. >>> there are reports that the white house is considering nominating mohammed alarian to be the vice chair of the bank. the president recently nominated jerome powell to be the chair of the federal reserve. >>> the fed is keeping an close watch on inflation which has come in consistently below its 2% target. but it may be startingo pick up. just today we learned that prices at the wholesale level climbed more than expected over the past year. in fact producer prices ro rose .4%. their biggest annual gain in . >>> still ahead, food fight. will more private equity firms want to take a bite out of casual dining bran? >>> the u.s. postal service reported a loss last year of more than $2.5 billion. it's the 11th straight year in the red. the reasons are pretty familiar. people are sending less mail and pension and health care costs are rising. the post master general is asking for more freedom to raise stamp prices as a way to help generate revenue. the good news, it's forecasting another strong holiday season of package deliveries. >>> speaking of which, small businesses were more optimi