dennis: two extremes on the fed. one guest said the new gdp number means less likely to the disciplines that more likely. the fed markets can't figure out. cheryl: we also have been following hurricane isaac which at this point is sitting right over the city of new orleans and other areas and lori rothman and nicole petallides will continue our coverage in that regard. lori: i have to tell you i am lowering the bar of expectations for the fed chief come jackson hole. the gdp -- revised upward this morning and the hurricane in full force. i am lori rothman. nicole: i am nicole petallides. nicole: hurricane isaac drenching louisiana as a slow-moving storm causing flooding and power outages and bringing most oil production in

the golf. the flood production system holding up. we go live to new orleans in moments. we are going to look at the cost of the damage this form is causing. our people properly insured for big storms like this? is government aid available land the insurance company's going to take after all is said and done? >> taking center stage at the rnc, we will go live to tampa for the latest on that and a close look at what the debt could do to the economy and treasury yields which are rising today. better than expected economic news on the wholesale markets off. let's talk about the equities market as we do every 15 minutes and go to the stock exchange. lauren simonetti covering the action. stocks slightly higher. that is the team all week. >> traders are really trying to

keep their powder dry ahead of friday's symposiums so that is what we are seeing now and it looks like we are at the highs of the market in terms of the s&p 500. we have a better than a second hit on the gdp read and spending home sales in july at a two year high and we see some green arrows on the board and energy is a big drag. oil prices down by $1.27. producers down like devon energy and trans ocean and the refiners not having the best day today because hurricane isaac has essentially left unscathed. that is the good news even though we are seeing red arrows. valero is giving back the huge gains and saw monday and yesterday sell a little bit of a given back. back to you. nicole: thanks. hurricane isaac continues to lash new orleans and dangerous form surge and floods are part of the heavy rains we are seeing

continuing today. tonight jeff flock has been on the scene over there in new orleans. what is the latest? you have been getting whipped around and we have been watching you all day. >> this is my kind of hurricane. this is a category 1 storm that you can actually do a decent job of covering with live television but not one that hurts too many people does too much damage. on this corner earlier in the morning we have had a lot of wind and rain but the damage not terrible across the city. there has been damaged but not devastating. i will look at the radar because i am starting to see potentially good news. we talked 36 hours worth of hurricane force winds and the rest and some reduction in wind speed and if you look where we are the hurricane right now is ten miles northwest of the city of colon, louisiana. new orleans is off to the east of that fee.

the worst conditions because the northeast quadrant is where the worst of the conviction and the wind is but at this point, you see that rotation moving away from us in new orleans moving to the north and not as intense. that is a good thing as it moves -- a significant storm but we won't have anything that will do terrible damage out there. that may be why oil has been in better shape. a bloody the dogs or not as bad as it could have been. that is a positive. >> such an improvement from earlier this morning. first thing this morning you nearly blew away. i was concerned for your safety. you say you were pointing a reduction in wind speed if. is the worst behind you? jeff: you always hate to say that because he essentially there are other way of that can come in behind ewing you might

get a squall line to come through and get some intensity but the thing that made it tough before his nonstop. now we're getting some breaks in the storm. >> we're seeing some cars go by. earlier you were getting whipped around and resell lampposts and a window break next the when glass was flying and not to minimize it at all i still see you being blown around that turns out we're finding billions of dollars that were spent on flood devices for new orleans seem to be working. i you finding that now? jeff: you make the perfect point. we want to get to the levees at some point. really impressive pieces of engineering. they are large and well engineered and they have done the job not that this was a big hurricane but the pumping system too because we don't have a lot of water and they did a good

job. the new pumps. this was a good test for new orleans but the next real significant one--that is what it needed. a bit of a test. not to minimize those who have been harmed. >> my reference to katrina in 2005 and caution that was taken. lori: we have breaking news. we want to go to charlie gasparino. breaking news regarding mitt romney and his performance in the swing states. charlie: something called the council of 100, 100 of his top advisers, fund-raisers are going to be meeting today at 3:00 p.m. and what they're going to be getting is a glimpse -- the first glimpse of the internal romney polling how he is doing in these battleground states. we will find out about that at 3:00 p.m. weather team romney

will and release their internal polls. candidates like to tout those internal polls especially when they differ with the published ones. that is what is going on with internal polling because it will be interesting that it is the first sort of look at the campaign getting bounced from this convention. it is unclear, a little bounce but the internal polls showing something different but we will find out today. talk to a lot of people here, they think he is doing better in the battleground states. when i say people people associated with the campaign or a minor ones that he is doing better in the states than what public polling is showing. we will see if internal polls are saying that. it should be pretty interesting. it is the bounce that everyone is talking about.

they're very hopeful that he does but we will find out what the internal polls say and this meeting is at 3:00 p.m. today. >> we will look at additional news about mitt romney in the swing states and expect to hear from paul ryan among headliner's so lots of action. a lot of things to be determined to come. a lot more on isaac including a live update from the mayor of new orleans. >> farmers taking a big economic hit, think again. we will tell you why and as we head to break let's look at the medals here. gold and silver and copper with down arrows. let [ male announcer ] let's level the playing field.

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>> let's make money with charles

payne. >> medical surgical do robotic arm in the orthopedic area. and stock being so heavily shorted. good news out. one of the distributors in europe legally british company said there were strong orders better than wall street anticipated which is why stock is up 10%. you think the stock is down 60% from its 52 week high. resistance is 20. having said that i would use $15.90. >> it would be charged extra tax under obamacare. charles: of medical device companies would be. long-term, still my favorite play but this could be a squeeze. [talking over each other] >> thanks a lot. it is becoming clear that the

threat of slow-moving hurricane isaac may not come from the wind but the possible flooding. no one knows this better than our next guests, the ceo of a property-casualty insurance association of america. we are happy to have you with us to break this down. flooding and wind insurance are two kinds of insurance and that movement means a lot of rain. >> one of the things we tried to convey at the beginning of hurricane season to all policyholders out there is the point you just made that homeowners cover normal homeowner's policy, that is a separate policy. very good news that congress reauthorize the national flood insurance program for five years but that doesn't do folks much good unless they purchase the coverage and it looks like a

major losses this time will be from the over topping of the dikes and flooding from the rain. >> where do you think this could rank in our history of damage or insurance based on the rain you are expecting or what you are a hearing so far? is it hard to gauge at this point? >> too early to gauge. the storm is still raging. will take a little time before claims adjusters can get in there and begin looking at that. we know there are $480 billion of insured property in the area where it will hit landfall. [talking over each other] >> i don't have much time with you but i want to ask about the flood insurance you were talking the about. two thoughts, you can get flooding assurance and how much is it and it is very costly from what i understand and if you

have a mortgage on the home how does that way in? people paying out of their pocket basically. >> if you have a federally backed mortgage which is the vast majority of mortgages out there today you are required by law to have flood coverage for that home if you have a federal the insured mortgage so it is something required by law and the cost is not nearly as significant as the cost of being uninsured and having to pick up all of that on -- out-of-pocket cost when your home floods. >> thank you very much. we appreciate hearing from you and following the storm very closely with all the rain and wind. if you are following the market closely it is a quarter after an time for another update on the stock market with lauren simonetti live from the stock exchange. >> the retail sector.

let's talk about the bank and retailer stocks up really nice today. super gains. the reason would be profits are up 13%. double digit revenue growth success with direct marketing sales and you can see 17% gain. joy global is another stock to point out. this is your china story. their growth is decelerating and that has an impact which makes mining equipment. they cut full-year outlook for the second time this year and their ceo said deceleration in china demand has the teary rated more quickly and severely than previously expected. the heavy equipmentmakers you see make tractors and towers and everything else. back to you. nicole: thank you for bringing those stocks. news of hurricane isaac pushed the drought story to the back burner but we are keeping an eye on it and learning there are

profits being made down on the farm. despite the worst drought in decades this year is gearing up to be the morris -- most profitable for u.s. farmers on record. according to the department of agriculture net farm income will reach $422 billion. that is a 4% increase, high price of grain paying up the crop insurance program more than making up for smaller headaches. there is good news for all of us who buy food. isaac expected to bring rain to the drought-stricken areas later in the weekend that could bring down the higher grocery store prices. in the meantime our rising debt is being highlighted at the rnc with the big debt clock. we will drag down our economy. we are going to do what will it take for uncle sam to bring down those costs. treasury yield and after the break from russell investment chief investment officer at fixed-income. >> and a preview of paul ryan's big night but first a look at

how the dollar is faring today.

>> your fox news minute. hurricane isaac is expected to maintain strength through the day as it lbs. louisiana with rain and 75 mile per hour wind. the national hurricane center says new orleans area may see another day of stormy weather because the first half of isaac is moving through the region. new orleans's brendel led the system is doing its job so far

following catastrophic failures from katrina seven years ago. homes and businesses have lost power as i that continues to turn on the louisiana coast. most of those outages are in areas around new orleans. isaac did push water over one area flooding homes. talk about a breach of discovery. a team of european and american astronomers found one of the ingredients of life. not caffeine but sugar in the gas cloud surrounding a young star. i should have taken astronomy. i don't get these things. a sugar monocle molecule was spotted near its are similar to the sun. those are your news headlines on the fox business network. now back to nicole petallides and lori rothman who are probably scientists. [talking over each other] >> i hope the comes over house.

[talking over each other] >> you are awfully sweet. [talking over each other] >> tonight is paul ryan's big moment as he takes center stage at the republican convention. let's go to rich edson at the rnc in tampa with the latest. >> the policy guide tonight. paul ryan, chosen as the vp nomination as author of the european fiscal plan. we expect to hear substance from paul ryan on the republican proposal. aides say that he will talk the choice of fiscal future between democrats and republicans much like chris christie did. >> i am telling the truth. we are about facing up to the hardships that need to be faced up to that have not been faced up to by either party for a long time. we are about a party that recognizes someone has got to be

responsible. >> paul ryan speaks in the 10:00 p.m. hour. governor romney will watch that speech from his hotel room before ryan's >> we will hear from condoleezza rice where a campaign aide says she will not use the teleprompter making her among the first in tampa. back to you. cheryl: thank you for that live report. our national debt is getting close to the $16 trillion market every day. there is our clock. it is a focus for the republican national convention but will the soaring deficit drag down the struggling economy? joining me is russell investment's chief investment officer. good to have you. >> good to be here. >> i know the european sovereign debt crisis and that are huge influences but why doesn't the bond market care about the ballooning national debt? >> the bond market does care.

the fundamental issue the bond market cares about is inflation and right now inflation is 2% and you have strong technicals from a flight to safety. and that includes asian investors and a safety bid and central bank buying. can real value -- [talking over each other] >> the market is distorted. is it going to become real for lack of a better way to characterize it. will we see a catalyst to send rates spiking which will be damaging for the broader economy. >> yields go up 225 year from now. that is our forecast. certainly if we get more certainty around the fiscal cliff around the elections and europe we do see yields going

up, certainty is revealed in the marketplace. >> you see this as a bond bubble about to burst with ripple effect trying to hone in on this? >> bond bubbles are hard to identify. i would say we are not in a bond bubble but we have a distorted market by 25 or 50 basis points as a result of people looking for safety and central bank buying. it is distorted a bit as a result of those factors. i would say so. >> fascinating stuff. thank you for your analysis. >> our economy grew 1.7% in the second quarter. ben bernanke signal more stimulus later this week? we will take a closer look at jackson hole. as we head to break let's look at today's winners and losers on the s&p 500. the volatility index hitting a four week high. we have some action today and

some big winners. google of 1-1/4%. price line and sherwin-williams gaining ground. back with more after this. want to try to crack it? yeah, that's the way to do it!

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lori: stocks as we do every 15 minutes. i can't believe 15 minutes already passed since we talked with lauren on the new york stock exchange. the vix sup here. people are trading. >> exactly. so unusual if you watch the vix. it is at a four-year high today. on august 17th it hit a five-year low. that is volatility in a short period of time. we do have stocks right near session highs right now so we're continuing to build. we did get decent data this morning in the form of pending home sales as well as the second print for q2

gdp. we're in the green. we'll look at we'll point. they got an upgrade by bernstein, wellpoint did from outperform from market form. the ceo is resigning, angela braley. companies like omega a t. rowe price, really frustrated with the stock's performance under her leadership. so they're floating some names that could replace here and perhaps one of those names being floated is james carlson. he is the ceo of amerigroup. the medicaid focus health care company that wellpoint is in the process of buying. back to you. lori: thank you, lauren. nicole: slightly stronger gdp data out today my next guest thinks conditions are favorable for growth in the second half of the year. joining me to talk about this some more is looking at gdp data some more and outlook for what we should expect from the federal

reserve and obviously what we're seeing in jackson hole the symposium coming up i wanted to talk to that mora senior equities economist. you think the news is more favorable, economic news that is and how do i think that may or ney not -- may not for jackson hole later in the week? >> you're right. a lot of data points suggested that the economy is stable and not falling off a cliff let's say. today's gdp report showing upward v. vision for the second quarter was also positive news. how that has bearing on fed policy we still have an economy growing 2% or less. that means the fed is still failing on one of its mandates to have healthy growth in the economy that promote as lower stable employment rate and or full employment and we're not

getting that yet. today's data builds on the date we're getting still suggest as economy moving sideways. for jack hon -- jackson hole we're concentrating on holiday weekend but we have bernanke to thank for that. this is typically not a time when the fed chairman sipping nals changes in policy. jackson hole is a academic gathering. in 2010 he did signal an upcoming change in policy. we got a change two months after that meeting in monetary policy. it led to expectations that may be inflated for some kind of signal from jackson hole every year. nicole: that is the whole point. people wonder historically if this is the right time to make a move or imply something more was coming. you're saying you think it is not likely to see that later this week. so, whether it is seasonal

or historical, what do you think? what are your some of your predictions? there is no doubt that the news we've been getting is a little better than it was but it is not as bad as it was but it is still terrible. 8% unemployment since february '09. 1.7% goochlt dp growth is pathetic. what is some of your outlook? if you give me one, two, three, what do you i this, good, bad terrible? where do you think us going? >> i think more of the same, the economy moves sideways around the anemic growth rate. we're facing too many headwinds as congress wrangles the bridge and the fiscal cliff that uncertainty will cause for businesses consumers and investors t will be very difficult or i don't see where the impetus for a huge pickup or acceleration in the recovery. i think we're saddled with this anemic growth rate for quite some time. we're still trying to repair household balance sheets now. the government has to get

its household balance sheet in order. nicole: right. >> so we sort of shifted from that private sector deleveraging to the public sector deleveraging that will typically hold back economic growth for years. nicole: ellen, from nomura, senior economist. thanks for your insight. right, we're facing a lot of headwind indeed. lori: if you want more good news, let's get the latest on hurricane. sarcasm i hope you caught that. hurricane isaac wreaking havoc on the gulf coast bringing oil to a stand still. g7 calling for emergency oil reserves to be released if necessary. peter barnes with the very latest. peter. >> the gulf accounts for 20% of u.s. total oil production and 7% of natural gas output. the government says isaac has disrupted about 93% of oil and 67% of gas production. refining is down more than 900,000 barrels a day. that is 12% of total

capacity down there. so all of this did send oil and gasoline prices up a bit but sent calls for possibly tapping the strategic petroleum reserve up a lot. the g7 saying quote, we sand ready to call upon the international energy agency to take appropriate action to insure that the market is fully and timely supplied. the white house says that the option of tapping the spr remains on the table but fortunately isaac is largely missing the production platforms. so there is little damage to them. and oil prices have actually come down on that news alongwith reports that crude inventories were much higher than expected. so the pressure to tap reserves appears to be easing. >> just look at the market. the market, the price of crude oil and gasoline has not moved much as a result of the storm. which indicates the market is reasonably adequately supplied. and there is really not a need to release reserves at this time.

>> now the government has released plenty of oil from the spr in the past because of hurricanes. it sold 11 million barrels in 2005 for example, when katrina slammed into the gulf coast ex-ends tiffly -- extensively damaging rigs and refineries. such repleases -- releases helped supplies in the short term. lori: overnight there was a big spike in retail price of gasoline the at least five cents a gallon. >> right. lori: interesting oil is down gas is up. we'll check in with you to cover it as we continue our reporting. >> thanks. lori: trying to get out of the break. nicole: certainly moment to moment. that is the whole point. we'll have another update for you on isaac's slow-moving and very destructive path. slow moving. lots of rain, 600,000 people without power. lori: that is a water event. we'll look at the impact in chicago on the floor of the cme where commodities are trading. we'll have more about oil, natural gas, gas prices on

the retail level. all an impact we're going to feel around the country but first let's take a look at interest rates. we were chatting about this. not a bond bubble. the rates are up on better-than-expected economic news. print on second quarter gdp, 1.7%. nothing to write home about. existing home sales were pretty good. that is helping matters sending interest rates higher. back with more after this. ♪

you know, ronny... folks who save hundreds of dollars by switching to geico sure are happy. and how happy are they jimmy? i'd say happier than a bodybuilder directing traffic. he does look happy. get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. >> i'm adam shapiro with your fox business brief. trading is light for a third straight day ahead of federal reserve chairman ben bernanke's comments friday from the central bank's jackson hole, wyoming symposium. state of illinois gets a rating downgrade from standard & poor's. it reflects the state's pension funding levels and lack of true reform. illinois was hit with a negative outlook because the potential for further pension erosion and risk of

future budget performance. wal-mart is offering relief at gas pump. the retailer offers a promotion 15 cents a gallon purchase for shoppers using the wal-mart card. the discount will be available through christmas eve at murphy usa and wal-mart supercenter gas stations. the dow is up 31 points. that's the latest from the fox business, giving you the power to prosper.

nicole: we've been talking so much about slow-moving hurricane isaac and it continues to pummel new orleans of the with more on that and all the latest news from there, where is it going to go next? let's talk to our meteorologist janice dean in the weather center, the fox business weather center. janice, what's the latest? >> the latest we got the new advisory a little earlier than 2:00 but it's still a

hurricane if you can believe it and the presentation on satellite is still quite good. we have a well-defined center. let's look at the satellite radar imagery and i can show you that. still a well-defined center and the center is across land and should be weakening but it is not. we're looking potential for tornados throughout the afternoon. unfortunately we have several tornado warnings through the mississippi area, hattiesburg and west of biloxi. that is one of the main concerns. we have the outer rain bands from the storm, counter clockwise, rotation across land and that is giving us the potential for tornados throughout the afternoon. so there's the latest. latest track as of 2:00 p.m. you can see it doesn't move very quickly. we'll still deal with at least a tropical storm for next 12 to 24 hours through much of the state of louisiana. then eventually up toward the plain states and midwest where they really need the rain. sohat is the good news out

of this storm. eventually we'll get there. back to you. nicole: you're right. that storm will not quick. hovering there and continues to pour the rain on and we're continued about storm surge. lori: interesting take might get drought relief. so nice rosy picture there at least brighter side of things. so, still we're in the thick of it, gulf energy operations at, nearly a standstill because of hurricane isaac. 94% of the oil production is shuttered. the storm left offshore oil and gas platforms largely unscathed, but as we said not out of the woods yet. the attention turns to flooding and refineries along the gulf coast. phil flynn in the pits of the cme. a lot of news to sift through. as far as oil netting out for a down day or the barrel. >> it is. we did get the bearish api report. but not quite as bearish as the eia. so we were down pretty good on that, but, it is almost look we're getting a janice dean rally here. as soon as that report

janice dean came out this is still a hurricane seemed to give oil a little bit of a bounce. we were down 1:10, 11. we were only down 93 cents. traders might get the sense maybe we shouldn't sound the all-clear signal just yet. obviously flooding is a major issue. one of the seaway pipeline underwater right now. that looks up to the sabien pipeline for natural gas. a lot of refineries may be under water. the other issue, power. we have a lot of power outrages in -- outages in louisiana. it may take longer than people think to get the refineries online. out in the gulf of mexico the storm is hanging out there. it is not moving very quickly. the longer it takes to get the people back on the rigs to get them online. all this suggests there are still issues we have to deal with. that is one of the reasons we're not down more in the aftermath of the storm.

lori: give us a quick update on nat-gas? >> i think natural gas is fairly steady right now. the amazing thing about this storm we realized we're not as dependent on the gulf of mexico. we're talking six, 7% the nation's production. we used to be 50%. so we'll not be impacted as much. one with thing i do have to concern people with, short term if more pipelines are underwater, that will create kind of a shortage of supply. we should be supported off this storm right now. lori: phil, grate info. thank you, sir as always. >> thank you. nicole: it is quarter to, as we do every 15 minutes, let's check in with the markets. lauren sim sim is on the floor of the new york stock exchange watching yelp. >> yelp shares are surging. nicole, traders are saying hi to you, next to me. they distracted me. they missed you. got to hurry up. yelp shares are surging 17%

today. that was 180 days since the lockup period expired after, the ipo back in march when they ipo aid in $15. it has been phenomenal ride. this is like a slap in the face-to-face book, right? we all remember, august 16th, not too long ago, the facebook first lockup period expired and shares fell to the lowest level ever, at 18.75. right now, facebook shares are trading, above 19 but obviously remember they hit $45 at one point on ipo back in may. this is like a tale of two techs. back to you, ladies. nicole: absolutely right, lauren. thank you. and thank you to the traders. lori: florida will play an important role in the presidential election. that's for sure. what are people in the hard-hit sunshine state. what can be done to turn the struggling economy around. >> find out after the break. nicole: we'll look at today's winners and there

are some losers as well.

lori: breaking news on hurricane isaac. governor of louisiana, bobby jindal a levee may have been intentionally breached to relief storm surge pressure in plaquemines parish. this is a parish where a levee was breached by storm surge trapping people. no word if the people have been rescued. these are levees updated since hurricane katrina. today is the anniversary of that category 3 your kind seven years ago. nicole: back in 2005 we saw multibillions of dollars. hurricane isaac continues to bear down on the gulf region the storm impact is being

felt on wall street as insurer stocks react to the storm. sandra smith is here with all the details in today's trade. >> hey, nicole, hey, lori. definitely an interesting trade going on here. you would think insurers would be spooked by this. investors would be fleeing out of the insurers because of potential damage done down there but no, they're actually buying. allstate at the highs of the session of barclays came out with a note. the losses should be manageable. they estimate about $5 billion in industry losses but they said that insurers like all state that covers the area are well-capitalized to handle this. it is getting a bounce. barclays likes that company at these levels. the other stocks we're looking at, travelers. barclays has this on their buy list. they also like chubb. all of these are companies that do cover the region. by the way something really important to point out when we look at allstate. we just looked into this. they have greatly reduced the exposure in the new orleans gulf coast region. since hurricane katrina they

reduced their exposure by 20%. they have 10%. that region covered. certainly an interesting play on insurers. they're not bailing on them. they're well-capitalized bond maybe even boost premiums. some are a buy at these levels. nicole: a little bit of a relief. could have been so much worse and the fact that they got out of the gulf. >> thank you. lori: 29 electoral votes up for grabs florida playing a key role in the presidential race. they have the third worst foreclosure filing rate and unemployment worse than the national average. we have a man running for state senate that includes miami. he just returned from the rnn in tampa. john, good to have you. >> thank you, lori. lori: is the rnc sending right message to florida. >> it definitely is. folks are pumped there is lot of energy at the convention i think it is

because people are really focused on growth and not just anemic growth or sort of slightly better than what we're seeing growth but swinging for the fences growth. here in florida we need the kind of game changing growth that, you know, folks in the party are talking about. you were talking about 8.8% unemployment in the state. this community where i'm sitting, we have 9.9% unemployment, higher than the state and national averages. i think we need to come to the table with some creative pro-growth policies in order to change the direction of this. lori: you say you're from florida. people around the country, john, automatically think of medicare. you're a former federal pros to. you -- prosecutor. you handle a lot of cases dealing with medicare fraud. can romney-ryan prevent it from going bankrupt? >> yes. it is not just keeping promise to the current generation of medicare recipients but to their kids. first thing they think about in the morning are their grandchildren. that is the right way to

frame the debate. how do we as a society approach medicare to make sure the promises we're making and keeping aren't just for today but for future generations? i think the answer lies in very aggressive prosecution of fraud and waist and abuse in the system. florida is lamentably the medicare fraud capital of united states. it is the capital of enforcement efforts. i'm proud and humble to have been a part of our really, really robust prosecution efforts for --. lori: i want to get to a couple things. so sorry to interrupt you. >> no problem. lori: we met many times. a lot of friends in common. you're a cuban-american. >> i am. lori: you must admire marco rubio. i always thought you seem so similar to him, the way you look, sound, policies, your outlook. >> that's kind. marco is lot more attractive than i. he and i from the same neighborhood. we have some background in common. just as important, he is tapped into something that i think everybody, regardless of political stance should tap into. that is talking about the

future in an optimistic way. our great leaders without regard to party, from fdr to reagan are great because they get americans to dare great things. and i'm running in part because i think it is time for america to dare great things again. marco communicates that very well. lori: you've been endorsed by the florida chamber of commerce yet you're challenging a long-time incumbent. her name is gwen margolis. she has been in office since the late '70s, john. she raised more money than you. it. this is uphill battle for you. >> it is. everything i've done in my life has been a uphill battle. i'm cuban-american. i was in working class background. i worked my way through harvard college and harvard law. as far as challenges i've taken on in my life. lori: how old are you john? >> i'm 34 years old. and i got to tell you i'm really excited about this. i'm honored to have the support of the florida chamber. i think it says a lot of people who make investments for a living invested in our

future and sort of long on florida, long term. are long on this candidacy. lori: john couriel running state senate in florida. covering a district that includes miami. a lot of economic challenges. florida is a swing state. interesting to hear politician's take. nicole: at 34 years old, trying to take on an incumbent from the late '70s. good luck. lori: indeed. in a few moments we'll have insight on the recovery and where it is headed from the fed to beige book is released. all this other news. will this bury the beige book? can't do that. tracy and ashley up after the break. more on hurricane isaac so keep it here on fox business. all energy development comes with some risk, but proven technologies allow natural gas producers to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air - by monitoring air quality and reducing emissions... ...protect water - through conservation and self-contained recycling systems...

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>> well, we covered a lot for you from the republican national convention. we're keeping a close eye on hurricane isaac which continues to pour the rain has been coming down. storm surge has been a big

concern. >> a little bit of a market reaction in the commodities pits. >> over 600,000 without power still. ashley: we thought this yesterday, didn't we? huge storm that will not move very fast at all. here is what we're seeing as a result of all of that. ladies thank you very much. tracy: i'm tracy byrnes. >> i'm ashley webster. as we said hurricane isaac testing new orleans $14 billion levees for the first time since hurricane katrina devastated the big easy some seven years ago today. the so far the levees are holding but the slow-moving storm causing flooding, wind damage and power outages along the gulf coast. tracy: we'll go right to peter barnes. he has the fed's beige book. peter, what have you got? >> tracy there is ammunition in the fed's august beige book for members who want to vote for more monetary easying when they meet september 12th. report from the four bank districts suggest, quote, economic activity continued to expand gradually in july

and early august across most regions and sectors. now with inflation under control federal reserve chairman ben bernanke and other fed members have made it clear that getting unemployment down is the top priority for the fed right now and the beige book says, quote, most districts reported that employment was holding steady or growing only slightly. now the report suggests that manufacturing in particular is taking a hit. quote, many districts report some softening in manufacturing, weakness overseas remains a problem with sales in europe and asia softening but real estate was a positive in the beige book with all 12 districts reporting increased home sales, home prices or housing construction. and most districts reported higher retail spending. ashley and tracy. tracy: peter barnes, thank you very much for that. that is real interesting, ash. that is basically a pretty positive report for manufacturing which was hit and blamed overseas which

everybody is doing. ashley: unemployment not showing great signs but maybe that lessens the possibilities. tracy: inflation under control. real estate seeing signs of improvement. ashley: yep. tracy: economy slightly expanding that is pretty good news? ashley: that is good news. i don't know we'll get a whole lot of market reaction. time for stocks as we do every 15 minutes as we do with lauren simonetti on floor of the new york stock exchange. >> when peter was giving news from the beige book i couldn't help but think about news we got this morning. joy global, weakness in china and europe is affecting them. we are still holding gains but no, we did not rally on that beige book report some this is how the markets are be looking overall. take a quick look at some of your social media stocks today, the review web sites. we're talking lockup expirations. it happens 180 days after the march ipo for yelp. the stock is surging right now. also surging is angie's list up by about 11% right now.

they had their lockup expiration on august the 1th and they are having a good day today. oppenheimer boosting the rating to outperform on an by's list. back to you. ashley: lauren, thank you very much. tracy: we'll see how they digest the news i guess. hurricane isaac continues to pummel the gulf coast with strong wind and heavy rain causing flooding leaving of hundreds of thousands of people without power. jeff flock still in new orleans with the latest. jeff, how are you doing? >> in the french quarter where there is still power, one. few places in new orleans there is still power and there is also damage in the french quarter. take a look. i got a handful of glass from this electronics store. we were here when this actually blew out, a big front door and window of this location. i'll tell you, we've been mostly sheltered today by the voodoo mart canopy which is always a good thing. i don't know if that is good karma for our coverage. it was not too bad.

speaking of too bad, the hurricane has not been too bad. it is a category 1 storm obviously. so things could be a lot worse and the wind right now were worse. not so bad either. and the rain is not as intense as it was. but i'll tell you we're still getting a lot of rain. that is one of the things we said here from the outset. if you look up and down, canal street, you see car activity, that we did not see earlier. you occasionally see people, walking surveying. the occasional strappedded tourist will come out. and i think everyone agrees this was not so bad. but you know, i just got to tell you from having been here in katrina seven years ago to this day, when we came out of the hotel or out, i was in a parking garage. after katrina passed we said wow, the city is not so bad. there was more structural damage than there is going to be today but it wasn't so bad. it was briefing of levees that really did most of the damage in katrina. that has not happened. they have solidly held.

the pumps have held and worked well. and these streets are free of water except that which is falling as we speak. so i think all in all, a good story here, unless of course you like destruction and mayhem. but think good news for new orleans. they passed this test near as we can tell. of course there is still more hurricane to come here. we're not totally done yet. tracy: sure is. glad to see you're safe. the people of new orleans must be proud that they pulled this off. >> they have. they did a nice job. tracy: jeff, you're awesome doing a great job. jeff flock down in new orleans. ashley: learn ad lesson from katrina. even though isaac is not as big as katrina still package punch. tracy: money well-spent. ashley: talking of money what will cost to local businesses be of hurricane isaac? tracy: we have president of analytics, global provider of business weather intelligence. scott, thanks for being with us. we hate to see there are winners and losers in an

event like this but if we take the emotional side of this whole game, this whole thing out there is a financial game here, isn't there? >> there most certainly is. there is a big financial side. as just pointed out from power outages to business shutdown to evacuations just across the board there is significant financial impact to a recall toll of this size. there really is no such thing as a minor hurricane. tracy: yeah. >> you know, may not be as big as katrina but still a major, major event. both meet logically and economically. ashley: scott the storm is still going on right now but who will have the biggest impact here? what is isaac going to hurt the most? >> we'll start with the good news, actually. the good news, the energy sector has wet they ared the storm real well at least so far. as was pointed out this storm is not over yet. the rain will continue, it will continue from tonight into tomorrow. it will be significant. there will be flooding and what not.

indications are that the energy sector should is have dodged a bullet. all that said the retail sector is hit very, very tough. in a hurricane who goes to the mall, receipt? who goes shopping for clothes, things like that? it is even tough for companies that are helping out, home depot and wal-marts of the world are doing their best to get supplies in but it is difficult. they're making sales but it is an expensive sale. tracy: one of the things i thought was interesting in your notes is cotton. you say if we move over to the commodities world, because it has been so warm the bolts have opened early and all this rain is bad for that. >> for the ones that are open. hard to speak to individual farms. it was such a warm summer and early summer in a lot of the agricultural sector, drought, heat, everything we've been talking about for the last couple months, a lot of bowls have opened and if they have opened because of rain that is very bad news. this is slow moving storm

which means a lot of rain for a lot of the cotton crop. ashley: scott, very quickly we've been talking about the drought before isaac came on the scene, is it too little too late even if it pours with rain? will it save a lot of crops? >> i'm afraid it is not, ashley. it's a lot and not too little but it is too late for so many crops and farms across the drought stricken areas. it is just too late. again it will refill the mississippi river so we'll release some of the barges so the crop that is moving will be able to move down the mississippi and out into the markets but so much drought for so long i'm afraid it is just too late. ashley: scott burn heart, president of analytics. thanks as always for joining us. >> thank you, ashley and tracy. tracy: so where are they going to go from here? we'll make some money with charles payne next. ashley: shares of energy drink makers including pepsi under pressure on word of a new investigation into their marketing tactics. we'll have the details ahead on that.

but first as we do at this time every day let's take a look at oil as isaac continues to hit the gulf coast and inland. it is moving but down over a buck at 95.29 a barrel we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] let's level the playing field. take the privileged investing tools of wall street and make them simple, intuitive, and available to all. distill all that data. make information instinctual, visual. introducing trade architect, td ameritrade's empowering web-based trading platform. take control of your portfolio today. trade commission-free for 60 days,

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tracy: that time of day. we have to make money with charles payne. this time he has a department store, if that's what you want to call it. charles payne here. i'm not sure. >> i'm starting with a caveat. i'm not recommending this but i wanted to share the story with you because --. >> please do, charles. let's hear it. >> jcpenney. you remember when jcpenney when this guy ron johnson came over. was treated like julius caesar. was conquering hero. fired people. got rid of commissions. got rid of middle management. fired the ad agency. we'll never use the word

sale again. the stock exploded from 32 to 43. ashley: then what. >> you can't tell the american people we'll never have a sale. you didn't want the stuff first place. tracy: trader joe's never puts stuff on sale and that works brilliantly. the problem with jcpenney, this is strictly from a retail perspective i wouldn't go to the store if you paid me to. ashley: why? you don't like products and. tracy: products placement. >> a few notches away from the old blue light special. tracy: i'm with you. >> there is new news. this is the next brainchild, guys. they will have a lot of stores within a store. right now they will have liz claiborne, which was so popular they threw away the name and turned the company into juicy coutre' and gave the name to jcpenney. eyes sod. jcp. that is stuff they have. original arizona jean company. mange go.

-- mango, who is the heck is that. this is what the next gameplan is. many stores within a store. it will forever change the way america shops. i'm just not sure. tracy: i don't think so. >> the stock is up. wall street is giving ron johnson benefit of the doubt. he came from apple. created apple store. ashley: honeymoon period. >> will get rid of cashiers. every single cashier. by 2024. ashley: that will bring a crowd. tracy: apple style, right? >> self-checkout. by the way kind of works. do it at home depot. ashley: i don't know. i don't know if i want to do that in a department store. >> they have a lot of work to do. i thought this was a fantastic story, guys on a relatively slow day. they did bring back the word sale. ashley: finally. >> before you cross the rubicon you should have a few victories. tracy: you're awsome. all right, that time of day as we do every 15 minutes we

have to check on the markets. lauren simonetti still on the floor of the new york stock exchange. lauren, health insurers seeing gains today, huh? >> yeah. wellpoint, number two insurer in the nation. big gainer today. number two best performing stock in the s&p 500 all day. their ceo, angela braley resigned after a lot of issues with the board and the stock performance year-to-date. the stock is it down 13%. in fact on this news you have an upgrade coming from sanford bern see-- bernstein, post-the resignation from ceo braley things are positive for the stock. it is terped as a positive. they have to figure out who will run the company permanently. back to you. tracy: lauren, you're awesome. see you in 15 minutes. ashley: market up 29 points. wall street has been hoping for more fed stimulus, we all know so will federal reserve chairman ben bernanke boost the hopes or crush them in his critical

jackson hole speech? cumberland advisors david kotak talks about that next. tracy: sure does. look how the dollar is doing right now. the dollar is up against the euro. ashley: that's exactly right. tracy: i can read a chart. ashley: you've got it. ♪

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>> at 19 minutes past the hour i'm juliet huddy with your fox news minute. utility companies say more than 600,000 people are without power as isaac moves through southeast louisiana. most of the outages are through the area around new orleans. isaac is testing the city's brand new flood protection system. officials say it is doing its job.

the hurricane did push water over a levee in a rural area flooding homes. syrian president assad says his forces are struggling to against the challenge of the rebels. speaking on syrian tv assad says his regime needs more time to win the civil war which has killed an estimated 20,000 people. one group is looking after some of our four-legged friends. these make me cry. the greater birmingham humane society is taking in 24 hull-grown dogs and some of the little puppies from a facility in south mississippi that was rebuilt after katrina. they didn't want to take any chance this is time. hopefully you guys can help them out. those are the news headlines on the fox business network. back to ashley and tracy. i'm a dog person. it kills kills me. ashley: i know. i hope they will be too in. >> they will be all right. bye, guys. ashley: sticking with isaac we have more on the hurricane from fox's rick

leventhal who is stranded in dothan island, alabama, due to heavy downpours of rain causing flooding in the area, rick. >> that's right, ashley. a little disconcerting that the bridge is closed because no one is allowed to get in or out. that will be case a few more hours. 8:30 at lowe tide it is the bridge at dauphin island may reopen. we have around 10 to 15 miles an hour with gusts in the low 20s. overnight we had gusts well into the 50s and probably 60s last night as our position was rocked by the tropical storm force winds from isaac. but this area did miss the hurricane itself. what we do have now is continuing white caps out on mobile bay and dauphin island bay. as you can see pretty rough waters here the biggest issue for the folks is the storm surge and flooding. the water is coming up over this concrete dock here.

as you can see it stretches all the way around, creeping up on people's front yards. there is the causeway we were telling you about that is still closed to incoming and outgoing traffic. power has been out here, ashley. a guy on a sailboat got stranded but he was rescued. the boat hit a utility pole out in the bay and that knocked out power. they can't repair that until the weather calms down. that should be they hope within the next 24 to 48 hours. ashley. ashley: meantime you remain strainedded for now. fox's rick leventhal, thank you so much. >> thank you. tracy: be safe. hire back home the u.s. economy grew slightly faster than initially reported in the second quarter. how will that influence the fed when they make their big decision when we hear from them on friday? the markets are waiting to hear from ben bernanke who will speak at the fed's jackson hole conference on friday. our next guest says any

statement of qe3 would be mistake. david kotak, cumberland advisors. i understand it a mistake. doesn't mean you don't do it. like having a fourth or fifth glass of wine. that is mistake too but we still do it, right. >> i rather have the fifth glass of wine, tracy. you just reported information from around the country which says things are gradually doing a little better in the real estate area. tracy: okay. >> and we saw gdp go up a notch. tracy: okay. >> and we saw employment report a little better. there is reason for the fed to do anything. in fact they're already committed to an operation twist through the rest of this year. so we have no expectation of anything but words coming from jackson hole. a lot of words, a lot of prep. we'll be ready. we'll do more if we need to. there's risks, slow recovery, still worried, a mix of words, no action. tracy: but, david, the way the market's moving these

days it is clearly anticipating it. is there any political pressure to actually do something especially before this election? >> well, there may be political pressure but i think the safest thing for the fed, which wants to be above and outside of poll tebs as much as they can is to do nothing. if there were a shock, and it required immediate action the fed would act. the likelihood is, no shock in the next few days. no action from the fed. they want to keep out of the political arena. tracy: right. >> one side has been a supporter of the fed, the obama side. the other side, romney said, they will replace bernanke if elected. the fed wants to keep out of this. so i, i see no reason for the fed to act and i expect no action and i believe bernanke will take a centrist role with his speech. tracy: but what is the 500 pound gorilla in the room? is it mario draghi even though he will not be in the room? is it europe at this point

and what happens with europe? >> draghi is a different problem. remember bernanke can have a fomc meeting and a president can dissent, two can dissent. even had three. draghi can not convene a governing council meeting and have germany dissent from the view. he needs the bundesbank. if he had the bundesbank in dissent there would be market turmoil in europe and here as well. so draghi is trying to form a coalition, a consensus view. that's why he is there. he has nothing to do in jackson hole. he already said whatever it takes. tracy: right. >> so there is no reason for him to come. tracy: no reason really on friday which is dissect a bunch of words, no qe3. david kotok, i hope you're right about all this you better come back and we'll talk more. >> come fishing with me, tracy. tracy: i'm probably better off at this point. i'm probably better off. i will have the fifth glass of wine. david, thanks for being here. [laughter] ashley: tracy just had the

fifth glass of wine about two minutes ago. now you got a fishing date. tracy: i couldn't get a worm on a hook straight let alone five glasses of wine later. ashley: there is the quote of the day. baristas rejoice. there is a new way to get tips when customers pay with plastic. dip jar. it is a scanner shaped like a tip jar and allows customers without cash a way to leave tips at coffee shop. the founder came up with the idea when he saw many of his favorite coffee shop employees missing out on money because more customers use credit and debit cards. reviews are mixed. customers think it is a scam. others worry the tips are not going through or company take as transaction fee. all valid points. dip jar is only available in two new york city locations it is hoping to expand into seven more shops later this year. in fact, dennis kneale had the inventor on the 5:00

show on monday i think it was. very interesting. just a young guy. it was just, i was looking at one of these contraptions. i got to say, be a little nervous. tracy: i'm with you. if i never have to carry cash again i would be a happy person. ashley: that's true too. tracy: i'm all about that. vice-presidential candidate paul ryan is getting ready to take the stage at the republican convention tonight. how will his calls for fiscal discipline play out in tonight's speech? we go to tampa live next. ashley: let's look at today's winners and losers. the dow is drifting higher. sealed air corporation. in rarefied air. wellpoint up 7%. we saw that with charles payne. we'll be right back.

tracy: welcome back. hurricane isaac is drenching mississippi and louisiana with more than a foot of rain. hundreds of thousands of people are still without power. in new orleans, $14 billion in levies are holding up out. the federal reserve says economic growth continues to expand gradually this summer in most parts of the country. they spoke survey found housing improved in most areas. manufacturing did slow down. tonight, congressman paul ryan's turn to sell himself to america. can he convince voters that he's ready to be the vice president? we have a live update from tampa, florida coming up. ashley: 30 past the hour, we will check on the markets as we do every 15 minutes. we are talking about jcpenney.

reporter: jcpenney is having a great day today. we are joined by the director of sales, keep. we are seeing relatively decent information but the markets have reached a four-week high. >> let's talk about this. it has been very oversold, stretched to the downside. like stocks and other indexes, they need reversion tendency to it. some of the quantitative work that we are oversold on. but the beige book, we specifically just got out of a half-hour ago, didn't tell us anything we didn't already know. very good at disseminating information. the s&p was trading $3.74. like the rest of the market, it's a big jan. reporter: we will hear more from ben bernanke on friday, will be here anything that is going to happen? >> i'm not sure about that. he's trying to be open with what he is saying, but that has led to a little bit of proust asked

inside the market. i think what it's likely that he will do is reiterate what happened a couple weeks ago. that is economic activities and we could debate whether it helps or not, that's a whole different kettle of fish. >> we are almost there to september. back to you guys. ashley: lauren, thank you so much. we will be back at the nyse in a few minutes. tracy: paul ryan in the spotlight during tonight's keynote speech. down at the rnc convention in tampa, florida, with the latest. smack in the middle of things is where we were last night. and we will be there again tonight. >> a lot of energy coming from the podium in the stage, filtering into the floor.

paul ryan is going to try to match that. he is really the author of the republican fiscal plan to introduce himself to the voters. he speaks tomorrow night, marco rubio, and what he hopes paul ryan will say tonight. they will get into some of the substantial parts of republican party policy. >> the different things of our policy will be in force for an someone who is in politics to do something make a difference is paul ryan. reporter: from here, paul ryan's speech is probably around 10:30 p.m., 1030 timeframe. we are trying to see if he will use his trademark slideshow and the graphics that he puts up in wisconsin. i don't think so. but i guess it's always an option. ashley: kind of a ross perot point of -- one of those.

tracy: hopefully not. ashley: did you get an invitation to the big conventions for the republicans or democrats? maybe you should have. you helped pay for. gerri willis let us know exactly where is our money going? tracy: that is very interesting. >> the treasury gave have to the dems and have to the republicans. what is that money paying for? balloons, etc. a lot of journey. [laughter] hotels rooms, archives for the democrat in charlotte, north carolina. republicans, $746 for stakeouts at charlie palmer's. you are paying for it, but it's your call.

when you sign your 1040 form, they ask if you want to do this. i have this 1040 form for ashley byrne lives in wyoming. it is gorgeous. this box. if you want $3 to go to the presidential election campaign. you don't pay more in taxes, but stopped checking that box unless you want to give money to politicians for fun. we do enough of that. ashley: don't they wasted somewhere else, gerri? being the ultimate cynic. tracy: what are the other options? >> they raise more than $276 million and they have enough extra dough. and they could air a few less of those stupid commercials speak you don't and the money has to be used?

>> actually does have to be used. don't check the box. [laughter] ashley: gerri, thank you very much. don't miss "the willis report" it is p.m. eastern time right here on fox business. do not check the box. tracy: i don't check that either. energy drinks are under scrutiny. investigators want to know what is in them and whether companies like pepsi are marketing them the right way. we are on the story next. ashley: burst as we do everyday, let's see how the 10 and 30 year treasury bonds are yielding. 1.65%. take a look at the 30 year treasury. dropping yesterday and today a quarter about 2.67%.

reporter: i am adam shapiro with your brief. following the latest views on the u.s. economy from the federal reserve. investors remain in a wait-and-see mode ahead of federal reserve chairman ben bernanke speech from jackson hole wyoming. home sales rose more than expected in july. hitting the highest level in more than two years. the number of signed contracts for previously occupied homes has risen. 2.5%. this is not happened since april 2010. u.s. farmers are eyeing their most profitable year on record. the usda is estimating farming income will reap reach more than $122 billion in 2012. that's a 12% increase over 2011. that is the latest from the fox business network, giving you the power to prosper

did you hear is a question. our energy drinks friend or foe? the drinks have been shown to improve heart function. doctors are worried about the high concentration of caffeine. what is the truth behind the 37 billion-dollar a year industry? we have a medical report. doctor, this is something that people choose to do. having your artificial energy level inflated. >> i don't like the intro. ashley: all right. >> that is what one little stupid study of europe is saying. about 35 patients. look, basically what they found in this european study is that these energy drinks are full of caffeinated chemicals and basically increases your blood pressure and heart rate. let me point out the fact that the heart is beating stronger.

therefore, it might have some health benefits. this comes lately on the back of energy drinks and makers here in new york being probed by the state for mislabeling the product. i have been in a campaign for a long time. against the energy drink industry. it is no place. we have coffee and tea. all of a sudden over the last two or three years, billions of dollars have been generating, making all these kinds of drinks. these drinks have a lot of caffeine and other chemicals were come from south america, which are very stimulating. they tend to dehydrate the drinker, especially young kids, they get addicted and mix it with alcohol. he gives you alcohol poisoning because you don't see the effects of alcohol. as far as i'm concerned, zero health benefits. dangerous for sure. but it is a marketing industry.

it is very big. big players here. i'm very glad that the state government -- and i hope the federal government gets down and against look at what is the product, is it being labeled properly, are there warnings that need to be placed on the bottles so people can make a conscious decision? what are some of the warning signs that you should be aware of, doctor, if you had too much of this stuff? >> the biggest thing is that people take this -- they align energy with exercise. if you take these drinks before you exercise, your heart rate is already raised. if you have any online medical issues whatsoever, you are in bad shape. the same thing happens with people with hypertension. we call it the silent killer. thousands of people walking streets of new york and they don't even know that they have high blood pressure. we know for a fact that these energy drinks basically increase your blood pressure by 6%. how would you like to be 140 over 90 come at give me one of

these energy drinks because bingo, you can make your little situation. ashley: this is something that down the road has to be regulated? >> right. >> and proper information has to be given to the consumer. tracy: i am campaigning against an. >> i'm doing fair and balanced. >> i'm all about the wine. [laughter] the one they say all publicity is good publicity, but until prince harry could disagree, that's who it was. it seems to be good business for some. dennis kneale is covering the story. reporter: it is a pr problem in this age group depends on 10 prints pops up naked in smart phone photos.

let's make it into an advertisement campaign. the 27-year-old prince, third in line to the throne in united kingdom, and the las vegas romp, showing his bare chested body and showing that prince harry really isn't hairy. not much at all. the puckish pitchmen at the loss biggest convention and visitors authority's, running full-page ads and cashing in on naked hairy. making fun of the british slogan, keep calm and carry on, harry. making fun of what happens in vegas, stays in vegas. another is links in some parts of the world, and consoled the prints. sorry, harry, if it had anything to do with us. you have to wonder. there are a few that might benefit at the expense of the

prints. there are frozen condoms. there are viagra and grey goose vodka. action on the goose. and because storing role for prince harry in the hangover part three. ashley: i'm sure some of the money is being spent so harry can have a good time. tracy: it is a quarter to 2:00 o'clock and we need to go down to lauren on the floor. ashley mentioned t-man max number have to talk about all of us. >> consumer discretionary. your best performing sector survey getting a nice proof that 4.5% all goes down. nearly 30% year-to-date. we need to boost this. september 1, 700 jcpenney certain point liz claiborne as one of the store brands.

charles didn't know what mgm i made a wise. so charles, if you're listening, this is a great retailer. the age group is a certain one. forty-six dollars and 66 cents. ashley: tracy: i don't think they're enough to help. thank you, lauren. ashley: hurricane isaac battering louisiana with high winds and drenching rain. coming up, how louisianians are holding up against this massive storm. first, before we go to break, here are some of today's winners and losers. you have the dow up 20 points. computers are hanging on. priceline.com. somebody got fishy.

ashley: we have some breaking news on the nfl contract negotiations between the officials union and league. they are a standstill. but don't worry, the games will go on. we just found out that the league has notified that the regular season will kick off with replacement officials. once again, replacement officials use back in 2001 as well. teams can blame the referees now if they don't like the way that this goes. ashley: describe officials. i'm sure they would be thrilled with that. tracy: some good calls as well.

hurricane isaac. insurance stocks are reacting to the storms. >> this is actually a piece of the barclays assessment, how the stocks will be affected. the share losses should be manageable for property and casualty and are unlikely to result in higher prices. that is very important. sometimes when we see these storms, we also see the expectations that they will be able to reuse content raise their premiums. we actually have a lot of the insurers that do cover that areas such as travelers, aig, covering a lot of the homes on their, and they are taking hits from the reception. but the one winning could also

be all-state. very interesting since hurricane katrina. they cut down their coverage. the stock actually doing very well year-to-date. of about 37%. right now about 10% of the area. really reducing exposure, that is getting impact in today's session. allstate austin was one of the companies that struggled with a lot of losses back in 2005. today, doing quite well. ashley: that is good news. thank you very much. hurricane isaac driving water over the top of the levee. triggering life-threatening flooding. this comes seven years to the day that hurricane katrina hit the city. joining us with the very latest is louisiana's lieutenant governor. thank you for joining us, jay. how is your state handling isaacs are far?

>> well, we are right in the middle of it. as we speak. we love to welcome visitors, but this is one guest overstaying his welcome. we are now still filling the raft. we were very well prepared. we learned a lot of lessons from hurricane katrina. the parishes are doing the best that they can. ashley: i hope you can hear me, you are cutting out on us a little bit. what advantages have you heard of so far with the storm courage. >> [inaudible] [inaudible] we were ravaged by katrina [inaudible] ashley: lieutenant governor, you are cutting out. we can understand come you are in the middle of this storm. thank you so much for taking time to make contact with us. there you have it. as the governor said, lessons

learned seven years ago to the very day that hurricane katrina slammed into the gulf coast there. so far so good. tracy: kudos to them that they have done a good job. what is america's favorite driving city? according to all-state, that goes to sioux falls, south dakota. the average driver will get in an accident every 13.8 years. that is well below the average of other cities. followed by boise, idaho, fort collins, colorado, madison, wisconsin, and lincoln, nebraska. america's best drivers. philadelphia, washington dc, l.a., and baltimore are places that did not make the list as good drivers.

[laughter] ashley: thinking of insurance, good luck trying to get some. we have a special panel of energy experts coming up and whether we should tap the strategic energy reserve. countdown to the closing bell is coming up next

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