this is "nightly business report" with tyler mathisen and sue herera. >> flashing yellow americans are not spending as much as economists expected and that key component of economic activity could make the federal reserve's interest rate decision that much hard harder. could the biggest winners come from corporate america? can the millennial generation avoid the mistakes of their parents? we explore that in the second part of the series "millennials and money" for tuesday, july 14th. good evening, everyone. welcome. things may have gotten a little tougher for the head of the federal reserve. after confirmation today that

consumers aren't spending as much as expected. retail sales for june fell a seasonally adjusted 0.3%, well below expectations of a rise. because it makes up a good chunk of economic activity if that piece of the economic puzzle is missing, some say it throws into question the potential rate hike by the federal reserve. and the batch of bad news comes just one day before fed chair janet yellen is set to appear before congress. courtney reagan reports. >> according to the latest government data, consumers aren't spending enough to prop up economic growth. june retail sales posted the weakest reading in four months. and that's not all the bad news. may retail sales were revised lower than previously reported. with consumer spending fuelling 70% of the country's economic growth monthly retail sales are a key data point for those trying to forecast the federal reserve's decisions on interest

rates. and fed chair janet yellen addresses congress in the two-day testimony beginning tomorrow. >> just look at the retail sales numbers, look around the world. and tell me that you feel fully confident that we have turned the corner and we ought to raise rates. i don't think it's there. >> reporter: it's hard to find bright spots in the data. spending at service stations was up, but just slightly, reflecting the rise in gas prices. the electronics and appliances category saw it go up 1% as they diverted towards gadgets and investing in their homes rather than on apparel and accessories. the rest of the results are so so. showing consumers are continually to allocate their hard earned cash. >> i have cut back mostly on nonessentials. like clothing, bicycles, things like that. >> travel you know shopping but still we're still spending

only necessary on like food. >> reporter: in economists think the cautious consumer is here to stay. >> consumers are not going to go back to the old days. and what's embodied in the fed's forecast is things are about to get back to normal. that now that house prices are going back up the stock market is high, we're going to have a wealth effect consumer spending will go back to the go go days i don't think they ever are. i think we're in this perennial waiting for good dough that the consumer is going to come back and start leading us back to some v-shaped recovery. that's the part that's wrong. >> reporter: after today's retail sales, the gdp forecast was taken down for the second quarter which may not be a good sign for retailers going into the all important second half of the year which boasts back to school and holiday seasons ahead. for "nightly business report" i'm courtney reagan. michael feroli was one of the economists who took down his gdp estimates for the second

quarter today. he's the chief economist at jpmorgan jpmorgan. michael, good evening, welcome. how much did you lower your gdp forecast for the full year based in part on these retail sales numbers today? >> not a whole lot. we took down our tracking of second quarter gdp from 2.5 to 2.3%. as whole it didn't affect things so look as you said earlier there's not a whole lot good you can see in the number. hard to sugarcoat it, but it is one month of a very volatile series. i think we have to take it in context and look at things on a quarterly basis. when you look at it that way consumer spending certainly did pick up in the second quarter relative to the first quarter it didn't pick up perhaps as briskly as we thought prior to this morning but there's an improvement. so things by no means are rocketing forward, but at the same time, we think consumer spending second quarter grew something like 2.6% annual rate which in the context of the last

few years is pretty good. >> what was worrisome to me, the downward revisions to previous months. so yes, this was not a good report. but now we have downward revisions to previous months which seem to weaken the overall trend of retail sales. >> right. that's exactly right. that was actually probably the bigger impact in terms of our downward revision. so june being a last month of the quarter didn't have a big impact, but certainly the downward revisions did affect things. you know, as we look at the monthly pattern this year, what you saw was consumers really pulled back in february when the weather was terrible. bounced back really strongly in march. and then since then have been kind of going back and forth at a kind of so so pace. >> you know, michael, i assume you heard austan goolsbee say that boy, i don't see a world out there in terms of retail sales or other measures that indicate that the economy has

turned a corner and it's time to raise interest rates. i wonder if you do or what if anything today's number does for your view of when or whether the fed will raise rates in september say? >> right. so we continue to look for september and with a decent risk of december. does this report change that that much, i don't think so. we have a lot of data between now and september and most importantly two jobs reports and a couple inflation reports. if those jobs numbers keep coming in as strong as they have, i think that would swamp what one month's retail sales would apply for the fed. i think you have to look at this in a prodder context. >> you'd be comfortable with an interest rate rise in september or december unlike mr. goolsbee. thank you very much. michael feroli, thanks very much. stocks notched their fourth day of gains as investors looked away from global developments back to earnings.

more on that in a moment. the dow jones industrial average rose 75 points to 18503. and the as in nasdaq gaped 33. after months of talks iran and six global powers reached a nuclear deal. the agreement designed to rein in iran's nuclear ambitions while allowing that country to continue its program for peaceful purposes. all in in exchange for relief from western sanctions. congress now has 60 days to review the agreement. approval there is anything but assured, but the president has vowed to veto any resolution that disapproves the pact. as for oil prices they dropped early in the session only to reverse course once its became apparent that iranian oil exports will not lit the market by any time soon. and it rose to about $53 a barrel. jackie deangelis looks at the implications for crude. >> reporter: some are calling it

the deal of the decade. and it has significant meaning on a global deal. >> this demonstrations that diplomacy can bring about real and meaningful change. change that makes or country and the world safer and more secure. >> reporter: but it also could have a significant impact on the oil market. analysts estimate that iran has up to 20 to 40 million barrels in storage which could come to market by the end of the year if sanctions are lifted. it could also mean more production in the country. a small increase that could add to the more than 2.5 million barrels iran now produces. it doesn't sound like a lot but in an already oversupplied market where the u.s. and saudi arabia are producing at record levels, it could add more pressure to oil prices. >> well unless there's an increase in demand coming from china or from some other developing nation, you're going to see oil prices lower because the world supply or the world market can't handle this additional oil. >> reporter: there is an

approval process for the deal, however. congress has 60 days to come to a decision. even if congress rejects the deal however, the president does have veto power. oil prices were slightly higher on the day but this is after oil has fallen more than 12% in the last month alone. it does raise the question however if demand doesn't rise, can all the producers continue to keep pumping? well while the leaders of both the u.s. and iran were taking victory laps the real winners of the nuclear deal could be in corporate america. morgan brennan runs through the list of which corporations stand to benefit. >> reporter: it's far from a done deal. the iran nuclear agreement is still months and several key hurdles away from sanctions being lifted. but a wide array of businesses could ultimately benefit. starting with energy companies. iran has nearly 10% of global oil reer ises and 18% of natural gas. bp exxon mobil have explored

the possibility of doing business in the country. still, some ceos say it will take some time for risks to subside. >> the long term that could be a good opportunity for us. but i think in the meantime we'd like to find places that offer a little bit better stability. >> reporter: even so more investment in iran's production would also boost oil field services companies. names like halliburton, weatherford and schlumberger which isn't commenting. it brings the tanker market into focus. citity group analyst chris weather bee it could be a net positive for large fleets, since many of the ships are older. those stocks include tk tankers and scorpio tankers. french companies like peugeot will re-enter iran as well. the automaker is reportedly in advanced talks over an iranian car making venture. iran has the same size population as germany. almost 80 million people.

that could present opportunities for a number of consumer companies. >> iran and iranians in general love technology. so apple is going to have a lot of opportunities in iran and boeing. iran's passenger jets are very old. they need to be updated. and so u.s. companies have an opportunity to sell passenger jets to iran in the future. >> leisure and hospitality companies could be the first to enter iran. still, much needs to happen before sanctions actually get lifted so it's hard to predict when and if this market will be fully open. for "nightly business report," i'm morgan brennan. to johnson & johnson it raised its stock. and it reported better than expected earnings but revenue did drop sharply in the second quarter amid disappointing sales amid softer demand to the

hepatitis c drug. it finished lower by one half of a percent. the bank reported improved profits but declining revenue which it attributed to the investment banking business but lower expenses helped the bottom line so by the end of all of that jpmorgan shares rose more than 1% in trading today. with the major indexes not far really very close to their all-time highs what's keeping the market afloat? yesterday, we told you that half the stocks in the large cap russell 1,000 are down by 10% or more from the recent high correction territory. now we look at the record levels and why these companies matter so much to the market. >> reporter: despite all of the negative headlines both here and abroad the u.s. stock market continues to be one of the most attractive places to invest.

and while pessimists are reporting to the large number of stocks in the down trends it's a stone's throw away from record highs. that's because a handful of stocks are pulling more weight to the upside and having much more of as potive im -- a positive impact on the stock market. with the russell 1,000 index that are 300 stocks at or within 5% of the highest levels over the past 12 months. 20 of those stocks have market values of at least $100 billion. these biggest of the big cap stocks have much more influence on the overall market given their size. and they have been attractive places for many investors. >> one of the things that you, you know, most of the market thinks about is all of the macro events, whether it's greece or china. what it gets you is really the opportunity to have a little bit more diversification. >> you'll recognize a lot of names on the list like media and entertainment giant disney. its 25% gain makes it worth $200 billion. or drug maker pfizer which is up

12% this year and is worth $214 billion. or even facebook which has gained 15% this year, making it worth a whopping $252 billion, but not all mega cap stocks have participated and experts say you have to be choosy about where to invest. >> the best opportunities are in large cap stocks that are just defensively oriented, that are generating their business domestically. when you look at the health care sector, that's very attractive. especially hospitals in particular. >> reporter: these very large and very valuable companies have done a lot to help the broader markets hold on to gains. but they aren't immune to downside risk. changes in investor sentiment because of things like greece china or the help of corporate earnings could all have an

effect. for "nightly business report" i'm dominic chu. still ahead, a chinese company is reportedly ready to make a massive bid for u.s. memory chipmaker micron. what will the regulators do? the white house has lowered its budget deficit forecast, the new estimate falls to $455 billion by the end of the fiscal year. that is the lowest of barack obama's presidency. the administration predicts 2% economic growth for the current year rising to nearly 3% next year and says the unemployment rate should fall to 5.1%. shares of twitter spiked about 8% but quickly pulled back. and the reason has become all too familiar.

a fake story about a potential bid for the company appeared on a website that was made to look like bloomberg's website. take a look at this. this is the fake website on which the story about a $31 billion bid for twitter appeared and it does look similar to bloomberg's layout. the stock spiked a little after 11:30 a.m. and then fell back. it's just the latest market hoax designed to move the price of a stock. intel down graded to sell by a wall street firm one day before it reports earnings. bernstein now rates the dow component an underweight because of weakness in the data center business. the analysts there says softness in that business could be potentially more damaging than weakness in its pc business. the sell rating less common on wall street. shares of the semiconductor company closed a few cents lower today. rival semiconductor firm micron is reportedly the target of a $23 billion bid by a

chinese state owned company. such a deal would be the largest takeover of an american company by a chinese one. micron closed up 11% but it comes at a time of increasing consolidation in the industry. if the offer is made official it could face a great wall of regulatory hurdles. amin javers is following the story from washington. good evening. how might the recent cyber security news and the report that china was allegedly behind the big government hack play into this? >> well that's the context here for this. the u.s./chinese relations are not at a high point here in washington, d.c. and if this bid goes forward, it will face a very tough review from a group here in washington called the committee on foreign investment on the -- in the united states. the acronym is easy to pronounce committee. the folks i talked to say this is going to face a very tough review. because chinese getting access

to high-tech of any kind is very sensitive for the committee and particularly sensitive when it deals with anything that could be used for military applications. remember, there are intelligence community representatives on that committee so they'll look at this very very toughly. and the expectation here is that this is the kind of deal that might not meet with approval. >> i would guess there's a lot in political circles who would say if we're going to let you come in and buy our companies then you china need to let us go in and invest in yours more freely, right? >> right. absolutely. and that's the kind of political gamesmanship you see at the very high level. they'll focus on re-evaluating this particular deal and this is a committee that has not let other deals in the past go forward. for example, in 2012 they blocked a wind farm deal which is low tech, but they were worried that the wind farms that the chinese wanted to buy were

near a u.s. navy installation that presented spying concerns so they blocked that deal. so if they blocked that one, this one would be a no go as well. >> amin, thank you so much. amin javers in washington. csx pops on a profit brief. they announced earnings that beat forecasts as lower fuel costs off set a drop in coal volumes. that weighed on revenue. the chief financial officer said lower energy costs aren't beneficial to all of the firm's businesses. >> we think that over time lower fuel prices should help the u.s. economy, but also impacts the other markets like crude by rail for example where we are seeing some declines here as we look out to the rest of the year. >> shares surged initially in after hours trading as you see right there. before the close this stock was a fraction higher. it finished at 3207. yum brands managed an earnings beat today, but revenue missed estimates. the parent of chains like kfc and pizza hut also set a key

metric of performance in china, missed estimates. it's been a problem spot for yum. shares surged before reversing course. before the close, the stock rose about 1% to 9199. wells fargo's earnings matched estimates but higher rates crimped them. the chief financial officer explained how that hit results. >> we're the largest servicer of mortgages so people tend to come in and refinance when rates move down. we'll get most of that business compared to most of the market. when that opportunity abates because rates back up a little bit and you're back in more of a purchase market, then the competition will be a it whattal bit more -- will be a little bit more widely reflective. >> shares of wells fargo rose to $57.25. wpx energy will buy rki exploration and production for

nearly $2.5 billion. the acquisition will increase wpx's crude oil production and give the company access to the permian basin region. shares popped almost 6.5% to 1183. celgene will buy receptos in a deal worth $7 billion. the acquisition will help expand celgene's inflammation and immunology portfolio. the receptos was halted for trading initially after the report but was up 5% in regular trading. coming up the one thing that is holding millennials back when it comes to long term investing. the second pardt of our series "millennials and money" is next.

here's what to watch for tomorrow. janet yellen heads to capitol hill where she will deliver her semi-annual testimony on monetary policy. the producer price index is out. also out industrial production data an important economic indicator. that's what to watch for wednesday. back in 2013 the guidelines of who should be prescribed statins was expanded vastly and according to a study out today, that is helping to save people money. the wider use of medications like lipitor and crestor will help to cut down tens of thousands of heart attacks and strokes and deaths from them. the study by two major cardiologist groups finds it's well worth the expenditure. the u.s. is facing a $1 trillion pension short fall.

states are short nearly $1 trillion for the pension systems. that's a more than $50 billion increase from the year before. the three states that have less than half of their pension programs funded are kentucky illinois and connecticut. well perhaps more teenagers are working than at any time in the last six years and are more likely to work throughout the year not just in a summer job. summer job gains are lower than they were a year ago, but employment consultant challenger graham christmas said that's teens ages 16 to 19 are getting more year round jobs. >> millennials and their money, yesterday, we told you about that generation's massive student debt load. today, our series continues with a look at how they invest. millennials have become savers and long term planners than other generations have but as sarah epperson tells us they have one weakness holding them back. >> reporter: 28-year-old colleen

mckenna is living her dream. >> i wanted to move to new york. it was a dream of mine. >> reporter: she's paid off her student loans and landed a new job at an education technology company. like many millennials she's now focused on how she will achieve financial security years from now. >> kind of typical of start-ups. we don't have a 401(k) here so when i moved here that's when i met with a financial adviser. >> reporter: mckenna has saved over $26,000. a bigger nest egg than most. but she wasn't sure how to invest it. >> you have to be smart with your money. we know we have got the baby boomers they're trying to retire and figure it out. if they had a lot of them the portfolios crashed, then maybe they lost half of their money in 2008. so we have gotten to witness that. >> reporter: financial advisers agree it's important or the for this generation not to repeat their parent's mistakes. many are doing well financially, but not planning for long term growth. a recent survey by bank rate fond that millennials who are generally between 18 and 34 are

lagging behind older adults in terms of owning stocks and real estate. the reason? nine out of ten say they're distrustful of the markets and they're less confident about investing. >> when it comes to investing it's not something they're very familiar with so they're shying away from doing that. but it really can cut down on the amount of wealth they're able to accumulate over the course of their lifetime. >> reporter: rather than shy away mckenna hired a professional. >> allocating the funds and given my age and when i want to retire. >> reporter: for millennials who may not have the money or be willing to spend it on a financial adviser, there are lower cost options. >> look at a robo adviser, look at the online options. >> there's so many different kinds of platforms you can do your own investments. we have everything at our fingertips. >> reporter: like many millennials mckenna knows that

ultimately the responsibility for funding her financial future is in her own hands. for "nightly business report," i'm sharon epperson. >> and what does retirement look like for the average millennial? the answer tomorrow in the final part of the series "millennials and money." and that'll do it for "nightly business report" tonight. i'm sue herera. thanks so much for joining us. >> i'm tyler mathisen. have a great evening. see you back here tomorrow night.

yeah, if you're wiped out if you're wiped out, do something -- over decades of teaching theater all of ruth zaporah's classes have started the same way, but from here, anything can happen. ruth calls her blend of movement, acting and improvisation action theater. when she first began performing back in the 1970s, her methods seemed like madness. now they're part of the theatrical mainstream. improvisation and live response have become commonplace in the contemporary art world. not just on stage but in galleries and site-specific performance art. tonight on "spark!", we'll experience the magic of improvised performance.