this is "nightly business report" with tyler mathisen and susie gharib. brought to you in part by -- thestreet.com. featuring stephanie link who shares her investment strategs, stock picks and market insights with action alerts plus. the multimillion dollar portfolio she manages with jim cramer. learn more at thestreet.com/nbr. criminal investigation. the u.s. attorney in new york reportedly want to know why it took general motors nearly a decade to recall more than 1 million vehicles. lawmakers are also looking for answers. g.m. has a lot riding on the outcome. new jersey becomes the third state to say tesla can't sell cars directly to customers. is the ruling a threat to tesla's business model? >> a food for thought. prices are jumping from sugar to

meat to vegetable oil. why and how to budget for higher prices this spring. all that and more tonight on "nightly business report" for tuesday, march 11th. a very busy news day for a pair of u.s. automakers, general motors and tesla. g.m. five years after emerging from bankruptcy protection promising to be a better company to respond to consumer demands and make better cars the company is under the gun again. late today the u.s. attorney in new york city launched a criminal investigation into the the automaker for a decade-long delay in recalling 1.6 million cars with faulty ignition switches. a problem that caused 13 deaths. that follows an announcement earlier today of a congressional committee investigation into what the automaker knew about that defect and why nothing was done about it. or even correcting that default until last month. making matters worse, g.m. knew

about that problem for ten years. and so did federal safety officials. shares of g.m. tumbled 5% today on news of that investigation. phil lebeau joins us now from chicago with more on g.m.'s mounting troubles over the ignition problems and what's being done about it at this point. phil? >> reporter: sue, what's interesting here you've got more investigations that are coming up for general motors, and now you have a criminal probe. and it may not result in any criminal charges being filed against general motors, but anytime you put potential criminal actions along with 1.6 million vehicles recalled, you have a lot of people potentially consumers who will look at this and say has anything changed at general motors. that's going to be the main question that a lot of consumers have. have things changed at general motors or is this the the same company making similar kinds of mistakes it made before it went into bankruptcy. for ceo mary ceo mary barra.

making headlines today, the luxury electric carmaker tesla. its shares which have been as you know phil really high fliers dropping about 2% today after new jersey motor vehicle officials say they're going to make the company shut down two mall-based tesla show rooms. why are they doing this? and what might it mean for tesla? >> reporter: it hurts tesla from this standpoint. new york is one of the top markets for sales of the model s. yes, people in new jersey in the future will be able to go maybe to pennsylvania or to new york to buy a model s and bring it home. but because new jersey is now decided it's going to ban direct sales of automobiles, that means that people there will either have to go through a third party or go out-of-state. for tesla, this becomes the third state in the country after texas and arizona that has banned direct sales of automobiles. as to, why tyler, it's the dealers in new jersey. they do not want to see direct sales of vehicles and therefore they have been

fighting tesla all along. they had an opportunity here to go before the motor vehicle commission and say, don't allow direct sales anymore. essentially ban tesla and that's what happened. the other story that falls under your beat is the missing plane. y updates today? what do we know? >> reporter: the mystery continues, sue. we're going to be going on daybreak relatively soon over in malaysia. it will be the fifth day of searching for flight 370 from malaysia airlines. they have shifted the search to the west coast of malaysia into the strait of malaka because the ma lags military have gone back over the radar from friday night into saturday morning and they found that the plane was actually in that area. so perhaps today we might get some indication that they found some debris or something else. >> you're going to be a busy guy. phil, thank you as always. >> reporter: you bet. stocks swung between gains and losses today before finally ending with red arrows across the board despite a lack of major earnings or economic data to really influence traders.

the dow finished down 67 points, the nasdaq fell 27, marking its first four-day losing streak since august. and the s&p 500 was off by 9. and a trio of dow components making news today. mcdonald's shares added special sauce. 4% worth. just one day after weaker than forecast february sales had investors on the run the other way. today the burger giant's chief financial officer outlined strategies to turn around slumping sales. like refocusing on basics like better service, rolling out more new menu items and pushing its high margin breakfast offerings. next up is walmart with shares rising on encouraging sales data. the chief financial officer of the world's biggest retailer told investors sales have been very good since mid february

after touumbling earlier in the month. lower natural gas prices, rising costs and project delays. ceo john watson says the company's growth strategy, however, remains intact. >> it is hard to grow in our business. we'll be growing 20% between now and 2017. a lot of other companies are finding it difficult and are more flat in their production outlooks. so when you spend a little bit more you can realize the growth. that's what our plans show. >> watson says the company still plans to spend $40 billion this year on capital projects, about the same as last year. another dow member making news today, microsoft. with sales of video games a $15 billion a year industry, the company is betting that the release of its newest title, titan fall, which give a much-needed boost to sales of its x-box 1 gaming console which is losing ground to sony's ps 4. josh lipton has more. >> reporter: the x-box 1 needs a

jolt, and today it could get it. microsoft debuted its hottest new video game title "titan fall." the company has a lot riding on its success. research from npd says that sony's gaming console, the ps 4, is beating the x-box 1 by at least a 2 to 1 margin in the u.s. >> this generation of consoles is off to the best start ever. >> reporter: microsoft isn't throwing in the towel. the chief marketing and strategy officer at x-box is excited about titan fall's potential. >> i do think that titan fall will be a big boost to the console generation market. as i said it's already off to the hottest start yet. but i think people have been waiting for a great game like this to come and make the move. so we're optimistic that it's going to get a lot of people to come try x-box 1. >> reporter: there have been reports of hiccups with the launch of the new game, but microsoft needs strong software titles like titan fall to drive sales of its x-box platform. while sony says it has sold 6 million ps 4 consoles, microsoft

in its last earnings report said it had sold close to 4 million x-box 1 units. the difference explained in part by price. the ps 4 is $100 cheaper than the x-box 1. titan fall could help bridge some of that gap. and lifts say the game takes advantage of x-box 1 technology, offering players great special effects and the feel, they say, of a blockbuster movie. the gaming industry is changing. casual gamers are now playing more on their smart phones and tablets rather than consoles. and some analysts on wall street want microsoft to sell or spin off x-box because they say the business is a money loser. lewis ward of idc disagrees. he says that microsoft country just think of the x-box as a gaming hub but rather an all in one media center for your living room. >> and i think that over time they hope this will stave off apple, right. partly it's a blocking function of say apple or google or other companies that want to come in

and put pcs in the living room or internet in the living room. this is microsoft's kind of way to block them. even if they don't knock it out of the park, it is partly a defensive mechanism. >> reporter: u.s. spending -- gamers spent more than $15 billion last year according to mpd. even though growth was flat last year, game sales revenue was down 25% in january, another reason microsoft and sony are going to rely a lot on megatitles like titan fall. josh lipton, "nightly business report," san jose, california. still ahead, dairy, sugar, meat. prices are rising but will you see sticker shock at the supermarket?

pemco the world's biggest bond fund is getting a lot of heat today. it's coming from a company insider. long time pemco trustee william popejoy told the "l.a. times" he's outraged over reports that ceo bill gross takes an annual salary of $200 million. he took issue with his alleged quote bullying behavior toward fellow employees and reports of workplace clashes between gross and his heir apparent mohammed alarian. he suddenly resigned earlier this year. because of alarian's abrupt resignation, some big retirement systems say they will be keeping a much closer eye on pemco's performance than usual. good news out of puerto rico today. in its biggest bond sale to date, the cash-trapped island sold $3.5 billion worst of municipal bonds today, more than the 3 billion originally up for sale at a yield of 8.727%. talk about oversubscribed. the demand was so high,

investors would have bought $16 billion worth of those munies at that yield. looks like the suit saga is over and that's where we begin tonight's market focus. men's wearhouse will buy its smaller rival joseph a. bank for about $1.8 billion. that ends a month long takeover battle. joseph bank agreed to terminate its deal to buy the privately held retailer eddie bauer. shares of both companies were higher today. men's wearhouse up to $57.14. joseph bank rose about 4% to $64.22 and j.c. penney got an upgrade from citi. it rates the retailer a buy instead of neutral. it says it believes the retailer can continue to deliver positive same store sales as it makes changing like updating its merchandise selection. another retailer, dick's

sporting goods says fourth quarter profit rose almost 7% driven by an increase in sales. 9 ceo says they should see double-digit earnings growth per year. up to $56.57. both fannie mae and freddie mac tumbling after lawmakers released a blueprint for a housing finance reform proposal. the senate banking committee said it would soon release a draft bill that would wind down the government-owned mortgage companies. that bill would replace the financiers with a new government reinsurer. fannie mae fell 32% to $3.95 and freddie mac was down about 27% to $4.04. and shares of plug power tumbling after sit ron research says the stock is worth about 50 cents a share. the author of the note analyst andrew luck says there are no profits, no unique technologies and the end of government subsidies looms for the fut cell producer. that sent fuel cell energy, ballard power systems and uqm

technologies way down on the trading session. plug power fell to $6.03. a popular yogurtmaker is looking for investors. privately owned greek style yogurt maker chobani is exploring options to raise capital seeking $5 billion. dow dow reports that an initial public of offering is not imminent but the company is considering selling a stake to a private investor or entering into a strategy partnership. grocery items are expected to see sizeable price hikes that year that may change what americans are buying and eating. sarah eisen has the story. >> reporter: food inflation is coming. a new report from the united nations showing food prices jumped last month by the most in more than a year and a half after a long decline. according to the u.n. food commodity price index, cereal prices were up over 3% from

january to february of this year. vegetable oil up nearly 5%. dairy up 3%. sugar up just over 6%. meat, however, was down. the reason? all of the abnormal weather not just in the united states but around the globe. global unrest also leading to supply issues. there's also a growing thirst for milk in asia. more products from the u.s. is being exported. the question is when does it show up in your grocery aisle? mostly it's a 6 to 9 month lag because costs for the big companies are mostly locked in. so when you start hearing guidance or forecast from these companies into 2015 you'll hear about this price spike and you'll hear about higher prices on the shelves. prices might show up earlier for dairy and hamburgers. those are the exceptions because they're harder for companies to hedge. mcdonald's, for instance, taking its burger on the dollar lab menu from two meat patties to

one. kraft is set to raise prices earlier because it too has a lot of meat and dairy. although not all companies are willing to gout on a limb and say there's a problem, at least not yet. >> we feel pretty good about our commodity positions for the next 12 months and don't expect any additional issues. we have been dealing with an issue on egg whites which is interesting as mcdonald's and subway and others have gone to healthier options in their breakfast offering of egg white has driven egg whites up. we've been dealing with that. i think overall we think near-term we're in pretty good shape. >> reporter: we're we've seen higher grain prices as well. ukraine is a big exporter of wheat and corn. still analysts that follow these consumer companies say it's deflationary. meaning for the general mills of the world and others that make bread and cereals, input costs are still actually helping margins unless they continue to march higher or stay elevated. for "nightly business report," i'm sarah eisen. so where are food prices headed overall? let's turn to farah aslam for

answers. she's the managing director at stevens. so how big overall are these price rises likely to be and how long-lasting? >> so we believe that you're definitely going to see food inflation in your milk aisle, produce section. we do expect those prices to be short-lived through sort of the midsummer before they start to moderate going into the back half of the year. assuming that the u.s. crop is in good shape this year. >> it hits consumers, though, at a time when the economic recovery although it's progressing certainly has not been able to be characterized as strong. how is its going to hit consumers do you think? >> we do believe consumers are going to feel some of the pinch. about 13% of u.s. food expenditures is on food. and we think that consumers will perhaps tend to economize by eating a few more meals at home

rather than out at restaurants. >> how long-lasting is the rise in the price of milk likely to be? sara just reported on demand from china and elsewhere. and that that coupled with some weather effects are causing milk prices to go up. >> absolutely. you're seeing milk hit all-time highs. just right now. and you should see it on the grocery shelf within a month or two. we think milk prices will peak out here in the next three months before declining seasonally. because you are starting to see the spring flush come in. that being said, if china continues to import record amounts of dairy you are going to see long-term elevated dairy prices. and this is hitting some of our companies. notably dean foods, the largest u.s. milk company, has had trouble passing along these higher costs and has therefore missed earnings. and their stock is down about 20

to 25% in the last six months. >> you kind of read my mind. because i was going to ask you how much pricing power some of these companies do have. i mean, dean obviously has not had enough pricing power. that's hit its bottom line. what about other companies out there? is the economy strong enough so they do have some pricing power to get consumers to still buy their goods and still be able to keep their margins intact? >> absolutely. our companies are really very conscious of the fact that u.s. household incomes remain constrained despite the recent rises in wall street prices. and therefore, you're seeing them being very cautious in how they're pricing their products. generally they're waiting until they absolutely have to increase prices. and in some cases, absorbing some of the inflation and offsetting it with efficiency programs. but after a certain point, you are seeing them pass it along. for example, you've seen hormel

hold the price on spam for the last few years. but with hogs hitting all-time highs they are now taking pricing on this iconic product. >> my goodness, higher spam prices coming. thank you very much. we appreciate it. managing director at stevens. >> thank you for having me. ty, coming up a new and powerful prescription painkiller has been approved. shares of the company behind the drug have been soaring. but so has the controversy. details next. there's a powerful new opioid painkiller that has some doctors, health care experts and lawmakers urging the fda to

reverse its ruling and keep it off the market. at the heart of the debate whether or not the drug may be too powerful and potentially addictive. sheila damarajin has the story. >> reporter: zohydro launched this month. it's stirring up a potent controversy. marketed by a small company named zojenics its active ingredient is hydrocodone like vicodin. unlike vicodin which is mixed with acetaminophen, this is higher hydrocodone. experts say it's one of the positives of the drug. >> the big benefit you don't have tylenol attached to it. you avoid the possibility of liver failure which elderly would be prone to taking this medication. >> reporter: benefits aside, zohydro has been controversy from the get-go the fda approved it against the advice of its own advisory panel, something that only happens 10 to 15% of the

time. since its approval, critics have been calling for the fda to reverse its decision. >> chief concern about zohydro among groups opposed to its release is the fact that the capsule can be easily crushed. and the capsule contains a 50 milligram dose of hydrocodone. that's ten times more hydrocodone than in a regular strength vicodin. that makes that capsule especially lethal. >> reporter: washington is also voicing its disapproval. senators joe manchin, david vitter and chuck schumer in addition to attorneys general from 28 states, asked the fda to reconsider its approval decision. so why did the fda approve it? experts say the agency was simply following its own rules. and zohydro met all of its current standards for painkillers. for now, zohydro is likely here to stay. analysts we spoke to said it's incredibly rare for the fda to reverse a decision in the absence of new evidence or clinical studies. for "nightly business report,"

i'm sheila damarajin. >> the company behind that powerful new painkiller is zogenics,a small cap company whose shares have risen 30% this year. enrollment in new health care insurance plans through the affordable care act, the results are far short of expectations. the health and human services administration says that as of march 1st, 4.2 million americans have enrolled in a new insurance plan versus the 5.6 million originally projected. the deadline to sign up for a plan at the federal health care.gov marketplace is at the end of this month. those disappointing numbers may be the reason president obama took some time out to talk up the affordable care act on the web-based interview show "between two ferns." it's become a viral sensation. in this clip, the host, actorer comedian zach galifinakis compares the web site to a

poor-selling mp-3 player that microsoft put out a few years ago. >> would you come here to plug? >> first of all, i think it's fair to say that i wouldn't be with you here today if i didn't have something to plug. have you heard of the affordable care act? >> heard about that. that's the thing that doesn't work? why would you get the guy that created the zoon to create your web say the? >> it works great now. >> the whole interview can be seen on the funny or die web site. it's already been viewed at least 6 million times, adding about 1 million views every hour according to the site "between two fern,". haven't seen it yet. >> i have seen a little of it. parts can be very funny. >> we'll be watching. that's "nightly business report" for tonight. i'm sue her rare rera. this is the time of year your public television station looks for your support. >> have a great evening, everybody. we'll hope to see you right back

here tomorrow night. "nightly business report" has been brought to youin part by -- >> the street.com. founded by jim cramer, the street.com is an independent source for stock market analysis. cramer's action alerts plus service is home to his multimillion dollar portfolio. you can learn more at the street.com/nbr. how go you know if you or

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