this is "nightly business report" with tyler mathisen and sue herera. >> the magic number is two. the federal reserve slashes its rate hike forecast implying just two raises this year as its view of the global economy darkens. happy holidays. yep. you heard right. fedex had a jolly season and shareholders may be starting to reap the benefits. strange success. the entrepreneur who saw the profit potential in a rundown abandoned prison. all that and more tonight on "nightly business report" for wednesday marc >> good evening, everyone, and welcome. the federal reserve is in no rush to raise interest rates. the central bank held rates steady for the second straight meeting and said it would increases them more gradually than previously forecast.

policymakers say soft global growth and financial market volatility pose risks to their economic outlook. recent economic data shows some firming. this morning we learned core consumer prices which exclude food and energy rose .3% last month, that was more than expected and the notion that the fed will delay some rate increases sent stocks higher and bond yields higher. the dow jones industrial average gained 74 points to 17,325. the nasdaq added 35 and the s&p 500 rose 11 to its highest level this year. steve liesman reports on why the fed seems uncertain about the economic recovery. >> reporter: a dovish federal reserve kept interest rates unchanged in its march meeting and suggested it would be very cautious about future rate hikes. in fact, it slashed the number of hikes it forecast this year with the average number of rates, the committee now seeing just two rate hikes this year down from four. the fed gave a fairly upbeat

assessment of the u.s. economy and jobs but was clearly concerned about recent global economic weakness. >> you have seen a shift this time in most participants' assessments of the appropriate path for policy. and as i tried to indicate, i think that largely reflects a somewhat slower projected path for global growth. >> reporter: yellen did not rule the chance of future rate hikes underscoring fed officials forecast two more rate rises this year and said every meeting including the one in april is locked. >> most participants do continue to envision that if economic developments unfold as they expect, that further increases in the federal funds rate will prove appropriate over time and that the pace will be gradual. >> of course, yellen could not escape a question on the heated presidential election and whether it had any influence on the fed and federal reserve interest rate policy.

>> we are a nonpartisan independent institution devoted to pursuing our congressionally mandated objectives and i have never seen a political views in any way influence the policy judgments that are made inside the federal reserve. >> with the fed not hiking after a strong unemployment report and two months of rising inflation, it remains unclear what it will take for the fed to raise rates again. yellen, if she was less concerned about global growth and had more confidence in rising u.s. jobs and inflation. for "nightly business report," i'm steve liesman in washington. let's turn now to scott for more analysis on the fed and the economy and what it will mean for you. he's chief investment office at guggenheim partners. welcome, good to have you with us. >> thank you for having me. >> steve just hinted at something and it is this. is the fed remaining true to what it said it was going to do

if unemployment did this and inflation did that? >> absolutely not. the fed is basically violating its own parameters for raising rates. based on their guidelines, data dependency, we should have increased rates today but they chose not to because i think they realize the market would have had a tantrum if they had raised rates. they were not expecting it. >> mrs. yellen pointed to economic uncertainty overseas, specifically. but that really falls outside of their mandate as well. i mean, they should be, according to many, anyway, they should be regulating rates based on the u.s. economy versus the global economy. others would argue, however, that it is one economy, globally. >> well, i think that the fed gets its get out of jail card here by basically saying, look, if the u.s. market goes into turmoil, if we raise rates, if the dollar strengthens that will cascade into the emerging

markets and to other countries which then will create more. stress in the united states. so at the end of the day, we really are thinking about the u.s. economy. >> there are critics who said that the fed should have raised in september and they cited the global situation, global turmoil at that time. then, again, here in march. how many times do you -- do you think they're going to start playing catchup or did they basically telegraph that they're going to go at a very slow pace, maybe two hikes this year, june and december? >> i think they're going to go very scllow. i don't think they're going to play catchup. the expectation, they will do four rate increases in 2017 will not be met. they will go slower than that. and as i likened it earlier today, this is like going to the bar and you're having a good time and it's now closing time and soo we've decided to extend the hours of being open.

we're going to keep serving up the liquidity and the good times are going to roll. >> one of the issues for the fed has been the lack of inflation and a lot of that has been linked to declining oil prices. you don't think we quite hit bottom yet but looking for substantially higher prices later in the year. >> that's right. if you look at our target which we think oil will be somewhere between $40 and $50 at the end of the year, based upon that, just the stability of oil, and the modest rise in oil, that we will see inflation tick up significantly over the next 6 to 12 months and that will be a problem for the fed. >> where can i make a little money this year, scott? >> you know, the place today based on what the fed did told us that it's okay to take risk and so my favorite place right now is in high-yield bonds and bank loans. >> high-yield bonds and bank loans. all right. thank you very much. appreciate you being here. appreciate it. guggenheim partners. housing starts rebound hitting their highest level in

five months. that happens as builders ramped up construction of single-family homes. the commerce department reports a more than 5% increase in february which some economists p attribute to warmer thansual temperatures. u.s. industrial production, broad gauge of output across factories, well, mines and power plants, factories, federal reserve reports a decline of .5% in february from the prior month. much of the weakness was concentrated in the mining sector and utilities. manufacturing production increased for a second consecutive month. federal express, fedex, is often considered a barometer of the economy and topped wall street's earnings estimates. a surge in online shopping during the holiday season, people like me, helped drive its ground business. the ships company reported fiscal third-quarter earnings of $2.51 a share better than the $2.34 expected. revenue of $12.7 billion was better than estimates and 8% higher from a year ago. investors like those results

sending shares higher in initial after-hours trading. morgan brennan has more on fedex's quarterly results. >> reporter: fedex delivering a beat on its peak holiday season quarter and narrowing full-year guidance to the upper end of a previously cited range. number two u.s. package delivery company crediting better than expected results to yield management effort, something we've seen play out in its express segment, as well as u.s. domestic volume growth, basically more packages being shipped around the country. also helping the bottom line, lower fuel costs and more favorable currency exchange rates. basically, fedex saved money last quarter and for the most part was more efficient. the one area where there were some hiccups, the ground segment which thanks to stronger than anticipated holiday season demand saw package volumes and package sizes eclipse the company's expectations. that sent sales soaring but the higher costs also put pressure on that segment's operating

results. overall, however, a strong quarter for the parcel carrier. the reason shares have taken to the shies in after-hours trading. for "nightly business report," i'm morgan brennan. in washington, president obama nominated merrick garland to the supreme court today. >> for a judge to be worthy of such trust, he or she must be faithful to the constitution and statutes passed by the congress. he or she must put aside his personal views of preferences and follow the law, not make it. >> the 63-year-old judge is the chief judge of the federal appeals court in washington. much of its caseload has focused on regulating government agencies and on national security. legal experts say garland's rulings over the years have favored government regulatory agencies including the epa and the s.e.c. and the national labor relations board. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell vowed to block the nomination. in the race for the white house, the leading candidates

all have digfferent plans for defense spending. some want more. others want less. as jane wells reports,s no matter who wins, the pentagon is arming itself for change. >> our military is in a very bad state. >> reporter: such a statement would lead one to think a trump win would be good for the defense industry, but maybe not. trump has said he wants more for less. something the pentagon was already trying to do but never with a commander in chief known for the art of the deal. >> i'm going to make our military so big, so powerful, so strong, that nobody, absolutely nobody is going to mess with us. >> thank you, all, so very much. >> reporter: meantime, democratic front-runner hillary clinton has yet to outline a defense budget, merely promising on her website to ensure the u.s. has the strongest military the world has ever known. opponent bernie sanders previously said he'd like to cut defense spending in half and reduce the size of the u.s. nuclear arsenal. though he reportedly still supports the very expensive f-35

program because of the jobs it brings to his home state of vermont. this week, the ceo of the company which makes the f-35, lockheed martin, addressed the media about the company's future in uncertain political times. but most of the talk had nothing to do with the u.s. there was no mention of the election. instead, lockheed is focusing on international sales and perhaps with good reason. >> currently, military spending is about 3% of total gdp. now, that's a percentage that's less than half what it was during the reagan administration, lower than the carter administration. the only vocal opponent of raising that percentage who's still in the race is republican ted cruz. >> reporter: the texas senator reportedly wants to increase defense spending to 4% of gdp adding another $100 billion. john kasich proposed a similar spending increase and also highlights the need for more cyber security. cruz, though, is the most specific. he wants more troops, more ships, more missile defense. at the same time, he wants to

audit the pentagon to follow the money. something that also interests donald trump. >> we don't win with our military. we can't beat isis. >> reporter: if he can strike a deal to buy more for less, it could be a win/win. it's not impossible. the russians and chinese are building up their military strength for a fraction of the cost. for "nightly business report," i'm jane wells. still ahead, tensions flared in the entertainment industry and it's consumers who watch tv who may feel the heat. federal communications commission is reportedly close

to approving the $55 billion takeover of time warner cable by charter communications. as first reported by "the wall street journal" certain conditions will be attached including increasing the number of families who receive high-speed internet service. the draft proposal approving the merger reportedly will be circulated this week. as the television landscape changes, it is pitting content providers against content distributors. two high-profile battles are currently under way. comcast owned nbc universal is in heated contract renewal talks with dish network. and comcast which is also a pay tv provider has been in a contentious dispute with the yes network over programming fees. and as julia boorstin tells us, it's consumers who are stuck in the middle. >> reporter: a contract renegotiation between dish and nbc over the fees the satellite company pays for content has gone south. and now dish is suing nbc for breach of contract.

>> dish says customers can watch everything. >> reporter: after nbc launched this campaign telling dish customers they could suffer a blackout of nbc's 26 channels as early as sunday, dish said involving the public violated nbc's contract. >> the cable and satellite providers like dish are under increasing gross profit pressure because it's getting harder and harder to pass price increases along to consumers and that's partially because the price is already so high and it's partially because everybody already upgraded to hd and dvr so you can't mask the fees anymore. >> reporter: dish says it expects to file for arbitration which would prevent nbc from blacking out dish customers and nbc says it welcomes arbitration and believes it would win. this lawsuit speaks to a bigger issue, growing debate over the value of content to satellite or cable tv packages. this comes after comcast dropped the yankees' yes network in november after the two fails to reach an agreement.

alex rodriguez recently filming a video urging yankees fans to drop comcast. >> if you're a comcast xfinity customer you'll not be able to watch any yankees games on yes this season. >> reporter: while yes is unique because it's such a niche network, this is just the beginning. >> and i think we will see at some point over the next 12 months, maybe it's a little bit longer than that, but we will start to see a big channels get dropped and the outcome from these, i think, will get more and more severe. >> reporter: he warns that content companies push for higher fees which are passed along for customers and likely to drive what's called cord shaving. customers choosing smaller less expensive tv packages. for "nightly business report," i'm julia boorstin in los angeles. >> comcast is the parent company of nbc unifoversal and cnbc whi produces this program. peabody energy warns it may have to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. that is where we begin tonight's

"market focus." if it proceeds, it joins a growing number of coal producers who recently filed for bankruptcy. the company has been hit hard by low energy prices and continuing shift away from coal power plants. shares of the company down man 45% to $12.19. two solar energy companies announcing today they're delaying the release of their 10k financial report for the second time. both sun edison and teriform power cited, quote, material weakness with their financial reporting as a reason for the delay. sun edison ending the day unchanged $2.08. teriform dropped nearly 8% to $9.72. amgen wins a patent lawsuit decision against regeneron pharmaceuticals. a new kind of cholesterol lowering drug that was dropped. regeneron also a little higher 368.46 the close there.

cesars entertainment and private equity owners could be facing up to $5 billion in potential damages after a court examiner said a series of corporate deals led to this casino company's operating unit filing for bankruptcy. the bankruptcy court had been looking into whether the company and its backers stripped away assets leaving the unit unable to pay debts. shares were down more than 13% to $6.23. apple has responded yet again to the fbi with a court filing last night. further entrenching itself in the privacy battle against the government. the tech company claims that the fbi has not exhausted all options to unlock the phone used by one of the allege ed fro ed terrorists in the san bernardino attacks last year and will not develop a back door into its mobile operating system. shares of apple rose. retailer william sonoma reporting weaker than expected fourth quarter earnings after

the bell today as well as lowering its full-year guidance. the company did, however, raise its dividend and authorize a $500 million share buyback. shares initially fell in extended trading after gaining more than 2% during the day to close at 5946. virtual reality could redefine many businesses but none no so than the $100 billion video game industry. it's no wonder many tech companies are trying to capitalize on this opportunity which comes with its own set of unique challenges. josh lipton reports from one of the world's largest gaming industry events. >> reporter: virtual reality is the shiny new toy at this year's game developers conference in san francisco. in less than ten years, vr video cams could bring in nearly $12 billion in revenue according to goldman sachs. now, that kind of money has tech companies fighting hard to win over gamers. sony announcing that its playstation vr system will be available in october for $399.

>> we are on the cusp of what will be a brand new form of games, a brand new form even of storytelling and that's going to be a very, very long road. >> reporter: now, sony does have plenty of competition. facebook's rift which ships on march 28th is priced at $599 and includes 2 games, remote and an xbox one controller. also at the high end, htv's vive priced at $799 and a lower-end headset from samsung retailing for about $100. developers are going to help drive adoption of this technology. they now have to create compelling games which does come with its own challenges. vr if not designed correctly can make users dizzy. >> as a vr designer i have to spend 50% of my time focused on performance and comfort. i don't have the luxury of purely focusing on designing mechanics. that's because if you make someone sick in vr, you can ruin

their whole day. >> reporter: developers also say that creating vr games can be a lot more expensive than designing traditional titles. still they're convinced that this technology will upend and redefine the industry. developers say it's too soon to tell which tech titan is going to lead this executed revolution but do say it's going to come down to which company offers them the best and easiest tools for making games accessible to the most people. for "nightly business report," i'm josh lipton in san francisco. coming up, from prison to play. how a former correctional facility was transformed into a profitable business.

major automakers are expected to announce tomorrow they agreed to install automatic emergency braking systems in most u.s. vehicles by 2022. the final deal requires an agreement in principle with safety regulators reached last fall. includ includes toyota, gm, ford, honda, and volkswagon. entrepreneurs have big ideas but it takes a certain amount of vision to see the potential in a rundown abandoned prison. kate rogers has the story of a man who saw an opportunity beyond the barbed wire. >> reporter: no, we're not in a prison. at least not anymore. [ whistle ] >> when you hear the door gates lock, it's okay, i'm in here now, and we're going to work hard, we're going to work smart, we're going to believe in what we're doing then when we get a chance to leave, we're going to leave all our doubts behind us. >> up. down. >> i was a new york state prosecutor for many years.

i put bad people in jail then i represented criminals so how apropos is it now in 2016 we're sitting that prison? >> reporter: you were meant to buy the prison. >> i guess so, possibly. >> reporter: these rolling 38 acres used to be part of a correctional facility in warwick, new york, but today the property is being turned into, of all things, a successful athletic facility and fitness center called the yard. the concept was created by entrepreneur, tony, to open the yard he drew on his experience as a major league baseball consultant and running pros and ropes in national franchise baseball and softball programs. >> i was a logical choice to come here and see the property and my first gut reaction, kate, was i'm walking into a prison. i mean, the razer wire was all over the place. because it was an overwhelming sight initially, it took four visits before i realize, okay, i see the light. >> reporter: you saw the light and decided you're going to buy it is. >> you just do it. you hold your breath, you talk to people. but it really gets down to your

gut. it's that divine intervention. it's that one moment when they walk into a place like this and say, yeah. >> reporter: tony's vision has worked out for him. since opening last year the yard is already profitable and hosted nearly 500 teams for tournaments and prison-themed athletic classes. >> keep moving, keep moving. >> i'm dying down here. can i sit this out, please? >> no, you got it. this is a passion that i've always wanted to do and i think a lot of people are afraid of that. you know, because it is scary. you kind of go through that uncertainty then you wake up in the morning and say, you know what, if this is what you believe, if you work really hard, and you focus on what needs to be done, yeah, that's what entrepreneurs do. they don't spend a lot of time thinking about the what ifs. >> reporter: for "nightly business report," in warwick, new york, i'm kate rogers. >> i think one of the exercises they should do, sue, is the escape exercise. >> yes. >> who gets out the fastest there. go, kate. >> yeah, go, kate. before we go, let's take ook lot at how stocks closed after

the fed's decision to keep interest rates standing right where they are. the dow industrials up 75-ish. nasdaq up 35. and the s&p 500 at 2027. that's an 11 1/2 point gain or thereabouts. that does it for "nightly business report" tonight. i'm sue herera. thanks for watching and we want to remind you this is the time of year your public television station seeks your support. >> and i'm tyler mathisen. thank you for your support. have a great evening, everybody, and we'll see you tomorrow, st. patrick's day. >> oh, wear green. >> yes, i shall. >> a green tie.

good evening. my name is tj lubinsky, the executive producer of our my music presents series here on public television. recently i had the occasion to witness an extraordinary film on the life and story of karen and richard carpenter. so compelling is this film that i felt the need to share it with you immediately on your public television station. it's the story of the carpenters-- their rise to success, their fame, and all we cherish and celebrate about this amazing duo. music that has impacted and changed our lives forever, as tonight a special edition of my music presents brings you the carpenters: close to you.