corporate funding is also provided by prudential financial, boeing, additional funding is provided by the annenberg foundation, the corporation for public broadcasting and by cryptions to pbs stations from viewers like you. thank you. once again, live from washington, moderator gwen ifill. gwen: good evening. you can tell we're approaching another do or die moment in this republican primary contest as the criticism gets more personal and the predictions more apocalyptic. next week's tests occur in arizona and michigan where this week there were high-minded speeches, low-minded negative advertising and one big debate. in this exchange the argument between romney and santorum seemed to be about birth control, but it really was about who do you trust? >> you said i personally opposed creptives -- crept isks but said you -- contraceptisks but voted for title x. you didn't say this was something i was opposed to. you said it in a positive light. >> i think i was making it clear that while i have a personal moral objection to it, that even though i don't support it i voted for bills that in

. >> reporter: training attracted prudential financial, one of many big companies active lie hiring veteranservists. raymond weeks runs the veterans program there and he is a vet. >> employers may not understand the value these individuals can bring in terms of the attribu s attributes, focused, disciplined, terrific work ethic. their experiences are unique. i understand the challenges they face, leaving the military from a very structured hierarchy, coming in the work place which isn't as structured. >> louis coming in the workforce after five years in the marines and three tours in iraq. he has learned how to translate that experience in the job interview and at prudential. >> we had trouble calling everybody sir or ma'am, and everybody is like whoa, call me bob or steve. >> reporter: a great example how the average american office is a long way from the battlefield. >> every member with probably very few exceptions have gone to boot camp, lived together, workeding to, trained together, whether that job is in combat or finance or administration, they have to rely on each other to do the ri

financial challenges ahead. this rock has never stood still. and that's one thing that will never change. prudential. >> we know why we're here. to connect our forces to what they need when they need it. >> to help troops see danger. before it sees them. >> to answer the call of the brave and bring them safely home. >> around the globe, the people of boeing are working together. to support and protect all who serve. >> that's why we're here. >> corporate funding is also provided by norfolk southern. additional funding is provided by the annenberg foundation, the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. once again, live from washington, moderator gwen ifill. gwen: good evening. the candidate who has captured the imagination of republican voters this week doesn't have a national headquarters, a 50-state campaign infrastructure, or even a fancy campaign bus. but he seems to have one big advantage at least for now, his last name is not romney. so another big primary fight is under way. and in a half dozen states, this is what voters a

. >> corporate funding is also provided by -- prudential financial, boeing. additional funding is providing by the annenberg foundation, the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to pbs stations from viewers like you. thank you. once again live from washington, moderator gwen ifill. gwen: good evening. last week we were talking about the economy, but this week republicans jockeyed for the party's most conservative voters and president obama was forced into a political corner by catholic bishops opposed to birth control. the president decided to try to defuse the controversy with an appearance in the white house briefing room today. >> if a woman's employer is a charity or a hospital that has a religious objection to providing contraceptive services as part of their health plan, the insurance company, not the hospital, not the charity, will be required to reach out and offer the woman contraceptive care free of charge, without co-pays and without hassles. gwen: there was a religious liberty argument. there was a health care argument. and in

. >> corporate funding is also provided by prudential financial. boeing. additional funding is provided by the annenberg foundation, the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to bs -- to ionsro vmrsie stations from viewers like you. thank you. >> you're watchingh

one line, infinity -- infinity possibilities. >> corporate funding is also provided by prudential financial. boeing. additional funding is provided by the annenberg foundation, the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to pbs stations from viewers like you. thank you. from viewers like you. thank you. >> you're watching pbs. its auto insurance customers for over 70 years. more information on auto insurance at geico.com or 1-800-947-auto any time of the day or night.

we bring in market experts, ed keon, manager for quantitative management associates at prudential financialernstein advisers. richard, since you're with me i'll start with you. >> sure. >> you look at that report. >> um-hum. >> we have 830 coming up, i don't know where you are on the jobs number and you say maybe we're too invested in the market right now? >> well, andrew, from our point of view, i think people get too caught up in some of the deta details, with all due respect to steve whose job is to get caught up in the details. we have vagaries, something that influences the unemployment rate in every cycle. people want to poo-poo the data, say it's not getting better or in some indications worse. the corporate profits which are extremely important is showing the first chink in the armor, the first quarter, one who has been bullish for the past couple of years the corporate profits are starting to show weakness and that's the most important thing people should be looking at right now. >> wow. i don't see it. when we talked to ceos, s&p 500 earnings are expected to be $105, trading $13.2

we have greatly expanded our ability at the fed to monitor the financial system, broadly to take a so-called macro prudential approach. and you know right now we don't see any obvious bubbles in the economy. but certainly that's something we are going to need to look at and continue to monitor. >> thank you for your response. mr. chairman, many citizens in the nation are concerned about the rise in gasoline prices at the pump. especially the working class. what measures can the federal reserve take to stabilize the recent rise in gas prices? >> well, we're concerned about it as well. taxpayer it has a direct affect on inflation and take as way buying power from households. it's a real concern for us. on the other hand, overall inflation is low and stable, so it's really a question of this particular product becoming more expensive relative to other products. and again, as i mentioned earlier, the main reason is higher price of crude which in turn relates to a number of factors but among them is uncertainty about supply in iran and the strait of hormuz and in africa. so i don't think the fed can do too much a

financials, i still like the insurance companies. i like prudential a lot. and -- >> and last one.hen do we break the all-time highs of october 2007? when, when, when? >> let's just take baby steps here. let's get excited about what we have here. >> baby steps p i want the vision thing. s with your vision thing tonight? >> we're just getting the ball rolling here. let's enjoy it. >> game changer, folks. that's all k say. stephen weiss, phil orlando and stephanie link. coming up on kudlow with the economy improving a zero interest rate from the fed seems absolutely absurd to me. does the fed have the whole story wrong? we're going to ask an expert. former federal reserve governor randy krausener from university of chicago is going to have to suffer through me in the next segment. i am kudlow. we'll be right back. >> what makes scottrade your smartphone's most powerful trading app ? total access - to everything. from idea toresearc. including financials, indicators and real-time streaming quotes. whether you eck your investments every day or every minute, our app can take them fr