>> from bloomberg world headquarters in new york, i am mark crumpton. this is "bottom line." today, sign-ups for health care insurance and at midnight. in the u.s. supreme court revisits the question of patent protection for software. with theive interview third highest-ranking member of the u.s. house of representatives. to our viewers here in the united states, and those around the world, welcome.

latest mckee has the

it has come down some but needs to come down further. more people need to move into the labor force. top, mentioned at the inflation is too low, janet yellen said. that is another reason the fed will stay on hold for the time being. she is trying to push people back to the data dependent stage, the idea that it is the data that will make the call. she cited a number of data points that were not very good. >> numbers do not lie. what does it mean for investors? >> that is the funny thing. it does not mean anything in the end. if things were really bad in the economy, the fed will be talking about stopping the taper and adding more stimulus to the economy. it means the policy is status quo but the idea that there is a specific date is off the table. do not take me at my word and say it will be in june of 2015

pair wait to see how the data develops but we will not change anything between now and then. >> michael, thank you. for the first time in decades, the u.s. supreme court is hearing a software patent case. the ruling in this case could affect almost half of the nation's patent suits. greg joins us from the supreme court. tell us about them and give us a sense of what was thought about. >> the patent issue in this case had to do with a computerized -- involvedeople to in derivatives and other transactions. it sets up patent covers, setting up shadow accounts to make sure the parties have the money to pay when it comes to settlement. in the courtroom, the sense was that what i just described to you is a pretty abstract concept and just because it is done on the computer, does not mean it should be patentable. there was some discussion.

>> i gather there were hypothetical scenarios out. there usually are. >> there were. many of them came from justice breyer. patent tolikening the a situation where he is with you -- giving away the gold he had in storage. guy having way more than he had, hey, you need to stop. that is all that was going on here. he was among those questioning whether this was specific enough to warrant a patent -- planning. wake a lot of patent cases, you basically have companies more worried about being sued and the companies more worried about protecting their own patents on the other side. you had companies like google and amazon, saying, if you restrict software -- or if you do not restrict them too much, you will have people claiming they own the idea of e-commerce

or web hosting or something like that. when companies like microsoft or adobe say, we need patents, incentives, it's the next great thing. >> what is the likelihood of getting new rule? >> that is the big question. there might have been a consensus that these patents were not of the type of eligible for patent protection, but in terms of the general principles that might affect those hundreds of thousands of patents you talked about the top, it was not clear there was a consensus on how to do that. that was the struggle, trying to figure out how you draw a line between something to object and something that deserves patent protection. >> more news out of the supreme court today. we got word the court agreed to -- pharmaceuticals. its top-selling multiple screw it just drug. what is the impact of this?

>> the big impact is how the stock jumped up with the news this morning that the court had agreed to hear the case. they would go off patent protection in may of next month. two months from now. the supreme court had not intervened. they are trying to extend it to september 2000 15 just by agreeing to hear the case, the court guaranteed there will not that itinitive ruling is off patent protection until sometime next year. just the act of hearing the case has delayed things and helped them maintain the exclusive right. >> what about drugmakers planning to offer the generic versions of this starting in may echo >> they will have a big question. one of those companies, we saw its stock going down with the announcement that came out. it now has to decide, do we want to go ahead and start marketing

or as soon as the other patent expires in may, order, we do that and we think the chance that it will ultimately win the case and come back and hit us with big damages demand, there will be a big question as to whether or not they want to sell generic versions now. >> all right. joining is outside the spin cori, thank you so much. coming up, the affordable care act. enrollment nears 7 million as the deadline closes today at midnight eastern time. we will take a critical -- look at whether this will successfully drive health care costs lower. stay with us on this final monday of march 2014. ♪

>> welcome back. the on -- the enrollment for the affordable care act ends tonight.

it suggests the obama administration may hit its original goal of 7 million enrollees. the opposition is not impressed. is the co-author of why obama care is wrong for america. thomas miller is a resident scholar at the american enterprise institute and heads a health reform project and joins me now. welcome. thank you for your time today. >> a pleasure to be with you. >> last week, there was a health tracking poll that showed most provisions of the affordable care act are still popular, but a plurality of americans still have an unfavorable view of the law. it would seem some americans like some parts of the law more than others. how do you account for the split decision. >> you cannot pick and choose. it is the total lock. all the intersecting parts. experience of this partisan in this part is out and we will make this up as we go

along, that has created a larger cloud on the entire legitimacy of the enterprise. >> is that -- some people compare it to sausage making. you do not want to see how it is made, but the final outcome is probably something palatable to you? >> i would agree with you in terms of the law itself. regulations, the guidance, the reinterpretations, this rule does not apply anymore. you can take your pick, whether it is mandates, benefits requirements, nondiscrimination requirements, deadlines. if you do not like the deadline, we will give you another one tomorrow. >> we should mention since the very beginning, you have not been -- in favor of obamacare. received 3 million visitors over the weekend. is it your contention that for millions of people who signed up and are visiting the site, they are either ill-informed or are being duped because they do not understand what is going on? >>

nokia let's be fair about a couple of things. it is always a good thing when people who do not have health insurance coverage get it and can have access to health care. no problems with that. some of the numbers are a little padded. the subsidies are the main lord two people signing up at the last moment, and if you are signing up, there is a lot of evasion and equivocation as to what the numbers actually mean. for someone who says, someone else will pay for most of your health care, should be motivated to go ahead and get it. it has been a continuing campaign for the white house to make this work by any means possible. threat of total embarrassment and there will be multiple hurdles ahead, whether court cases, politics, funding in another year, and there is a lot more to be finished out on this story. >> senator angus king told fox news on sunday that the president of wellpoint, one of the big national insurance companies, said a couple of weeks ago the sign-ups are

getting younger by the day. could that not be a sign of the laws of effectiveness, that more healthy young people are in rolling, which is supposed to reduce future premium increases? >> that has been a concern to the insurers. they have not gone to the zone they want the mix of young versus old to be there. there has been late stage improvement because the people least likely to sign up or wait until the last minute tend to be the young people they have been trying to get. they are not yet at the levels they would like to reach. >> the affordable care law, if it were to be repealed, what would happen to the millions of people who signed up for coverage echo -- coverage? >> that is a serious issue. that is why the republicans have to do more than just say, let's erase the entire slate and not do anything more to replace it. the ministration achieved and -- the minimum goal, what will you do for me and do not leave me without what i artie had. we need to do it in a different and better way so people get real covers they can appreciate

that they want. that is a challenge to republicans and critics of the law. >> what are the political ramifications for the party if they keep hammering a law upheld by the supreme court? >> there is a case in the d c circuit court which is about to wipe out most of the exchanges and subsidies in the federal exchanges. this is still going on even the courts. leaving that aside, there will be, this fall, a strong reaction by a lot of voters who are saying, i already had insurance coverage i like and what did you do to jeopardize it? the calculations will be different than just a poll of those who recently received coverage. it is a balancing act and not an easy task. >> we have about 30 seconds left. lastly, when paul krugman wrote a column, obamacare fails to fail, it focused on republican criticism on the law and read in part that there is not any room in their worldview for the possibility this thing might

work. is it your contention there is >>way the law can succeed? what i'm saying is the law is not working very well and we can do much better and it will cause a series of problems abundant and health insurance, health care, and the economy, which we cannot afford to not deal with. we have to go into a different direction. >> resident scholar at the american enterprise is to joining us today from washington. thank you for your time. we appreciate it. more on the health care deadline is coming up as we will hear from south carolina democratic theressman james clyburn, third ranking member of the house of representatives. that is coming up in about 20 minutes. up next, tomorrow, the gmc oh will head to capitol hill for testimony on her company's latest free falls linked to a faulty ignition switch. matt miller will join me with the preview next. ♪

>> more this weekend about the faulty gm ocean switch that has led to at least one dozen deaths over the past decade. documents showed gm decided back in 2005 not to fix the problem. a project engineering manager cited high costs. waiting to hear what the ceo will say when she testifies before congress tomorrow. matt miller is here with more and we are already getting word on what they will be told. >> we are. she seems to be, contrary to what we have seen from the general motors managers in the past when they go to capitol hill, she seems to be contrite and seriously ready to participate in a transparent way and be ready to work to get all

of this as best she can behind her while also it knowledge inc. the real tragedy that occurred -- tragedy that occurred. it has been somewhat combative. quest that silly. it all started back with the corvair. ralph nader wrote a book. this was 50 years ago. --was about this >> which led to the creation -- >> exactly. it seems to be as much involved in this case as gm, or at least, gm found about this in 2001. in november 2 thousand four, they decided to open an investigation into it but they found it was too costly to do something about it. at this point, i am sure they wish they had done something. nothing is more costly than human lives. they then investigated this in 2007 and decided there was no basis. they looked at it again in 2009

and 2010 and again decided there was no basis for any real action. it seems they just play along with general motors in this. >> has this been handled in your opinion? what can we expect? >> when you look at this story, you have got to keep in mind this all happened at the old gm. pre-bankruptcy general motors. it was really a different company. this all happened before the u.s. government, before you and i in treasury had a majority stake and sold off. before she was ceo. while she has been at the really all her life, she wants to make a fresh start as ceo, a fresh start as an independent publicly traded company. >> you will be in washington. >> i am. i will leave right now. i want to get down there and get organized. it is a 5 hour drive here from

new york city. and i amto talk to you now leaving. >> i am moved. thank you. we will have live coverage of the general motor's ceo testimony. 2:00 p.m. washed in time tuesday afternoon, the special edition, matt miller will be down there as well. thank you. 26 past the hour, bloomberg is on the markets. olivia has the details. quest stocks are rising following dovish comments from janet yellen, who said the labor market has considerable slack left and continue support from the federal reserve. all the indexes are rising right now. the nasdaq is up one percent. the dow was up triple digits about 133 points. the s&p on track to post its sixth straight quarterly gain. micron.eeping and i on shares of the computer memory

manufacturer are surging today as analysts see it beating its forecast later in the week. they expect solid results in the quarter and the next. we will be back again in 30 minutes. ♪

>> welcome back to the second half-hour. thank you for staying with us. let's check some of the top stories we're following for you at this hour. janet yellen says the central bank must continue with easy money policies in order to stimulate the job market. in a speech in chicago today, she said that extraordinary commitment is needed and will be for some time. the russian prime minister is promising a quick influx of cash for crimea.

a delegation of cabinet ministers were led today, promising residents would see positive change. it says russia will quickly resources tos and improve education, health care, and local infrastructure. .nd, it is opening-day 13 games are scheduled on major league is ball's roster today. padresght, the san diego beat the dodgers 3-1 in the u.s. kickoff. the big question was can the boss cut -- boston red sox compete as world series champions. out in october. that is a look at the top stories in news at this hour. time now for the commodities report. su keenan enjoys me with details. good afternoon. >> good afternoon. a lot of volatility. we are seeing corn futures cross over into a bull market. we have gas down. on what weing lower see is a reduction in concerns

about the ukraine. let's look at the story. we had futures fall as much as 3.5% for the latest usda report came out. this one dramatically in the other direction. the report shows to -- supplies are titled -- tighter than expected. this was a surprise because it showed demand was better than expected. this has corn futures really kicking off the best start of the year since 2008, approaching markets in most of today'session, crossing over the ball at the close. we have corn sales book for delivery as of september 1, running at more than double the rate of last year's, according to the government, all of that playing in today'straight. there are a number of hedge fund managers continuing to hold on to what is turning out to be the ingest wager on crop futures three years. it really extends across the board.

we had wheat falling earlier in the session. that is also closing higher. corn, soy, wheat, all falling higher. let's talk about coffee. coffee, sugar, cocoa, they went down on the day as we are starting to see a break and conditions in brazil. brazil's biggest drought in years also providing support to crop futures. the meantime, gas is still on a wild ride. >> absolutely. down 2.5% on the close. says, thates group is really pushing prices lower. the -- we still have a lot of work to do on the historic side. because of the severe winter weather, the latest trading data shows hedge funds continue to maintain their bolus position, even though we are seeing gas futures roughly down one third from their five-year high in february. the weather continues to be the driver for that gas. >> thank you.

enrollment for obamacare ends at midnight tonight. eastern time. while we wait for the final results, one state already stands out, connecticut. to boost enrollment and set up retail shops for residents to meet ropers face to face, it is now marketing his health exchange expertise to other states for a price. olivia sterns traveled to connecticut to see the enrollment in action. i am here on church street in new haven where you can find everything you ever wanted. ♪ eight, -- aight iteaid, and even an obamacare store. the state has had more luck than any other states in the country and this is one reason. signing up people for health care. >> one of 14 states in the country to set up their own

health care exchange. they're the only one to set up shop. the store is packed full of people on the final day of enrollment to say the -- who say they are relieved to have questions answered face to face. >> you are basically on track to double the amount of the moment. quest that is right. these people are actually pressing the enrolled button and applying for coverage right now. our averages 211. is 211.verage we are trying to make the retail expense. to be frank, we're trying to model a lot of what we do after apple. we are trying to create a customers. zen product innovation around the annual cycle of new product introduction. we see ourselves as private. we have had 16,800 people visit the store. over half of them have purchased. our close ratio is seven percent. quest they are now marketing

their services to other states, pitching it as an exchange in a box. quest is the administrative functions of the exchange we're looking at allowing states to outsource. i would outsource as much as possible to somebody else if they can help because building the technologies, it is a lot of work and not that much fun. >> five states already interested. weary of the glitches on the federal site and impressed access health has done so much better than healthcare.gov. bloomberg news. up, the third highest ranking house democrat called a health care reform lost, the civil rights act of the 2000 -- 21st century. democraticnt house leader when we continue in just a moment. ♪

>> the highest-ranking african-american in congress has been in the house of representatives number three democrat is 2007. i felt down with him earlier this afternoon. discussion with remarks on 60 minutes last night. that technology gives the street an unfair advantage. >> i would never say wall street is right. in any there are people , it cannot be trusted with certain kinds of responsibilities and certain information. >> it gives some people an advantage. it made the milliseconds. not one who is an expert on wall street but i leave it up

to whoever is handling my account. that should be looked into. we have seen enough instances of things happening. anythingake a look at someone raises an issue about. quest for such about. 5'7" the health care. today's the deadline. early return suggests the administration is going to get close to the goal of 7 million enrollees. that was made before the federal website start up, which a lot of say was disastrous. it is fair to say it is not a perfect piece of legislation. of law mind, what parts have given you the most concern? class the law itself is something i've been concerned about. i do not expect to get

everything i want every time a piece of legislation is passed. this law isbody, the civil rights act of 21st century because it outlaws discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions. it outlaws is womanish against women just because they're women. it outlaws discrimination sick andeople who get find their insurance coverage canceled because they got sick. because of that, i think it should be a credit to the civil , celebrated the 60th anniversary of this year. quest republican criticism of , calls for it to be repealed, calls for it to be guided even on the face of the supreme court upholding the constitutionality of this. the criticism, the drumbeat of criticism, all of it cannot be unwarranted. >> just as unwarranted as

criticisms, the 1954 supreme court decision in brown versus board of education. that decision was a constitutional decision, but a lot of people in my part of the country especially that want to impeach him for having been the chief justice of the speaker when it passed. it was declared by a lot of people in the constitution of the united states. it led to my getting elected to congress. >> still criticism of the individual mandate, the most unpopular part of this law. even people who like the health care law say that her should be a done -- done away with. be possible to tinker around the edges of the law? the phrase is, let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

>> the word mandate is causing people and a lot of problems. >> you believe it is a syntax issue. >> yes. i have an automobile. we do not get to pick and choose whether or not we have automobile insurance. you are mandated to have automobile insurance. i am not seeing anybody who says it is unconstitutional and we ought to do away with it. for us be done in order to have the kinds of laws we have. >> what about democrats campaigning in this year's midterms. should they embrace it or run away from it because of political speedy and see? we are -- expediency. we have heard some people saying they do not want the president campaigning with them because they actually key is radioactive. >> he maybe for some enough for me. i would say to all my friends running on the democratic ticket, you should embrace the law.

ask them whether or not they believe it is fair to deny insurance to deny coverage to the child with diabetes. cancer, off their insurance policies as soon as they get sick. for insurance executives to deny coverage to these children and others and himself 30 and $40 million bonuses at the end of the year. simply because they were designed coverage. people unfair and most in this country believe it to be unfair. carolina democratic congressman. stay with us. "hotshot" is next. ♪

>> there is a family-owned company that started in 1873 and is one of the largest producer of household items like sinks,

toilets, bathtubs, and faucets. bloomberg heads to the flagship porcelain factory in wisconsin to find out why, despite higher wages, there are so many factors in the u.s.. >> we have a simple medicine -- mission. for anyone and everyone who comes in contact with our product. my son as president of the company and thinks i am getting too old. class our company has a long history of pride for american-made products. ande products are made here will continue to be made here. >> still keeping it here because the worth at -- work ethic is

expended 150 years. it says something. you know you're getting the best. >> they are served primarily by the factory in the united states. we import very little. all those plans we have elsewhere make the regions at which they're located. the original pottery built in 1947. we manufacture everything from toilets and urinals to kitchen sinks. in this facility, we make about 150 products everyday, 30 total of colors, for a about 20,000 at any given time. porcelain is made of different the kentuckyfrom tennessee area. we mix that up and pour it into

the mold. the product leaves the cash up, goes to these dryers. then we apply the glaze to it. it gives it the color, the smooth and shiny glossy surface. it is ready to go right away. it is basically 100 yard tunnel and in the center of that, is to have -- 2000 50 degrees. that porcelain is all one continual pile of people is no air in it or anything. over the past 20 years, we have invested a lot in this facility. brand-new dryer technology, robots installed. >> almost entirely for new rectus. even at a high wage level, this

will be able to compete with virtually anyone else in the world. >> time now for "hot shots." over the weekend, the eiffel tower went dark. so did the vatican. lights guided by -- guarded by panda puppets. legendary skyline. places across the world turned off the lights for earth hour. 7000 cities. over in berlin, a restaurant not meant for picky eaters, [laughter] [indiscernible] [laughter] this oneaurants go and pushes it. people drink beer. this is so nasty. toilets for seats.

instead of napkins, toilet paper rolls. the restaurant has been around for 40 years. we will have another market check coming up. ♪

>> get the latest headlines at the top of the hour on bloomberg radio and streaming on your tablet and am bloomberg.com. that does it for this edition. thank you for joining us. on the markets is next and i will see you tomorrow. >> it is 56 past the hour, which means bloomberg television is on the markets. let's get you caught up where stocks are trading right now. back 40's are rising across the board, closing out the first quarter in the green. fix --osed to have its fifth quarter of again. , upaq the best performer

about 1.24%. we will quickly show you what is happening on the treasury market. they have turned around. the 10-year note is coming up ever so slightly, pretty -- pretty much flat. are up by 110 two basis points. i am joined by the chief investment strategist, eric. thank you for joining us. let's start with what we heard from janet yellen, who said we -- she sees considerable slack in the labor market. she essentially made the case for continued stimulus. >> we expected that. we expected her to clear up last week and we thought the market was overreacting to that. we think it really oils down to, the fed wants and women to be better and they do not think there is a huge cost in terms of inflation. inflation is effectively nonexistent in the u.s. economy. as long as that the case, they will continue to work on full

and limited. >> she is making the case for continued support to the u.s. economy. how far away do you think it is from the escape velocity where it can really sustain itself? >> we are close to the point where it can sustain itself. tapering has occurred, we will be done from a federal government perspective buying our debt in october. we think that is done. stimulus paredf we think by next year, it will start rising and raising the rate. we think inflationary pressure not because of any other reason year, 30%, youst said 2014 was going to be a year of validation. have you seen a plan out and how? qwest validation was validating the economy last year. the market was much more optimistic economically than in

the prior years. our expectation is 20%, growing between half a percent and one percent. china is seven percent to 7.5%. economically, we have seen nothing that gave us a major indication on those goals and stocks. >> you prefer dynamic docs to make the case. >> it will be improving cyclical markets and the economy will move forward between cyclical sectors, so we will win. we overweight cyclicals, we overweight health care. when you look at it, first quarter will be interesting. you saw a major move in the tenure down. -- 10 year down. the dividend income earning stocks. utilities, we think that will dominate the rest of the year. we think dynamic will be defensive for the rest of the year, even though that was not the case for the first quarter. qwest you are on target? -- >> you are on target?

thank you for joining us. we will be on the markets in 30 minutes again. in the meantime, "street smart" is next. ♪ hello, everyone. the fed stimulus support and stocks rise. awaiting last week's drop on what some called janet yellen's most dovish comments yet. more about the big tease in the big story. i am trish regan and " street smart" starts now. everyone to the most important hour of the session. 15 minutes to go until the closing bell. today, it easy does it.