SUSIE GHARIB: On Wall Street, a big day for the NASDAQ: it skyrocketed 140 points, or almost 4 percent, the biggest gain in two months. But investors are still jittery about earnings. The third quarter closes out in less than two weeks. And the weak euro is also on the worry list. It fell again today to a new low against the dollar. Suzanne Pratt takes a look at how the euro impacts corporate America.

SUZANNE PRATT, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: It looks like the euro's weakness is, once again, doing some damage across the Atlantic. So far, in the third quarter, Europe's common currency has lost more than 10 percent of its value, hitting a fresh low today of about 85 cents. And as the euro tumbles against the dollar, profits at U.S. multinationals with heavy exposure to Europe are coming under pressure. So far, big names like McDonald's (MCD), Gillette (G), DuPont (DD) and Procter & Gamble (PG) have warned that the euro will take a bite out of third-quarter earnings. And as confession season heats up in the coming weeks, experts say there could be additional euro-related warnings, especially in the tech sector, which does nearly a quarter of its sales in Europe. But most say the damage to third-quarter profits won't be as bad as investors fear.

BRUCE STEINBERG, CHIEF ECONOMIST, MERRILL LYNCH: The weakness of the euro is probably going to end up cutting one or two percentage points off of S&P 500 operating earnings in the third quarter. For individual companies, the effects may well be larger; but in the aggregate, it's only, at most, a couple of percentage points.

PRATT: Experts say the effects should be modest because companies use an average euro exchange rate to translate their profits, and also because many firms reduce their exposure to currency declines by hedging in foreign exchange markets. U.S. multinationals may weather the euro's effects in the third quarter, but some experts say the damage could escalate in the fourth quarter if the euro remains under pressure.

CHUCK HILL, DIR. OF RESEARCH, FIRST CALL: If it stays down at these levels in the fourth quarter, the impact is going to be a lot more severe. Particularly - I mean, in addition, we are starting to run out of some of the hedging benefits, and that hedging going forward is going to be at much weaker euro rates.

PRATT: So, how worried should U.S. investors be about the falling euro? Experts say, "not very." They explain, it's just one of many factors that could effect corporate profits in the third quarter. Suzanne Pratt, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, New York.

Nightly Business Report transcripts are available on-line post-broadcast. The program is transcribed by FDCH. Updates may be posted at a later date.

The views of our guests and commentators are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Community Television Foundation of South Florida, Inc. Nightly Business Report, or WPBT.

Information presented on Nightly Business Report is not and should not be considered as investment advice.

©2000 Community Television Foundation of South Florida, Inc.


09/19/2000: Joel Klein Is Leaving The Justice Department

PAUL KANGAS: The man who led the charge against Microsoft (MSFT) is leaving the Justice Department. Assistant Attorney General for Anti-Trust, Joel Klein, says he'll depart by the end of the month. And as Stephanie Woods reports, Klein's influence goes well beyond the Microsoft case.

STEPHANIE WOODS, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: From software to credit cards to airlines, anti-trust under Joel Klein took a high profile.

ERNEST GELLHORN, PROFESSOR OF LAW, GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY: Not only did he reset the agenda, he had a very well thought out approach. He brought careful cases. He had a marvelous success rate in the courts and he raised the division's profile into an effective advocate on behalf of consumers.

WOODS: The anti-trust division of the Justice Department blocked or altered 170 mergers under Klein's watch. The high profile WorldComm (WCOM)-Sprint (FON) hookup and Lockheed Martin's (LMT) deal with Northrop Grumman (NOC) were both abandoned after being challenged. He also oversaw enforcement of the Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM) and vitamin industry price fixing cases. But Joel Klein's legacy will be the monopoly case against Microsoft.

STEVE NEWBORN, ATTORNEY, ROGERS & WELLS: And I think, fortunately or unfortunately, good or bad, he's going to be remembered very much on whether or not the ultimate prosecution of Microsoft is successful. If it is, his name is going to go down in anti-trust history pretty significantly. If it isn't, he'll be looked upon fondly but just one of many former assistant attorney generals.

WOODS: Microsoft supporters hope if George W. Bush wins the White House, his anti-trust chief will drop the case against Microsoft. Legal experts say that's unlikely, but it could make the case easier to settle. Until the election, though, Klein's right hand man Doug Melamed will take the anti-trust reigns.

SCOTT CLELAND, ANALYST, LEGG MASON PRECURSOR GROUP: Doug Melamed is known as a very, very smart person, much like Joel Klein. I don't anticipate that there would be a big difference between the two.

WOODS: Klein says he will now seek new challenges. One thing is for sure, there'll be no shortage of companies willing to pay big bucks for his legal anti-trust advice. Stephanie Woods, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Washington.

Nightly Business Report transcripts are available on-line post-broadcast. The program is transcribed by FDCH. Updates may be posted at a later date.

The views of our guests and commentators are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Community Television Foundation of South Florida, Inc. Nightly Business Report, or WPBT.

Information presented on Nightly Business Report is not and should not be considered as investment advice.

©2000 Community Television Foundation of South Florida, Inc.

09/19/2000: iFulfillment Fulfills Internet Distribution Needs

SUSIE GHARIB: Point and click shopping is creating a booming business for distribution centers. Many old line fulfillment houses are cashing in on the soaring demand from Internet retailers. But as Diane Eastabrook reports, some new companies are, too.

DIANE EASTABROOK, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Inside ifulfillment, a building the size of a sports arena, workers are picking, packing and shipping shoes to Nordstrom (JWN) customers across the U.S.

CHRIS SANG, CHAIRMAN & CEO, iFULFILLMENT: This facility has the capacity for 25,000 to 30,000 orders per day at peak capacity. Our current throughput rate is about 5,000 to 7,000 a day.

EASTABROOK: Chris Sang launched ifulfillment nine months ago. He hopes to capitalize on the fulfillment industry. It is a $100 billion sector that is growing rapidly thanks to Internet retailing. Nordstrom is the company's first customer. ifulfillment is handling distribution of all Nordstrom non-store shoe orders because the retailer could not keep up with spiraling online sales at its own fulfillment center. This facility uses special technology designed to handle small orders that are common for Internet retailers. Sang says the technology sets ifulfillment apart from old line distribution centers that traditionally handle bulk orders.

SANG: This facility from the parking lot may look very much like many other facilities, but the difference is really in the internal process and the engineering that goes into doing efficient fulfillment for, let's say, a single pair of shoes or a single bottle of fragrance across a great diversity of products and also across a great diversity or order profiles.

EASTABROOK: But some analysts predict ifulfillment may not be unique for long. They expect many older distribution centers to adopt technology to more efficiently handle smaller orders. And more competition is coming to the segment. Both UPS (UPS) and FedEx (FDX) are getting into the act. Analysts predict ultimately the survivors will be those companies that offer the cheapest and most efficient service.

KEVIN SILVERMAN, INTERNET ANALYST, ABN AMRO: If they can stay best of class in cost structure, service to customer and in service to ultimately the end customer, then they have a shot to retain, you know, a higher share than people that aren't doing that.

EASTABROOK: ifulfillment is currently talking to nearly a dozen other companies about doing distribution for them and is also looking to open a second fulfillment facility nearly twice the size of this one in the first half of next year. Diane Eastabrook, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Bolingbrook, Illinois.

Nightly Business Report transcripts are available on-line post-broadcast. The program is transcribed by FDCH. Updates may be posted at a later date.

The views of our guests and commentators are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Community Television Foundation of South Florida, Inc. Nightly Business Report, or WPBT.

Information presented on Nightly Business Report is not and should not be considered as investment advice.

©2000 Community Television Foundation of South Florida, Inc.

09/19/2000: The Auto Industry Is Driving Up Business With The Internet

SUSIE GHARIB: Many new economy companies are finding new ways to make money off the Internet, but some old economy industries are doing that as well. Take, for example, the auto industry. BridgeNews Automotive Reporter Kevin Kelly has the story from Detroit.

KEVIN KELLY, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Your next link to the Internet will need both sufficient bandwidth and horsepower. With Americans spending an average of half a billion hours each week in their cars, the auto industry is focusing in on those commute times as a way to build new revenue channels. This profit opportunity has given birth to telematics, a combination of wireless communications, global positioning and onboard Mobile electronics that transforms automobiles into Internet portals. Richard Hilgert , analyst with Fahnestock and Company (FVH), believes telematics could be a multibillion dollar revenue stream for the car makers.

RICHARD HILGERT, ANALYST, FAHNESTOCK & COMPANY: The vehicle manufacturers are looking for different ways to continue to derive revenue on an ongoing basis from the vehicle population they have put out there and much like cable TV, telematics is going to afford the vehicle manufacturers this revenue stream on an ongoing monthly basis.

KELLY: General Motors (GM) was the first to make significant inroads into the telematics business when it launched its Onstar unit in 1996. Onstar provides 24 hour in vehicle concierge and emergency response services. The GM unit will launch its newest service, called virtual advisor, in the fourth quarter. Virtual advisor will provide a vehicle based, hands free connection to the Internet. With more than one million subscribers expected by the end of the year, Onstar gives GM a significant lead in the telematics race.

MARK HOGAN, PRESIDENT, E-GM: I think the fact that we've got such a large subscription base and that it's growing at such a rapid rate is very attractive to potential, what we call B Web partners, as well. That's a big advantage.

KELLY: Analysts predict Onstar will increase operating margins at GM by upwards of 30 percent within the next six years. That consistent revenue stream could help the industry shake its cyclical nature.

HOGAN: We've learned that through a subscription based revenue model you can take some of the cyclicality out of the business. Certainly Onstar is like that. Our other business unit that is on a subscription basis, Direct TV. So, yeah, we think it kind of levels out the playing field for us.

KELLY: But Onstar isn't the only game in town. In July, Ford Motor Company (F) announced it was joining forces with Qualcomm (QCOM) to create its own telematics unit called Wingcast (ph). Wingcast will give Ford and Nissan (NSANY) vehicle owners their own link to the Internet. Ford will use Wingcast, which will operate as a separate company once the service is launched in 2002, as its backbone for new innovations in telematics.

BRIAN KELLEY, CONSUMER CONNECT PRES., FORD MOTOR COMPANY: We have to be deeply, deeply involved in how the consumer thinks and how they use our products and we have to design and develop products that let the consumer stay in touch with their lives, with their information on a constant basis. The vehicle is the perfect vessel to do that with. It's really a portal on wheels.

KELLY: No matter how you cut it, the industry is betting that the continued popularity of the Internet will make telematics a significant profit center. Kevin Kelly, BridgeNews, for NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, in Detroit.

Nightly Business Report transcripts are available on-line post-broadcast. The program is transcribed by FDCH. Updates may be posted at a later date.

The views of our guests and commentators are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Community Television Foundation of South Florida, Inc. Nightly Business Report, or WPBT.

Information presented on Nightly Business Report is not and should not be considered as investment advice.

©2000 Community Television Foundation of South Florida, Inc.


09/19/2000: Commentary: Playing Credit Card 20 Questions

SUSIE GHARIB: If you've ever had your credit card rejected, you know how embarrassing it can be. Tonight's commentator has a few tips for dealing with that situation. Here's Irving R. Levine, Dean of International Studies at Lynn University and former economics correspondent for NBC News.

IRVING R. LEVINE, COMMENTARY: Few things are more embarrassing in the business world than having your credit card rejected. I know. The first time I tried to use a new credit card, it was rejected. I phoned the credit card company and a man named John asked my name, card number and mother's maiden name. Then John said my card had been refused because the restaurant had entered the wrong expiration date. I read him the date on my card, 03/02. No, that's the wrong date, I was told. OK, what is the correct date? I asked. I can't tell you on the phone, was the reply. Why not? I've identified myself. If my card has the wrong date, what's the right date? I can't tell you on the phone, but I can answer yes or no, came the tantalizing reply. I took the hint and started guessing the correct month. 01? No. 02? No. When I got to 06, the answer was yes. Then the same routine for the year. I told John, "I feel like I've just been on JEOPARDY." "You did very well," was the flattering reply. I doubt that guessing games are a routine practice for credit card companies. I may just have gotten a particularly helpful person. Still, if you have a problem that your credit card company refuses to deal with on the phone, ask if they'll just answer yes or no to your questions. It just might work. I'm Irving R. Levine.

Nightly Business Report transcripts are available on-line post-broadcast. The program is transcribed by FDCH. Updates may be posted at a later date.

The views of our guests and commentators are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Community Television Foundation of South Florida, Inc. Nightly Business Report, or WPBT.

Information presented on Nightly Business Report is not and should not be considered as investment advice.

©2000 Community Television Foundation of South Florida, Inc.


09/19/2000: Paul Kangas' Wall Street Wrap Up

PAUL KANGAS: The Dow Industrial Average moved up some 27 points in early Wall Street trading today, in a technical rebound, after falling 425 points, or 3.8 percent, in the previous four sessions. While the NASDAQ Index jumped 60 points at the outset, after tumbling 187 points, or 4.8 percent, in just the two previous trading days. The opening rally was soon undercut in the blue chip sector, when ALCOA (AA) warned third-quarter earnings would be well below expectations. But the tech stocks were a bit more tenacious in holding onto their early gains, thanks to good strength in bellwether Intel (INTC), which was upgraded by Bear Stearns brokerage, among others. At :00 a.m. then, the Dow posted a 38-point loss; while the NASDAQ Index was still up 40 points. Buyers continued to flock into the recently hard-hit technology sector for the rest of the session, but struggle as they did to keep pace, the blue chips faded, and the Dow Industrial Average fell to a closing loss of 19.23 points at 10,789.29. In today's 77-point trading range, the Industrial Average closed down almost 50 points from the best level of the session, and up only 27 points from the low of the day. The NASDAQ Composite came in with a gain of 139.12, ending at 3865.64. In its 139-point trading range, the Composite Index settled just a fraction below its very best level of the day. Big board volume surged a little over one billion shares, well up from yesterday. And we got about 18 million more shares of down volume than up volume.

The Dow Transport Index off a little over 14 1/2 points.

Exactly a 16 1/2-point drop in the Utility Index. They really took a hit.

And the Closing Tick +215, just modestly bullish.

Standard & Poor's 500 up a little over 15 points.

Nearly a 9-point run-up in the 100.

The MidCap 400 up 5.67.

And the Bridge Futures Price Index dropped just about 3/4 of a point.

New York Stock Exchange Composite up 1 1/3.

Similar gain in the Value Line.

Russell2000 Small Cap up 6 2/3.

And the Wilshire 5000 gained almost 168 points.

The bond market showed little reaction to the report of a 0.3 percent rise in August new housing starts, and with little else to influence traders, they did some buying in the recently hard-hit longer-term maturities, figuring they were due for a reflex rally from an oversold condition.

A decline in New York oil futures was another factor, boosting tax-free and corporate issues to 1/8-point closing gains.

While the Treasury market ended mostly higher.

Not the 5-year notes, which fell 2/32.

But the 10-year notes up 5/32, with the yield at 5.86 percent.

The 30-year bond rallied at 20/32.

And the Lehman Brothers Long-Term Treasury Bond Index up nearly seven points.

The blue chips tried to keep pace with that nice rally in the high tech sector. Just couldn't do it. The Dow ends with a loss of just about 19 1/4 points. The broader market just barely lower, not even a 14 to 13 negative ratio. Only 62 new highs for the year; 122 new lows.

Chase Manhattan (CMB) topped the active list, edging up $0.31 on 12 1/2 million shares. The company is going to acquire Fuji Bank's U.S. trust business but no terms were announced today.

AT&T (T) fell $0.81.

Lucent Technologies (LU) in that strong high tech group up $0.94.

Micron Technology (MU) had a big day on the up side, rising $7.25 after the Chase Hambrecht & Quist Brokerage began covering the stock with a "strong buy" and a $120 a share target.

Nortel Networks (NT) participating in the rally, up $2.88.

ALCOA (AA) down $2.63. As I mentioned earlier, the company's warning third quarter earnings will be far below expectations in the $0.40 to $0.43 per share range and the company blames the usual suspects, you know, the weak Euro and, of course, high energy costs.

Compaq Computer (CPQ) was up $1.38.

Texas Instruments (TXN) participating in the high tech rally, up nearly $5.

And United Microelectronics (UMC), this is a new issue, a Taiwanese semiconductor chip maker. The stock came public, 90 million American Depositary Receipts offered at $14.34, dropped $0.34 today.

And then General Electric (GE), 10th in volume, was down $0.81.

A.G. Edwards (AGE), the big brokerage, up $1.50 today, in with higher earnings second quarter, $0.93, up from $0.86 last year and that was $0.03 above the Street estimate.

FedEx (FDX) moved up $0.71. Its first quarter earnings were $0.56, up from last year's $0.52. Revenues up 11 percent and the company is very positive about the outlook for fiscal year 2001.

Goldman Sachs (GS) up $1.38. Earnings, third quarter, $1.62. That's $0.11 above the Street estimate and up from $1.32 a year ago.

Gucci Group (GUC) had a good day, up $5.38. Second quarter earnings came in at $0.80. That's up from $0.77 last year and revenues, listen to this, up 90 percent over last year and the company sees at least $3.10 in earnings in fiscal 2001.

Ingersoll-Rand (IR) had a bad day, down $4.25. The company sees 2000 earnings at the low end of $3.75 to $3.85. The Street estimate was $3.97.

And Lehman Brothers (LEH) up $8.81 in a strong financial sector.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) gained $3.81. Bank of America upgraded it from "market perform" to "buy."

LSI Logic (LSI) moving up $3.63. The company unveiled a new high performance reed channel technology for the next generation of hard disks.

Spartech (SEH) plunging $7.05. The company's in the plastics business and it warned that fourth quarter earnings will be about 10 percent below the Street estimate of $0.46 per share.

Cambrex (CBM) down $8.00. This company is in the life sciences field and the company says it's going to have earnings at the low end of $0.40 to $0.43 and the company blames start up problems. CIBC World Markets cut earnings estimates.

And Manitowoc Company (MTW) down $3.38. This company predicts third quarter earnings of $0.47 to $0.52, way down from $0.74 last year.

Federal-Mogul (FMO) off $1.25. The company's chief executive officer resigned today and then the company warned third quarter earnings will be far below expectations, maybe just break even. The Street was expecting $0.50 a share.

NASDAQ trading up 139.12 on the Index, volume 1.7 million shares, well up from yesterday. About 22 stocks up for every 17 lower.

Intel (INTC) topped the active list up $4.56. Bear Stearns, as I mentioned, repeated a "buy."

QUALCOMM (QCOM) up $7.69, still getting some help from First Union (FTU), "strong buy" recommendation yesterday.

Cisco (CSCO) up $1.94.

Juniper Networks (JNPR) gained almost $18.

JDS Uniphase (JDSU) up over $10.

And then we see Sun Microsystems (SUNW) gaining $2.44, positive reaction to the company's plan to acquire Cobalt Networks (COBT) for $2 billion in Sun stock.

Microsoft (MSFT) up $2. I don't thin