i know mike mckee was telling us about on the one hand come on the other hand this does form a basis for discussion on the policy meeting on april 29. so many people in the market were talking it up as an important data point is a were trying to figure out whether the federal service will be raising rates in september. mark: kathleen gaffey is a portfolio manager at eaton vance and she joins me. thank you for your time. what is your reaction? >> a lot of noise with not much information. something to talk about but it is backward looking. i think it is more important to think about where the employment numbers -- where are the employment numbers and where are we headed. mark: the beige book said, among other things that modest upward pressure was reported in wages and overall prices. how will that factor into the thanks inking -- the fed's thinking? >> that is the inflation we want. that is a positive sign. if i were the fed, i would want a move now rather than wait until september. we are strong dollar and the stronger that stays, the more it boxes the fed in. employment is where the

morgan asset management, bloomberg news editor mike mckee, and standing by with wall street's reaction markets correspondent, julie hyman. are we expecting surprises? will this be a mulligan? will they say second quarter is what we're focused on? >> this will be a why meeting. it is only a question of how much weight they put on the weather, on the dollar, on the west coast port things and how much they say that is temporary and going to reverse. they will probably say inflation has stabilized. it will be interesting what they say about the impact of business . they will probably take june off the table after this. cory:mark: will they take june off the table? >> i certainly do think that june is off the table in our opinion in terms of the hike because as we have seen weaker data especially gdp numbers this morning, i do not think june we will be ready for a liftoff. we are viewing september as the first hike day. mark: diane, what are you expecting from today's fed meeting? >> the overhang of inventory sets us up for a weeker -- weaker quarter that we had hoped. right now the fed has

mike mckee joins me with the details.this is probably not going to change anybody's assessment of the fed's rate increases. it's more of a discussion and the issues and assessments are pretty much what you would expect. there were widespread reports of growth in the first quarter partly reflecting the winter weather and labor disputes at the west coast ports. several disciplines noted the dollars --

mike mckee joins me with the details. michael: this is probably not going to change anybody's assessment of the fed's rate increases. it's more of a discussion and the issues and assessments are pretty much what you would expect. there were widespread reports of growth in the first quarter partly reflecting the winter weather and labor disputes at the west coast ports. several disciplines noted the dollars -- the dollar's appreciation was likely to strain growth for a time. participants also judged the underutilization of labor resources continuing to diminish. part of the mandate was being met but the thing everyone wants to know is what is going to convince them that inflation is going to be rising toward their target? participants expressed a range of views about how they would assess the outlook for inflation and when they might deem it appropriate to begin removing policy accommodation. there were no simple criteria for such a judgment. further improvement to the labor market was one possibility. and a leveling out o

marco: michael mckee, how is the decline in energy exploration affecting these numbers, as well? mikewe have not seen the huge layoffs, but we did see the number of layoffs, and the question is with oil prices moving back up again, how fast does it turn on? it is really hard to get a read on the overall impact on this on the economy. we may not know for a couple of years how this all plays out. mark: meg, the decline the most in two years. our households now going to be the engine that drives this momentum going forward? meg: that is what the fed hopes and when we look forward towards it, we expect those numbers to come out stronger, so we have seen a continuous pickup in terms of growth, and that is ultimately what is going to give those consumers a little extra gas money in their pocket, and hopefully that will pass through to some higher inflation, maybe 2016, based on what the fed is saying. mark: diane, i think you want to jump in here, as well. diane: saying that consumers were hibernating with the bad weather and being ill-equipped to deal with it. we were seeing a contraction,

mckee. let us talk about some of the stories that you need to follow in the world of business. there was more economic data out this morning. mike was just talking about inflation expectation. inflation may be picking up. the core cost of living rose 2/10 of a percent in march. that reflects a rod-based increase in risk and medical care and use cars. on a euro basis, prices excluding food and energy rose 1.8%. fed policymakers want to see some inflation before they race and from straight -- interest rates. the officials are worried about raising interest rates to send. -- too soon. one says it is not his preference, but the option is not off the table. boston fed president says that the economic data would need to improve before interest rates can be raised. the fed will wait until at least september before it makes its first move. nasa something you rarely see in washington. president obama lining up with republicans on a bill opposed by many democrats. they agreed on legislation that would give the president authority negotiations -- to finish negotiations on transatlantic partnership. those opposed say a kid lower wages and k