. this is "nightly business report" with tyler mathisen and susie gharib. >> strong finish, stocks sore into record territory after federal reserve chair janet yellen says she's not inclined to tighten policy. >> delivering results, fedex says business is good and getting better, sending shares to an all time high but there is one wild card that could change everything. >> under oath, general motors ceo on capitol hill filling pointed questions about the biggest safety crisis in the company's history. all that and more tonight on "nightly business report" for wednesday, june 18th. good evening, everyone. investors saying a big thank you to janet yellen, the federal reserve chair said policy makers will most likely keep interest rates right where they are now

near zero through the end of this year. wrapping up a two-day policy meeting and speaking at a news conference in washington, yellen insured investors the u.s. economy is doing well enough for the fed to make further cuts but not strong enough to seek consistent growth without the central bank's help. investors loved hearing that, and stocks took off. the s&p 500 index closed at a new record high of $19.57, the dow, which was in the red before the fed announcement at 2:00 p.m. eastern time shot up almost 100 points and the nasdaq rose to 25 points. steve liesman was at that news conference and has more on what yellen said and what it means for the economy. >> reporter: was it an upgrade or a downgrade? for the fed today and the u.s. economy, it was actually a bit of both. the federal reserve upgraded the u.s. economy in the statement today saying it was rebounding from the severe winter weather swoon. at the same time because of the economy's contraction, in the

first quarter, much stronger than expected, the fed had to downgrade its forecast for the full year, by 7/10ths of a percentage point to 2.2%. still janet yellen said she saw gathering strength in the economy. >> i think there are many good reasons why we should see a period of sustained growth in excess of the economy's potential swrech potential. we have a highly accommodative policy, the fiscal drag, we have using credit conditions. we have households who are becoming more comfortable with their debt levels. we have raising home prices and rising equity prices and an improving global economy. at least in high estimation, too. i think all of those things ought to be working to produce

above train growth and for a number of years which admittedly growth has come in at a disappointing level, we've still seen the labor market broadly improve, and i expect that to continue. >> reporter: at the same time, yellen said she's not worried about recent levels of higher inflation. she said it would not be an immediate factor to hike interest rates any time soon. >> the evidence we've seen abinstructing from the noise suggests that we are moving back gradually over time to our 2% objective, and i see things roughly in line with where we expected inflation to be. i think if you look at the projections that were submitted this time, you see very little change in inflation projections of the committee. >> reporter: the market liked what it heard, a little better growth. the fed gradually reducing the stimulus in the economy through

tapering bond purchases and still on track to raise interest rates but not until next year and then only gradually. for "nightly business report", i'm steve liesman. and david kelly joins us to talk more about the fed. david, welcome. stock investors seem to see what janet yellen said today and did today as green light. did you see it that way? >> it was a positive report on the economy and the economy is picking up through the second quarter of the year and will pick up, there is a chance it will grow above trend pace. whey thought was interesting, long-term interest rates came down today and the bond market is complacent here. the fed, although, changes the forecast, it didn't change much what it's doing in the short term but said the individual members said they thought short-term interest rates would be higher in 2015 than '16 than they thought before and ought to push long-term interest rates up and didn't. there is something of a bubble in the bond market at this

stage. there isn't a huge bubble, but there is a bubble there and interest rates are too low given the outlook. >> david, i want to follow what you said at the beginning of your answer to tyler's question, this is a positive, good for investors. what is going on in the economy and what janet yellen said, if you're an american out of work and if you're someone who has a job but your paycheck isn't growing much or you're trying to sale your house. what does her comments and forecast mean for those people? >> the story in the economy is getting better on all fronts. what we're seeing, not so much the economy strengthening but the labor market tightening. the unemployment rate, the last forecast has come down to 6.3%. the federal reserve regards 5.4% or 5.3% with employment. we're within 1% of that and as unemployment comes down, that's helping some people with

long-term unemployment and pushing up wages. we've seen real wage growth, that's good and home prices, because we're not building enough homes and the low economy and expanding, home prices continue to go up. this stuff is improving. it doesn't improve faster because of what janet yellen said but it's on the mend. >> what would you have like to see or heard from the fed that you didn't, and how do you grade the yellen fed so far? admittedly, it's a short stint. >> yeah, i would like to see a more determination to bring interest rates back to a normal level over the next few years. i think all this quantitative easing and very low interest rate environment is a double edg edged sword. it threatens inflation but it isn't really building the productive capacity of the economy and i want a normalization of interest rates more rapidly, which i think can get people back to more normal investing because this is still a very extraordinary policy for

an economy that clearly is on amend. >> everybody talks about interest rates, what is the timeline end of this year, next year, the year after, but what about where interest rates are going to be? is the number? are you expecting 4%, 5%, 6% higher? can you put a number on it? >> by the end of this year, on a ten-year treasury bond will be between 3 and 3.5% and by the end of next year closer to 4%. i think interest rates will go up, but one of the other things in this statements today is they have pushed down their long-term estimate and that really in the long run the american economy will grow. long-term interest rates in the end won't be like before. >> thank you for being with us this evening. one big american company seeing a pick up in business and doing well in the economy, federal express. shares shot up to 6%, an

all-time high after the company reported quarterly profits that more than doubled, mostly thanks to a boost in online shopping and shipping. morgan brennan has more. >> reporter: fedex revenues are up by shipments by freight and ground grew the most powered largely by online shopping. >> we're seeing growth on the e commerce side, so a lot of business from amazon and other players on the e commerce side that's driving the domestic side of the business and the international side is picking up as the economy is growing steam. >> reporter: fedex thinks business will be better in 2015. shipping volumes are increasing as the economy continues to improve and consumers spend more and starting in january, right after the holidays, it's introducing a price plan for ground packages, charging according to box size and not just weight. yesterday ups announce add similar plan and this was a hot top pick on the earning's call. the new pricing structure will drive revenue and increase

margins for fedex. >> the company has instituted a dimensional weight pricing scream which is incentives to use smaller boxes because they will get charged if it's a small item in a big box. as they get shippers to reduce the size, they will get more space in trucks and planes and that's good for everyone. >> reporter: in other words, fedex could see the best return not from higher prices but from helping customers like amazon and other e commerce sites, package shipments for efficiently but there is one wild card ahead for fedex. fuel prices. fedex bullish 2015 outlook doesn't take that into account, despite the fact recent events in iraq pushed the price of crude oil higher. >> fuel is uncertain. the company assumes flat fuel every year. we can't predict where the fuel prices would go. spiking prices would be a head wind. >> investors were cheered by the numbers sending shares to an

all-time high earlier today. for "nightly business report", i'm morgan brennan. >> switching to the crisis in iraq where sunni muslim insurgent are battling with iraqi government forces for control of an oil refinery. the target of militia groups, exxon mobile carried out what it called a major evacuation of workers from iraq while british bp evacuated about 1/5th of it's workers and earlier today, president obama met with a bipartisan group discussing possible u.s. military options in iraq, air strikes, drone attacks and u.s. special forces to help train iraqi troops. the violence worsens as iraqi security forces battle sunni militants. more from northern iraq. >> reporter: iraq's largest refinery, the scene of heavy fighting today. video clips posted on the social media website purported to show smoke rising from the

instillation after the rebel swept into the facility this morning. trouble at the refinery, one of the causes of these, long lines for gasoline, hundreds and hundreds of cars throughout iraq's region. >> we're supposed to live in the country of oil and gas, and suddenly, we learn yesterday there is no fuel. >> reporter: and still, the islam make militants press on. >> we're here in northern iraq, home to an enormous amount of infa talk tour, one of the largest three oil fields and large natural gas facility. we're told fighting is happening several kilometers down the road between the military that's had to take over this city because the iraqi military just appea d appeared. they are fighting islamic militants. if the militants could take over, it could be devastating to the oil infrastructure here in the north part of the country. the governor is in charge of trying to keep his province

safe. he says the slide into anarchy isn't caused soully by extremists. iraq's problems are much deeper. >> difference is between shiites and sunnis, it's not just difference, it's very deep hatred, actually. i mean, can't any longer believe people say well, that's not true. it's a group of fanatics and all that. it's not. >> reporter: governor kareem lived in exile in the united states for decades where he was a successful neurosurgeon in the dc area. he was a resident at george washington university in 19 81 and a junior member of the team of the recovery. he returned to his homeland after the fall of saddam huss n hussein. after the dictator is gone, he has too many powers. >> here i cannot appoint a police officer, a local police officer, it has to be from

baghdad. fy want to fire him because he is not doing his work or her work, baghdad has to agree on it. and you cannot run a country like this. >> reporter: the governor, like many, believes strong federal is m could save iraq, that means a lot more power to the regions within it and a lot less power to the central government of baghdad. for "nightly business report", michelle cabrera, northern iraq. >> west texas intermediate fell to $105.97 while brant crude was up to $114 a change and there was good news regarding energy production in the u.s. nk north dakota is producing 1 million barrels of crude every day thanks to the oil found in the shale formation in the western part of the state. hold the phone, why is amazon a leader in e commerce jumping feet first into the very, very competitive smart phone market.

two senators have proposed raising the federal gasoline tax for the first time in more than 20 years to help congress pay for highway and transit repairs. chris murphy of connecticut and bob kosher of tennessee would like to raise the 18.4 cents a gallon federal gas tax along with the 24.4 cents a gallon tax on diesel fuel by 12 cents each over the next two years. also in washington today, lawmakers had a tough time believing testimony from the ceo of general motors about how she's changing the auto maker's corporate culture in response to the recall of millions of def t defective cars. shares of gm ended a fraction

lower today. phil lebeau has the latest on g m's own investigation into the ignition switch recall. >> reporter: back on capitol hill to answer questions about faulty ignition switches and the recall of 2.6 million cars, g m's ceo mary barra maintained her company is changing. >> this is not another business challenge. this is a tragic problem that should never have happened and must never happen again. >> reporter: for barra, there were few moments where she was on the hot seat but time and again they are skeptical she can remark the corporate culture, to focus first on safety. >> why the foot dragging? is this typical of g m's investigation sbointo a product concern and how do you intend to change this? >> we have it the way we're working through recalls today. we change that process. it's expedited and the most senior levels of the company are involved and i don't want to do

recalls, we'll do what is right for customers and demonstrating it today. >> reporter: gm says 13 people were killed in 54 ceaccidents. while the auto maker is creating a program to compensate victims, friends and families say gm as a whole should face criminal charges for the recall scandal. >> i was convicted of a felony when gm was the true criminal. i know accountability will not bring amber back but accountability will give the future amber a chance. >> reporter: it came after gm recalled 3.1 million cars to fix keys that could slip and leave cars without power, similar to the cobalt ignition switch recall. more than 20 million vehicles this year, the company sales in the u.s. have actually increased in 2014, and gm stock has held relatively steady since the recall scandal started. >> from a recall perspective,

investors are relatively immune, it appears the stock has been less volatile with respect to each subsequent recall headline over the past few weeks. >> reporter: for mary barra, that this hay not be the last time she testifies on capitol hill. by then, general motors will have a compensation program in place and will have a better sense how much the auto maker expects to pay victims of the faulty ignition switches. phil lebeau, "nightly business report", washington. in the meantime, general motors got slapped with a 10 billion-dollar lawsuit from car and truck owners who say they should be compensated for the lost resale value of their vehicles after the auto maker recalled nearly 20 million cars this year. general motors may not be the only auto maker with ignition switch problems. federal investigators are now looking into reports of defective ignition switches in some chrysler vehicles. they are focussing on the key

moving out of the run position and disabling air bags after contact with the driver's knee. it includes the 2005, 2006 jeep grand cherokee and 2006, 2007 jeep commander and dodge journey cross overers from 2008 through 2010. a takeover offer and that is where we begin tonight's market focus. the latest price is $53 billion in total the come neen is offering shareholders 72 cla$72 cash and 8.3 for each allergan share. the botox maker says the board will review the charge change. unless extended, shares down slightly with 118.43 and allergan rose. shares of conagra tumbled. the maker of hunts tomato ketchup says it will lower sales

and weak profits in private brands group. the stock was down more than 7%, it closed at $30.47 and hertz might be looking to team up with uber. the car rental company wants to broaden its business and could allow its cars to be rented using uber. a controversial startup with a smart phone application. the buzz drove shares of hertz up almost 5% to $28.33. some of citi groups biggest investors want the bank to go to court rather than pay as much as $10 billion to settle an investigati investigation accordtology a report in the financial times. it is facing charges that it cheated investors by selling risky mortgage backed securities. citi shares up a fraction. shares of air products and chemicals surged after the company named a new ceo. the industrial gas producer is

activist investor bill ackman is holding the ceo to take the top job. the stock closed at an all-time high up 7.5% to $130.72. shares of amazon.com moved higher today, up nearly 3% after the nation's largest online retailer unveiled the first ever amazon branded smart phone. the big question, what is amazon after with this new product. josh lipton has more. he doesn't shy away from a fight and today in seattle, amazon ceo picked a big one as he announced that the e commerce giant is pushing hard into the hyper competitive smart phone market. >> i'm excited to tell you that the answer is yes. >> reporter: he introduced the fire phone today, it's amazon's first smart phone customers can preorder the phone today on at&t's website.

the phone will cost $199 with a two-year contract and ship on july 25th. >> the phone is gorgeous. i can't wait for you hands to get on and it look at it. it's elegant and refined, used good materials. we call this dynamic perspective. >> reporter: the real future amazon hopes will distinguish the phone from rivals, the screen on the phone displays seemingly three dimensional images. amazon is entering a competitive market currently dominated by apple and samsung. they have a 46% global market share. obviously, first, we have to be a great phone and it's light and durable and has a great screen and does e-mail and browsing, all the things that, you know, we expect customers expect from a phone today, but on top of that, when you see how the dynamic perspective reinvents the user inner face we have

taken for granted and also see how good fire fly is recognizing things around you, we think that will be different. >> 4.7 inches. >> reporter: analysts say amazon isn't looking to make money off the phone itself but hopes consumers will use the device to shop online at amazon.com as well as buy digital content, such as movies, music and tv shows. consumers who use amazon divisions do tend to spend more. fans that own a kindle, the tablet spend about 30% more than those who don't according to rbc. they know that a lot of consuchlers shconsuchl -- consumers shop using their smart phone. retail sales will jump 25% to 18%. they stand apart from the competition, we have to wait and see whether consumers agree. josh lipton, "nightly business report", seattle, washington.

coming up, a landmark decision, the u.s. patent office cancels the trademark for the washington redskins. the cost could be huge for the third most valuable football franchise. and finally tonight, a major blow to the washington redskins. the u.s. patent office cancelled the nfl team's federal trademark, a big step in what some hope will pressure the franchise to finally change the name. hampton pearson has more. >> reporter: the patent office ruling says the washington redskins should lose federal trademark protection because the name redskins is disparking to native americans. the campaign to change the team

name has gained momentum with statements in recent months from president obama, civil rights groups, and lawmakers from both parties. today on the senate floor, majority leader harry reid called on red skin's owner daniel snide tore change the team name. >> this is extremely important to native americans all over the country, they no longer use this name. it's racist. daniel snider says it's about tradition. i ask what tradition. >> reporter: the issue goes back to 1967, in the 50 years since, the redskins team value soared to an estimated $1.7 billion, third high eest in the nfl. the redskins will appeal in federal court. the trademark attorney says its a rerun of a 1999 lawsuit overturned four years later. we've seen this story before and just like last time, today's ruling will have no effect at all on the team's ownership of

and right to use the red skin's name and logo. legal experts say native americans wanting to get rid of the trademark face an uphill battle. >> from a court's perspective, you do not want to eradicate the goodwill built up for a quarter of a century or half because someone wakes up 25 years into the goodwill being built and thinks they don't like it or that it's disparking. >> reporter: no reaction today father or moth from players but dan snider remains the focus for those on both sides of the issue. >> my reaction is little one will make two fortunes, selling the old red skin merchandise and two, selling the now. >> money makes, you know, owners pay attention, so if people refuse to buy the logo with the redskins name on it, i think he would pay attention to that, i

think he would. >> reporter: if today's decision is upheld on appeal, it would make it harder for the redskins to go after those for profit on the sale of unlicensed merchandise. meanwhile, the battle over the name continues in the court of law and the court of public opinion. for "nightly business report", i'm hampton pearson. >> that's "nightly business report" for tonight. thanks for joining us. i'm susie gharib. >> i'm tyler mathisen, thanks from me, as well. have a good evening, everybody. see you back here tomorrow night.

tonight on "quest" -- all living beings share a common ancestry. today, this is a basic idea. but when charles darwin published it, he transformed the biological sciences forever. in celebration of darwin's 200th birthday, "quest" follows california academy of sciences beetle expert david kavanaugh. can darwin's principles on evolution, coupled with modern dna analysis, help him prove the existence of a new california species?