it worked. stuart: they got him. there is another big story. it will break this afternoon around 2:30. that is the federal reserve. jay powell gives the first-ever press conference this afternoon. that could move the market. we shall see. neil. it is yours. neil: thank you very much. we're on top of that. a little more than two hours away, a complete d.c. shutdown. they don't need much snow to shut down, don't need many excuses some, not all, government workers not to show up for work, giving upwards foot 1/2, two feet of snow today, they could be forgiven being anywhere near a desk today. we're on top of that. on top of a big storm brew having nothing to do with mother nature but having to do with the political world, these tariffs on china. they're going to be big. the chinese are upset. the markets are not. we're getting to the bottom of that. adam shapiro with latest from the white house. reporter: schedule at white

house has been cleared essentially because of "snow-mageddon." they are on capitol hill, mr. lighthiser is testifying before the house ways and means committee. he is testifying about trade policy in general. first, if you want to look at exports to china from the united states, take a look. miscellaneous grain, seeds, food, accounts for billion dollars. aircraft, boeing, aircraft parts 15 billion. machinery, itself, 11 billion, vehicles 11 billion. what we import from china. electrical machinery from china, $129 billion. you can go down the list. toys and sports equipment, 24 billion. footwear, 15 billion. here is what the ustr, trade representative said about an hour ago about potential tariffs and trade with china? >> our view is, we have a very serious problem of losing our intellectual property, which is

really the biggest single advantage of the american economy in my opinion. reporter: you should know that the trade representative, mr. lighthiser in the past condemned china. in a report in january he said we will resist efforts by china or any other country to hide behind international bureaucracies who hinder the united states to take robust actions when necessary. as for timing, the announcement of the tariffs that is up to president trump. fox news confirmed the tariffs are ready to go, 30 to $60 billion. as for that you sure to hear questions about the potential tariffs and economy at the press conference for federal reserve chairman jay powell. that is his first as chairman. that is one of the topics to be discussed. and 25 rate increase that most people are expecting to be soon. neil: did you opt to be indoors

for this hit? there is the opportunity -- reporter: i opted to be in miami. they said no to that. neil: just checking. thank you, my friend, adam shapiro. we're awaiting jerome powell's first meeting with the president. that decision a little more than two hours away. everyone seems to be thinking we'll see a rate hike. first certainly in his tenure. it would mark the sixth time in this cycle we've seen a rate hike. still low by historical standards but charlie gasparino is here. how much higher? >> the takeaway on wall street the investors, traders, 25 basis point hike is baked in. it is not that big of a deal. it is commentary. neil: we have music and graphics to go with it. >> okay. it is huge. it is frikin' huge. but what is a big deal is the chamber music around it. neil: very good. >> that chamber music will be what he says, if anything, about

trump's trade policies. encroaching protectionism. and does the coaching protectionism with tariffs and things like that does he believe that will lead to inflation which may speed up the rate hikes? then you could see the markets get a little crazy. it is interesting -- neil: they built in at least two more. they don't know. >> remember the fiscal policy dynamic. not monetary. he, the fiscal policy is starting to change right now. i spent some time -- by the way i don't agree with the guy entirely, i got to know him a little bit, peter navarro, economist for the white house, the quote, unquote protectionist -- neil: what does he think of kudlow coming in? no i think they like each other personally. neil: really? isn't navarro looking at? >> he likes his perch where he is. he has power on the outside. neil: so navarro talks to you?

>> i have spoken with him yes. i have known him for a while. neil: everybody else hates you. >> larry loves me. one of my best friends in this business. i worked with him for years. who else do i like there? neil: is he putting in ha good word for you? >> no. then he will get fired if he says he knows me. gary cohn hates me! neil: yeah. >> he thinks i'm a pain in the rear end. neil: well, many do. >> in that spirit i think you have a shifting fiscal policy, okay, they got kudlow in there. i still think peter navarro is ascendant. neil: kudlow doesn't think it is good idea it use the tariffs? >> only use them as club or hammer. neil: the president is taking a pretty big club. >> i kept saying i can't understand why larry is joining this but the president really believes in navarro's theory china, china totally, totally polluted global trade environment, the only way you get at them is through heavy

punitive measures. we have to treed them as an adversary. if you read peter navarro's books it is all about china as global power. neil: -- picture we use of him doesn't look like him. we have propositional photos. but yours looks like you. his doesn't. >> is his better or worse. neil: i don't know. taken 20 years ago. >> that's a problem. neil: you can bring it up, ralph. >> that does look pretty young. neil: that is not him. >> people really know these guys think he is is a troglodyte. neil: he is not. he is republican. >> i don't know if he is republican, might be a liberal. phd from harvard. neil: smart dude. >> he believes in protectionism. neil: he and kudlow will have fights. >> he believes china is at war with us stealing intellectual -- neil: you talked with trump for decades. donald trump believes the chinese -- >> play dirty. neil: play dirty.

neil: they are better negotiators than him. >> i tell investors if you're looking to game the fed announcement today, see what he says about trade. the fiscal curveball that was given to powell, often monetary policy has to react to fiscal policy, has been increasing protectionism out of this administration. you know, the original gameplan for fiscal policy was low taxes, less regulation. then came the curveball of protectionism that is an issue. neil: this is navarro today. not like the prom photo. >> is he italian? neil: look at that that is where it starts. it starts. >> good-looking guy. neil: as are you. >> thank you. neil: thanks for the update. if he telegraphs more than three additional rate hikes the markets go nuts. >> markets go nuts. the other thing, watch what he says on trade, if hedown plays it, says it was noise. one thing i say about the fed

chairman and chairwoman they're all very cautious but you sort of read between the lines. i can't imagine jerome powell like as trade war. that does not seem to be something that anybody. neil: you know what i heard about powell? he has a great sense of humor. >> really? >> would you have thought that. there is bob newhart. >> i always thought bernanke had a good sense of humor. he was funny, self-deprecating at times. really smart. neil: that is given. all these guys are smart. opening up at caroline's, i don't know. >> powell was not, is not an economist. did you know that? neil: yeah. >> interesting we have someone in charge of this stuff that is not an economist. but we have president who sold steaks over the mail. neil: stop it. i knew where you were going. come on, never-trumpers. let's go. jeff saut, his take on all of

this, raymond james chief strategist. jeff, very good to have you. charlie touched on a couple key points, the comedic chops of federal reserve chairs. let me get your sense if powell telegraphs more rate hikes than thought to be the case. then what? >> the markets are not going to like that. but i don't think that will be the case. neil: really? >> i agree 25 basis points today is probably baked in. we'll see if we get another two or three rate hikes. i will tell you the economy is very strong right here. so, you know, i think we'll get at least three rate hikes this year. i don't think it will disrupt the secular bull market. neil: jeff, owing to my age, we weren't worried about four something mortgages or 3 something mortgages but i can remember 20 something mortgages. maybe historical perspective is everything.

will be jarring getting back to the new norm, which is the old norm, higher rates where they have been. that will flesh out for the economy? >> again i think the economy is really strong and i don't think until you get the 10-year up to somewhere around 5% it, will have much impact on the overall equity markets because the earnings are so strong here, neil, it just overwhelms, any small increase in interest rates. neil: think about the 10-year note. after the 87 crash gotten up to 10%. it careened to barely over 2%. now we're in and out of 3%. everyone worries what happens at 3%. but you're quite right, if we were to get up to four or 5% play that out because i know everyone worries about where this ultimately stops. there is no way of knowing for sure, but if you top a 5% handle on the 10-year note it would still be below historical norms but it would rattle people, wouldn't it?

>> if you go study history, the price earnings multiple on the s&p tends to expand until the 10-year gets to around 5%. that seems to ablin much pin level for the -- to be a lynchpin level. but it will be years before we get up there. neil: facebook struggling to regain its ground, what do you think of that group, just curious, while i have you here? >> the best stocks in a correction always get hit at the tail end of the correction so in our view the correction is over. we, for the whole month of january, the first window of downside vulnerability was arriving in february. you have the climax on february 6th. you have the throwback rally that failed, undercut february 6th lows on february 9th. we told people to buy that, that is a classic, classic bottoming sequence. i think the correction is over.

neil: all right. we are showing as he is speaking not on today's figures, since all the downdraft started on 14th of this month. let's look at what is going on in texas. relief the austin bombing suspect is dead. the governor of texas, greg abbott, is here. next.

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neil: all right. that austin bombing suspect. he is dead. he is gone but they're not quite convinced that all the problems associated with what he unleashed on the austin community is gone. they're looking into all of that. jonathan hunt with the latest from round rock. jonathan? reporter: neil, good afternoon to you. there is a heavy police presence right now in the austin suburb of pflugerville. that is where the bombing suspect, mark anthony conditt, as he has been identified directly to us by law enforcement officials, lived. police and federal agents are interviewing his roommates. they're also interviewing family members as they seek to understand more about his motive. we don't know what that might have been at the moment. we do know somebody writing under the name mark anthony

conditt wrote in 2012 criticizing gay marriage and abortion. we don't know whether this plays in this or not. according to investigators, conditt's biggest mistake was walking into a fedex store to mail some of these packages. we were in the fedex store, in sunset valley, near austin, a dozen security cameras installed there. at least one of those got pictures of mark conditt as he was mailing those packages. he was wearing a wig. he was also wearing gloves. investigators got enough from that to be able to postively identify him. that brings to us last night. they knew the car they were looking for. they knew his cell phone number. those two things came together right where i'm standing right now. the red roof inn behind me here is where they eventually found

his vehicle. he also at around the same point turned on that cell phone. that brought s.w.a.t. teams here. conditt was in his vehicle at that point. he started driving away from the red roof inn. down to the left you see some police vehicles there. that is where they cornered him. as swat officers moved in, he debt stated some sort of explosive in his vehicle. that is what killed him. so investigators finally got their man. they do not have all the answers yet. they say they still have a lot of work to do. listen here. >> it's a long day ahead. we are concerned that there may be other packages that are still out there. we need the public to remain vigilant, especially today as we go through this investigation. we will be here as long as it takes with our partners to figure out exactly what happened, why it happened and how it happened. >> so a night of high drama in

austin now followed by a day of great relief, neil. neil: indeed. to put it mildly. jonathan, thank you very, very much, great reporting as always. the read from the governor of texas greg abbott who joins us. thank you for taking the time. >> thank you, neil. neil: we have to be vigilant, we have to be watchful what is happening around us. do you still adhere to that, because a lot of people are saying all this is behind us? you have to worry about copycats or worry about other bombs that might be out there already so what's the latest? >> well the latest is, the main person in charge of this is now deceased and hence the main catalyst for concern has now been eliminated but as you point out, one thing we've not yet been able to finally determine, whether or not there are any other problems out there that were prereleased before the

killer died himself. so, that may take a day or two before we can finally put that to rest. the second is, even though we have not yet identified any other suspects or accomplices we have not been able to conclusively rule out the fact that there may be somebody else involved in this whole process. and so that it very important for those in the austin area if they have packages or remain suspect we urge them to call the austin police department. we have x-ray machines, scanners, that may detect explosives or not. we don't want anybody to be harmed whatsoever. we want to do everything we can to protect and secure the safety of everyone across the entire region. neil: i'm wondering as well, governor, the images we have now of this guy in disguise dropping off a package at a fail the, do we know whether that was --

facility. do we know where that detonated, do we know anything about that? >> on that particular one i think that one did not detonate. there were several he took in there. we have multiple slices of information we were able to cobble together who this was. for one, you kind of heard, we were following his cell phone usage. for another, we did have the images from him at a fedex store. for another we had information about him appearing i think at a home depot to purchase some materials. as well as other slices of information that we had, and it was aggragation of all that information together. aggregated by federal, state and local law enforcement working collaboratively that enabled us to piece this puzzle together. neil: do we know whether mark conditt, governor was deliberatelying targeting austin area? initially when it appeared it was racially motivated that he

was going after an african-american, hispanic, at least the early read, do we know whether that was indeed the case? >> i would say as police and law enforcement are going through his house and going through his social media, and everything they can it, would be premature to arrive at any final conclusions. however we can make deductionses based on what we observed already. that is, that it does appear it was not racially motivated because it was not african-american, hispanic, anglo, who were all impacted by this. but we will learn more when we gather specific information about whose names he had targeted, why he had targeted certain people and as we continue to search for his motives this, will be very important for us, for one, to analyze why he did what he did. but also be important as we always put together information that will help us prepare for the next potential experience like this. neil: if you don't mind my switches gears, relieved as you

are, governor, this perpetrator behind this is gone, on economic matters, we've been following what is happening in california, sir, a number about -- number of people leaving that state for low tax environments like texas, i wonder whether you find that to be accelerating now? the latest numbers out of california show 163,000 have left the state. that it is escalating, particularly among, this was a surprise to me, governor, lower income groups who typically, you would think it would be a lateral move for them? because they're not in, in high-taxed bracket or highest taxed bracket in the state, what do you think? >> well, neil, it is in fact accelerating. texas continues to be the leading state people move to from other states. california continues to be the top sit that people are moving from. i can explain to you the reason you're seeing people at all income levels from california

moving to texas as well as to other states on the high income level it, would be in part because of the new federal tax law. at the non-high income level, listen, from things that you and others have reported you see a state, this is in kind of quasi-chaos out there with regard to homelessness, with regard to drug usage, with regard to crime and with regard to lack of enforcement of laws against people who are maybe here illegally, may have committed crimes. people want to get away from danger and they want to get into a state like texas that has lower taxes, more reasonable regulations, more economic opportunity because of the brand of government that we have. people from california as well as people from across the united states realize that texas is the kind of place that is a land of opportunity. you can come here from anywhere. start something here, grow, create more income, raise a

family in a terrific state. so we're finding more people coming into our state at all income strata. neil: the think the trick with texas, your legislatures are in session so little. you're not there ma much. >> we are in session 140 days every two years. we're working on changing that, so we will be in session two days every 140 years. neil: keep updated on that, governor. it is amazing. thank you very much. meantime the president looks like his numbers are picking up not so the prospects from the party, jeff flake, saying he could be facing a party challenge in 2020. flake didn't rule out he could be among them. ohio governor john kasich name came up. last guy to taking on republican president, on likelihood of someone taking on this republican president. that guy is pat buchanan. that is next. ♪ just one free hearing test at

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neil: all right, the president earlier this week before all the snow hit washington was in new hampshire talking up what he wanted to do to deal with the opioid crisis and other things there. it was his first visit to the granite state since narrowly losing to hillary clinton in the campaign. his victory there propelled the way for the republican nomination when he beat the best and brightest of the republican party to get to the white house. so new hampshire could be a test. we're already hearing in this very heated political environment there will be someone trying to challenge the president of the republican party. jeff flake alluded to it. he could be one of them. john kasich hinted he might be up to that task. the last guy that pulled it off and garnered 40% of the vote at the time was pat buchanan. i remember him on cover of "time" magazine i think with a pitchfork. i was just a baby at the time but i do remember that back in 1992. pat buchanan joins us,

best-selling author, former presidential candidate on the phone. pat is the president looking at pat buchanan type challenge to him? >> i think president will look at a challenge but jeff flake, even kasich, they if they would from the right stance, neil. i think the republican party is now a populist party in the sense of trump with border security issue and tariffs and tough on trade and nationalism and conservative party and jeff flake, for example, i don't think is running for senate in arizona because he can't reelected in his home state. so i don't see a grave threat to the president there. but i would be astonished if donald trump, president trump, had probably would be a 40% at maybe 45% at best, does not sort of invite a challenge in new hampshire. neil: yeah, but to your point, pat, rarely is any candidate on the left or right outflanked in the middle. some of the big challenges have come from those who represent a

populist wave of the party or more rebellious or rowdy, upset part of the party. ted kennedy, taking on jimmy carter or you taking on president, sr. or ronald reagan, gerald ford. i could go back in time -- >> you go back to all the races what did they have in common? neil: right. >> the president who won them lost the election in the fall. neil: you read nextwave of my remark, whoever wins, the incumbent president survives, he loses. is that if the president, this president were to face a challenge, is it guaranteed that he has got at best, uphill fight for re-election? >> i think it would be damaging for his re-election no, question about it. there would be certain numbers of republicans. people forget when nixon ran for re-election in 1972, got 49 states, a massive landslide. he had pete mccloskey in new hampshire, john ashbrook from the left and right.

they got 30% of the vote. going back to when i was a kid, like you were in '92, back in 1952, harry truman got beat in new hampshire by keyfaufer, only that he dropped out. gene mccarthy wounded johnson, gene mccarthy got 42% of the vote, write-in candidate, lbj didn't foolishly put his name on the ballot. 4 days after that, this time 50 years ago, bobby kennedy jumped into the race. neil: remember that. i do. >> he dropped out on 31st of march. neil: i do not accept my party's nomination. that surprised a lot of people. president indicated hook or crook he is running for re-election. would something like that, all of this is just conjecture. >> right. neil: would something like that give him lbj-like pause? >> no. see i think, as i wrote in a

column about the mueller thing, even on in water gate comparisons, donald trump is not somebody who is going to go quietly. donald trump is a natural fighter and, he doesn't give up, and he's, he fights rough and he is a street fighter and i don't think he would be like lbj who would stand down or even, i remember mitt romney, when we were running against him in '68, i was with nixon, he dropped out of the race. doesn't seem to be -- neil: talking about george romney, the dad, right? >> i don't think that is the character of president trump at all. i think he will fight. neil: you know, the irony of all of this discussion is the economy is picking up steam, support for the tax cuts is picking up steam among independents, even some democrats. many people are surprised to be seeing this phenomenon. that the gap widened out for control of congress with more americans by double digits, if we're to believe that, favoring

democrats in control than republican what is do you make of that weirdty? >> well, i think the, i think the, one of the problems is, i believe this, trump has a solid base that will stick with him through thick and thin, but there is an anti-trump base also that is very, very strong and even i think somewhat larger, and that is responsible for what happened in the wipeout, semiwipeout in virginia and loss in pennsylvania. i think republicans will have a very tough time this fall holding on to the house. i don't think it is a sure thing they would lose it. but if i had to bet right now if the election were held now i think they might very well lose the house. until you get a lot of things that happen after that, it is very hard to predict these things, but, i think trump could be in a real challenging situation by january. neil: all right. but you know, barack obama suffered some miserable midterms and went on to get reelected.

first one and survived the second one. >> but you know barack obama won two elections by huge popular landslides as well as electoral landslides. trump won by, lost by three million votes to hillary clinton though he won the electoral college. i think one of the problems the democrats are going to have, they will have a field of about 20. it will be like the kentucky derby when they put 20 horses in. neil: i liken it to italy. italy looks like it is stable. >> i don't see any of them setting a track record. neil: you could be right on that one. best thing republicans have going for them a lot more democrats interested in the white house spot. thank you, pat. always good seeing you. >> well, thank you. neil: be well. we are still waiting for some statement from the guy who runs facebook and no indications yet when that could come, what he's going to say or whether zuckerberg is concerned that

there might be a palace coup on his hands and his control of that company, the one he founded in college that began essentially as a way to hook up with girls, is going to destroy him with shareholders, after this. ♪

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all with support from a highly-educated workforce and vocational job training. across new york state, we're building the new new york. to grow your business with us in new york state, visit esd.ny.gov. neil: hurry up and wait. everyone is waiting to hear from mark zuckerberg the guy who runs facebook. his stock on paper at least declining billions of dollars after dust-up of 50 million users had their data shared with the world. a lot of folks not happy. what will he say? what will he tell his own troops or tell shareholders? what will he tell the general public? who knows better but deirdre bolton who has been following this closely. isn't he supposed to have a statement by now? >> i think there will be a statement next 24 hours. i think the company's goal to have mark zuckerberg or cheryl

samburg come out today with a statement. i don't know if it will be coming. i have do have friend that work there. the internal mood is really somber. they know this is a big deal. this isn't really that the 50 million. neil: they didn't know it was a big deal in the beginning? >> they knew was happening but the need to address it became more focused once other news organizations became aware of this analytic purposes or analyst can activities. the first strike was in the run-up to the presidential election where half of the u.s. voting population saw ads that were either created or manipulated by russian bots, right? so this is sort of strike two for facebook under the category, okay, maybe mark zuckerberg and team have actually built a machine that they can not manage

easily. this is the reason for delay. this is what my sources are telling me. they know this is a big deal. i think behind the scenes and zuckerberg and the entire team are trying to get their head around exactly what happened, how, when. they know when they make a public statement, @, they want all the facts to be correct. about, they will have a lot of follow up questions from news organizations such as ourselves, a lot of print, "the guardian" in the uk was in front of this whole story the entire time. neil: this was same thing that many in the media praised the obama campaign in 2008 and 2012 that they were able to data mine all this material and win? >> that is the golden question. in 2011 there is kind of this privacy consent that facebook said, okay, now from this point going forward we will protect your privacy. but it seems at least if our ftc, and whose entire role is to protect our privacy, at least is

considering launching an official probe. in fact i know the facebook team is actually waiting for an official letter. that is a huge question. neil: that might be the delay. >> did they or did they not have infraction with the 2011 privacy consent. neil: now we understand the whole thing. i was condition fuse ad few minutes ago all a right. i want to go to jeff flock. he is keep being track of another technology giant on fire right now and just had a very, very big victory today, at least on paper. jeff? reporter: the folks from seattle are in chicago today. why? well, they're checking out the site of this old steel mill as a potential site for the new amazon headquarters, the hq-2. started out with 238 proposals. narrowed to 20 cities. chicago is one of them. we learned although very tight-lipped about it, apparently a number visited

chicago with philadelphia, denver, d.c. already having been visited. what do they plan in chicago? this you see live is an old steel mill. the finkel steel plant along the river. 70-acres in the site. look what they have got planned. oh, man, a big plans. a skate park, a climbing wall, a stadium they would be willing to name after amazon. a riverwalk, all sorts of new development there. does that improve their chances? well we looked at one site which is sort of handicapping this thing. boston in the lead they say, according to sports betting dime.com. five to one odds. 7 to one, atlanta, chicago, austin, denver, new york city, all rated at 14 to one. the longest shots believed to be the montgomery county, maryland and virginia, sites outside of

d.c. indianapolis and los angeles, 33 to one the longest shots. i leave a quote from amazon which says, it will be worth it if we come to your town, every dollar we invested in seattle generated a $1.40 over all. what are they willing to pay, these cities. we'll find out at some point. it is cold. i hope these guys dressed warm. it is cold in chicago today. neil: what i admire about you, jeff. adam shapiro did boffo report from the white house. snowing like crazy in washington. worse than chicago. he opted to be indoors. reporter: really? neil: we reminded him, flock goes outside, we go outside. reporter: we'll take our coat off, unzip ourselves. we're good. neil: way to go, buddy. you and i, i'm outside now. it's a green screen. thank you, my friend. jeff flock. reporter: good to see you. neil: i was talking about the snow buffeting much of the east

coast, particularly the northeast. fourth nor'easter. have we ever had four nor'easters ever? four in as many weeks. i don't know what that means. i know looking to the side of me it is very, very cold. and all my favorite hot dog vendors run available. we'll have more after this. nex. edward jones came to manage a trillion dollars in assets under care by focusing our mind on whatever's on yours.

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neil: as we were saying it is one for the record books, the fourth nor'easter we've seen in as many weeks. thousands of flights canceled nationwide. many of them yesterday when the first flake of snow fell. gerri willis, just like me outside in middle of all of this. >> hi, there, mr. cavuto. those cancellations totaling 4400, 4400 plus for four easter, get it, fourth nor'easter. right here in new york city area. 3/4 of newark's flights canceled. all of laguardia flights canceled. 1800 of flights canceled. airports having major problems today. jfk, philadelphia, boston, i want to show you the misery map.

this is put out by flight away people, it is not just the northeast, new york city, miami, atlanta, chicago. those cities, airports in those cities, having major, majorrance kellations, it's a hub and spoke system at all with the airlines as you know. there are travel waivers out there if you're planning to fly today, guess what? you can make changes with your flight without any financial penalty. all five major airlines offering that deal, american, delta, southeast, jetblue, united. don't worry if you don't want to fly you can reschedule. if you want to get on another form of transportation, forget about it. amtrak trains, 90 of the amtrak trains canceled, palmetto, carolinians those lines are not running today. greyhound has suspended all service for today and tomorrow. now i was just thinking,

mr. cavuto, that this four easter, this particular one is called toby. the other noreasters, riley, quinn, sky lark. do you think there is a good with a beard in williamsburg, a flannel shirt naming all these storms? i think it is very, very possible. now, as we stand out here i have to tell you, the snow is not that bad right here. don't tell anybody, it is in the really sticking. we have some sticking but the guys who take care of the plaza do a great job. i'm just saying, don't come down here in the gucci loafers, because it is going to be a mess. back to you. neil: it is not that bad. preferrable to being indoors. that is what we were telling shapiro at white house. oh, no, no. >> just stay warm in that studio. neil: yeah, please. thank you very, very much, be warm. meantime let's just say california, be warnerred. warned. you're getting a bit of exodus

on your hand not to do with your beautiful weather. everything to do with your not so beautiful taxes and regulations. a lot of businesses are leaving. signs a lot of average folks are leaving. they put some numbers to this, not just upper income. republican congressman lee zeldin following that. he comes from high tax stated new york, new jersey next door. it is interesting, the early beneficiaries of that exodus is california already seen 163,000 middle income types leave the state for low taxed places like florida and texas. texas governor was delighted to see it. governor wants to see more of it. what do you think? >> i represented a state senate district before i came to congress. i remember governor rick perry coming into my district to meet one-on-one with one ceo to try to bring their business to texas. we are experiencing it in

new york. we've been experiencing it in new york a long time. if we're a young family, whether or not you will have the first cade in the basement of a mom or dad's house. a senior can't afford to survive. you might love new york, might want to stay there. listen to the weather forecast as lead-in. new yorkers, all other things being equal, i could see new yorkers go to california. they at least have weather over us. what california has the highest income tax rate, new york city, we have the second highest income tax rate. neil: how do you your voters or constituents feel, about the fact that writeoffs are limited to high-taxed states such as they have? are they taking that out on you? are you afraid they will get everyone with abandon? >> they're not taking it out on me because i'm with them in this fight. now, i also am with them and encouraging our state and local governments to understand and confront reality reason why our

deduction was so high because of our state an local taxes are so high. you really need politicians in albany and new york city hallowerring income tax rates. on long island where my district is located, we have 123 school districts and they have superintendents, deputy superintendents, and you're spending a lot of money on property taxes. where california has higher income taxes we on long island we have a lot of high property taxes. neil: you have the double-whammy, you have the double-whammy. congressman, thank you very much. as the congressman is speaking i want to bring you about a development in texas. we talked about the mark anthony conditt austin-area bomber is dead. police converged on his home not too far away and cleared a five-block radius around his home as they prepare to search it. we'll have more after this.

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neil: all right, we've got a nor'easter hitting a spirit i was looking outside the white house. my buddy adam schapiro's and the exhibit. connell mcshane if you were there, you would be out in the thick of it. connell: listen, before you start here with tears, if anyone has built up some equity with you on this particular issue it's got to be made. how many times that he

personally asked me to go outside the plaza in new york to report on the snowstorm? up in boston earlier this year, is the person the last director all my and walk on a pond? neil: all right, all right, your wife got mad at me. jumping on a pond. it's fine. that is fine. that's okay. i built a career on it. seriously, body, and you've got this white house briefing. traffic and everything going to hold washington activity. business. stops for stuff like this. what are we hearing today? connell: i doesn't take much come you're right. there's a few big economic events that are still going on today in one big hearing we are going to get you in a second that is still going on today. you are on our way from the federal reserve decision on interest rates. this is obviously a big one for muster the aforementioned orange appears headed to the white house to cover that at the fed for us. it's one of many big headlines the white house is still monitoring on this snowy

wednesday. we'll put some of them up from the big publications, headers trumps national security advisor to not congratulate putin. he did it anyway. reporting from our colleague, john roberts on this with a senior administration official that the president may have never seen the memo that said do not congratulate her the story hanging over the white house today from the times. karen mcdougal's to speak on me trump alleged affairs. finally, the story we've been the most reporting on to rapid trade restraints on china appear that brings us to the jury that was not canceled on capitol hill today featuring this administration's trade representative, and robert third testifying before house ways and means and he did shed some light on some light, if you will come on how these terrorists against the chinese may end up taking shape. listen to this. >> the process he would use presumably would be one you develop cannot read them that

would put maximum pressure on china, minimum pressure on consumers and certain projects which are clearly high-tech projects, and connell: that is what they are planning. indicated all week a question of timing. to win rather than the f. and we are led to believe the tariff could be coming tomorrow or friday by the end of the week somewhere between 30 and $60 billion or that's a big economic story. their decision on interest rates next hour and were able to monitor from the comfort of the briefing room for you. neil: well, and you have a really high opinion of someone. >> to show outdoors today. just a green screen. thank you very, very much, connell mcshane. in the meantime, come on did refer to the federal reserve meeting, the result an hour from now.

it seems to be given and i guess are smarter at this than i am. the question is will the new federal reserve chairman telegraphed more to come? maybe more than the markets tank icon. let's go to chief economist john lonski, special assistant ron christie and our own lives mcdonald. what you see happening? >> i think a quarter-point hike. i don't think they'll make janet yellen's rookie mistake in 2014 when she said rate hike in six months or implied that appeared last month we had the worst point decline in the dow in history. over 1100 points at the close because fear is a wage increase is inflation, tax-cut commending to inflation, trade tariffs means more inflation. that is disappeared in the months time. i don't think there's going to be the market angst you are going to see. if anything, it's like when janet yellen speaks the market went up because she was so dovish.

practically every time janet yellen spoke. you will see a dovish response in the market higher today. >> depends on the federal reserve chairman said he could make a rookie mistake to that point and maybe telegraphed more than we think. >> you just never know. i think liz is exactly right. you don't want to make a rookie mistake out of the gate. a lot of folks are looking for stability, lot more certainty with the new fed chairman, so i agree with liz assessment. >> what if somehow he does tip his hat and say three or four? >> three rate hikes the market could handle. do you expect nation right now its fed funds and fear to .125%. connell: the high today -- >> one and five eighths. and then we get another one and

finished the year just about 2%. that is what the markets expect. >> try to keep it within the range. >> looking at the midpoint so it would be 2% at the bottom, two and a quarter on top. but any indication that fed funds is about that top of the 2.5% would be a disaster. definitely plunge and the only beneficiary might be the dollar exchange rate which has been weaker. >> you know what's weird about this? they feel compelled to raise rates because when they have to eventually disintegrate. so is their rush to do something that maybe might not be so well. >> that is a good point. the feeling to do something off the golden age of central planners, central blank big planters in 2016 work was a federal reserve doing the heavy lifting to get the economy up

and out of the recessionary stance. i think you may be right. that's why i'm thinking they will do three rate hikes and not overdo it. neil: but the rate hikes to swipe at the advantage a lot of americans are experiencing from the tax cut. >> i could come which goes back to my original comment of the fed needs to be very cautious. you don't want to do too much too soon. how much can the market taken such a short amount of time? neil: so condition of the 0% rate but i guess it's what you're used to. a lot of people are used to three something mortgages another 4% mortgages. i can remember when they were a whole lot higher. your position in your own historical reference to underage. >> that's correct. for the millennial of the mortgage of above 4.5% approaching 5% will be quite a shock. they don't really have the savings that which is important. you don't have the savings to

afford these homes. we do have inflation of late and that is with housing. we had a report on existing home sales. their median prices up to 6% from a year ago. neil: yet, somehow they manage softly. >> yeah, that is right. existing home sales with a january number. what's going on there is lack of inventory spiking prices higher and that is where the existing home sales are flatlining to 2016 levels. you are right that is where the inflation is. the inflation as an government mandated areas like health care and college education. but to your point about wage inflation, we were talking about the break, there is no connection there, right? >> it has to be translated into increase in spending. how faster wages growing? two .7% the past three months. tree until you always want to be had of it. >> they've done nothing towards

the longest period of time. we had personal savings. back when we had rapid inflation, when we were young in the 1970s, inflation wage, the average personal savings rate was 112%. neil: are you saying i'm not young? anyway, you look it. >> the personal savings and companies try to hike prices and consumers don't have the financial wherewithal to afford higher prices until prices exceed. neil: someone who is genuinely young. joining us right now, senator, thank you for the time. i'd be curious what you make in this debate about the federal reserve. largely those smart enough to make to comment on the fed, but i do want to raise the tax cuts and lizzie and i were chatting

about this pitcher offsetting whatever gains you get in those tax cuts with a run-up in interest rates. does that worry you when you think of your own party prospects in congress? >> it does worry me because it put a lot of effort into making sure these dollars are saved in the pockets of hard-working americans. we want to see that moving on in the future. increasing interest rates does concern us. tree until you know, we are getting word from the white house, senator, that the president spoke to french president machrone that they might find some agreement or come together on these terrorists. i haven't had a chance to talk to send the president has contemplated them. they will be big and spread to countries like china where they would be particularly big. there's a trade war were you? >> it does worry me. the announcement of the tariffs especially on a limb and i meant deal really worry iowa farmers and farmers across the united states because we know that

retaliation, especially when we have these terrorists go away now, they are so easy for other countries to do on the agricultural and is tree. we do have a lot of concerns about that and we are afraid that a trade war will start. we need to be very careful about what we are doing with terrorists. neil: do you think the thing gets out of control? >> well, i hope it does then. we have heard from the white house that they will pick a case-by-case basis especially with retaliation against america's farmers. it's wonderful they are at knowledge in there might be an issue with the terrorists. however, we need to be very careful about what we are doing when it comes to terrorists. neil: ghetto, switching into something you are interested in looking outcome of those two appointees tenet agencies a bit long. one of the things i thought i had of it was this notion of the president now calling my name on investigations that seem to be running out of control.

lindsey graham, your colleague, had said trying to get rid of him might be the beginning of the end of his presidency. rand paul says he doesn't think the president has contemplated not. what are your thoughts? >> well, i think the president is very tough on his rhetoric. however, as i have said before, let the investigation go where it goes. if there are facts out there that are existing and they've been discovered, then follow those facts and see where it goes. if it doesn't lead anywhere, then the investigation should come to an end. neil: but in the middle of this company did bring up a legitimate issue and it's occurred on the left and the right come in the political appointees to stay on and on and on and might have their own agenda and may be doing their own thing, what are you trying to do about that? >> well, i have introduced today a brand-new account which would prevent those political employees from burrowing into

the federal government. so again, dear appointees. what we don't want to see are these temporary assignments then turn them into permanent positions within the federal government. this would create a two-year cooling off period, so there's political appointees would have to take a timeout for two years before they can apply. neil: what if you are pointed at the last day of the administration. you would have two years. >> that would be too bad if they are just recently appointed. it's up to the new administration to make those political appointments and we should support whatever administration and the appointments that are made. those employees should find their way out. neil: that's where i'm confused.

we have to remember there are others that exist as employees within the federal administration agency they will work hard to achieve senior levels of management and have them cut out by previous administrations appointee. that is not right. so we want to make sure that we are starting a clean break.com son. we don't want to see a previous administrations appointee burrowing into the federal government. neil: senator, thank you. we'll watch that very very closely. >> thank you. neil: we told you earlier that anthony conditt, the police have reached his home to search about and a five block radius around not as they do. more after this.

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set a memorable wifi password with xfinity my account. one more way comcast is working to fit into your life, not the other way around. retail. under pressure like never before. and it's connected technology that's moving companies forward fast. e-commerce. real time inventory. virtual changing rooms. that's why retailers rely on comcast business to deliver consistent network speed across multiple locations. every corporate office, warehouse and store near or far covered. leaving every competitor, threat and challenge outmaneuvered. comcast business outmaneuver. neil: what is the latest? >> well, the latest is the main person in charge of this is now deceased and the main catalyst for concern has now been eliminated. but as you point out, one thing we have not yet been able to

finally determined and that is whether or not there were any bombs out there. the section is even though we have not yet identified any other suspects were accomplices, we have not been able to conclusively rule out the fact that there may be somebody else involved in this whole process. neil: all right, the governor's point on this as we are not out of the woods yet on this, particularly in the five block region they have killed around mark antony conditt home. they quote that out just to make sure. former fbi supervisor on what is next in this. what do you think? obviously better part of caution. they are obviously looking for whatever he was assembling there. you could tell us a lot, right? >> that is correct. it also tells conditt acted on his own rhetoric people

involved. i don't know enough about the investigation. right now it looks like a single person. all the social media as they dealt through the search of his residence, and i will tell us if there are people who either help them and they may also be displayed. that's what the investigation will show. neil: i'm wondering whether there were other packages that were mailed out or drop off and they haven't arrived at their destination. >> that is another concern the governor expressed. the investigation right now is going to take from the most meant they move backwards to see where he was. >> the packages showed up on the first two killed. they were deliveries they not

expected. but a lot of people are still concerned about anything that may be at the doorstep and they don't recall for sure. >> in a case like that. >> they appear to be hand-delivered. >> don't move about who the sender is an go back to your credit card records, and if they did choose should do something. they go back and say i got this package and say who is the sender. this sounds like a legitimate sender, then you're probably safe. neil: how concerned are you about copycat incidents. >> that's always a concern.

>> it wasn't a bomb expert and i think anytime there is an attack you have to worry about copycat. hopefully the quick response of law enforcement in this is going to discourage anybody else from trying to follow what. neil: yack amigo. jeffrey ringel, former fbi supervisory special agent. he does know his stuff. we appreciate you taking the time. we are still waiting to hear for mark zuckerberg. can't imagine he would treat this way. his thoughts on all of this. this is another example of something that took the election to donald trump. but of all people, mark pansy worked with bill clinton and hillary clinton said that was not the issue. all the facebook in the world would not change that outcome. so maybe we should be looking at some different tanks. he's next.

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neil: we are still waiting to hear for mark zuckerberg, the owner of the majority of facebook stock dirty supposed to address the troops there, it certainly will be announced on facebook itself on this whole kerfuffle on the compromised data from some 50 million users taken by the trump campaign. in case you think that might have moved the election or tipped it in the favor of donald trump, my next guest, not necessarily a friend of donald trump. in fact, were turned some years back to elect hillary clinton, not in the last go around, the work of the clintons and their past campaign saying that it really would not have made a difference, following up on micro trends, his original book about 10 years ago.

i am quoting from mark, don't expect $100,000 in ads or an example from russia to count for his election. the two parts per billion spent in the 2015 presidential campaign and the most of which would've gone to a limited number of swing states. it is better than targeting the right tv show, for instance, president obama is energizing the black community as a result african-americans outperform white voters and turn out. they just do what he was saying is don't hang the selection on that coach of course flies in the face of stuff hillary clinton has been saying pretty much ever since. the new small forces driving today's big distractions. good to have you. >> thank you. >> you're hearing this back-and-forth. facebook development stirred the sales of your book and i think that brilliant. the backdrop is amazing.

>> , facebook does have some issues. has to control his accounts. has to control its data better. to keep trying to re-litigate the 2016 presidential election, when clearly as i think i've traced in the book, a lot of old economy voters from indiana to pennsylvania lost a lot of jobs, were angry and upset and donald trump, like it or not have a message that resonated with him. that was just clear. >> you also referred in the book to couch potato voters. what did you mean by that? >> we have about 90 million people in the country who are eligible to vote who don't vote. and part of what is politics getting a little slice off of the couch and getting never into participator go to swing voters. when you go to swing voters who are always trying to get people who don't agree with you to

agree to and that tends to unify the country. when you go for your sights on the couch, and that tends to tear the country apart. the actual surprise about the people on the couches they are mostly downscale voters. there are lot more downscale, lower educated primarily white voters on the couch. african-american communities while registered. there's a lot of latinos also on the couch, and the 50 or 60 million voters outside of the political system who have not been brought into it. neil: we are mentioning as well hillary clinton went up by 3 million votes. you still said that donald trump got more popular votes than any republicans prior to him than hillary clinton even with that then did barack obama. what's really going on here? what is the appetite, the trends that you find either alarming or noteworthy? >> the trend here, if i look at

politics, i think you have closet conservatives. but you really have in politics today are opposing forces. a lot of the last election was about silicon valley versus old economy voters. silicon valley has been doing awfully well in the last 10 or 15 years and the rust belt has been doing mighty poorly in the last 10 or 15 years. an older, more rural rust belt voters have said we've had enough. we figure out how we balance the benefits of the economy between these two competing forces. >> we know about the role women are playing, of course a lot of this when we wrote this of course predated the enormity of the movement, but even not you seem to grasp quite significantly ahead of the facts. but you also talk about how this affects men in this environment and i'm making this leap year. are there going to be more male couch potatoes as a result

because these forces going on economically and they're just bummed out. >> well, there are more men on the couch. i think women are more apt debated. when you look at who votes, women but typically more than men. i also have a chapter called guys left behind because i'd also like to look at what we are not looking at and we are not looking at millions of men in jail, then you die earlier, men who die from drugs and overdoses. men are struggling with the new economy more so than women. neil: not the green bachelors you talk to. i was intrigued by that. >> well, if you are 64 and single, they're 100 women for every 62 guys and with internet dating, you are living the life of pond and only not in the age bracket you expect it to. neil: we will look at this in a different interview. i do want to get a sense about what is happening with younger

voters. in my little nerdy world economically, i don't think they're predisposed pretty touch on this to do the things that look like my generation did because they remember maybe what their parents went through. the number of never married as you point out rising, maybe they are seen as an saying it didn't go well for my parents. i don't want this for me. what is the political fallout? >> you see, the biggest thing that has happened here is people used to come out of high school, have a sweetheart, get married, spent little time alone. notice what i call footloose and fancy free. kids typically spend 10, 15 years on their round building their career, get an education. during those years they don't have the same responsibilities. they don't pay property taxes. politics are driven by quite different issues, revitalizing the cities, but they don't understand family life and

responsibilities, politics, religion and employment. neil: you really were habits and trends. you wrote about this a while ago. uber is suspending this accident hearing you talk about the technology in the likes of bill gates and other smart guys who are saying they can go too far. but you send out a warning here when you say unless we develop ethical standards come they won't be clear who has come under control. what did she mean by that? >> well, i love technology. as chief strategy officer at microsoft for some time as well. but we really have to be more worried about danger is not in targeting, that some of this a.i. stuff. i don't think i relist cars are coming anytime soon. that has been overhyped. i do think that this whole idea of relationships, when you have an election in your household,

just enter that as someone you're relationship with. is it a he or she? no, it isn't a. neil: i don't agree with that. i think it's a she. if you ask alexa, alexa says very slightly in the female arab to avoid actually answering the question to try and make it seem like it. just think that you've got a door-to-door salesman in your closet ready to come out at any moment and that is more what you actually have and i don't think we've got enough disclosure. neil: real quickly i'd be remiss if i didn't mention your party is going, the democratic dirty right now. he started a victory in the wind and pennsylvania's assignment may be wants to be drawn more centrist than hard left. do you still stand by that? >> there was also development in the race. essentially as a new democrat and also last night lipinski a

very, very strong challenge from the entire left wing of the party, left wing even managed to get not even endorsing the guy and he still pulled out if it read. that's a centrist democrats are at the core of this party, whether the left likes it or not and are likely the key to any victory ahead. >> that is interesting. the disruption following up on micro trends. very good having you, mark. thank you for a match. best of luck with this unit of angel needed. more after this including the federal reserve moments away. the question is how many more times? nah. not gonna happen.

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neil: i have a lot of great guests on the show. this guy is one of my favorite because he's very smart, good sense of humor.

jack otter, behrens editor. you know, we are all waiting very, you know, restlessly for the federal reserve decision. it seems to be dead, which is always dangerous. we will see a hike in interest rates. i guess everyone is waiting to see how many more can be telegraphed. where's the federal reserve going to be the details are clear. what do you expect? >> you've got jp's first presser. general powell will speak for the first time and that is what people want to hear. is there in a nuance that tells a dovish, hawkish. there is one possibility that he might say will have these press conferences after every effect reading. that would be seen as hawkish because it would give him more opportunities to raise rates. the theory is they don't like to raise rates without having a press conference afterwards. neil: that is interesting. even say and not towards transparency.

>> these first ones when they are just getting to know him, they will always be. neil: we were kidding with guests earlier that everyone is doing out about the fed fund rate that could get up to one and three quarters% area. i remember when it was a lot higher than that. perspective is everything and it's a trend that alarms people. does that alarm your readers and those who fear that there's no insight for these rate hikes? >> two answers. number one in terms of interest rates going higher, you at some point get to a point where the bond market is competing as a decent investment with the stock market. we are not there yet. what is the magic number three, 3.5, as high as 4.5. the other issue is the flattening yield curve. everyone was scared that the tenure went from 1.7 of two just touching the three mark. now, as the lower yield gets higher and higher, the difference between the two year bond in the 10 year bond is getting smaller and smaller.

the idea is that the two-year should ever get higher, that could be a signal of recession. very few people see signs of recession. the global economy is doing well. inflation is picking up in a healthy way. so there are very few recession times, but that is something that concerned the market. neil: do you worry in the macro picture, jack, that whatever advantage people are getting out of the tax cut is wiped out with higher rates? >> the big advantage is the corporate tax cut. and that is stimulative. what happens when economies start to overheat, the central banks clamp down with the interest rates. i'm not predicting us, but you could end up with the worst of all worlds, where we are going to hold in the budget hole deficit by reducing the revenue and the benefits from tax cuts are taken away by the federal

reserve clamping down. this is an unusual experiment. you have lowered taxes so dramatically nine years into an expansion, albeit a slow expansion, but that usually isn't done. we'll have to see how it comes out. neil: i was looking showing technology from the beginning of the downdraft of facebook and the likes march 14th. those issues have corrected then then some. we still have not heard from mark zuckerberg of facebook of what is tell the truth and how it's going to tell the troops in what is going to say. what do you expect? >> i'm not going to predict what is going to say, but there's things he needs to say which as we look at in front of this. we created an extraordinary tool, a platform that has never been seen before with 2 billion people across the globe. so now, they have to use their brilliant technological prowess to get ahead of that and make it harder to gain.

a colleague of mine joked that they've got enough money to hire all the journalists in the country. but i think they do need a human guide here to try, whether its technologists, editors, probably both. yeltsin is really good pr. he's just done a lousy job of pr. that's not him. that's not his forte. like a lot of these tech geniuses realize they need a grown-up. maybe sheryl sandberg, maybe someone else to help out with that aspect. in the meantime, just on the numbers, and facebook is doing great and the projected growth rate is 6% in the market will be up 10% in terms of revenue growth. that is huge and it gives him plenty of latitude to make some more hires and try to fix this thing. but they've got to get ahead of it. neil: could you imagine if he just tweeted his response. thank you very much, jack otter. you might have heard, you know,

about this federal reserve meeting and everyone pouncing on rates going up. of course they are very low. what does then think about how we are focusing on this? is it too much? he's next. mom you called?

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neil: all right, that is very hand right now head federal reserve announcement. the average pay -- anyway, ben stein with us right now,@author, economist. would you expect today? >> i expect them to announce they will have several rate hikes would appear that the next next 18 months. i expect them to say they are concerned about conflation but not terribly concerned about it. expect them to say that housing is a little tiny bit of a weak spot in the economy, but that they will not do anything to make it weaker. they are between a rock and a hard place because we want them to take away the punch bowl. this card is definitely getting very, very lively. on the other hand we do not want to slow down housing. they are in a difficult position.

i've never seen a situation where it was an easy situation. neil: it were easy, i would be handling interest rates. let me get your sense about this idea that whatever happens on the rate front could hurt whatever positive things are happening on the tax-cut front. do you buy that? >> not at all. they are entirely two separate matters. why did she want me -- >> it's a very, very smart question. so smart it went right over my head. the tax cut will stimulate the economy, especially corporate growth, government spending, corporate investment. no amount will change that unless they were to raise it by your ridiculous unforeseen amount. we have super stimulative monetary policy from the super stimulative fiscal policy and we slow down on the monetary policy. the economy is still going to go

marina long. it takes a lot to slow down the economy. it takes a heck of a lot. by the way, one of the funniest questions i get these days is all this confusion with facebook and the economy. as you said in the previous segment, facebook is doing incredibly great. they will continue to be great to matter what happens. the tech sector is fundamentally incredibly is wrong. this is a very, very strong economy except for housing. a little bit of weakness for motor vehicles except for those economies incredibly strong. it's a difference that everywhere i go there's a help wanted sign. absolutely everywhere. it is a sign of a very, very strong economy. maybe too strong. neil: do you think would be funny as zuckerberg tweeted his statement out?

>> it would be funny, but i don't think he's going to do that. what i wonder about zuckerberg is here's a guy with all the money in the world anywhere is as cheap crummy t-shirts. what is he doing? why does and they dress like you or me. neil: then, here is a macro question. all the folks who are saying republicans are going to be in a world of hurt in the midterms than likely lose the house for the senate is not a sure thing either and the president is in deep trouble. we learn from barack obama you can come wearing back later. so do you think we access a bit too much over the implications and what it means for a party or whatever? >> i'm not sure they said there's much mr. trump wanted to do that he hasn't done yet, that the house is going to stop in on the hands of democrats. the senate will almost certainly stay republican.

in fact, the republicans might gain, but let's face it. this president does not have that much more on his agenda that he needs to do. he does need to raise defense spending quite considerably. i think he has got more personal problems in terms of his romantic affiliations than he does political problems at this point. if he gets somehow cruised by these affiliations, i don't think he has much political agenda left. neil: i don't know what you're going with the romantic stuff, but whatever. ben stein, thank you. >> always a pleasure. neil: one of the finest out there.

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♪ everything is working, just like it should ♪ neil: all right. game of expectations right now. ahead of that announcement due a little more than a minute from now from the federal reserve. we have a 10-year note yielding 2.9%. markets up, preconditioned for what seems to be another quarter point height in the overnight lending rate known as federal fund. what is real issue for the markets, what the federal reserve chairman has to say about efforts going forward. he won't spell out things exactly. there might be two more.

but if he hints more than that as you know, talks about inflationary pressures building you know the drill. stocks could get drilled. lauren: zimmerman is in for trish regan. thank you very much, lauren. lauren: breaking news right now. seconds away from the federal reserve announcing its decision on interest rates as two-day policy meeting draws to a cloughs. i'm lauren simonetti in for trish regan. we welcome you to the "intelligence report". stocks are trading higher up 130 points. not only waiting for what the fed does any minute now but what the fed does under new chair jerome powell. economists expecting federal reserve to raise short-term interest rates for first time this year. wall street watching closely for any hints into the forecast for the rest of the year. we have seen several interest

rate increases from 2015. this sixth to be exactly. we'll see if any second now we get the first one of 2018. and for that, we are going to go to adam shapiro who has the decision for us. adam, break it down. reporter: federal reserve raises the benchmark federal funds rate a quarter of a percent with the funds rate range from 1 1/2 to one and 3/4. maintaining three rate hikes for 2018, two more to go. it is raising rates in 2019 from two to three. 3.5% by 2020. raising long term federal fund rates prediction from 2.9% to 2.8%. 2018 out look for gdp risen to 2.7% from 2.5%.