ncht this is "nightly business report" with tyler mathisen and sue herera. >> i consider it appropriate to the committee to proceed cautiously in adjusting policy. >> the chair has the floor. the federal reserve janet yellen in major speech tells investors and her feds colleagues to chill the hot talk about higher interest rates. controlling the pain. the white house out lines new initiatives and new money to fight the growing epidemic of prescription drug abuse. tax tips. whether you're a newlywed or just retired, your finances are changing and so will your annual return to uncle sam. all that and more tonight on "nightly business report" for

tuesday, march 29th. good evening. welcome. the chair of the federal reserve meant what she said. the central bank will move carefully and cautiously when determining when to raise interest rates. janet yellen cited a weak global economy. the dow gained 90 points. the highest close of the year. the nasdaq added 79 and the s&p 500 rose 17. miss yellen's tone remains in sharp contrast to other fed officials who during the past week were more upbeat on the committee and said the time is near to hike. we have more on the fed chair's cautious sign. >> the question is being raised has the federal reserve retreated from the rate rising regime. markets from gold to fixed income to stocks reacting that

janet yellen laid out an out look for rates today. she suggested greater gradualism is warranted in raising rates and emphasized the risk from global economic weakness to the u.s. economy. >> developments abroad implied that meeting our objectives will likely require a somewhat lower path to the federal funds rate than was anticipated in december. given the risk to the out look i consider it appropriate to the committee to proceed cautiously in adjusting policy. >> fed observer said the fed chair is clearly in no hurry to undertake the next rate hike. dana said curiously for a central bank, yellen's speech focused on downside risk than those to the upside. remember that several med

members have pointed to the possibility of an april or a june rate hike if the economy continued to improve. granted it has deaccelerated cently but yellen offered little possibility of rate hike next month or made it unclear when the next rate hike would come. she also questioned the one obvious reason for hiking, rising core inflation. yellen's kmebt said the decline in interest rates offset recent weakness from abroad is another way of saying she's fine where bond yields are priced rite now. that's an admission that yellen agrees with the market priced in which is to say not many rate hikes as all this year. the san francisco fed president agrees. the pace of rate hikes should be gradual. in a speech in singapore he said that fears about the impact of a

slowing global economy are overdone. he also characterized the u.s. economy as chugging ahead and there are some encouraging signs on inflation. home prices rose faster than incomes in january. the s&p case shiller home price index increased. a strengthened labor market and low mortgage rates. prices have risen more than two and a half times faster than average hourly wages. consumer confidence bounced back this month. outlook rose thanks to rally in the stock market. according to the report that helped offset a rise in gasoline prices. in washington today, the supreme court issued a split decision on a challenge to union fees. the four to four tie preserves a long standing rule which allows

states to mandate fair share fees from nonunion workers. the case was brought by ten california school teachers who chose not to join the union but are required to pay a fee. today's decision set no precedent. there's been two deadlocked cases. the federal trade commission su volkswagen. they falsely advertised th edad. it allowed the company the cheat emissions tests. they are already facing a criminal investigation in the u.s. and numerous lawsuits. the white house is stepping up efforts to fight the exploding epidemic of heroin and prescription drug abuse. this is in addition to more than

billion dollars in funding requested last month. dena reports. >> reporter: opiods, including prescription painkillers and heroin killed more than 28,000 people in 2014, more than any year on record with half of all opiod overdoses involving a prescription drug. a topic he and the u.s. surgeon general spoke about today. >> since the turn of the century, opioid prescription have skyrocketed. we have nearly 250 million prescriptions for opioids written every year. that's enough for every adult in america to have a bottle of pills and then some. >> reporter: the president said his administration would provide about 100 million dollar specifically for community health centers so people have more access to treatment as well as. >> we have proposed an additional billion dollars for

drug treatment. the problem we have right,000 is that treatment is greatly underfunded. >> reporter: another $11 million would go to states to buy and distribute a drug that can reverse the effects of overdose. the centers for disease control and prevention released a new guideline for physicians that prescribed the painkillers. selecting appropriate dosage and assessing the risk in harm from opioid use. they are not mandated but a tool for primary care providers to use for reference. a recent survey revealed a spike in many rural counties across the country. fueled by drug overdose deaths. much of that attributable to loss of workplace possibilities. time to cut down on opioid use

even in the emergency room. >> pain management is different in a hospital setting. using cocktail medications they will try to minimize the amount of opioids the patient gets trying to prevent further addiction. the problem with transferring that type of resourcefulness to the outpatient setting is you just can't inject all these drugs into people we're walking around. simple medication that they could take every day. still ahead, content has been king in the sports tv business but is that about to change.

the government has officially withdrawn its battle against apple. the fbi found its way into the iphone use without apple's help. while this court case may be over, the debate over privacy versus security is not. some key questions still remain. >> the u.s. government surprised a lot of people when they announce that i had wed droppi their case. the government said an unnamed third party gave them an solution to get into the phone and the government no longer needs apple's help in doing that. all of that ends this particular case, but we're left with a bunch of unanswered questions including who helped the fbi. the government is not saying.

just that it's an unnamed third party presumely, not another element of the u.s. government itself. will the government tell apple what this new exploit is. the government is likely to view this as a very useful solution here. apple's likely to view it a as threat for security to the iphone. they'd like to patch it and apple would like to fwhee the government did to unlock that phone and is my iphone more secure. presumably the answer is no. other than that, it's hard to see how this is a threat to the average person's iphone security. then the big question. what is on the iphone? that's what started this debate. the fbi said they needed to take extraordinary measures in other words to get into that phone and get that information.

now at some point in this investigation, we should find out whether that was anything useful on the phone or not. >> in a side note to that story, more americans side with apple in its battle with the government according to a new survey. 57% of americans agree that privacy concerns trump the needs of law enforcement. that's an increase from 53% in december. more than 800 americans were surveyed from march 21 to the 23rd during the brussels terror attacks. baseball's opening day is less than a week away. some new york yankee fans are crying foul. since november the yankees yes network has been blocked out by comcast. it's the latest fight over the rising costs of sports rights. it could represent a major crack in the tv sports business.

>> comcast and fox's yes network has been locked in a stand off over fees since november when comcast blacked out the yes network and the pressure is onto strike a deal ahead of monday's opening day. >> content has been king in the sports business. i think we've reached a bit of an inflection point, particularly with regional sports network where the distributors say enough's enough. we've got four regional sports networks in new york. we have five in l.a. >> comcast points out it serves less than 10% saying yes is the most expensive sports network in the u.s. and trying to increase prices by so much we can no longer justify carrying it anymore. the yes network responding hands down yankees telecast are among the most popular sports programming in the u.s. they are consistently among the top three rated services in the area. this stand off speaks to tv

distributors focus on rising sports cost which account for a third of the average cable bill according to snl. this isn't the only battle over rising regional sports fees. time warner cable distributes it fold it last week offering to cut the price by 30%. this pressure on regional was a far cry from the rising value of national sports. >> it's important distinction to make because the national sports rights marketplace is vibrant. i think you'll see a lot of competition but for other major leagues national rights packages. >> rising fears consumers opting for lesser tv bundles, we can expect them to look for ways to trim their customers bills. that quickly add up.

>> comcast is the parent company of cnbc which produces this program. yahoo sets a deadline for potential buyers to bid. that's where we begin's tonight's market focus. perspective buyers have until april 11th to submit preliminary bids for core web businesses and its stakes in yahoo japan. shares of yahoo up 3% on that news. the discount retailer tjx is raising its quartzerly dividend 24% to 26 cent a share. the yield on the stock is 1.3%. shares of tjx, owner of my wife's favorite store home goods rose. boy, the afternoon's i've spent there. >> sun edison may soon seek

bankruptcy protection. they he the resources to support its on ongoing operations if the parent companies files for bankruptcy but it did delay filing of its own annual report. shares of sun edison fell more than 56% to 55 cent. according to an fcc filing, warren buffet has increased stake in wells fargo by 10% the they had a 9.8% stake in the bank. buffet said he had no intention of managing wells fargo. shares of the bank fell more than a percent. conn's reported a more than 90% drop in its quarterly profit. the company attributed to lost to customer delinquencies and store expansion.

revenue came below estimates and sales are expected to miss target. shares fell 24%. a group of lawmakers has requested a public hearing to lower the cost of a prostate cancer drug made by pharmaceutical company medivation. in some cases the medication costs four times more in the u.s. than in other countries. lawmakers said the drug was developed with the help of taxpayer dollars. shares fell 6% to 38.75. discount airliner virgin america may be attracting some suitors. jet blue and alaska air group will make takeover bids by tend of this week. no airline has commented on the news. what happens to a favorite brand when it gets bought whether it's a hotel with a great loyalty program for frequent guests or a discount airline like virgin america that promises customers they can have it all.

what are the chances of the brand and that original company's mission surviving under new ownership? let's turn to dean crutchfield. dean, always great to see you. i know i don't have to say much to get you started. let's say i love virgin america airlines and a new airline comes in and takes them over. what do i need be on the look out for. they'll all say the right things. we'll protect the brand. sometimes the performance isn't there. >> it's not there. in fact, it's estimated up to 70% and mergers fail. the first is the heavy aspirations of the team on friday don't really translate to business as usual on monday. the secondary is the acquiring company blows out, forgets or overlooks a company with a better process and better culture. united buying continental a classic example of that. the third reason it fails is because of fear. fear to admit you're buying

there's going to be massive change and fear they're worried about jobs, teams and that slows down the process of success. buying a great brand is what people want. often what's being sold is the opportunity to streamline and products and services, et cetera. >> why not just, if you know you're buying a terrific brand, why not try and embrace the good parts of that particular brand, for instance, the loyalty programs and things like that and try to make some of that your own? >> i think a lot of this comes down to sheer ego in terms of that deal team, ceo is leading that and how they sold that to investors means that's all they're interested in. it's a big numbers game. the problem is they overlook the fact that someone like virgin does have really good process. they do have a great culture. alaska airlines has the hardest

job. a brand like jet blue is known to be a challenge and has a strong process and a very strong culture and loyalty. that would be the more viable of the two in terms of the success rate they would have. >> can you think of mergers and acquistions that protected the integrity of the acquired brand well. you mansion your company the way it's been running because that's why welik liked you in the firs place. >> you had them on the segment. it allows them to thrive. there's a really good example. there are others that are thnoto good. all they did was allow it. >> that's the difference between being invr and running the brand, right. >> exactly.

it's being back off as an investor is more of an active owner. that's where the magic happens. how do you make that happen? you're dealing with a business that's frighten. there is fear in the organization. that can really screw things up. excuse my french. >> we got you. thank you very much. dean crutchfield. speaking of changes, these are a bit different. new changes, new deductions. how major life milestones can change your tax return. the head of the world's seventh largest economy is one step closer to being ousted.

brazil's largest party said it's leaving the governor and coalition and pulling the members from her government. according to writers, once members leave they can vote for her impeachment. the opposition is pushing for her ouster for breaking budget laws. brazil's economy is on track for its worst two-year downturn in more than a century. it's the case that has all of wall street talking. a prominent financer is now in handcuffs. he was charged in a $95 million fraud scheme. >> reporter: andrew casperson was fired about two weeks ago from his job. it helped investors buy and sell stakes in private equity firms. he's alleged to have scammed one client into putting $25 million into a new investment that didn't exist and most of which

went to his personal brokerage account. he had plans to defraud i ve investors out of $70 million more when the firms and authorities began their investigation. it carries a sentence of up to 40 years in jail. he billed shale companies, fake websites and e-mail companies to carry out this scheme. it's believed he acted alone and communicated to clients his confidence in that. still unknown, who were the as yet unnamed private equities firm involved as victims. where did the money go? prosecutors say they can't find what was in that account. what would motivate him to go to such lengths? his father filled beneficial corporation and from that wind fall became a philanthropist and

major gop donor. he took his life six yea r a battle with cancer and some financial troubles. the family insisted they could not pay the $20 million bail. the $5 million agreed upon is secured by casperson's two properties. the next hearing indicates it's scheduled for april 26th. it's very much alive investigation on behalf of the government and firm itself. for nightly business report, i'm kay kayla. gncht etting married, having a baby or retiring are all big life events. they change your life a lot. not all the news is bad but there's a lot to think about which is why we have sharon here to navigate the tax. >> let's start with marriage. let's start with love. say you just tied the knot. what do you need to do with your

taxes? >> the first thing you need to do is not panic. your tax situation will be great. adjust your with holding. that's first thing you need to look at. how much tax is coming out of every paycheck and with each life event that's an parent thing to do. if your spouse doesn't claim as much money as y much money as yt claim them as a dependent. >> adjust your tax withholdings through your payroll department? >> yes. >> what if you got untied and divorced? >> alimony, if it's paid -- >> i realize about that. >> some people, not you. some people may not realize that alimony that when you pay it, you can deduct it. if you receive it, it's income. you have to pay taxes on that money. the other thing is only one

parent can claim the dependents exemption for the child. the attorney fees are not deductible. >> that doesn't seem fair. that last one doesn't seem fair. >> child support is not deductible. >> no. >> the average cost of raising a child to age 18 is over $245,000. i've got three. my god. kids can bring some pretty hefty tax breaks with them. >> the a good thing. that's 1,000 per child. the dependent care credit a lot of people can take advantage of. you can claim 20 to 35% of that in terms of taking that exemption or deduction. it's a credit dollar for dollar. that's $2100 you could get. >> what are a couple of the things i need know about if i'm

retired? >> pensions and annuities could be taxed at your ordinary tax income rate. definitely your pension is something to consider and annuities in terms of parts of it. you need to check with the company to see what parts might be taxable. social security, this is the thing a lot of people don't realize. some of those benefits could be taxable. >> all right. thanks, sharon. >> sure. >> need to write another book. that does it for "nightly business report." i'm sue herera. thanks for joining us. >> i'm tyler mathisen. have a great evening, everybody. pay your taxes. see you tomorrow.

>> the following kqed production was produced in high definition. >> stephanie george: so start turning up 10. >> they are called the running crew, and these young people hope to find a career in the theatre, but not on stage. >> javier reyes: there's very few places for young people in general. i realize that this is a place where i can make magic. >> patrick amiot: this is a farm implement. this is big wheel. >> after canadian sculptor patrick amiot came to town sebastopol has never been quite the same. [ rooster crows ] >> and lucy arai's artwork has developed in unique and beautiful ways, one stitch at a time. this time on spark. [ ♪music ] >> major funding for spark is provided by the william and flora hewlett foundation, supporting creativity and inno