Fed holds rates; Dow rallies 116 on merger wave
CBS News
Transcript
[Music] the Federal Reserve will capture wall Street's attention today the Central Bank kicks off a two-day policy setting meeting analysts are expecting the FED to again leave interest rates unchanged at 5 and a qu% but investors will be looking for any clues of possible rate Cuts Wall Street will also be keeping an eye on the housing market with a report due out on new home construction for February on Monday a survey by the national Association of home builders found only a third of Builders believes the housing market is healthy well that didn't dampen spirits on Wall Street Monday a fresh batch of mergers and some stability in global markets helped stocks kick off the week with a rally the Dow gained 116 points the NASDAQ closed up nearly 22 and US banana producer chaita brand pleaded guilty Monday to doing business with a terrorist organization the company admits it paid protection money to Colombian paramilitaries between 2 1 and 2004 jakita agreed to pay a fine of $25 million slightly more than half the profits its Colombian banana growing operation earned during that period that's your money watch be sure to log on to cbsnews.com for more business headlines in New York I'm Alexis christopherus