Consumer inflation jumps; Big telecom fights FCC; Facebook's news business

Stocks (^GSPC) are struggling to make headway as the dollar weakens against the Euro (EURUSD=X) and after consumer inflation rose for the first time in four months. 

The Labor Department reporting consumer pricesrose 0.2% in February, in-line with estimates.  

Yahoo Finance Senior Columnist Michael Santoli says a small bump up in prices likely will be considered by Wall Street as a good thing.

"It's probably what you wanted to see, a little bit of a perk up in inflation," he points out.  "This 'no-flation' trend is not something that we really welcomed."

However, Santoli notes higher inflation figures may now cause investors to be a bit more nervous about the Fed raising interest rates earlier than expected.

"It could go a little counter to what we heard last week with the Federal Reserve trying to push off the likely date of lift-off for interest rates," he notes.  "The inflation data now really have center stage because that is what the Fed is seemingly keying off of in the coming months."

Icahn moves the market again

Here’s a look at some of the stocks the Yahoo Finance team will be tracking for you today.

Chesapeake Energy (CHK) shares jumping. Activist investor Carl Icahn increased his stake in the shale gas producer to almost 11%, making him the second biggest shareholder in the company. Meantime, Chesapeake Energy announced further cuts to its capital spending budget for this year as it deals with lower oil and gas prices due to a supply glut.

Related: Icahn energizes Chesapeake; McCormick spices things up; Digital Ally soars

McCormick (MKC) shares are higher early trading. The spice maker posting earnings and revenue that topped analysts' forecasts. However, a stronger dollar took a toll on sales growth last quarter. 

Digital Ally (DGLY) shares are soaring after the maker of digital technology, such as wearable cameras used mainly by the law enforcement industry, swinging to a profit in the fourth quarter. That reverses a year ago loss as sales surged. Revenue jumped more than 54% from a year earlier.

Facebook (FB) shares also grabbing investor attention in early trading. The social networking giant is reportedly holding talks with media companies to host their content directly on the Facebook site. The New York Times reports that under the agreement, media organizations could get a slice of the advertising revenue that runs alongside their content.

Net neutrality goes to court

The FCC's net neutrality rules are facing their first legal challenge. The trade group, USTelecom, filed a suit claiming that the FCC stepped beyond its authority when determining net neutrality regulations. USTelecom's members include AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ).

U.S. auto makers are reportedly in talks with the United Auto Workers union to create a lower tier of pay. Bloomberg reports that this new rate for lower-skilled workers would help Ford (F) and General Motors (GM) compete with overseas car makers.