>> our thanks to rick for filling in. >> we're back tomorrow. >> we are. >> happy memorial day weekend. join us from 6:00 to 9:00 a.m. >> and we will play more music and eat food. >> what's the disconnect? good morning, everyone. this is sunday morning futures. what is it going the take to kick start this economy? we will talk to a corporate power house and industry legend. what of the 42,000 jobs the keystone pipeline promises to bring. washington saying wait until the midte midterms. >> it looks like open season on

telecom mergers. >> good morning. multibillion dollar deal. a record high stock market and next week another reading on where we are in this stalled economy. my next guests know a thing or two about creating jobs and growth. he served as the chairman and ceo for five years and ran chrysler for several years. bob is still leading and investing through his company.

u.s. corporate tax rate stands at 35% and that has motivated some of the largest cooperations to park their money overseas in countries that grab much less of a tax bite than we do. as f last year, nearly $2 trillion has been stored outside of our borders. that's an increase from the year before. the top five are ge, microsoft, merk, and apple. the majority of fortune 500 companies permanently invest offshore and some have managed to avoid all taxes on profits.

a u.s. company can also buy a smaller foreign one and reincorporate as a non-u.s. form to avoid u.s. taxes. pfizer could move to reincorporate in great britain if their deal goes through. and stem jobs, special visa jobs for science and engineering but some say there is no shortage of qualified americans for those posts. even if the company does proudly remain american, it seems more and more are putting their money where uncle sam simply cannot grab a piece of it. >> thanks very much. all great points. what about that? you have run many multinational corporations.

how should tax reform change? >> there is no question. i think it's important to state that this is all legal. it's all within the confines. i think the other thing we should talk about is how u.s. corporations might be disadvantaged in competing in similar sectors where their competition are all off shore. going to the market they have a heavier burden on the tax rate. i can understand why corporations are keeping money offshore either to invest in offshore acquisitions, maybe to invert, move the headquarters and save more tax. so we have got to do something in washington to encourage the repateuation. i think the energy policy will

encourage as energy costs go down. >> people are so frustrated with our leaders playing politics instead of leading. we have been talking about the need for tax reform for so long. why can't we get it done? >> we do need tax reform but it's probably not going to happen until the next election cycle. this is an issue of global competitiveness. our companies here cannot compete unless something is done about it. if they are not unlocking value, then the activists will be after them. >> what about activists? you have seen a number come and try to make change and effect change at companies. you had carl micahn.

companies and their boards have got to be on their game. >> you have got they are flexing their muscles and going in and acquiring a position. wh

what. >> you mentioned earlier that you're seeing growth and energy and i know you're also investing there. but you ran home depot for so long what's your sense of the second half of the year? >> we certainly had a strong first half in the recovery. we could certainly see some slow down. but i think housing is a good indicator. so i would be -- keep a watchful eye on the second half. >> what's behind all of these mergers. >>. >> now they see an economy that is improving.

>> looking for growth in a slow growth environment overall. >> thank you. have a great memorial weekend. >> and to you. will a merger mania undermine the quality of your entertainment services or is it much adieu about nothing? more as we look ahead on sunday morning futures. my dad has atrial fibrillation, or afib. he has the most common kind... ...it's not caused by a heart valve problem. dad, it says your afib puts you at 5 times greater risk of a stroke. that's why i take my warfarin every day. but it looks like maybe we should ask your doctor about pradaxa. in a clinical trial, pradaxa® (dabigatran etexilate mesylate)... ...was proven superior to warfarin at reducing the risk of stroke. and unlike warfarin, with no regular blood tests or dietary restrictions. hey thanks for calling my doctor.

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>> welcome back. congressional lawmakers promising to hold hearings on at&t's proposed acquisition of direct tv. just months after comcast's deal to acquire time warner cable.

jessica cohen is senior entertainment analyst with merrill lynch. good to have you on the program. >> good to be here, thank you. >> all of this consolidation from direct tv and at&t. can you explain what is behind this? i feel like we're back in the 90s. >> absolutely. scale matters. it really does matter. in the case of comcast, they are going be in 24 of the top 25 markets. and that means a lot of things for them. they can go into the sme, small and medium enterprise business. over time they are going to get into wireless. mobile video is much bigger. do they go after national ad dollars? we're on the cusp of targeted

advertising making a big difference. all of the studios are talking about what a fabulous impact it has had for television and film. we are seeing content being used in many ways. scale matters because you want to reach the most consumers with the best product and be able to offer it across multiple platforms. >> the bigger you are, better positioned you are in tv, broadband, internet, contents. wireless. we have one player that will basically be our entertainment everything? >> obviously that's what they are hoping. they would hope to get you -- hope to have you for their suite of products. they have really changed the entertainment landscape. most new yorkers can't wait to get this product. you see a fantastic search and

recommendation. it is a different user interface than we have ever had. they are going into the biggest markets and what they found so far is that people are finding 40% more channels. they are watching more channels. in neilson homes it's five plus hours. in comcast homes it's seven plus hours. it's everybody in the home. people taking their devices into bed. >> let me ask you about sort of the downside. should our customers expect to see higher bills? you have one provider that may very well control your tv, your broadband, your wireless, will my prices go up? already we're paying a lot. >> i think all of the proposed

mergers will come with conditions, that's for sure. in many ways this may help on the cost side. programming costs have been growing 10% or double digits over the last ten years i want to say. and so from a programming perspective, they're really nervous. but it's inevitable. costs can't keep going up at this rate. it may help the biggest cost, which is programming, to really slow down. >> it's an interesting point. today in an area of the economy, people are spending less and less on consumer goods but they are still paying a lot on their cable bill. that's where customers put their money. and that's getting expensive. >> it is expensive. but you are getting more products.

>> the reality is that the big companies with the best quality content, their content is being used in many different ways and becoming more valuable. the margins are higher. finally there is competitors to i tunes. >> that's true. a good point. i tunes has a market. >> like a billion dollars in revenue. and comcast is coming along and others will join in. they don't own the market. you are watching it, renting it. >> typically when you see these type of megamergers. it does have an impact.

>> happens. then comcast significantly increase the buy back. you want to own bigger capital returns. you will see a lot. all they did so far so far are cost synergies. >> great to have you on the program. as you remember those who gave their lives for our freedom this memorial weekend, we are taking you inside a program supporting the family members who serve on the home front. plus the keystone pipeline is with me today on how long he is willing to play the waiting game as we look ahead on sunday morning futures. starts with back pain... ...and a choice. take 4 advil in a day which is 2 aleve...

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>> this weekend we honor those that gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. the holiday takes on more weight this year as we watch the scandal unfold and we struggle to improve the treatment that our service men and women receive when they return home from overseas. even when the va can treat our troops, they need to make zu on their own. ken fisher joining us. >> thank you so much for not just joining us but really for what you do. explain to our audience the program. all we have been hearing are such bad treatments and actually fisher is -- something that works. >> we build houses, homes away

from home. for families, wounded personnel or veterans to stay in for no charge for as long as the hospital stay dictates. it's a public private partnership. we build them. we gift them to which ever branch they will serve including the va and they agree to operate and maintain them. we have been doing this for 21 years and it actually works in the va system. we have had a great partnership with them. >> sons and daughters and husbands and wives are overseas fighting for the freedom of the usa. there is another part of the story of family.

military families when their loved ones are deployed they will make sacrifices that the average american has no concept of. what we try to do is in addition to our core mission is we try and bring to light these sacrifices and their plight. >> what needs to be done, do you think? what do the rest of us need to understand better about our military men and women and their families and how might the public be able able. .

>> not enough any more. >> what's going to move the the package forward. >> it's a meaningful way.

. >> you can't just be be meaningless. >> i'm glad you did. shout out there. thank you so much. >> will he wait for washington or build a different pipeline. straight ahead on sunday morning futures.

>> i'm eric shawn. chilling surveillance video emerging at the deadly shooting rampage at the university of california. elliot roger opened fire. one person was shot and killed there. authorities say roger shot and stabbed his victims at multiple crime scenes killing a total of six people and injuring 13 before killing himself. thousands of students held vigils to remember the victims.

>> the pope making a plea for peace calling the stalemate there unacceptable. i'm eric shawn. now back to sunday morning futures. now i will see you at 12 noon here on the fox news channel. >> a decision in washington on the keystone pipeline project becoming mess and less likely. it would have forced a vote on keystone. now that remains in limbo. how long will tentative patience hold out? russ, go to have you on the program. how long are you willing to wait? give us the status check of where we are?

>> we're over 2,000 days in, which is longer than it should have taken. 17,000 pages of ajal sis all that point to the pipeline should get built. we have been very patient today. this has been a tough and frustrating process. i'm a believer that at the end of the day the right thing will occur. that voit is being filled by railcars which is potentially more dangerous to the public. you need to get them done. transcanada will remain committed to it. and for the foreseeable future, i don't see that changing. >> i know this is totally laced with politics but do you think it's partly the rail contingency that doesn't want this build?

is this environmentalists who are saying heavy cross-suit is dirty? >> 100% the latter. we work hand in hand with the rail industry and actually we're looking at alternatives to keystone right now that will bridge the gab to when it gets build. to make sure that we can move that product that is growing every day from canada and the balkan as well. they understand that we have a common interest in pipeline safety. the issue is anti-fossil fuel activists who want to make sure that all oil stay on the ground. their focus is trying to keep the oil sands in the ground which it is a misguided

approach. >> that oil is going to come out in alberta. what are your options? let's say that politics continue here and keystone, the rest of this pipeline is not built, what do you do? >> the industry has responded. product by 600, 700,000 barrels a day. we have seen all of that move on to the rails and that will continue, as i said. as far as other pipeline options, we're building, working on building a large million barrel a day project to the east coast. once you get water born you can move anywhere in the world including back into the united states. you don't require presidential perm permit. >> there is a movement right now to get this decision making out

of president obama's hands. do you think that could be happening and then you would, you know, divert all of this political situation? >> our approach has not been one of getting this involved in politics. i would actually like to get it extracted from the political process. we are supportive of any process that will allow us to get to a decision sooner rather than later. it doesn't create emissions. it is safer than the alternatives. it's very clear on all of the front. we should be able to move to a decision as quickly as possible. >> why do you think that the state department has come out with several reports saying that this is safe and this can be done safely, then what's holding it back? >> that's a good question. i don't have the answer to that. if i did, i might be able to

advance this faster. you know, obviously that's the frustrating part for us. we have done everything we possibly can. we have jumped over every hurdle and hoop. we have 59 conditions who said 17,000 and now it's just five reports. all that have pointed in the direction of approval. we continue to wait. i don't have an answer as to what gets us over. >> you have other deals in progress as well. energy east. >> production is up. we need more than keystone. we need multiple pipelines. we need other projects.

a good chunk of that actually comes from the u.s. if we can build a pipeline that will take western canadian crude to be able to access the water. we have got to plan for a port plan, if we can get on the water, then we could get the eastern sea board in the united states and hit the gulf coast, there are many alternatives that producers and refiners are looking at to get around the current delay. >> in terms of co-stone, have you spoken to counter parts in china, in india as a back up? if this oil does not make it into the united states, are you prepared to take the oil the product to china and asia? >> the notion that the oil sands is going to stay in the ground is totally misguided. we have seen not only the asians

but the french that product will get developed. it will make it to export points and go to mostlogical call markets. united states, yourp and asia. canada is going work hardest to deliver as responsibly as it can. >> thank you so much. >> thank you for having me. >> now a look at what's coming up. good morning. what are you working on? >> i have got an exclusive interview with merielle hemingway. we're going to focus on the va hospital scandal. and why this scandal seems to have hez nated with the public and press.

>> that's certainly one of the big stories. it makes me remember what jeff zuker said the other day. i wonder if you covered this. he's not going to get bullied into covering benghazi. >> a really interesting comment with this va hospital scandal, it seems to me that democrats as well as republicans are focusing on how bad this is. >> thanks so much. we will see you in 20 minutes. back to one of the top stories of the day and that is the recall crisis. a lot of vehicles with the deadly problem are still on the road. plus the keystone pipeline and a lot more as we look ahead on sunday morning futures.

>> welcome back. okay. wrap your brain around this one. since the 2009 auto bail-out, gm has sold 12.1 million cars and trucks. in that same time frame it has recalled 13.8 million vehicles. the feds fining gm the maximum $35 million but keep in mind the giant has made over -- generated over 30 billion revenue last quarter alone. is raising fines the solution

here? ed rollins was principle adviser to president reagan. he is also a fox news political analyst. the word on the fed is john's specialty. good to see you both. these numbers are mind boggling. are there cars that have not been recalled yet? >> i'm sure there are. i think it has damaged gm dramatically and obviously the new president there is trying to get this thing out of the way. if you're going to buy a new car, which will help move this economy forward, are you going to go buy a gm car? it's not like one or two but it's been a dramatic recall effort. it wouldn't give me confidence. >> it's troubling to see that number of cars recalled, john.

>> we look at the bank bailouts. it seems that citi group is always at the middle of bail outs. >> they have handled it well. >> you wonder when the blue chip companies are going to get their acts together. >> the public gets angry and upset. so from auto to oil, let's take a look at what's happening in the energy space. this is one space that everybody says is the low hanging fruit, which is the opportunity for job creation. >> that's correct. i think this deal is dramatic. first of all, it diminishes these sanctions that we try to put on russia at this point in time. russia has made a deal.

the decision on the keystone pipeline. >> putin met with the prime minister of china? >> they walked away with a 30 year deal valued at $400 billion for natural gas supplies that are equivalent to what the state of new york consumes every year. this was the biggest business news that happened in the past week happened in shanghai. i think it's remarkable. >> and gigantic construction on both sides. >> wow. >> the united states, the obama administration is talking about a pivot to asia. we have a conflict with the russians, putin turned around, did a bift pivot and walked away with a deal that is very good for the russians and the chinese. >> and the europeans can't deepen the sanctions because they're afraid. ukraine, you're going to pay

cash and you're going to pay up front. who knows if he's going to do that with the europeans. >> strongest economy in europe and china, one of the strongest economies in the world, you can basically have pretty strong -- >> putin protected his flank. if there is push back, you have now got a huge push back. these are clean energy supplies so the chinese, the chinese are willing to pay up for it. they actually got a great deal in this case from the russians. >> we will take a short break. more on this with john and ed. the unofficial kick off to the summer season or the year's half way mark and yet still we're bumping along the bottom. what is it going to take to jump start the economy? we will look as that as we look ahead on sunday morning futures. know the feeling? copd includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

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welcome back. we're back with our panel. john hilsenrath, ed rollins. steven ratner, chairman of willett advisers, former counselor to the u.s. secretary of the treasury. steve, thanks for joining the conversation. >> thanks for having me. >> i want to ask you about the economy where we are. tim geithner just out with his book "stress test." it's been seven years since the dark days or six years since the dark days. how would you characterize things? >> actually, i'm in the middle of reading tim geithner's book, and it gives you nightmares. it just brings back all of the fear and how close we really came to the abyss. and i think tim is a real american hero for what he did. and we're a long way back. we're not all the way back. we're in a slow growth economy for a whole bunch of reasons. and i don't really see that improving a lot. but at least we're growing. >> you know, part of the real stimulus and the boost to this economy, john, as you know, has been the federal reserve. >> right. >> and the qe-1, qe-2, qe-3. we're coming to the end of that

now. >> right. i think we're in a period with the markets and the fed where there's a calm before a storm. interest rates have been incredibly stable. long-term interest rates have come down a bit. stock markets have been stable. the fed is heading toward a battle later this year over when to start raising interest rates. that hasn't kicked in yet, but we see it as the unemployment rate continues to fall. as that comes down, there's going to be a really intense debate, i think in the second half of the year, and that could really unsettle markets and finally create a little volatility after it's been so settled for so long. >> it's really interesting because when you look at the stock market trading near all-time highs there are just no risks on the horizon. everything's great, right? or look at the bond market and they're really looking -- the bond market is telling you that there are risks out there when you see where interest rates in the ten-year, for example, hitting 2.48%. that was an important milestone that we reached last week. what do you think the bond market's saying, ed? >> 90% of the companies reported in the quarter very minimal -- no one met their expectations.

so my sense is it's telling you there's a real lack of confidence. and i think as steve points out this is a very slow recovery. it's not meeting anybody's expectations. nobody knows how long it's going to take us to get back to where we should be. >> was that something you focused on, the yield? >> i think what the bond market is saying is that it's really worried about what's going on in most of the developed world. that you have a slow to non-existent recovery in europe. i think the jury is still very much out on japan and whether prime minister abe's reforms are really going to work. so there's a flight to quality. there's a flight to treasuries as the safe haven in a potentially deflationary world and a slow recovery here. i've been pleasantly surprise the at how well the stock market has taken the fed's signals so far. so i'm cautiously optimistic the fed will be able to work its way through this without unnerving the markets. but we'll see. >> because companies are sitting on so much cash. >> well, that's part of it. but i think in the context of the size of the markets the amount the fed is tapering is really not a huge deal.

i think the prospect of interest rates rising is definitely out there but it's still a long way away. and i think the market is focused on the fact that although earnings are not growing fast they're at least -- they seem to be -- they seem to be reasonably solid. >> yeah. >> you know, maria, i think we're at an important point in the next couple of months where we're going to really get a read on this economy. a lot of people expected a big pickup in growth this year. it hasn't happened yet in part because of bad weather. we have to see in the next few weeks of data whether it materializes sxwlp we've got sill to come, we'll take a short break. then the one thing to watch for as we look ahead on "sunday morning futures." my panel will weigh in.

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and we are back with our panel. what is the one big thing to watch for the week ahead or weeks ahead? steven rattner, john hilsenrath, ed rollins. what are you watching? >> the ukraine election today is very important. and obviously it will make a difference whether the russians feel they can get someone they can deal with or whether they continue the tactics they've had. the more important thing domestically, though, is the va crisis. if this continues for another week or two, which i think it can, this is going to put this presidency in trouble. >> john. >> unemployment rate 6.3% in april. we're getting new numbers after memorial day. if that keeps coming down it could wake up the bond market and the stock market. >> and that means higher -- >> if it keeps coming down we could see interest rates going up. >> that's a negative for the stock market. what do you think, steven? >> i think the key issue is the u.s. economy. i'm watching every bit of economic data that comes out trying to figure out if john is

right or not. we'll see where we're headed. >> gdp out on thursday. that'll do it for "sunday morning futures." i'm maria bartiromo. have a safe and healthy memorial day, everybody. a heartfelt thank you to our troops for their service. "mediabuzz" with howie kurtz begins right now. on the buzz-meter this sunday the mainstream media ripping the obama administration for its bungling of the g gut-wrenching scandal at va hospitals. and outraged that the white house says the president learned about it from the press. >> it is lunacy to have shinseki, who is overseeing the va debacle, investigate anything. lunacy. >> and i think the president needs to step up. i think heads do need to roll at the va. >> the question is what on earth has taken everyone so long to address them? >> but were the media too slow to jump on these disclosures about secret waiting lists and patient deaths? and why has the story now gotten such tractio