Bankers to meet when the markets arevolatile, trade tensions are heightened, the Global Economy is slowing, theond market i flashing a warning sign, and theres a lot of uncertain over Interest Rate policy. But thats exactly what is happening in h jacksone, wyoming, and the stakes are high. This annual gathering of federal officials is turning into onef the mostanticipated of all, especially given the deep divisions among policymakers. Steve liesman is there. Reporter as the fed gathers in the shaw of the Teton Mountains for the annual jackson holeeeting, the first officials to speak didnt tell the markets what they wanted to hear about the need for deep Interest Rates cs in the months ahead. I didnt think the cut was propriate necessarily but i went along with it to get back to neutral, but my forecast i ju to hold. My sense was weve added accommodation. Right. And it wasnt req in my view. I think were g in aood place relative to the manda were asked to achieve. Reporter the fed president from dallas kaplan said he wants to avoid cutting rates if he can. But he isrn con that the deep decline is sending the fed a meshoge itd not ignore. The curve has moved down oves the 3. 5 months and the fund ratet 2 to 2 1 4 is above every rate along thecurve. It is possible our monetary setting is tighter than i would have thought three or four months agnt the com from the fed president s highlight where to put Interest Rates right now. Eight to ten r supported ae cut in july but two dissents in the minutes of released thursday showed that there was backing from some of theme nonvoters. While, banking on several rate cuts this year and President Trump insults thested almo daily in the tweets, urging the fed to cut rates. He recently called the fed cluelero. Powell will deliver a keynote speech tomorrow at the jackson holeummit. Ineciding what to do with rates, powell has toe navig around 2 and global economies that are weak, a usu. Cr g and manufacturing which is slowing, and several members of the committee divided about whether to hold rates orh cut another factor, if the fed doesnt cut rates it could er selloff in markets that forced the central bank earlier this year to reverse policy. It is not a e set ofy choices to face in the bucolic setting of the Teton Mountains. For nightly Business Report, tm steve liesman. Sarah h joins us to talk more about the markets, the fed and what chairman powellsaight when he speaks tomorrow at jackson hole. She is Portfolio Manager at Alpine Woods Capital sarah, good to see you again. Welcome back. Thank you. L streetdo you think w wants to hear j. Powell say tomorrow . I think that the bond market isrying to sell graph they expect chair powell to cut rates again. I think thats wre you seeing such low rates across the curve. I think the difficult thing is that youhr just had weeks ago a press conference that he gave where he was trying very quietly to thread the needle and say, look, i think we needed to have one cut, i dont think we need to have more unls we see data thats very difficult. Right now he is in a tough spot. Hes ao inhe spotlight certainly with the administration, and specifically the psident. So he has to walk that fine line and not b seen as caving in to an administration but also if he needs to c rates for the economy do that. So might he talk about other instruments that the fed has in the tool box . I think there could be some discussion of oieer possibil that the fed could use. I think globally you have low rates across t world, a i think thats part of the problem for the u. S. , is that u. S. Rates are bng driven down becau you have negativeyielding assets across most of europe. Right n i also think theyre going to try to talk a little bit about er possibilities are in terms of what other kind of pos situates such as fiscal policies like a stimulus or something e e that governmen can do besides the Central Banks and try to get the discussion away fromentral bank policy as the only tool that governments have across the globe. It is not just the bond market thats anticipating cuts. I mean weve been seeing some of th interestsensitive sectors of the stock market do well as well. Does that last for a while . Do they become more attractive to you necessarily . Do you become more defensive in your portfolio . I think wei yhe you look at global Interest Rates being low across so much of the world, you have to look at things like ilities and the places where you get some sort of a yield, because investors are looking r yield. In many places the Government Bond market, which is here you used to be able to find it, you cant find it. I think theres an element ofen defenss just in going after dividend stocks to begin with, but also some of the areas where if you think rates will be lower for longehey stay attractive, which is why you have valuations higher than you wodormally see. We will see what happens tomorrow. Sarah hunt with Alpine Woods Capital investors. Again, thanks for joining us t. Toni thank you. And stocks seesawed on concerns over the direction of terest rates and ahead of fed chair powells speech tomorrow. Tech stocks fell, bank stocks rose, and ely in the trading session the yield curve inverted once again, meaning the yield on the tenyear treasury briefly fell below the twoyear. The Dow Jones Industrial average finished the day up 49 pois to 26,252. The nasdaq fell 28 and the s p 500 w dn one. Meantime, todays economic reports painted a mixed picture of the economy, on the one hand we had a number of americans filing f jobless benefits that fell more than expected last week, back near a half century low. It is a sign of labor market strength. On the other hand, theg manufacturector shh rank for the first time in nearly a decade. Ne orders wer weaker, which faster outputy boeing is reportedly discussing its 737 max jet production rate with suppliers. According to reports, the company says it will resume producing 52 aircraft per month in february of 2020. It will then increase that rate to 57. However, the company added that this production schedule assumes that regulators approve the plane to fly again commercially in the fourther qua as weve reported, regulators say there is no timeline for its return. Boeing shares rose 4 in todays session, making it the Top Performing stock in the dow index. Supplier spirit aero systems rose on the report as well. President trump is taking on ford motor again. Ngis time he is g after the automaker for agreeing to meet fuel economy sndards set by california. Those standards are much more restrictive than the ones being considered by the president. Phil lebeau has more. Reporter theres a fight brewing between california and President Trump. Caught in theide is ford and other automakers. It all revolves t around fuel economy standards for our cars and trucks. The current standards which target 54. 5 miles per gallon by 2025 are being rewritten. The president wants a far lower fuel efficiency target, t reportedly lesn 40 miles per gallon. But california, which can legally set its own standards, want vehicles to hit 50 miles per glon by 2026, a move ford with which prompted the president to tweet, henry ford would be disappointed if he saw his modernday diemodernday de wanting to build a car that doesnt work as well. Ford responded by sayin we have consistently supported 150 state resoortion standards. This provides stability while reducing co 2 more than complying with two different standards. Since becoming President Trump has met with Auto Executives many times. He has swung widely from high praise to nasty r ticule. Whethe latest shot with aprd leaves bruises depends on whatns between the battle over fuel economy standards and athe trump administratio california. Before you make too much out of the latest tweet with the president targeting ford, remember that the president has omwellestablished track record of bashingnies one day and turning around and praising them a few days later. Phil lebeau, nightly business repo, chicago. It is time to take a look at down grades. Ys upgrades and target was upgraded to buy from neutral at citi. The analyst calls the company a winner in the current retail environment and says the stock could see further gains. The price target is 130. Shares gained 3 after yesterdays 20 rise which we told you about last nig w. Way fai upgraded to buy from hold. The analyst cites the 12 decline in the stock price since way fairs last earnings report. The price target is 150. Eathe stock gainedy 2 to 117. 20. Toll broths was downgraded to market perform from out perform at wells fargo. The analyst cites o a lack a catalyst for the stock over the near and intermediate term. The price target is 39. The stock rose 2 to 36 even. Still ahead, sweating it out. Are americans spending a lot on fitness these days . But for how long . But for how long . Americans spending a lot on fitness these days. Icans spending a lot on om lateday merger activity to tell you about. Vmware annouing two of them in fact. The company is buying Security Software firm carbon blsk. It also Going Forward on its plan to acquire the outstanding shares ofvo l software. The deals together are valued at more than 4. 5 billion. Has borough has hasbro has agreed to buy peppa pig for about 4 billion. It will improve its growth outlook. Peppa pig. Indeed. With all of the volatility in the stock market, people are pouring money into lowrisk investments. According to a recent rort, money market funds assets hit the highest level in a decade last wk. Taxable money funds which are considered as safe as bank savings accounts, offering higher yields than most treasury s a result of the socalled inverted yield curve we have been talking about when shortit term secs pay more than longterm securities, which often occurs when the marketgi to anticipate a slowdown in the economy. August has been a pretty volatile month so far for equities. With all of the recent volatility in the market, some investors may be stockcaling. Is it a good idea or a mistake . Joining us to talk aboutt the riash strategy for you is christine benz, the direcr of personal finance over at morning star. Christine, welcome back. Nice to have you re. Sue, it is great to be here. Thank you. And you say first and foremost you hav to look at a couple of key factors, where you are in terms of your life stages, correct . Thats right. So working people who have ar regu salary need much less of a cash cushion on an ongoing basis. Ihink they can fall back on the usual three tohs sixmo worth of Living Expenses. You probably dont want to get too tactical if you are a longterm investor with a longtime horizon until retirement. You probably want to hold a fairly skinny cash cushion and keep the rest of the money working for you in longtermts as retired people . Retired people need more of a cash cushion in my opinion. So i like the idea of one to twoyears worth of portfolio i withdrawal cash. So in retirement you are probably getting income from some other sources, whether Social Security or a pension, but the amount of money you would normally take out of your portfolio, i would keep one to twoyears worth of those withdrawals in cash. The idea is that armageddon could occur with the stock and bond markets, but you would have that cash reserve set aside to expenses. Living i think that can provide a ton of peace of mind in volatile times. Theres that middle s though, those who work in the gig economy or theharing economy, where working may not be as consistent asn it is other places, if you are an independent con yactor. What d do then . Those paychecks can be really lumpy. So those gig economy workers can be quite highly paid, but there i think you do ne set aside a larger emergency reserve. It seems like a heavy lift, but i do ohink that year, one years worth of Living Expenses in cash instrumentsnd this can be a variety of accounts, cds, money marketnt acc and so forth. But one years worth of Living Expenses see reasonable. That way if you do get caught in some sort of an incomeon disrup you will have at least some of your Living Expenses set aside. So i think that that can provide a lot of peace of mind. Again, you wont need to raid your longterm retirement asse. Very quickly, should individual investors think of cash the same way Money Managers do . Professional Money Managers go to cash because theyre worried about the markets or, you know, whatever. Idat gets into market timing. What about indl investors though . I think they can fall into the same trap, but individual investors seem to like the idea of retreating to cash in volatile markets, and it does provide sort of a shortterm relief. But the problem is thats replaced with wts immediate a nagging sense of, is it time to get back in. Right, right. S you haveind of swapped one worry for another. I think it is a losers game. Even professional Money Managers have trouble pulling those bets off with consistency. On that note, christine benzc thanks so christine, with morning star. Thank you. Bj wholesales Digital Strategies paying off. Thats where we begin tonights market focus with the warehouse retailer topping earnings estimate thanks to an increase in membership fees. The company said investments in same day delivery, digital coupons and its buy online, pick up in store strategy, all are helping tora a new customers. That stock soared more than 17 today to 26. 42. Ohr mel reported better than expected earnings but listed a number of challenges including the higher cost of avocados and volatile pork prices. That ate into profits in the grocery business, butyhe compas able to reaffirm the fullyear outlook and the stock rose neay 5 today to 42. 95. Dicks Sporting Goods reported higher samestore sales for the first time in two years. The retai topped earnings estimates and raised its fullyear guidance. The comny also plao open new stores and says it is less worried right now about the impactarffs on consumers than it once was. Shares were up more than 3 today to 34. 15. 1800flowers lost moneye i most recent quarter despite sporting a rise in revenue. The company sawong demand for the gourmet food and gift baskets but it wasnt enough for investors. The stock wilted foive the pun to 17. 06. After the bell sales and profit slipped at the gab. I Old Navy Brand saw the worst comparable sales figure in three years. E retaile described the current environment as, quote, challenging. Shares were volatile hours trading and it closed the regular session up more than 4 to 17. 75. Also after the bell, salesforce reported betterhan expected profit and sales on higher demand for its cloud softwarpa the c also raised its fullyear guidance. Shares initially rose in after hours trading. They closed the regular session up a fraction to 148. 24. An week we have b focusing on the consumer and how changing buyingabits are affecting the economy in different sectors. Tonight weook at the fitness industry. People are spending a lot of money on their health right tno, t could be the first expense to take a hit if the economy falters. Diana olick tonight takes a look at the american consumer. Reporter the business of sweat is heating up. Currently fitness is my priority. Reporter a recild 71on consumers use some kind of health club last year. Because i felt like health is wealth. Reporter but theyre not just doing it in big box gyms. The biggest growth sector is boutique, names like barrys bo camp, soul cycle, zhango, club pilates, shadow box, rumble, plate fit to name a few. Since last year Health Club Industry profit is up 8 to 32 billion dollars according to the International Health racket and sports club association. In 2017e bouti made up 40 of the market, up 125 in five years. Compare i to 18 growth for big gyms. Boutique conmers pay twice as much a month. Streaming home fitness is also growing past. Peloton, beach body, diet, tracy anderson, th daily burn, the mirror. Tight, tight, tight. Reporter in a survey of a sweat life, largely millennial readership, last year 21 of respondents were spending on gital, more than twice the share in 2016. Peloton is the giant with plans to go public. Investors have put about 94 miion into peloton a the company is valued at 4. 15 billion. According to an interview with cnbc early this year. Planet fitne o is one the few publicly traded companies. Its stock is way up yeartodate with strong sales and it has doubled iocations in nearly 2,000 since 2014, in all 50 states. But analysts are warning of a slowdown if we go into a irecession. Ouldnt be able to probably afford the gym membership i have now. It is like 20 anth. I probably would have to drop it down to the 10 a month. I thinkld probably w have to make some adjustment, maybe work out without the gym if it was that much of hard times that i fell r on. Reporost fitness is backed by big private capital, but with spending on fitness so high and rising, most nnvestors ar sweating a potential turn. For nightly Business Report, im diana olick in washington. Ou coming up, a look inside a spaceport that iof this world. There are r tonight that the Trump Administration is preparing to release a pla which would return freddie mac and fannie mae to private the Mortgage Companies have been under government control since the financial crisis. According to the wall street journal, the plan would fture a recapitalization of both companies and possibly a public Stock Offering to help bolster their balance sheets. The process could take several years. Speaking of which, Mortgage Rates are still at a threeyear low t according freddie mac. Borrowing costs on the 30year fixed rate are at 3. 55 . The 15year is at 3. 03 . Mortgages loosely tracked the yield on that tenyear treasury, which as you know has been declining sharply. Telecom companies and attorneys generaln every state are teaming up to fight robocalls. They say they will work with Law Enforcement to investigate t calls origins. The attorney general of North Carolina says he hopes that agreement will help shine a t light on shady activity. Finally tonight, a peek into the future. Where d you picture yourself waiting before you board a flight into space . Morgan brennon recently got a look inside Virgin Galactics new spaceport. Mp this istant data to share with you some of the progress and to declare operational readine for spaceport america. Reporter the gateway to space. Thats wha Virgin Galactic is calling the new home in the new mexico desert. Departing gateway to space. Reporter they have officially movedm the t from over 100 employees as it gets ready to open for business. It hopes to send customers to the tune of 250,000 to the edge ofpace starting next year. Orangesalactics ce says it will help the company achieve the ambitious goals. We areocused on the operations here in southern new mexico. To e are unique advantage spaceport america, number one being restricted airspace. That is terrific and willo allo us operate at a high flight rate. Obviously it is a tremendously exciting time for commercial space around the planet. Reporter Virgin Galact p is unveilinse one of the facility. Top floor will be home to operational furngsdi inc Mission Control which will house up to 30 engineers and other employees during flight while the bottom floor has been transform into a lounge and waiting area for customers, nd family. Rgin this big unveil, galactic is not only pitching customers but investors as well. Since it is in the process of merging with social cital to become the first publicly traded commercial human space flight company. Ceo George Whiteside says with more than 600 customers signed up and thousand more potential customers inquiring, he sees a path to profitability. I think it is probably evidence in some of the financial p put out there. Ve we think it is a very profitable business once we start commercial operations. Obviously this is not something that you can go do very in any other places, so there are premiums attached to that. Obviously our numbeus one f is on safe operations right from the start. Reporter though the actual space shi not yet in new m mexico, theher ship, the duel fuselage aircraft that carries the space plane to an altitude to lnch is already there. Virgin is currently building two more space craft and will have room i the hangar to eventually fit two mother ships and five space ships for nightly Business Report, im morgan brennon. Before we go, here is a look at the days final numbers from wall street. Eow finished the day up 49 points to 26,252. The nasdaq fel 28 and the s p 500 was down one. T t is nightly Business Report for tonight. Im sue herera. Thanks for joining us. Want to remind you this is the time of year your Public Television station souks support. Im bill griffeth. Thank you for that support. Have a great evening. See you tomorrow. Woman this is bbc world news america. Is made possible by. The freemadation; by judy and peter blumkovler foundation, pursuing solutions for americas neglected needs; and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. Thyou