final trade. pete, you're up first. >> goodyear tire. like their performance. we know the story about cooper tire not long ago. i think it's going higher. >> jon? >> discover financial, another one that might move with the fed statement today. long that. >> steve weiss? >> mtg, a great story. >> that does it for us. more "fast" at 5:00. "power" starts right now. "halftime" is over and "power lunch" and the second half of the trading day start right now. scotty, thank you very much. we are all over the fed today, but also on our agenda, some very big stories, including this one, a big announcement from the american medical association. they are now classifying obesity as a disease. what will the impact be on insurers, on businesses, on the pharmaceutical industry? a lot of details ahead on that one, and the hollywood mogul jeffrey cankatzenberg, he's on big show today, and we'll get his take on topics far beyond

hollywood, everything from the fiscal policy of the u.s. and the federal reserve and more. dude, where does your car rank? yes, sir, those j.d. power rankings are out with a brand new list, and we have it. first, let's go down to sue at the nyse. one hour before the fed's big decision. sue? >> that's right, and that's all they are talking about right now. right now the dow jones industrial average is down just slightly ahead of the fed. perhaps no surprise. i'm here with bob and kenny on the floor, but, first, we're going to go to steve liesman live in washington. steve? >> yeah, sue, thanks very much, a very consequential meeting for markets and the federal reserve in terms of guiding markets and guiding the economy on policy here. i want to give you some tips that i think is a way to listen to bernanke today. i think you want to watch the forecast, the 2.6% gdp growth, the average for 2013 and the 7.4% unemployment rate. those could both come down here. unemployment could actually go either way, but i think it might come down here. watch the tapering guidance of the the market bet is that there

is not a taper at this meeting, but bernanke could lay the groundwork for september or sooner. rates versus qe. listen to the chairman try to talk. we expect this, that he'll start to say, you know what, bernanke could strive to convince the markets that tapering does not mean a rate hike, and finally i would expect the third degree on the third term. expect many questions on whether bernanke wants to stay or if, you know, he's been fired. one thing i want to show you is the ten-year. we'll be asking the fed chairman about traits and whether the rise in rates is something that the fed wants to have happen, and there's the clarity right there. you dek see the unclarify, the fueling that the fed has not been clear has gone up. finally, one more thing. you want to know why that clarity hasn't gone up. as i was going through the statement just now, what the fed has been doing is increasingly layering on words to a statement that's unclear in its essence. labor market has improved. that was the first thing. they will do qe until the labor market has improved

substantially and then we'll take into account efficacy and costs and then we're prepared to increase or decrease as the outlook changes so the question is whether or not the fed chairman decides or the fed decides to add even more words to make what in essence is an unclear statement more clear but ends up going the other way. sue? >> that's the big question. steve, stay with us. let's talk more about this. bob pisani and kenny pulcari, a cnbc contributor. kenny, what do you want to hear from the fed chief this afternoon in. >> what i would really like to hear, would like to hear the talk of tapering, that there's some definition to it, but i don't think that's what we're going to hear at all. i think they will keep the foot on the gas, and i think they will talk about eventually doing it. but at some point they have to call it out. they have to start to put a schedule on it so people -- that's clarity. right now there's not clarity. >> it's more easy to predict what mr. bernanke is going to say rather than how the market will react to it. that's the wild card. steve is right. he'll talk about tapering very

gradually, and he'll draw this thing between tapering and raising rates. we all know that. he'll emphasize that and what he's going to say. how the market reacts to that is completely different. a lot of people feel the market goes down no matter what end of the spectrum he emphasizes because of the rise recently in the last couple of days. >> where is it really going to go? right back to the 50 day where there's plenty of support. we've seen that. two or three times already and there's plenty of support. unless the bottom falls out, that's not the case. i think there's plenty of support. >> go ahead. >> go ahead, steve. >> i was just going to say, bob, we just don't really know in the sense that we don't know how much is real beneath this market and how much is all virtual and federal reserve, and i think that remains to be seen in the sense that we've had somewhat better economic growth. the earnings have not been i think the disaster that was forecast, and we also know that growth has not really fallen out of bed like we thought because of the sequester, so there may be something more underneath that, and i think you need to make a separation between the

short term, the hot temper traders and the guys who are cooler. >> i think that's absolutely true. >> what we're seeing steve, is there's been a very clear long-term relationship between the fed's balance sheet and the stock market as the fed's balance sheet has, panded in the last four years. we've seen the stock market move along with it. i mean, that long-term is what people are really looking at saying, huh, will that continue if we start reducing the fed's balance sheet? >> which is why the market gets nervous because there's a disconnect between where the economy is and the market is. >> exactly. steve, talk to me about inflation. a little bit of inflation is good, and the fed has wanted a little bit in the system. do they have what they want in terms of an inflation gauge in the system right now? >> no, they don't, sue, and the question is how worried are they about it? >> exactly. the general feeling is that optimal policy is run with about a 2% inflation rate for a whole bunch of reasons. we know that bernanke is very concerned about the possibility of deflation or the difficulty that deflation would present to

the federal reserve and to other central banks, and so what he's really trying to do is avoid that. it's come down and down and the question is is it because of underlying economic weakness or broader secular trends that are out there, but the more important question is whether or not the fed chooses at this point, as it's something that is a trigger or catalyst for policy. the feeling in our fed survey was that it's not, but i don't think it's far away from becoming one. >> all right. >> they are exporting deflation, look what's going on, the global markets are indicating deflation. >> very quickly, do you trade ahead of the fed and if so, what's your trade? >> i think if anything the trade tends to be on the cautious side, lower, but not falling out of bed. i think the trade was yesterday >> we'll see how they close. >> i actually think the market, we tend to move lower. >> art cashin in his note to me said wear a helmet so be prepared. see you in a bit. fedex posted better than expected q4 earnings on increased revenues, but said it was cutting more capacity

between the united states and asia as it tries to adjust to increasing demand for cheaper ground transport. right now the stock though is up about 2%, 2.5% at 101.89. ty, up to you. >> sue, thank you. new j.d. power survey results are in, so where does your car rank for initial quality? well, porsche sped to the top, ranking highest among name plates, averaging just 80 problems per 100 vehicles. gmc in second place, up from number 12 last year and lexus, infinity and chevrolet rounding out top five. if your car is on this list strap yourself in for some trob maybe, scion dead last in initial quality, problems per 100 vehicles followed by fiat, second year in a row, mitsubishi, nissan and mini also hanging their hoods in shame. tesla recalling 1,200 of 2013 model s-cars because of a defect in the seat. it's the first recall ever for

the electric car-maker which received a near perfect score from "consumer reports" magazine. investors though are not seemingly terribly concerned as you take a look at the stock up another 1.5% today at 105.01. to josh lipton now for the market flash. josh? >> we're watching ticker vvbs, same class of drugs as viagra but they are now saying their drug works faster. the drug stendra works within 15 minutes. big opportunity, worldwide sales exceeding at 5.5 billion in 2012. sue, back to you. >> thanks, josh. all right. i bet you're interested in a stock that's up 125%, 127% in a year. who wouldn't be, right? seema modi is looking at micron technology for us. hi, seema. >> the best performing tech stock this year reports earnings tonight. analysts are expecting the semiconductor player to post earnings of two cents a share which would be its first profit

in two years thanks to favorable pricing trends and its strong position in the mobile and tablet space. an analyst at mkm partners says micron has done a good job and focusing in on the two hottest areas while at the same time limiting its exposure to the pc industry which has been experiencing slow demand. this strategic move has helped micron outperform its peers, including intel, which has higher exposure than micron to the pc space. shares of myron up nearly 120% year to date. analysts say the stock could move even higher once its acquisition of japanese chip-maker alpeda closes and the deal is expected to close sometime this summer. tyler, back for you. >> all right, soma, thank you very much. president obama is in berlin making a big speech today, and you know who was waiting for him, those rather nutty topless european protesters. we're going to edit the footage just so you don't see too much. we'll have much, much, much more

from berlin after the break. "power lunch" has add you as a friend. join the conversation on facebook. ask a guest a question, make your voice heard in n our polls. access behind-the-scenes content from our studios, the new york stock exchange and beyond. go to facebook.com/powerlunch. [ male announcer ] we've been conditioned to accept less and less in the name of style and sophistication. but to us, less isn't more. more is more. abundant space, available leading-edge technology, impeccable design, and more than you've come to expect from a luxury vehicle. the lexus es350 and epa-estimated 40 mpg es hybrid. this is the pursuit of perfection. the most free research reports, customizable charts, powerful screening tools, and guaranteed 1-second trades.

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president obama speaking from berlin's brandenburg gate today calling for a one-third reduction in the world's stockpile of nuclear weapons. he also defended the nsa's surveillance program, saying it had saved lives, not just in the united states, but also in germany, and just about any major speaker in europe these days has to be on the alert for this kind of behavior. the topless protesters. that ends our coverage from germany on "power lunch" today. sue? >> thank you, ty. a very big day for jeffrey katzenberg and dreamworks, signing a big deal with netflix. year to date shares up 50%, about the $25 per share mark. today they are up to 25.19. julia boorstin joins us live from los angeles with jeffrey katzenberg. julia, over to you. >> reporter: thanks so much, sue, and jeffrey, thanks so much for talking to us today. this deal with netflix, you're

the biggest content deal netflix has signed yet. the big question is why is dreamworks animation giving its content to netflix and not a cable tv channel? >> interestingly right now today this is where family and kids are. they right now are probably the number one destination for kids and for looking at television. it's quite a shift. >> does it mean you're getting paid more from netflix than you would nickelodeon? >> let's just say it's a really good arrangement. >> you won't give us the financial terms? >> i will not. >> you're making the shift from licensing characters and to making tv shows. why is now the right time? >> a number of things. one, we had a transition out of a deal at paramount where we didn't have these rights. number two, we made this acquisition of classic media.

number three, we suddenly have arrived at a point where we now have six great franchises, and all of those things coming together, really for dreamworks created a moment in time in which we have ip. we have the leadership here in the company. we have the band to be able to do it and most importantly, you know, we have a great partner in netflix. >> you have a joint venture in china. you're about to start your first co-production, "kung fu panda 3" but china pulled your film "the krugs" out of theaters early. >> it's 100% the opposite. for movies that play in china, imported movies, you're given a 30-day license. three movies in five years have been given an extension beyond 30 days. by the way, it's up to 30 days. it's not a total of 30 days. we actually were given a second 30 days. we're only the fourth film to be given it. we played 16 of those 30 days and then it came out. >> in general, do you think the chinese government has too much

power in the media business? >> well, it's a place in which they have a very strong hand in it. they have and continue to have. it's certainly opened up significantly in the last two years, and it's a much, much more open market today. it's not open by the terms that we would use here in the states, but they are oh. by the way, at the same time there's other negotiations going on here so it's not unique to china. >> a question about the media business here. last week an implosion in the movie business was predicted, prices as high as $150. do you agree? >> it's inconceivable that i could sell a $150 ticket for movies, so i -- i think you had a very lively and engaged and

fanciful conversation with the guys last week. >> now you have a pretty -- an increasingly broad exposure to different parts of the economy with the cruises and theme parks and consumers products. what's your outlook on the american economy right now? >> i think we've not only seen stability in it, but i think sort of a brightening horizon, full. i think people are feeling more optimistic in it. i think it's, you know, harder if you get down into the blue collar part of it. i talk with our friends at walmart. i think they still see stress, you know, in -- in the economy in many of their customers. as you move up the economic scale, i think, you know, which is what leads -- tends to lead the economy, i think you see optimism. >> you've been a big supporter of president obama over the years. tod today is, of course, fed day. do you think president obama should keep ben bernanke around? >> you've gone beyond my pay grade. obviously we've had eight years

of incredible leadership from him, and i think he's done a pretty remarkable job, put a very steady hand, to you know, over an economy that's had a very challenging period of time, and that's pretty historical in that regard so i'm not sure what the right answer is to that, but i think we've been well served by him up until now. >> and through your work in china, what's your sense of the economy there? >> well, again, you know, everything is relative. they look at 7%, 7.5% growth in about gdp as a problem. we'd be dancing in the streets. >> well, that seems like a good note to end on. thanks so much for joining us. jeffrey katzenberg, ceo of dreamworks animation. guys, back to you over. >> julia, always entertaining and interesting to hear from. thank you. coming up ahead on "power lunch," your last trade before the fed. plus, designating obesity as a disease what. it will mean for businesses, insurers and the pharma industry. and we want to hear from you on that one so you can go vote

at finance.yahoo!.com. we're back in two with the dow down 20 points. coming up, "power pitch," startsups give us that i have 60-second pitch. >> i'm a.j. forsythe. >> and we give you insight into the fast-paced world of venture capital. >> what's your competition look like? >> have you met the repair people? >> are you in or are you out? >> stay tuned to find out. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] if you can't stand the heat, get off the test track. get the mercedes-benz you've been burning for at the summer event, going on now at your authorized mercedes-benz dealer. hurry, before this opportunity cools off.

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time now for our power pitch series. we'll take an in-depth look at innovative startups to see whether they have what it takes to become the next big thing. take a look. >> i'm mandy drury, and on today's power pitch we have a company that is aiming to make millions off clumsy smartphone users. a.j. forsythe is the ceo and founder of icracked, an internet repair company that fixed crashed iphones. at 25 he's already start and solded a winery and ran a beekeeping colony in college as well, and this is his power pitch. >> my name is a.j. forsythe and i'm the co-founder and ceo of icracked. your mobile device is your life what, happens when it breaks, water damaged and has too much

fun on a friday night or you want to sell that iphone, ipad stuck in your junk draw? we can dispatch one of our itechs to you in realtime. so far we have 350 itechs in 11 countries, and we're having a blast growing in company. we're adding 50 to 70 new itechs per month and have the best investors and the best team as bald right in the heart of silicon valley. we're building out this network of iteches to take on $20 billion repair and buyback industry in the u.s. alone. we see a world that in the next 24 months will have an itech in every city. we're planning on launching an insurance company. we have a repair and buyback company, and we see a world that no matter where you are or what device you're using we can dispatch one of our itechs to you in realtime to take care of you and your device. >> well, a.j. is on the right of your screen. for now he can hear us, but he can't react just yet.

any way, on our panel is david tisch, founding partner of box group, and he also co-founded the startup accelerator tech stars. we also have tim draper, the managing director of silicon valley's driper fisher, a firm with over $7 billion in capital commitments, some of its in itsable investments skype and tesla motors. great to have you with us. let's huddle up and see what you think about the company. david, what about you, what is your reaction? >> the pitch is incredibly clear. everybody has had this problem or knows somebody who has had this problem and applies to normal people, not just inside the tech world, and i think that's a really powerful place to start. >> what about you, tim? >> i'm sort of kicking myself because my son said you've got to meet this guy at icracked, and i said -- i said, oh, i don't know, repair service, it doesn't really fly for me, and after seeing the pitch, i'm saying, oh, boy, i made a big mistake. i should have followed up.

>> we've all been there, right? i think david you said the first day that you got your iphone back in 2008 you dropped it on the floor, bang, it's cracked. there's a huge demand i think for this kind of repairer is vicious and it seems like they are growing very fast. i just wonder how sustainable it is. a.j., you're in the hot seat. you're already in 11 countries around the world. my question is how sustainable is that kind of growth? >> i think it's as sustainable as the market, is and you're looking at there's going to be 5 billion of these smart devices in the next three years with 7 billion people so we'll be the largest company there to service those. >> david, come in? >> a.j., why the focus on global before you figure out the domestic market? >> a lot of our concentrations are on these heavily populated areas, and we feel that we can expand as asynchronously as in the u.s. and be the first ones to expand in asia and europe. >> tim, what's next? >> now you have this huge service industry around the world, and they are all connected. what do you do now?

>> i think the value in what we're building is in this network of itechs, and i think when we have such a large network we can push any product or service through them and keep in mind, these are the best repair, buyback and insurance teches in the world and we're extremely diligent on who we bring on. >> what if technology gets to the stage that they are pumping out en masse screens that don't crack? >> if you historically chart out technology and what's happened in the last three years we don't see screens coming on that won't crack as technology advances. these products are getting thinner, lighter and will sacrifice structural recovery. >> how do you vet the repair people? >> background check every one of them. five-step interview process, we have a sales team that will vet them at different stages of the process, and we've ended up having about a 2% acceptance rate from the couple hundreds of people that are applying every day. >> why do you care about this? is this your passion for your life? >> i care about this because

we're able to empower hundreds of individuals to like choose their own financial futures, and we have an incredible team put together that we're very passionate about, about servicing our customers. >> okay, folks. you heard what a.j. had to say. are you in or are you out on icracked? david, you first. >> the world will have more and more devices, as a.j. said, 5 bill smartphones and there's tvs and other devices that will be throughout your house. these devices will break and bringing them to the store is the way of the past. the wave of the future is coming to you. i'm in. >> tim, what about you? >> i'm totally in. two thumbs up. this is an exciting business. i like the network he's creating. it's a whole new way to look at servicing, not just iphones but anything else out there. i think you got both thumbs this time. >> i have to say it seems as if they have low capital investment needs. they are moving into other countries and also diversifying and thinking of new markets just in case, for example, like the

ios market starts to get squeezed out a little bit. i also have to say i love his passion. when you've got passion you're already halfway in. i'm there n as well with the thumbs up. >> so three numbers up. three thumbs up. what's your reaction? >> well, that's great to hear. we're looking at continuing our growth with best investors possible. >> thanks so much to a.j. forsythe of icracked for joining us today, along with david and tim on the panel, and that, folks, is your "power pitch." >> icracked, are you in or out? heard what the panel had to say. three thumbs up. are you in or out on a.j.'s startup icracked? logon to powerpitch.cnbc.com. cast your vote there and also follow the conversation on twitter with the #powerpitch. sue? >> thanks, ty. let's get the trading action down here as we inch ever closer to that fed announcement and the

conference at 2:00 p.m. eastern time. bob pisani joins me on the floor of the nyse. as steady as she goes, the market is basically sitting there waiting until 2:00. >> you and i and steve liesman were having an interesting conversation about the relationship between the fed and the size of the balance sheet. show you on the screen, there on the green line is the size of the fed's balance sheet there on the right side, the yellow side, and then you see how the stock market has been doing, and, of course, the important thing is they follow pretty well. this goes back to 2009 when they began questie1. the fed hasn't said longer term that they will reduce the size of their balance sheet and that's part of the anxiety. may 1st, since then, the s&p 500 held up, up about 4%, but it's the bond market that's changing, and really that may 1st announcement is what got everybody talking about the possibility that tape offering

would occur down the road. you can see there's the tlt, the long-term bond etf to the downside. >> down 8%. >> since may 1st. >> bob, thank you very much. how is gold trading ahead of the fed? it's up a little bit. they are closing the market right now. sharon epperson is there at the nymex with the action for us. hi, sharon? >> looking at gold prices closing near the highs of the session, right around 1,374 an ounce, up about $7, but this is more of an evening of positions an short cover traders are waiting to see, of course, what the fed actually says, what person bernanke will say in his press conference as well. that will determine where gold prices will go. trade remembers talking about if there is any talk of tapering. we'll definitely see a slide in gold prices that we had back in may, right around 1,300 ranges, and if we do see a status quo, then, of course, we could see gold prices definitely benefiting closer to 1,400 an

ounce so that's what's what traders are watching right now. really just wait and see for the fed. back to you. >> thank you, sharon. up down to the nasdaq right now. seema modi is following the big movie in backbury today. hi, seema. >> well, a volatile session for blackberry. it was up yesterday. today bernstein downgraded the stock to underperform. the analyst believes the impact of bb-10's launch on blackberry's p & l is largely understood and consensus is above forecasts on shipments for the next quarter so a lot of conflicting news when it comes to blackberry. we'll see who is right in when it comes to the company reporting earnings on june 28th. stock down 1.6%. another interesting story. there's a report out there indicating that apple is looking to indgreat linkedin in its new operating system ios 7. getting a bit on that report, and you want to know the big winner today, adobe systems moving higher plus management indicated create a cloud, a subscription-based version of

its software package, is seeing strong demand. sue, back to you. >> thank you very much, seema. to chicago now where interest rate futures are going to be very interesting as we get closer to that fed announcement. rick santelli is there tracking the action in that and the currencies for us. hi, ricky. >> hi, sue, indeed. boy, it's not going to be easy for traders as you'll see on the following charts once the statement and press conference give us more information. if you look at an intraday chart, we've snuck right up against what technicians have been trying to trade off for a while. may 1st, bob is right. that's the day you want to target the last meeting, and, yes, we're at the top of the yield closing range right around 2.21 to 2ment 2. and then extremes wherever you look, dollar index, euro at an extreme high point and the dollar/yen from that time frame, can you see what went up so aggressively in informing the dollar and nikkei isn't going up

anymore. sue, back to you. >> thanks so much, rick. up to date on the bond market. let's get you up to date on corporate news this hour as well. sony will not consider daniel lowe's proposal to spin off its entertainment business. he heads the new york-based hedge fund third point which now has a 7% stake in sony. dish says it will not raise its bid for sprint nextel and instead it will concentrate its efforts to outbid sprint for clearwire and men's warehouse firing its founder and executive chairman of 40 years george zimmer. while no reason was given, zimmer in a statement said he had expressed his concerns over the direction in which the company was heading. it's down 1.66% today. ty, up to you. >> the american medical association now classifying obesity as a disease, so what does it mean for insurers, your health plan and your employer, plus the final trade before the fed. the results will be out there. the fed statement comes out the

top of the hour. we'll be right back. five big wall street names from five big wall street firms with five big predictions on where wall street is heading in the second half. it's all on one big hour of "power lunch," tomorrow 1:00 p.m. eastern. you want to know where the market is going? these people get paid to look forward, and they are only on "power lunch." don't miss the power summit tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. eastern. ...for the year. hi. sorry. just want to say, i bundled home and auto with state farm, saved 760 bucks. love this guy. so sorry. okay, does it bother anybody else that the mime is talking? frrreeeeaky! [ male announcer ] savings h talking about. state farm.

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after two days of digging, an fbi search of a rural field in suburban detroit has failed to turn up the remains of former teamster bob jimmy hoffa. the latest tip came from a reputed mafia captain who said hoffa had been buried beneath a concrete slab in a barn in oakland township. no find of hoffa. sue? >> all right. we focus on the fed. let's talk about some final trades before that fed announcement. right now the dow is down 20 points. the s&p is down two, and the nasdaq is down about 7.25. jeff kilburg and jim urio are at the cme. jeff, i'm starting with you.

are you cautiously trading ahead of the fed and what positions are you putting on? >> well, there's no doubt that you're cautious in front of an event like this because there's going to be a lot of volatility and a lot of noise meaning the market can swing in one direction before the final interpretation is made of what the fed actually said. at the end of the day rates appear to be going up, and the markets think that as well, too, so whether he talks about a taper in six month or in a year, he probably mentions it and has the market a little bit cautious. so if rates go up, which i believe they are, i would like to go into this, a little bit short ten-year futures and a little bit short, non-dividend pairs, american electric, aep, buying those because they represented a great derivative compared to the yield. if yields are going up, those won't look as good. >> jeff, would you be going long treasuries into the announcement or not? >> a good thing we're in the pit. jimmy and i may have a quick transaction. i want to be long treasuries and jimmy was saying prior to the

number comes out, liquidity in the treasury markets, buying at the 20-year level, buying the etf, get long treasuries, just under 113. i think that's an opportunity to get long. sue, at the end of the day what has bernanke done in the last couple of years? he continues to suppress volatility. the last couple of weeks he's let the volatility out of the bag. hoeltd hold on. my point is that the fed now by the end of the year will own 45% of all paper three-year notes what. will bernanke do, sit back on the treasury curve like an elephant on an anti- >> that's not fair. >> the rates are not going higher. >> the point is we've known for three years that he's buying every treasury there but we've also known there has to be a point where it starts to come to an end, and he's led us to this point. if he goes completely against that now. >> jimmy, what's the big deal? 85 billion or 60 billion a year, they are still buying and still going to hold those assets to maturity. >> but it could freak market out. if he goes from 85 to 60, all of a sudden there's volatility.

one thing that's important is he has to leave us with the resident threat of saying we might be backing off at some point, too, but we have the guns loaded if you guys get too comfortable short. i'm not talking about being all in short. i'm talking about a temporary thing. >> i don't see an aggressive statement. he's been very ho-hum. volatility is not good for the markets. he wants to sedate things right now >> you guys need your own cable show. you guys are booked for the next fed decision. mark your calendars. you're on "power lunch" for the next fed decision. thanks, guys. >> awesome. >> take care, sue. the fed and the economy always high on larry kudlow's agenda, of course, and tonight at 7:00 eastern he'll have texas governor rick perry as his guest. ty? >> all right, sue. the ama says obesity should be classified as a disease, and that could have a big impact on how it's treated and who pays for it, the insurance companies and beyond. more on this big change when we return after this short break. it's also the focus of

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. coming up on "street signs" at the top of this hour. it's one of the most anticipated fed meet national a very long time, so will they or won't they give us any signals over when the fed will bin to pear back its market moves? our guests are all lined up to react and explain what it all means for you. we'll be starting at 1:55. do join us. the big announcement at 2:00 p.m. sharp. do join us for "street signs." >> i can leave five minutes early? >> i'm giving you a gift of five minutes. >> thanks for that. we'll be watching, okay. mayors, 18 cities, including new york and l.a. are reviving a

push to limit food stamps to buy soda. they argue the food stamp program should be to promote good nutrition. the department of agriculture turned down a similar request in 2010, and on a relate note the american medical association says obesity should be classified as a disease bertha coombs reporting now on what that means for businesses, insurers and all of us. ber in a? >> you know, businesses have already been there, tyler. one ama deck gate told me today improving health outcomes is not for the feint of heart and designating obesity a disease is an important tough step. the ama noted that clinical endocrinologists, the national centers for health and medicare and medicaid services have done the same and the hope is that doctors will be more proactive with obese patients. >> it really isn't about losing

weight. >> the link between oboesity and heart disease and diabetes, big employers are already leading the charge. 35% offered on site weight watchers programs and more than half covered bariatric surgery and compliance with behavior modification and other measures that are on par with medical costs. >> they are looking at different ways in which to manage and control health care costs, and this is just one of many ways that i see them continuing to try and control their costs. >> reporter: interestingly obesity drug-makers aren't moving a whole lot on the news except the maker of qsimia but they had positive data on the drugs. this is being called a big step forward in destigmatizing obesity. tyler? >> thanks very much. it is the focus of today's finance.yahoo.com question, and

31% of you say the government and the private sector should join in the fight against obesity. 22% say employers shouldn't be required to cover obesity treatments, and 47% of you say policy-makers need to stay out of personal lives. sue? >> ty, did the president effectively fire fed chief ben bernanke in his recent comments? the power rundown is coming up next. ♪

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robert frank, john carney, power rundown time starting with charlie rose's interview with president obama in which he hinted that ben bernanke stayed longer than he was supposed to. do you think the president essentially fire him? >> he doesn't want to stay two terms. >> insensitive to bernanke but more importantly insensitive to markets right now to raise the uncertainty of is he going to stay or go and by the way you're fired? >> certainly a sign that bernanke was not going to be reappointed, subtle or not. >> look, he's got to get moving on this. bernanke's term ends in january, got to get somebody in place

before then, so i think, you know, not really jumping the gun. >> and bernanke has said he's not going to the fed conference out in jackson hole later this year. bernanke has evaded questions about his life after the fed. what do you think he'll do, robert? >> i hope he goes back to teaching. wrote a great textbook on macro economics with a. robert frank. i think we have a photo of that. we need to sell more of those. not me but the great cornell economist. >> i think he's not just going to go back to teaching. i see a university presidency in his future. that's what he's going to do. >> very interesting thought. i think it's going to be a reality show on bravo with the kardashians, and according to the a.p. senator chuck grassley's office has learned the irs is close to paying $70 million in bonuses to its employees union. weigh in on this one, john. >> look, it's ridiculous. the rest of the government is being cut, but for some reason the senators had to detect that these bonuses were being paid after they were instructed by the obama administration not to pay. the irs is a runaway bureaucracy. >> wow.

this is a shocker to me. >> wow, but they have a contractual obligation with the union so there's serious union negotiations. how do you get a bonus at the irs, if you audit more and more rich people, you get a bonus? >> i had no idea the federal government was in the practice of paying bonuses to anybody. >> komg come up with good search teams of getting the tea party, you get a good bonus. >> oh, john. the dow is down about 18 points and the nasdaq 7.5. >> let's take a quick look at where interest rates are sitting, ty. the dow down 18 and the s&p down 1.75 and the nasdaq down 7.5, we actually have the ten-year yield holding steady right now. last trade there is at just about 2.20%. we'll see how much that moves after the fed decision and the dollar is looking a little vulnerable in today's trading session, especially against the yen and against the euro, with the euro on the upside today, so

a lot straight ahead, ty >> you bet. it's going to be a very, very busy and interesting hour. that will do it for "power lunch." >> more fed coverage right now. five big wall street names from five big wall street firms with five big predictions on where wall street is heading in the second half. it's all on one big hour of "power lunch." tomorrow, 1:00 p.m. eastern. you want to know where the markets are going? these people get paid to look forward, and they are only on "power lunch." don't miss "the power summit" tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. eastern. we've completely integrated every step of the process, making it easier to try filters and strategies... to get a list of equity options... evaluate them with our p&l calculator... and execute faster with our more intuitive trade ticket. i'm greg stevens, and i helped create fidelity's options platform. it's one more innovative reason serious investors are choosing fidelity. now get 200 free trades when you open an account.

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will the fed say the economy is better or worse than we think? will it pull back on its bond buying binge? will ben bernanke make hints about his own future? so much intrigue on this fed day, and welcome, everybody, to a very special "street signs," folks, fwhr a few minutes we're going to find out about interest rates and then the action will begin with the fed news conference. mandy? >> indeed it will. welcome, everybody. we have an all-star panel lined up for you today. we have pimco's bill gross, jpmorg jpmorgan's david kelly and diane swonk and our very own steve liesmanch we'll hear from all of them in just a moment's time but

here is where the markets are standing just minutes ahead of that big fed decision. the dow is off by 17 points. the nasdaq is down by 7, and the s&p is down by 1.5 points. well, joining us now is diane swonk, chief economist and managing director at merzio finance and david kelly with jpmorgan funds. great to have you with us here today. ladies first on "street signs." diane, what are you expecting today? >> well, i'm expecting the fed to keep its purchase program at 85 billion per month for now. the u.s. economy has slowed since the beginning of the year, and i think they will acknowledge that in their forecast and also the sequester and fiscal drag will be a focus of what ben bernanke highlights when he talks about the forecast later on. >> what about you, david, do you think there's anything that potentially market-moving today? >> well, i don't think they will change much about their statement at all. i agree with diane about the pace of purchases. i do think that in this press conference ben bernanky will

probably acknowledge within a few meetings they will begin to taper. we've got to desensitize the market. they cannot keep purchasing $1 trillion worth of bonds every year. they will try to gradually get markets accustomed to that but i don't see any policy changes. >> diane, maybe it will be our own steve liesman at the federal reserve, to directly ask bernanke a question and i'm dropping hints here, very simple police. is there any scenario in which you would begin to reduce your bond buying before the end of the year, and if not, why? seems simple. as journalists, we should be able to corner even the obfuscating bernanke? >> he's not as obfuscating as greenspan was, let's face it, a lot more transparent, so i think in that way i do think person bernanke will clarify what he means by tapering, and tapering is really still stimulus from the fed's perspective and something steve has been talking about on air about the tug and pull the market has had. they act like this is an exit, not an exit.

in fact, we're now at qe3 is about the size of qe2 in terms of purchases and if it continues into 2014, even as they taper, it could exceed qe1 which was 1.2 trillion so that's a really important point that the fed has to clarify about what it means to taper. that will be ben bernanke's challenge about dealing with that and how he'll coalesce the goal of the fomc. >> do you think the comments by president obama on charlie rose monday made him essentially a lame duck? >> i think we all knew that ben bernanke was leaving. i thy it's unfortunate that it came out the way that it did. at the end of the day we all expected ben bernanke to leave by january. it's been a long haul. >> diane, diane, diane. >> he wants to return to princeton. >> if my boss was interviewed and they said brian sullivan stayed longer than he's supposed to.

i'm packing my bags today. i've been tossed out. >> he also talked about ben bernanke in a favorable light so i'm not going to get into that debate but on the other side i wish he wouldn't have said it because it adds a lot of noise to this press conference we don't need especially in terms of the solidarity on the fomc and what the fomc consensus is and i think this is an optimal time of color the dots in for those who vote and don't vote and make it very clear to financial markets whose voice matters and whose voice matters less when it comes to monetary policy at this point in time. >> in 30 seconds or less, do you think the fed has been trying to let a little air out of equities markets with their recent comments? >> no, i think they are trying to see if the economy can deal with higher rates. i think one of the important messages from ben bernanke today will be, look, it's okay if rates go up a bit. they will still be very low. there's still a lot of monetary stimulus. the economy this year has gotten buy with a lot less fiscal stimulus. we got fiscal drag and i think they can get by with a lot of

monetary stimulus, too, but he has to express confidence to be able to do but the the morphine drip of monetary policy without stimulus. >> a few seconds to go until we're about to get the fed announcement. steve liesman is at the fed with the announcement. steve liesman? >> no taper in the statement today. the fed saying the downside risks for the labor market and the economy have diminished, perhaps setting the stage for tapering. there were two dissent, one from the hawkish side and one from the dovish side, one from george and one from bullard. let's get to the details now. the economy seemed just like it was last time, expanding at a moderate pace, a slight tweak to the gdp forecast. back to that later. the labor market upgraded just a touch, seen as further improving rather than some improvement and same concern about the unemployment rate, the unemployment rate remaining elevated. you'll see in the fo