia. And those are enormously important parts of the world for everyones economies. This is energy is the lifeblood to economic growth. Reporter as the country awaits the formal announcement, there is also the expectation that many of these questions will be raised at tillersons confirmation hearings. For nightly Business Report, im jackie deangelis. And as jackie just mentioned, navigating our relationship with iran can be tricky. But that did not stop boeing from entering into what is the biggest u. S. Deal with that country in 40 years. It was made possible by last years landmark Nuclear Agreement which president elect trump has threatened to undo. Phil lebeau takes a look tonight. Reporter one week after shares of boeing went tumbling following a tweet from president elect donald trump about the cost of air force one, boeings airplanes are once again in the news. This time because of a deal the Company Announced over the weekend with iran. This deal is for 80year plans to be sold to iran, market value 16. 6 billion with the first plane to be developed in 2018. But there are a lot of ifs behind this deal and a lot of people wondering if its even happening. First of all, iran is not financing this deal to the Export Import Bank and leaves open the question, who will finance the deal of these airplanes . Also, youve got ge supplying the engines to iran, worth 3 billion. But will this deal even get approved . Congressional leaders have talked about blocking it, and president elect trump is not seen favorable towards any deal with iran. Back in january of this year, he tweeted out, iran is going to buy 114 jetliners with a small part of the 150 billion we are giving them. But they wont buy from the u. S. , rare airbus. It would seem to indicate that president elect trump would not want airbus to get the deal. But thats a possibility if this deal is blocked and does not go through. Take a look at shares of boeing, rebounded over the last week following the tweet from president elect trump. But, again, at this point, what we have is an order with iran for 80 boeing airplanes. The question now, will congressional leaders or will president elect trump block that deal from going through . Phil lebeau, nightly Business Report, new york. By the way, the boeing 777 is one of the models that iran is buying, and late today, boeing said that its cutting production of that plane, starting next year. It also said that it plans to increase its dividend by 30 , and authorized a new 14 billion stock buyback program. Donald trump is widening his attack on defense contractors. Today the president elect took aim at Lockheed Martins f35 fighter jet program, calling the cost, quote, out of control. That sent shares of the Company Lower by about 2. 5 . Morgan brennan takes a look at the controversial fighter jets. Reporter defense stocks beaten down today as the future leader of the free world again took to twitter. This time, president elect donald trump targeted Lockheed Martin, lambasting the f35 program for, quote, out of control costs and warning that, quote, billions of dollars can and will be saved on military purchases once he takes office. Lockheed martin responded with a lengthy reply saying the company understands concerns about affordability and welcomes the opportunity to address any questions the president elect has about the program. The defense contractor says it has invested millions of dollars to reduce the price of the next generation Stealth Fighter jet by 60 , projecting it will cost 35 million in the next three years. This unfolding as israel welcomes two f35 planes today, making israel the first of a handful of u. S. Allies that will have the americanmade fighter jets in operation. The f35 is the most expensive Weapon System in history. With an estimated 400 billion price tag. Nearly double the original budget as engine production issues and Software Glitches contributed to huge cost overruns. That sum includes more than 2,000 jets for the u. S. Government. The 16yearold program has been the subject of criticism, but finding a realistic replacement may not be possible. From a fifthgeneration Stealth Fighter capability standpoint, no, there isnt a a ready alternative we could develop an alternative as a nation, but that would take, again, probable decades. The question would be if you want slightly less capable aircraft that can be had at a lower price point, could you go that direction . Reporter todays tweet is the second to take aim at a Defense Company in less than one week. Trump previously questioned the cost of boeings air force one replacement program. It draws into question plans for defense spending, which many have anticipated will increase under the incoming administration, which has three and potentially more general for key cabinet and adviser positions. For nightly Business Report, im morgan brennan. And here to talk more about the socalled trump effect on the defense secretary, michael farr is with us tonight from washington. Good evening. Good evening. Great to be with you guys. Clearly, donald trump is looking at military spending the way he looks at spending on his own real estate projects. Do you think that will affect the bottom line of the prime contractors out there . What do you think . I think its going to depend whether or not he is successful, bill. I mean, we know that washington has been anything but functional for a number of years now. So the intention is kind of music to any number of american ears to say, yes, this stuff is so expensive, weve got to start cutting these costs. Hes been tweeting about a lot of very expensive things, whether it was the air force one plane, or the f35 fighter or whatever. Or even drug prices. And all of those industries get to be very volatile. Can he really do it, will he really do it, once Congress Gets in session and how long will it take . Are some significant questions. And at stake is his credibility. But as an investor, michael, when you see say you have Lockheed Martin in your portfolio or some of the drug stocks and Health Care Stocks that went down the other day. What are you to do . Do you just ride it out and until he takes office and we get a clearer picture of, as you say, what he can accomplish . Because the percentage moves in some of these stocks have been significant. So they have been significant, and the volatility continues. You know, we all know that wall street hates to be surprised, and this new form of governing by president elect trump is full of surprises. We dont know which industry or hot topic were going to hear about next. If its pro, will the stock go up. If its con, will the stock fall out . If youre holding some of the defense contractors, for instance, i think you have to go to your fundamental investment thesis about the earnings and the Balance Sheets and make sure youre Comfortable Holding them through a more volatile period. To find out whats really going to happen. But hes covering enough turf here and washington is enough of a slow place, hes a proven business magnet. Hes not a proven president or politician. I think he ought to be really a little more careful about spreading himself too thin as his political agenda hasnt begun yet. It would appear that some of the ceos that have been in his crosshairs are learning how to play this game very quickly. The ceo of boeing was just saying that this deal with iran to sell the boeing jets over there that mr. Trump doesnt want to happen, hes pointing out, the ceo of boeing is, that it will create thousands of jobs here in the United States, which should be music to mr. Trumps ears. Should be. And were going to find out which of mr. Trumps political agendas actually takes precedent. Will it be the creation of jobs, will it be the cessation of the deal with iran . Its i mean, the jury is out on all of these things. But i think clearly, you know, we saw the Carrier Company is going to keep some jobs in the u. S. , and not in mexico. And theyre receiving kudos. But, you know, the ceos are doing what the stock market does. We adjust and adapt to these surprises. Weve oddly and sadly been able to adjust and adapt to terrorism around the world. Its now kind of computed in and market returns dont go up or down much on acts of terror. Its sad, but its true. So markets will figure this out. And markets will know how to react to these various tweets as they come out. Its an interesting way to run ones agenda. I wonder if hes ever going to have a press conference, bill, or is he just going to tweet from the white house . Well, he has one scheduled for thursday. Well find out how that goes. That may affect it in the future. Michael farr of far miller in washington. Thank you. Stick to your Balance Sheets. Thank you. There you go. China today issued its strongest condemnation yet of the president elect. This after donald trump said that the u. S. Was not necessarily bound by the one china policy, which recognized taiwan as part of one china. Many chinese investors are calling on mr. Trump to tread carefully, including the head of dalian wanda, who has invested more than 10 billion in the u. S. And employs about 20,000 people. Still ahead, out of step. Can todays ceos handle the unique approach of the president elect . Well, mr. Trump has made it official. The president elect has named Goldman Sachs president and chief operating officer gary cohn as the director of National Economic council. In that role, he will be one of mr. Trumps top economic advisers and he will play an influential role on Economic Policy and decisions. Brooms across the country are on alert. For the most part, ceos have always done things a certain way. But now they have to figure out how to conduct business with the president elect who has a very different approach. Mike santoli takes a look. Reporter no ceo would ever likely enjoy an incoming president trying to dictate how a business should be run. But the current generation of Corporate Leaders is perhaps uniquely out of step with president elect trumps approach to production, trade and capital investment. For the most part, todays ceos are globalists, climbing to the top job by creating Global Supply chains and pushing to maximize open trade relationships. They have also come of age in an era of constant productivity enhancement aimed at minimizing labor costs. In the current economic expansion, labor shared economy has remained depressed compared to the long historical trend. On the financial side, most ceos have a bias toward sending excess cash to shareholders in the form of share buybacks and dividends. All of these ceo priorities run counter to trumps push to have Companies Make more products in the United States for the american workers. His threat to punitive tariffs and promised incentives to plow cash into new domestic projects. Some corporate consultant liken the challenge to the one proposed in recent years by activist investors. As with those professional investors who agitate for shareholderfriendly changes, experts say ceos need to be ready for a call or a tweet from the next president , and should prepare an explanation for Corporate Strategies in case they find themselves in the hot seat. This raises the possibility of more standoffs between companies and the president elect. On the Positive Side for ceos, trump is a businessman, always looking to negotiate a deal. Which is a familiar mind set to corporate executives. The promise of a big Corporate Tax cut would also ease the blow of any uncomfortable scrutiny from the white house. And some argue the ceos need to be reminded that new investment in their business is one way to grow and create value after so many years of slow growth and focus on costcutting. In any case, it appearance that corporate bosses face an just to the new administration led by a man with unusually strong views on how they should do their jobs. For nightly Business Report, im mike santoli at the new york stock exchange. Well, many Silicon Valleys kros were vocal critics of donald trump. This week a number of them will make their way to trump tower to meet with the president elects team as they search for any silver linings. Josh lipton reports for us tonight from san francisco. I am not supporting trump. Donald trump. Under no circumstances will i support donald trump. Reporter he wasnt Silicon Valleys choice for president. The highprofile battles between donald trump and the tech elite, like mark zuckerberg, jeff bezos, meg whitman and tim cook, grabbed the headlines. Most of the folks who raised the big money also opposed him. But now venture capitalists are trying to find the positives in a trump presidency. They say the first benefit of a trump win, tax reform. For example, trump wants to lower the tax rate on cash stashed overseas. And Silicon Valley has a lot of it. That could Mean Companies like apple, microsoft and cisco bring money back to the u. S. And put it to work here. For ventuue capitalists, thas important. The public has been a disappointment for so long. Reporter not all of trumps tax reform is good news for vcs, though. He wants to end preferential tax treatment for carried interests, or the profit on the sale of alternative assets, which can include companies. And that could hit Venture Investors hard. Already, some wellrespected vcs are threatening to quit if trump has his way. Still another area where vcs see opportunity, trumps focus on rolling back regulation. David golden says he expects to see changes at the Consumer Financial protection bureau. Specifically loosening redistributions on consumer lending. That could benefit financial tech startups, a big recipient of venture dollars. They had focused on a number of areas that were posing great difficulties for venture capitalists that were investing in alternative lending platforms in particular. They proposed regulations around payday lending, prepaid debit cards, installment lending. At least in the case of payday lending would essentially eliminate that industry. Trumps team will meet with tech leaders on wednesday and the guest list is a whos who from apples tim cook to alphabets larry page and amazons jeff bezos, all are expected to attend. It should be noted that the meeting was organized by one of the few Silicon Valley trump supporters, peter thiel. Topics include the stance on immigration, a critical issue for the venture industry. For nightly Business Report, im josh lipton, san francisco. Sumner redstone and daughter sherry pulled the rug out between a possible merger. Thats where we begin tonights market focus. National amusements, the red stone Family Holding company, which holds the majority voting stake in via com and cbs, said it was not the right time to merge the two media properties. It added, it is optimistic about via coms future, given the recent Management Changes there. Shares of via com tumbled more than 9 to 34. 9 the 9. Cbs down to 62. 18. Chipotle said it will only have one ceo from now on. The burrito chain said monte more ran will step down immediately, leaving instead st as the sole ceo. Chipotle said the board of directors wanted els, given the ongoing challenges facing the company. And following the news, shares rose 3 to 382. 48. Pfizer is raising its Quarterly Dividend to 32 cents a share up from 30 cents. The annual yield is nearly 4 . Shares of the drug maker were up 70 cents to 32. 40. Rare disease drug maker, alexian pharmaceuticals said its ceo and cfo have resigned. The company says both men had left for personal reasons, and to pursue other opportunities. But a source told cnbc the resignations were tied to the boards loss of confidence in those executives. Shares plunged by 12 to 115. 08. And then there is optho tech. The Biotech Company said its drug for treating wet agerelated Macular Degeneration failed to meet its goals. That stock nearly wiped out today, plunging by 86 to down to 5. 29. Bill gates is starting a new billiondollar fund. Its purpose is to invest in technologies that counteract climate change. The fund called Breakthrough Energy ventures, will finance emerging Energy Companies that can deliver affordable and reliable energy, but with zero carbon emissions. Investors in the fund include amazon ceo jeff bezos, alley baba, Richard Branson and linkedin founder, reed hoffman, among others. Coming up, the bill challenges that Small Business owners are facing in locations around trump tower. The Supreme Court today upheld the reach of a federal law that prohibits bank fraud. The ruling gives the government more flexibility to prosecute financial crimes. The unanimous opinion means that a person may be guilty of bank fraud, even though he intended to cheat a Bank Depositor rather than the bank itself. Well, the wells fargo fake account scandal may now have spread to prudential. The Insurance Company today said that it was suspending distribution of insurance policies through the bank. California regulators are also looking into new allegations made by former prudential employees who said that manufacturing customers were sold lowcost Prudential Life insurance policies without their knowledge. President elect donald trump has spent more of his time since the election at his home in trump tower in manhattan. As we have been reporting, the increased security is creating a headache for businesses in that area. Including some of the most recognizable retailers in the world. But as kate rogers reports, its also hurting some small mom and pop shops. Reporter the Holiday Season is typically busy for george roy bean accounts in midtown. But this Holiday Season has been unlike any other. November were down 30 . Reporter the bar and restaurant is located on west 56th street, a block away from trump tower. And as president elect donald trump makes his transition from billionaire businessman to commander in chief, the street is swarmed with Police Officers and secret service agents. My experience is that theyre keeping the streets open, closing them off, there is no rhyme or reason. We dont know what to expect. And the Police Presence on the corner has just been, you know, intimidating. Reporter nearby at italian restaurant, sales down at least 30 since election day, with its owners considering a potential move elsewhere in midtown if things dont improve. They say patrons traveling by car have a harder time getting in with the street barricaded off fifth avenue and a security tower in place. We like to be dropped off and picked up. And they can do that. Or if they can, it takes half an hour. And a lot of the people for lunch, especially have one hour, max, lunch. An hour and a half. So they lose a half hour and then they cannot come here. And a lot of other businesses around here. Im just talking for around here. Reporter security measures havent been all bad news for local businesses. In fact, on print at 56th, they have been busy. No effect at all. We have a lot of new traffic in the area, which includes police people, our new customers now. And we also have walkin crowds. Reporter back at judge roy bean, hes hoping for a pickup in Business Post inauguration day. But knows there is no guarantee. Were worried about it. Its a bit of an unknown. We dont know what kind of Police Presence there is going to be, how much security there is going to be. And we just dont want this for the next four years. Reporter for he and his coowner, they say theyre in touch with their local councilman and drafting a petition to the city to ask them to open this is it street back up to traffic. They say almost two dozen Small Businesses are set to sign. For neighbors, im kate rogers in new york city. And that is nightly Business Report for tonight. Im sue herera. Thanks for joining us. Im Bill Griffith. Have a great evening, everybody. Well see you tomorrow. Nightly Business Report has been funded in part by our value principles are Patient First and we want to deliver the highest quality care. The goal of creating and sustaining value is all about putting the patient at the center of the equation. The purpose of this organization is to help people get back to what they need and love to do. [dramatic music] evening paper. Evening paper. [fire crackling and roaring]