peter fisher and charles cantor. this morning, a lot of things going on including earnings that are continuing. we're waiting for that federal reserve meeting with policy makers, it's a two-day meeting that concludes on wednesday and the fed is not expected to cut back on the bond buying program because of the negative economic effects of the now ended government shutdown. you're looking for merck? >> yeah, merck is reporting 92 cents, that's an adjusted number. the company reported sales of $11 billion which is in line also with expectations. and then i've got a guidance which is on an adjusted basis, as well. they're saying they're narrowing their nongaap earnings per share. target 3.58. you already had a third cent beat on one quarter. the estimate's 90 cents and the company now is above where the street is. but as i say, they just beat by four cents in the current quarter. so not a shock maybe that they would be raising their guidance for the year. can't tell where it's going to trade. looks like it is up, though

we're going to talk to peter fisher about why that's the case. no economic reports on the schedule.a few earnings report of note, as well. another victim of the government shutdown, holders of winning lottery tickets in the district of columbia. the d.c. lottery issued a statement saying no winning tickets would be paid out until further notice but also said winning tickets would be honored once the shutdown is over. i wonder if there's any big winning tickets out there. >>> also the thriller "gravity" which i saw over the weekend remains atop the weekend box office. easily beat "captain phillips," starring tom hanks, which earned $26 million in ticket sales. i saw it in imax 3d with the glasses and it was pretty cool. >> apparently both movies are equally accurate. in terms of the level of accuracy that you can see in both. >> captain phillips is based on a true story. gravity is -- >> except the people there say it is no way representative of what happened. haven't you read? >> the astronomer from the natural history museum had a lot of problems. >> you should see how much debris

. >> brian, earlier this week we had peter fisher here as a guest. and he pointed out that at this point the market is not expecting the fed to pull back on qe anytime soon. that the real surprise to the markets would be if the fed were to signal things like tapering could come sooner rather than later. and i just wonder what you think that would do to the market at this point. >> well, especially considering that most of the near term money or the latest money has really been driven by this fed announcement, you know, we contend that until we start to see actually a reacceleration of job growth and a reacceleration of the economy, the fed really can't do anything. it's kind of backed itself into a corner to some degree. but the real trend longer term is that as ansette, the united states of america with respect to equities is still the most consistent stable asset in the world. and the two major trends that have so be part of continuing on this bull market is from a theme attic basis, number one, private wealth management is the rotation outs of fix

. >> peter fisher is on "squawk box" this morning and i want to align myself to what he has so say.ting that they put some time type of a date certain. i think they have to be concerned about market expectations and the people we talked to are concerned about market expectations. tapering in december or march isn't meaningfully going to change the larger story. you are talking about a few billion dollars. >> it is a signal to sell down. it is a signal to change direction. that's the issue, regardless of what q.e. does. >> ultimately, what matters is earnings. as christine can attest, stocks can't go up if earnings aren't doing so z to that point, what happens if a lot of that is driven by buybacks? is there a way of isolating that impact here? >> if you look at the overall earnings per share, we are looking at $27.23. it is not only about the growth rate but it is the fact that we've been having quarter after quarter of records. so you have to assume at some point the growth rate is going to shrink. we are looking very closely at revenues. as you know, the last few quarters have bee

. >> makes me think that maybe peter fisher is right.t yesterday and suggested that the only surprise left would be if the fed actually acted sooner than people have now set up on these deadlines. >> such that the -- it's so extended out there now. it is true, becky. >> and in graphic representation, liesman, to me, it looks like tightening. >> what do you mean? >> goes down. looks like they're tightening. it's tightening. and the other thing is, steve, 8 out of 9 days the s&p's higher, i'm on board now. i want to drive that car in every week and say, fill her up. fill her up with gas because i don't want it to ever end. i want to run on qe. >> we have a problem of june the fed and the markets being out of sync. september again. i don't know that the market and the fed are in sync on this timetable. we could have another major disruption when the fed starts to talk again. >> we're setting ourselves up for. >> that's what i'm concerned about. >> thank you. talk to you later. >>> still to come this morning on "squawk box," halloween may be

. >> the fisher house has stepped in a big way. >> ralph peters, and a fox news strategist.ood day to you. pete, taking money from a private charity to pay for this. it makes your head spip. >> it is an outrage and an abdpiication that the government made to anyone that serves. if you lose your life, we'll it is world war ii monument and va benefits and now this. the executive order and exemptions and with a stroke of a pen restore the funding. no doubt about it. he has not because he is trying to prove a point and veterans and military families that are suffering. >> ralph, that is an accusation. the house passed legislation, 425- 0 to help heroes get the death benefits. dow agree that the president could make a phone call and fix this right now? >> it never had to happen. alisyn if i may, i thank peete for the wonderful work they are doing for veterans. we'll probably never know exactly who decided it was a good idea to suspend the payments. this is a secretative white house. i agree with pete. i think the white house or imposed on bod thought it was a great way to inflict

didn't really know about, this now that he knows about it, colonel peters, he is going to correct and we are going to reimburse the fisherse for their experience expenses. the government is going to make it all right. what do you think about that? >> well, i think it's a disgraceful scandal. i agree that hagel certainly should go because, if he didn't know about it, it means he is not in control of his department. if he did know about it and did nothing, then, my god,. >> bill: he has got to go. he had to know. hagel had to know. i'm not sure president obama knew or not, because he is under such, you know, intense pressure from all sides. it's possible he didn't know. but, hagel surely knew. and it's hagel's duty to tell the commander and chief hey, we can't have this. >> may i just point out, bill, that while the pentagon has -- and the administration has refused to pay this death benefit to the bereaved families of our fallen soldiers and marines, secretary of defense never closed his executive dining room in which military members are basically chefs and servants and it's a nice place. i have eaten there. sock couldey

peters from springfield, missouri. and an american legion post, veterans were furious. >> they died. they fought for their country. their widows and children should get the benefits. >> reporter: so ken fisher stepped in to pay the benefit, after seeing our report yesterday. >> they're grieving. they've suffered enough. why on earth should they have to worry about where their next dollar is coming from? >> reporter: while in belleville, illinois, jefferson's restaurant posted a message on facebook offering to donate 100% of their profits today to the families of the fallen. tonight president obama told wrc -- >> when i heard about this story, i told the department of defense, within our administrative powers, we should be able to get that fixed. >> reporter: and to be clear, this fix is to let a private charity step in and fulfill a commitment that the government made and right now won't keep. while some pentagon leaders are relieved, many top uniformed leaders are disgusted that the world's greatest military is being bailed out by a private charity. >> thank you. >>> in congress, in washington, it was the politics of this death benefit and the broader shutdown that played out today. largel

peter? >> reporter: well we have to wait and see but if that does not happen, bill, we're now getting word the fisher foundation, the fisher house foundation will step up and pick up the tab for the time-being. we have got a quote that says, after losing a loved one in service to our nation, these families should not have to endure more pain as the result of political squabbling. bill, we're now just 2 1/2 hours away from the time that the remains of 24-year-old private first class cody paterson who as was killed in afghanistan during the shutdown are going to arrive at dover air force base in delaware. bill: all too often. peter doocy leads the coverage from washington. developments on that throughout the morning. martha has more. martha: we're hearing more from loved ones of fallen soldiers. sergeant joseph peters was killed in afghanistan on sunday by a roadside bomb. he was just 24 years old. the friends are trying to do everything they can to help his family and his wife ashley through this very tough time. >> this is heart breaking and now your friend lost the love of her life in such a tragic

fisher house will pay the families' bills and a $100,000 death benefit. the government will pay it back when the shutdown ends. this-year-old army special agency joseph peters also killed in afghanistan a few days ago. his friends upset about the payments being frozen. >> it's absolutely ridiculous that his family was lose ugh their son, husband. they shouldn't have to worry about that right now. >> reporter: now, a senior official here at the defense department, wolf, says that hagel warned without officials and congress several days ago when the shutdown was imminent that the death benefits would not be paid. there was even a news briefing for reporters on that very fact. >> barbara, there's other potential serious new represented to the shutdown for those who have served in the military. >> well, the next disaster looming is for veterans who will likely not get their november 1st benefits check. the secretary today said november 1st, it is possible more than 5 million veterans, their surviving spouses and therapy children will not get the checks that they are owed, because the government will run out of the money unless something is done. wolf? >> they'v