>> this is n.b.r. dennis lockhar says new measures are not needed to help the ecomy. >> tom: and he s some advice for lawmakers. >> susie: also we head to maryland to meet one of the nation's oldest names in foods, ma core mack spices, as west continue o week-long look at the foodie craze. >> tom: that and more tonight here on n. b. r..

>> susie: a top federal reserv policymaker tells nightly buness report, the central bank could provi more stimulus for the economy "this year", if necessary. dennis lockhart is the president of the atlanta federal reserve bank. as a voting member of the fed's policy committee, he is a powerful voice on the economy. in our exclusive interview with him today, he described the u.s. economy as a "mixed pictur" his comments come a week after the fed decided to extend its program to keep long term interest rates low, rather than launch a third round of so- called "quantitative easing", or q.e.3. my first question to why not do more now. >> i don't the conditions yet call for really stronger action. interestingly, the anecdotes

are painting a stronger pie thanhe datas i, which is one reason i prefer to wait a little while to see if the data p in itssoftness. don't think the conditions have developedhat ree us to bring out bigger guns quite yet. >> susie: how likely is it that we will see qe 3 by the end of this year? >> it is certainly an option. remains an option on the table, i would say. if the circumstances call for it, the more stimulus could be provided. >> susie: if the unemployment rate goes higher, or stays where it is now, could that trigger qe 3 and how bad do things have to>>rom my own pepei would erytevng on simply the unemployment rate. there's l conditions i think are important. first would be if the growth ratef the economy slowed dramatically, was moving woul be one element a

picture that i thinkight call f asponse. obviously, losing ground on unemployment, i would also say if you saw prices strongly in a mode of disinflation headed for deflation, conditions similar to what we saw in the fall of 2010, that also is a picture that might call for action. >> susie: cou europe's proble warn u.s. action? >> europe's problems could develop into a situation in which there are impacts on our economy here in the united states. that called for. inw should be about the u.s. real economy, that's what we really focused on, and if yo see something develop that begins to translate int impact on the real economy, then yes it may

be a call to action. >> sie: a lot of people have concern about europe. how much damage could ump's problems have on the u.s. economy? and could that push us into recession? que frankly.hat's far fetched, but i think certainly a spillover om europe has the potential to soften the grn towt chairman bernanke has said that europe has to de its own situation. but what can theed doith europe leaders to prevent the european situation from getting worse? >> not a lot really. we have already extended swap lines for dollar funding to european central banks, and that helps them provide liquidity to their banks, the banks that are headquartered in their particular countries. but it's a relatively, in the greater scheme of things, a

relatively small aspect of fed help or fed action vis-a-vis the european central banks. >> susie: so howbad do things have to get in europe for the dsto play a more active role? >> if there were widespread financial instability that w through contagion spreading globally, then would expect there would be fa more coordination. >> susie: i also asked dennis lockhart about what it it will take to get companies to hire more, and banks to loan more to businesses, and home buyers. we'll have more with atlanta fed bank president lockhart a little later in the program. >> tom: some encouraging news about the u.s. economy today, helped stocks move higher. the dow rose 92 points, the nasdaq added 21, the s&p up 11. here's the stronger economic data: orders for durable goods ro last monts dema for built-to-last items, like

televisions, washing machines and airplanes, grew by 1.1% in may. machinery and defense orders primarily were behind the jump. more homes went under a sales contract last month, a lot more. the national association of realtors' pending sales index jumped almost 6% in may. that's its best reading in about two years. meantime, in europe, fresh rries today about whethe spain will be able to repay its debts. spain's prime minister wants european leaders to help the s deco, that request comes one day ahead of a euro-zone summit meeting on the region's crisis.

>> susie: continuing our exclusive interview with atlanta fed president dennis lockhart, weurn to jobs. i asked lockhart why companies arreluctire. h >>ñr uncerta the, to put it in one word, is uncertainty. businesses have been dealing with a mix of elements, the mix has changed over time, but a mix of things that raise the level of uncertainty and make businesses cautious about either investing to expand or hiring. >> susie: a lot of people say the reason that businesses are not hiring or expanding is their inability to get loans. is there anything that the feds can do to encourage banks to loan more? >> well, our role as a gulator really is to w with the ban tore that the banki system dividual banks areafe as theyossibly canbe. it's notle to dictate

that they lend, make particular kinds of loans or push them to lend. when i talk toankers, what i astr is they are very muchlookii few yearsaised the sts for lending. >> susie: is the same issue, we hear stories about how iculff is for people to get a mortgage, thathe loan quts are overly ri here t fed can do about that? t's what monetar policy as possi,bl either to cr as mane refinance borrow buy , and that's really what licy has been tr achievrates are emely l mortgagt

abouce, it these forecasts from the feds that are the outlook for the,. policy mersdj outlook last week. ar u concerd that arecast willctonfi? >> i thiole shouldo l it ase forward view of whatto occur ans likely t be we can possibly provide so i'm not one to tryomehow tht tot a cidence effect. uncertout nty abe think of so-callecallifd fis's making decisions.mpanies

what do you say to lawmakers about the iportance of avoiding the fiscal cliff? >> it could have a scant impact on the economy, so we watch to make sure they understand how important it is, and i would also is anssue forhe congress and e administration to deal with before end, and monetary policy shoun't be thought of as in any way substitute for or able compensate for fiscal mistakes. so i would emphasize that this ball is in their court. >> tom: still ahead, the heat is on, the naon's cornrop is facing a drought, putting upward pressure on grain prices. a

>> tomtwo big developments in the tablet computer market today. fi calrst, aornia federal judge banned samsung from selling or making its galaxy 10.1 tablet, or any similar device in the u.s. this is the latest chapter in the legal battle between samsung and apple over patents. claiming tablet violated its design patent, for how the ipad looks. but the jury is still out on how this decision will affect both comps bottom lines >> in the short term this is a nice, little win for apple. it kind of trips up samsung. in the long-term it's not a huge deal, you're gonna see a lot of little skirmishes around the world, and ultimately they're gonna have to come to together for a broader settlement where there to be some kind of judication. the other development is a new competitor in the tablet computer market. this afternoon google unveiled its first tablet, the nexus 7. at its annual developer conference in san francisco. with its seven-inch screen and $199 price tag, it's much

cheaper than apple's ipad and is expected to give amazon's kindle customers can order the device today, and it's expected to ship in mid-july. google also debuted the nexus q, a streaming media devicet plays music and vies. >> susie: barclays will pay more than $450 million to regulators here and in the u.k. to settle claims it manipulated a key interest rate. investigators allege the bank submitted false information that affected the libor rate, an interest rate that banks use when they lend to each other. the rate is set inondon, but it's used to price consumer loans around the world. sylvia hall breaks down what happened, and what it means for the financial system. >> reporter: barclays admits it manipulated the libor rate, to improve its position on trades, and to make itself look betterr. barclays chief executive bob diamond said the company, "fell well short of the standards to which barclays aspires in the conduct of itsiness." diamond also said the company "took prompt action to fix the problems ando-operated extensively and proactively with the authorie most consumers haven't heard of

libor, but banks and traders rely on it to help set prices foerything from derivatives to student loans, credit cards, and mortgages. >> reporter: barclays also agreed to cooperate with the justice department's criminal inveigation into these practices. that investigation spans across the financial industry. sylvia hall, "n.b.r.," washington. >> tom: blistering hot weather in the midwest sent corn prices higher again today. the december futures price for corn closed nine cents higher at $6.33 a bushel, up 24% in a week and a half.

the heat reminds farmers of the 1988 drought, and as diane eastabrook reports, f thsome o are already tallying up losses. >> you can virtually find no moisture, we're just dry on down. >> reporter: its been nearly two weeks since carl neubauer's central illinois farm has seen any rain, and neubaur's corn crop is suffering. >> we're seeing rolling on these plants as the t tries to protect it from the heat. >> reporter: illinois has only gotten about one and a half inches of rain this month. about half what it normally gets in june. in fact the nation's entire mid section and southwest are either normally dry or in some state of drought. >> this corn was planted april 12, it's about as tall as i me, and i'm five foot, four inches it should be about eight feet tall right now. >> reporter: fears that drought could fry the nation'sn crop are rattling grain traders in chicago. veteran trader scott shellady says futures crisis could hit seven dollars a bushel shortly.

then again, he's not a betting >> you could see seven dollar corn and you could see five dollar corn. that is why the volatility is so high becse if for some reason we get drenching rain in the eastern corn belt, that would send us 50 cents lower, easily. >> reporter: grain analyst shawn mccambridge says fears of rising corn prices have already spread beyond the trading pits. >> there's a lot of pencil pushing in the marketplace in all sectors of use seeing how it will impact different sectors of rketthe mawhether it's processing, livestock, ethanol production. >> reporter: neubauer says his crop needs rain before pollination and that's about two weeks away. still he thinks he's already lost part of his crop. >> i got to think we'll be reduced 10 to 20at this pot given the forecast that's in front of us.

this was the biggest crop planted circumstances the 1930s,. are we now having to worry about supply? is the crop being damaged that much? >> the usda isn't saying there are any supply issues, but some tders i talked to yesterday are concerned that there could be supply issues. the farmer i talked to in central illinois this morning says he thinks he already may have lost 10 to 20% of his crop. we're hearing anecdotal ports that there could be some farms south of him say around springfield in southern , where there could be significant damage. so there could be some supply hugh issues. >> tom: what about inventories? we know that previous crop inventories in the bins have been at lows going int the growing season, is that a concern? >> we should know that by this friday. we're going to be getting a crop report from the usda that will report what the closing stock to the ending stock from last year are. the estimate that we're hearing is about $859 --

859 million bushels of corn. go into this growing season they were hoping this crop would produce s.8 -- 1.8 bill bushels. so we could have such tight inventories going into next year. >> tom: likely to provide a lot of price volatility. diane estabrook, thanks. >> susie: an update on the ouster of the tco c.e.o. at warren buffett's berkshire hathaway. it turns out benjamin moore c.e.o. abrams was replaced because of a strategy dispute, not for hosting a lavish party for executives on a boat in bermuda. today, abrams released a letter from warren buffett detailing the reasons for his replacement. buffett tells abrams, that his decision was based on quote, "a differing view about distribution channels and brand strategy." buffett also said he'd never heard about the boat trip before reading about it in the papers, and that he had no objection to the party, tom.

tom, this whole story is very unusual. warren buffet, you rarely hear about management shakeups at berkshire hathaway, and warren buffet is seeing this with his hands-off managementle. so think there's still more of this. >> tom: i agree, there will be more of this in the days to come, very rare for this kind of management dispute to become public out of berkshire hathaway. >> tom: u.s. stocks had a positive tone throughout the day, climbing on the positive durable goods and pending home sales data. the s&p 500 continued yesterday's bounce, opening strong after the durable goods poinuing to build. the market shook off a small afternoon swoon to end higher by almost 1%. today's action continues this month's volatility on both sides, up and down. with today's gain, the index is up just under 6% on the year. volume on the big board fell from yesterday, down to 682 million shares. it was steady on the nasdaq at 1.6 billion.

energy stocks fueled the gains with the energy sector rebounding 1.9%. financial stocks also put in a strong performance, up 1.2%. today's energy stock buying was under-pinned by a rally in oil prices. benchmark oil ended back over on0 per barrel, up 85 cents the session. crude oil inventories rose to their highest level in more than three years. but refineries also stepped up production to the highest rate since 2007 independent energy producers led the energy sector rally. cabot oil and gas jumped nine percent to the highest price since the first week of the year. q.e.p. resources rallied 8%. it was at a 52-week low earlier this month. and w.p.x. energy gained 8%. new home builders continued rallying, thanks to a big earnings report from lennar.

earnings made a big jump from a year ago, and three cents per share better thaestimates. lennar is one of the country's biggest homebuilders, and is seen as a barometer for new homes. it's results indicate a strong spring selling season, and reth may continue. new orders were up 40%. shares jumped 4.8% on heavylume. the rally brings the stock less than $2 away from a 52 week high. other builders caught a bid. m.d.c. was up almost 5%. standard pacific gained more than 4%. and meritage homes added 3%. for the first time in more than a decade, a new weight loss drug has gotten the green light from the food and drug administration. and its maker, arena pharmaceuticals saw big buying in anticipation of a big hit. shares shot up 28.7% to a new 52 week high. this brings its gains since early may to more than 300%.

its weight loss treatment is the company's first commercial product. the medicine still has to go through another regulatory process sting up to six months before it will go on sale. ares oirish bio- pharmaceutical company amarin were up 8.6% to a new 52 week high on heavy volume. the u.s. patent and trademark office is expected to rule soon the cpany's fish-oil heart medicine. the office posted a notice on its website indicating formal patent approval could happen within weeks. all green arrows among the most actively traded exchange traded funds. the were led by the russell 2000 e.t.f., up 1.6%. and that's tonight's "market focus."

>> susie: the latest tte crazes don't just happen, they are vented, often in the kitchens and labs of companies like mccormick. that red tea smoked sea bass you tried at that hot new rant? the chef may have gotten the idea from mccormick's flav forecast. as we continue our look at the foodie craze, darren gersh talk with mccormick c.e.o. alan wilson about how a 100 year old company is now a flavor innovator. >> reporter: what makes someone a foodie? >> open to difnt kinds of flavors and experiences and... really seeking that intensity that you get from different flavors. >> reporter: so the traditional view that americans, you know, won't try anything new; that they want ketchup and mustard, is that antique? is that gone? >> there's a growing number of ah people probably driven by things like the od networks

and cooking shows therthat tryle really are willing to ew things. >> reporter: what percentage of people are foodies and are they like anything its, you know ten percent of your customers drive 90% of your innovations and new business? >> our gourmet line which there... which really is what appeals to foodies is about 10% of volume. >> reporter: so foodies are notoriously fickle folk. how do you how do you keep developing something that's going to keep them... th going to wet their appetite as it were? >> in a normal year we will introduce about 100 new units-- new products. around world. this year, in 2011 and in 2012, l hawe'l over 200 and part that is just keeping the line fresh and uring the trends.

>> reporter: what are some of the up-and-comers what will we be looking for in our pots? >> i think it's an expansion of something we did in the flavor forecast in 2008, isohol based flavors so we introduced a brown gar which has become one of our top selling grill mates items. this year we introduced a brandy and herb which is also a great flavor and so i thk that trend is going to continue. >> reporter: coming up with a spice like garam masmual h c thr siness? >> we generate about a third of our growth from products... from new products. so if we're trying to grow 4% to 6% a year, we expect 2% of that toew products, and we've been pretty consistent in doing that. of mccormick, thank you foron, your time. >> thank you. >> tom: tomo o we head to california, as our foodie craze series continues, we get the recipe for success from a family barbecue business that's been around for almost 40 years.

and, the supreme court is excted to make ron president obama's health car we will have the decision and what's next for the health care me real sharp words from the regulators in congress about the fiscal clif >> susie: that's a really important issue and we've been hearing that from chairman ke, t it's also very good to hear it directly from policy makers, that they are concerned about it. andga that one liner that if the fed can't do everything. >> tom: and clearly he's looking at the economy from atlanta and the southeast u.s. and you've got a big voice nationwide this year. >> susie: right, he is one of the voting members, there are four more meetings of the fed this year, so we'll be hearing from him and heel have a critical vote on what happens next in fed policy. so it was really great to have him for a one on one today. >> tom: you can see transcript and watch the video on our website. s we'll see you tomorrow.

>> susie: you as well tom. we'll see everyone online at: www.nbr.com and back here tomorrow night. "nightly business report" is brought to you by: captioning sponsored by wpbt captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org