my conversation with one of the most powerful women in business, pepsico ceo indra nooyi. on what brings the fizz to her company and where she sees the profits bubbling up. how burberry keeps up with the times. the "wall street journal report" begins right now. >> first here's the day's headline. ty? >> thanks very much, maria. here's a look at what's making news as we head into a new week on wall street. in a new move to boost the sagging housing market, the federal government has a bold new plan to help homeowners. it will include initiatives to refinance loans and get homeowners who owe more than their house is worth into new government-backed mortgages with lower payments. it would also temporarily reduce the payments for borrowers who are unemployed and looking for a job. and it will also encourage lenders to write down loan balances to help lower monthly payments. it comes on the heels of two disappointing pieces of housing news. sales of existing homes fell for a third straight month. it was down 0.6% in february. and new home sales, they were down as well, fourth s

. >>> up next, pepsico ceo indra nooyi on the show. a demand for snack foods. a global business there. how it's faring globally. >>> mad about plaid. i'll talk to a woman running one of the most iconic brands. >>> soft drink andsnack giant pepsico announced a commitment to use more natural sweeteners and increasing a line of healthier snacks. among the invasions attempting to attract customers in a less profitable environment. earlier i spoke with the brand's ceo indra nooyi at yankee stadium, the site of their annual analyst meeting and asked one of the most influential female executives today how she sees the economic recovery right now. >> i tell you, i -- in the western world especially in the united states, what i have not yet seen is the construction worker coming back to work. and i think you need that worker coming back because a true test of the economic vitality of the economy is when that worker is employed. and we're not seeing that as yet. >> what would it take for you to create new jobs right now? i know earlier you said that you're expecting low

pepsico is a winning group of people.are a new york company, and we are quintessentially american, and you put the two together, and yankee stadium is an incredible place to hold the meeting. >> what are you seeing in terms of the consumer today, whether in the u.s. or around the world, where do you say we are in the recovery? >> well, i don't know, maria. this one worries me a little bit, maria. in the western world n the united states, what i am not seeing is the construction worker or the hourly worker coming back to work. you theed thneed them coming ba because the true test of the vitality of the economy is when that worker is employed, and we are not seeing that yet. i hope as we progress through the year and come into the summer and housing starts will come up, and more construction jobs coming by, but we need jobs. i'm not talking about the 5,000 or 10,000 jobs, but several hundred thousand jobs fast so we can get the confidence back in the economy and people back to work and have the multiplier effect of the peop

. >> pepsico has an intriguing new approach to salt.esigned a powdery salt crystal that dissolves more efficiently on the tongue, releasing more of its saltiness before it's swallowed. the company hopes it will allow it to reduce by a quarter the amount of salt it puts on its lay's potato chips. most of the salt we eat comes in processed foods. so pepsico's new product might help. but it's not going to bring everyone's blood pressure down. it's not enough for snacks to have artificial sugar and new-fangled salt. high tech or not, we also have to eat less of them. the bottom line is, we have an obesity crisis in this country. everybody is fat. everybody practically. it's an epidemic. and we've got to look at what's in our food and change it. >> what's next? >> you're done? that's it? you don't -- >> you're absolutely right. i love your -- >> don't pander. >> i'm not pandering at all. >> stop this. stop this. >> all i can tell you -- >> andy? >> all i can tell you is i weigh about 6'4" but i'm only in a 5'8" body. >> oh, you look good. >>