in the federal funds rate will be appropriate when it has seen some further improvement in the labor market and is reasonably confident that inflation will move back to its 2% objective over the medium term. after briefly rallying, the markets ended in negative territory. federal prosecutors have reached a settlement with general motors, capping a two-year investigation into how they handled a problem of faulty ignition switches. the deflect lingered for more than a decade. gm has agreed to pay $900 million and admits that it misled the government and public about the safety of its vehicles. general motors ceo spoke today about reaching this landmark settlement. >> this is a tough agreement. it further highlights the