We begin tonight with records on wall street. Lots of them. And the woman who made them happen. Blue chip dow index, the s p 500, the small cap russell 2000 make new highs today. The nasdaq has its third highest close ever and it was all because of one person. The Federal Reserve chair janet yellin. In testimony today on capitol hill yellin didnt say too much about future rate hikes but didnt say too little. The markets interpreted as what she did say just enough to keep the door open for a later than mid Year Interest Rate ride. She made it clear the central bank will consider rate hikes on a meeting by meeting basis but she made no promises. With that the Dow Jones Industrial average closed in record territory with a gain of 92 points and 18,209. Nasdaq rose 7 points tenth straight gain there. Its strongest win streak since july 2009 and s p 500 up nearly 6. Yellins comments sent the yield on the tenyear bond back below 2 . Steve liesman with more on todays testimony. Reporter in testimony before the Senate Banking committee, the fed chair, janet yellin gave no hint on when the fed rate hike in nine years will come. It depends on the data. And as long as the word quote, patient is in the statement, there wont be a rate hike for at least two meetings. If sees the assessment that it can be patient in beginning to normalize policy means that the Committee Considers it unlikely the Economic Conditions will warrant an increase in the range for the federal funds rate for at least the next couple of fomc meetings. Reporter it was an essentially neutral message that saw as dovish. The fed wont hike rates in june but it could just as well have been seen as preserving the feds flexibility to decide at the march meeting to signal rate hikes this summer. Yellin maintained an upbeat view on the economy and said oil prices would be a net benefit for consumers but said theres still room for improvement citing slow wage growth and inflation running below the feds 2 target. Yellin was grilled as expected by democratic senator from massachusetts, elizabeth warren. This time over the issue of what warren said were criticisms of a dodd frank financial reform bill by the feds chief council, scott alvarez. Do his criticisms reflect your criticisms or the the criticisms of the federal board . I think i personally and the board considers dodd frank to be a very important piece of legislation. This has provided a road map for us to put in place regulations. I appreciate that madam chairman but i need a yes or no here. Do his criticisms reflect your criticisms . Certainly not seeking in any way to alter dodd frank at this time. Reporter from the gop, yellin strongly questioned by senators on whether dodd frank is too tough on banks. Reducing lending. Its a prelude to possible changes that could come in the new Republicancontrolled Senate this year. Yellin likely faces an even tougher grile house with more support from conducting Monetary Policy according to rules dictated by congress and for bills to audit making a Monetary Policy. Both ideas yellin strongly opposed today. For nightly business report, im steve liesman. Chief global economist at deutsche assets and wealth management. Nice to have you back. Nice to be here thanks. Do you agree basically with the chairmans assessment of how the the economy is doing is doing . I think the economy is improving but its not complete. Theyre lacking in the labor market although weve made a lot of progress in whittling it down particularly over the last year or so. Are you in the camp josh that the fed will raise Interest Rates this year . I do. I think that its not a sure thing and i think the real takeaway from the yellin testimony today is flexibility. I think what shes doing is carving out as much as to maneuver from the fed to responsible from incoming events. So shes not committed to moving at a particular time but not closed the door to doing that either. I think it depends on how the economy evolves. Their confidence in the ability get inflation to rise back to target at least over the next couple of years. One of the issues has been the income inequality that she feels and other members of the fed feel very strongly about. If the economy is improving, one of the disconnects is the fact that theres so much income inequality. That seemed to bother the chairman today. Its an issue she mentioned there, both structural longterm that nothing the fed can do about but also cyclical forces. A stronger labor market, a tighter labor market could help in that regard to tilt towards labor. But no means, would that offset all of the longer term structural trend. Would you expect to see wage growth this year josh . After years of basically declining or flat wages, now that the market is a little tighter, job growth is going up we are seeing some signs. Do you expect it will accelerate . I do but i think it will be gradual gradua i th the improvement and the tightening will help and i think over time that will be the lift that we need, but its not likely to happen very quickly. You know, josh tell me where you think the growth in the economy is going to come from. Last year we saw a lot of technology saw a lot of innovation in technology. What areas of the economy do you think are firing on all cylinders right now if any at all . I think households are in better financial shape. Recovering house prices lower Interest Rates, Lower Oil Prices so i think theyre well positioned. I think housing has continued to recover. And business could catch up there as well. One area that may struggle is exports, of course given the sluggishness abroad and the stronger dollar. But the fundamentals should carry the day. If the fed does rate Interest Rates later this year do you expect that it will follow what i would accustom to as a usual historical pattern, it might go a quarter point at one time and then another quarter point or will it be more irregular . I think its really going to depend on the evolution of the economy. I dont think the fed will map out a prescription and say, okay were going to move points every so often. I think there will be more response than reactive to that. But i do think at least in the early stages, theyll probably err on the side of moving gingerly to see how the economy reacts looking for any signs of Collateral Damage when they raise rates. Nice to have you with us. Josh kline man with deutsche assets and wealth management. Home depot pushed the new high after reporting results that Beat Estimates on the top and bottom line. The the retailretailer announced the Buyback Program and hikes dividends 62 cents a share. Best performing stock on the index. Courtney reagan takes a closer look at what drove the chains earnings higher. Reporter the Worlds Largest imimprovementt retailer going into the most important quarter on a high note. Fourth quarter revenue handily beat expectations and sales at stores open at least a year gained the most in six quarters. However, home depot executives are reluctant to attribute sales growth solely to broader Housing Market trends. Saying the recovery still has room for improvement. When it comes to guidance for the coming year home depot points to broader Economic Growth as the key driver. The Housing Market is improving both from starts of new construction as well as sales of existing homes. The job market is improving, the stock market is strong. All of these things and housing prices go up. These make consumers feel wealthier. While it may not be a retailer associated with a stronger season, black friday was the biggest sales day in history and Record Online orders and traffic during its cyber week. Overall, its a good day to be a home depot shareholder. Shares are surging plus the retailer ups the dividends and buys back stocks. However, home depot did provide a cautious forecast for the year citing a strong u. S. Dollar and said it cant yet estimate the total cost of last years data breach. Im concerned that we dont have data or more quantity. Reporter while theres a tentative Labor Agreement at west coast ports, acknowledges its uncertain how long it will take to get through the backlog. For the Home Improvement retailer, the spring quarter is the most important. Though getting merchandise to stores is a particular concern right now. But analyst allen said because of recent years of heavy investment and supply chain, home depot is less exposed to disruptions, though certainly y immune. For nightly business report, im courtney reagan. Job and wage growth plus Overall Economic confidence is having a positive impact on toll brothers. The luxury Home Builders saw profits nearly double as demand improved in january quarter on that. The Company Listed the guidance for 2015 and moved up nearly 4 today. Home prices last year grew at the weakest pace in three years. Latest s p home shiller price index today showed the prices up 4. 6 in 2014. In the month of december prices accelerated slightly but full year growth lagged. To greece where the country secured a four month extension of the rescue package after finance ministers approved greeces reform plans. The measures include improved tax collection and reducing fraud. In a statement, the euro group called on greece to further develop and broaden the list of reforms. European Central Bank Head mario draghi calls a valid starting point. Running out, will lawmakers manage to avert a shutdown of the department of Homeland Security . Steve jobs would have turned 60 years old today and his birthday comes on a day when shares of the largest publicly traded company hit a high. But losed later in the section fractionally later at 132. 17 but over the past year shares of apple have rallied 75 . J. P. Morgan announced changes at annual investor meeting today. The firm defended the banks size and scale, calls for a breakup. Its also aiming to reduce certain deposits up to 100 billion by the end of the year and its prepared to charge large institutional customers for deposits with new regulations to cuts costs and close 300 branches over the next two years as more customers choose to bank online. The Justice Department reportedly banking whether some biggest banks manipulated the price of some precious metals. According to the wall street journal, bark lees, j. P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank prosecutors reportedly examining the price setting process for gold, silver, platinum and plainium. President obama vetoes the Keystone Pipeline bill. Warned he would veto in private without fanfare. Officials said a veto of the legislation was coming since it circumvented the process to determine whether the project is in the best interest in the country. In washington the clock ticking down on a shutdown of the department of Homeland Security and Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell now offering to allow a vote on legislation to fund the agency strip the provisions that would undo president obamas executive order deferring deportations of some individuals residing legally in the u. S. Funding for the department is set to expire midnight friday. John harwood is in washington with more on the latest developments. Whats new, john . Reporter whats new, tyler, is that senator Mitch Mcconnell the republican leader came meeting with members of the caucus today and gave in. Said okay ill allow a clean vote on a straightup funding bill for the department of Homeland Security. Not insist on blocking president obama on immigration as part of that vote and asked democrats to cooperate with him. Interestingly, harry reed whos been asking for just such a clean vote said he wont agree to go along with this approach at this moment until he gets some assurances from House Speaker boehner that the house is going to pass a clean bill. Doesnt want to get involved in a back and forth. So the stalemate is getting closer to being resolved but not yet. I was going to say, how do you think this would end up . Handicap this for us. Reporter i think whats likely to happen is that the senate will pass the claim bill. The house will send back some sort of temporary funding measure, the senate will say, okay and theyll keep fighting in months to come. Lets switch to the Keystone Pipeline. Where does that stand and whats next . Reporter its vetoed but the white house reiterated what they signaled earlier. This is not a veto of the merit. This is the process. You alluded to that in the leadin, tyler. They say this is circumventing the state department review. It says they dont have major objection to this as a matter of environmental impact. So i think really this is a political positioning by the white house to try to initiate some sort of back and forth negotiation between the white house and the congress that may still end up despite todays veto in an approval of the project. I was going to say, was that a softening of the administrations position or sound like its a way to get back to the table and talk this thing through. Reporter i think the latter sue. It was not a new position to reiterate where the white house has been all along and because republicans have been so insistent on this president obama doesnt seem to have very strong feelings one way or the other. Hes holding back and saying if you want this so badly, give me something on my agenda like alternative forms of energy. John harwood reporting tonight in washington. We begin tonights market focus with disappointing s and guidance from macys. The Department Store chain offered a cautious profit outlook after reporting sluggish sales for the holiday quarter. Sales and margins in the Current Quarter would be hurt by disruptions at west coast ports. Shares tumbled to close at 62. 10. Hewlett packard saw profits fall as sales of Desktop Computers fell sharply from a year ago and from the different segments. Results come as hp preparing pc business from its corporate hardware business. Along with its results, the company said it would take a charge of more than 1 billion because of that separation. Shares dropped off initially after the bell. Before the close, the stock was slightly higher to 34. 99. And lending club saw shares crash. The online loan marketplaces quarterlies mostly in line with estimates but profit forecast for the year fell below consensus. As you can see on that chart, the stock initially fell after the bell before the close, the stock was off a fraction to 23. 65 23. 65. Comcast, the largest tv operator in the u. S. Fourth quarter revenue with internet customers and increased the Buyback Program to 10 billion and hiked its dividend to a dollar a share. The yield now about 1. 5 . Shares were almost a dollar higher at 59. 17 and comcast is the Parent Company of cnbc which produces this program. Dominos pizza reported earnings that missed wall streets estimates. E compa did see revenue rise as it benefitted from stronger sales at home and pushed overseas. The overseas deliveries do take longer but still, shares fell 1001 1 . Sun power reported earnings and revenue that came above estimates but guidance for the First Quarter below estimates. Shares way up on news that its in talks with first solar on a joint venture. First solar reported that the earnings easily topped estimates. But revenue had First Quarter guidance. Sun power surging about 18 to 32. 80 and after the first shares initially, before the close, that company was up 10 to 54. 70. Well that joint venture between first solar and sun power could result in an entity known as a yield co where the capital generated from the yieldco. Is used for the power projects. Its a growing trend in the industry but as Morgan Brennan explains even though theyre relatively new and only a few of them. Yield co. S are getting a lot of attention. Reporter first solar and sun power in advanced talks to spin some talks into a Health Venture shining light on a new type of investment. The yield co. Like a limited partnership but power instead of energy. They consist of assets that produce income from longterm contracts with utility. In many cases, the very ones theyve been spun out from. In turn the majority of the income paid out as dividends. One group its gaining popularity among investors and why first solar stocks soared on the news. Yield co. S are trading. If you do the simple math, 14 and people do the simple math roughly 63 stock. Reporter a tax advantaged structure, yield cos are seed organizations. Companies including first solar and sun power are doing this because its an inexpensive way to raise capital for future projects and given the relative stability, these assets can command a premium and r. G. Energy the first to spin out to nrg yields. Since then several others followed suit including sun that took power public last summer. Industry executives would like to see the theconcepts more. We would like to be more valued. As more people come in and theres more various yield cos, i think it will go up. I would like to see 20 to 30 yield cos. Reporter there are risks. Liquidity is one of them and yield cos like utilities are vulnerable to rising Interest Rates and growth is dependent on the future success of the Parent Companys project pipeline. Still, investors seem to have taken a shine. From next era nrg partners to Pattern Energy group all up double digit percentages. For nightly business report, im Morgan Brennan. Coming up things may be up and running at the west coast ports, at least for now. But for some Small Businesses the economic damage is still some new details on that massive hack at anthem. The second Largest Health insurer in the u. S. Said as many as 18 million customers of nonanthem Blue Cross Blue Shield plans were impacted by the attack. The Company Found nearly 79 Million People in all had their information accessed by the hackers. Slightly below the initial count of 80 million. And the federal bureau of investigation is offering a 3 million reward for information leading to the arrest of a russian hacker. The cyber fugitive is accused of creating a computer virus that allegedly stole more than 100 million from online bank accounts. The fbi believes the man is currently in russia. And now to the west coast ports where its back to business at least for now. As both sides adhere to the temporary agreement reached late last week but Small Businesses impacted by that slowdown the damage may already be done. Kate rogers report reporter Business Owner paul kramer exports animal feed to the pacific rim from the California Base star milling company. He said he lost nearly 60,000 a week during the nine month slowdown at the west coast ports, but thats not even his biggest problem. What cramer is most worried about is losing customers for good. The biggest destruction that we have isnt necessarily the money on a week to week basis, its the customers that we potentially lose because then theyre out of business in places we send stuff to. Reporter a potential deal between the Pacific Maritime association and the International Long shore Warehouse Union wont bring back cramers losses and not convinced the agreement will stick either. Its great theyve come to a tentative agreement. What that means and where it will end up in a week i dont know. Reporter Jeff Williams and statewide director for the center of International Trade developm said the group represents nearly 1,000 Small Businesses across california who have been hit in varying ways by the port dispute. Williamson said the members have seen declines between 10 and 50 over the last six months due to the slowdown and for some, that is business thats gone forever. We are hearing that some companies are losing orders and the impact of losing an order or a particular sale it really depends on the situation. If its a company thats trying to land a new retailer lets say in asia or another part of the world, and their initial shipment is delayed, that may not help them in the long run. They might have a lot of problems really securing that account for the long run. Reporter a small Trucking Company tells me theyre being hit with fines daily from steamships for being unable to return shipping containers to the port due to the backlog. Theyve amassed 50,000 in fines in the past six months. And the west Coast Wine Group in napa said more than time and money, they lost trust with cliebt clients in asia who dont quite grapple the effect the port has had. Im kate rogers for nightly business report. Whats the best car money can buy . Consumer reports say the tesla model s. Thats the second year in a row the tesla is the best overall pick. Ranking based on reliability and safety data. Two other american cars made the list. The buick regal is the top sports sedan and the top large car. That does it for nightly business report. Im sue herera. Thanks for watching. Im tyler mathisen. Thanks from me as well. Well see tonight on revolutionaries. And then weve built our own virtual internet on top of the real internet. You know, we use our own routing protocols, our own communication protocols, our own app layer enhancements to make it go really fast, you know, the way you would build the internet if you owned the whole thing and were starting over. Tonight well learn how a 50,000 challenge grant in 1998 produced the technology that keeps much of the internet running today. Meet selfdescribed algorithm guy tom leighton, an mit professor turned corporate ceo, and learn the fascinating story of akamai