SCOTT GURVEY, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Today, it was Hewlett-Packard's turn to disappoint Wall Street and suffer its wrath. The company reported fourth quarter earnings of 41 cents, ten cents below consensus estimates. It was the second stumble for CEO, Carly Fiorina, who had been an industry superstar since taking over HP last year. A stock rally that began when she took over fizzled when she announced her intention to buy the technology consulting business of Pricewaterhouse. Today, she announced that deal is off. Still, most analysts believe HP can get beyond what they say, are short-term problems.

ART RUSSELL, TECHNOLOGY ANALYST, EDWARD JONES: I think the key to focus on, from an investment standpoint, is that the top-line revenue growth is very solid. Most of the businesses are very healthy. Some are undergoing product transitions; but in general, business conditions remain solid.

GURVEY: The HP news was another excuse for a broad sell-off of technology stocks. The NASDAQ Composite fell as low as 2859 before rallying, to finish the day at 2966.

ROBERT WALBERG, CHIEF EQUITY STRATEGIST, BRIEFING.COM: It's those people that have had the patience to sit on the sidelines and weather this storm, are now getting, I think, a good opportunity to buy into technology for the long-term. A lot of the excess that had been built up into the sector through the early part of this year is finally being squeezed out.

GURVEY: That sentiment is by no means universal, and many say, a clear market bottom has yet to be found.

BERNIE SCHAEFFER, CEO, SCHAEFFER'S INVESTMENT RESEARCH: If I'm going to be committing new money, I would not want to commit to tech yet, until I saw strong evidence of a bottom; and I think we need to go down a little bit more before we get that; or to get some major capitulation in the sentiment area, to get that; or, get some major positive surprises from the Fed.

GURVEY: The Fed meets on Wednesday to review interest rates, but no policy changes are expected. Scott Gurvey, 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.

SUSIE GHARIB: The never ending election for president is making many investors edgy. What's the best strategy during these uncertain times? Erika Miller gets some answers from two pros.

ERIKA MILLER, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: If there's one thing investors hate, it's uncertainty, and these days they have plenty of concerns on their plate. It's bad enough that economic growth has slowed considerably and that corporate earnings are starting to falter, but now the nation is sitting on pins and needles, waiting to hear the outcome of the presidential election. With so many unknowns, some analysts say the best advice is to tread lightly.

JIM AWAD, CHAIRMAN, AWAD & ASSOCIATES: It pays, at the current time, to err on the side of caution rather than to aggressively speculate, assuming we've made a bottom. So, I would say, keep some cash. Cash is very important to have because it gives you an opportunity to make money when the situation clarifies itself somewhat.

MILLER: He advises against buying the old NASDAQ high flyers on the dips, many of which he says have further to fall. As an alternative, he recommends looking for stocks with good growth prospects that are trading at low valuations. Some of his recommendations include Startek (SRT), a company that provides technical outsourcing, as well as Comdisco (CDO), a company that leases high tech equipment. He also likes Constellation Brands (STZ) , a maker of wine and liquor. But not everyone recommends shying away from big name tech stocks. Joe Battipaglia says many of them will provide market leadership long-term.

JOSEPH BATTIPAGLIA, CHIEF INVESTMENT STRATEGIST, GRUNTAL & COMPANY: Certainly these prices have been beaten down rather dramatically throughout the summer and now again. It's been the worst year for the NASDAQ in quite some time, for example. That, to me, looks like it's a good opportunity at a valuation point to buy some of these quality names.

MILLER: His top picks are Intel (INTC), Johnson and Johnson (JNJ) and Citigroup. If the outcome of the presidential race is decided sooner rather than later, experts say there could be a short relief rally for stocks. But after that, analysts say the market's direction will depend mainly on economic fundamentals, things like interest rates and earnings. Erika Miller, 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.



11/13/00: The Road To The White House Gets Global Glances

PAUL KANGAS: The focus is still on Florida. Florida's Secretary of State has set a deadline of 5:00 Eastern Time tomorrow to end the vote counting. Democrats are suing to push back that deadline. Meanwhile, Republicans didn't succeed in court today. A federal judge denied a Bush campaign request to halt the hand counting of ballots. All this maneuvering is stirring up debate among Americans and, as Darren Gersh reports, is also getting plenty of attention overseas.

DARREN GERSH, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: They're watching this never ending election all over the world and yes, they are laughing at us. Nancy Roman fields calls from investors from U.S. and foreign investors for the Washington based G7 group.

NANCY ROMAN, POLITICAL ANALYST, G-7 GROUP: What I notice is more amusement from the foreign investors. They seem to take some pleasure from the current chaos in the U.S. system.

GERSH: Earlier in the campaign, there was talk overseas investors might pull their money from the U.S. and put it in Europe if one party swept the White House and Congress. But now foreign investors seem just as reassured as U.S. investors by the prospect for continued gridlock whoever wins.

ROMAN: You definitely have the checks and balances in play, you know? You're not going to have a radical outcome in policy or really in spending.

GERSH: Less amusing is the troubling earnings news coming from U.S. companies. Analysts say for overseas investors, a sense of increasing political risk could intensify pressure to sell.

DANIEL BACHMAN, CHIEF ECONOMIST, TRANSATLANTIC FUTURES: Once they start saying, gee, the U.S. electoral system is a little more questionable than we thought, maybe they'll start saying well, gee, maybe NASDAQ companies are a little more questionable than we thought.

GERSH: But so far, analysts say foreign investors seem to be putting the troubles across the pond in perspective.

MICHAEL FARR, PRESIDENT, FARR, MILLER & WASHINGTON: Foreign monies certainly have the perspective of a longer sense of history and that over time when you wake up in the morning the sun still shines, your car still starts, you still go to the same office. This, too, shall pass.

GERSH: And many analysts say there is a sense that it's still hard to beat the U.S. as a place to invest.

FARR: This is still a safe place and a terrific economy in which to have your investments from any other global economy. Our economy is still very strong.

GERSH: Right now, foreign investors remain confident enough to leave their money in U.S. assets. Still, confidence, once lost is hard to regain, which is why foreign investors may be laughing, but they are still watching what's happening in Florida. Darren Gersh, 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.



11/13/00: One On One With Mariko de Couto, Chief Int'l. Policy Correspondent, BridgeNews

PAUL KANGAS: Considering all the recent indications that U.S. economy is slowing, tomorrow's October retail sales report will no doubt be closely examined. And here to give us an idea of what to expect is Mariko de Couto, Chief Policy Correspondent for BridgeNews. Mariko, welcome.

MARIKO DE COUTO, CHIEF INT'L POLICY CORRESPONDENT, BRIDGENEWS: Hello.

KANGAS: Do you think the retail sales figures will confirm the economy is slowing down rather markedly?

DE COUTO: I think so. There are indications of some strength in the economy still, but I think overall the softness within the economy will be confirmed by retail sales tomorrow. It's for October and you have to remember, we get a boost from Halloween sales every year. But even then, I think overall, higher interest rates and, I guess, the reversal of the wealth effect will soften retail sales or will have softened it in October.

KANGAS: And it seems to really be affecting electronic products sales, doesn't it?

DE COUTO: Yes, it is. And that doesn't bode well, really well for the holiday season. We have heard that there is a lot of softness in the high tech sector and that may be coming from there. There are a lot of layoffs, as everyone knows, in the high tech sector and that's going to continue. And I think going into the holiday season, that can be seen in retail sales as well.

KANGAS: All right, going on to Wednesday, the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee meets. Will the ongoing question of who will be the next president have any bearing on monetary policy?

DE COUTO: Actually, that will probably be the only constant. Green span was named Chairman again for the next four years this year. So we've got the leaders all set. That is one thing. If anything, it could be affected because we have to think about the fiscal position that each of the candidates has taken. But overall monetary policy isn't going to change. A lot of people are expecting policy to remain steady on Wednesday. It's been expected for months. Now, though, with the NASDAQ falling and falling below 3,000 for the first time today, I think a lot of worries are in the markets and maybe that they might be easing.

KANGAS: Very good, Mariko. Thanks very much. We appreciate your sharing your thoughts.

DE COUTO: Thank you.

KANGAS: My guest, Mariko De Couto, Chief Policy Correspondent, BridgeNews.

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.



11/13/2000: Paul Kangas' Wall Street Wrap Up

PAUL KANGAS: If the uncertainty over the presidential election weren't enough to keep the stock market in last week's sell-off mode, those disappointing earnings from Hewlett-Packard this morning certainly were. An early $6 drop in HP stock accounted for 33.5 points of a 101-point loss posted by the Dow Industrial Average at 10:00 a.m. And it was also one of the reasons why the NASDAQ Index plunged 109 points half-an-hour into the trading session. The downturn got nastier as the morning went on, after Honeywell (HON) came out with lower-than-expected growth projections for year 2001, which further undermined the technology sector, while at the same time, helping to send the Dow to a 224-point deficit at 12:30 p.m. That's when the NASDAQ Index fell to a 168-point loss at the 2860 level; that's the lowest in over a year. At that point, buyers finally moved in aggressively and an impressive rally ensued which lifted several of the major averages into plus territory briefly, and that included the Dow Industrial Average. But by the closing bell, it faded to a loss of 85.70 putting it at 10,517.25. In today's 226-point trading range, the Industrial Average closed down 78 points from the best level of the session. But, up 148 points from the low of the day. The NASDAQ Composite ended with a loss of 62.27 at 2966.72. In its 204-point trading range, the Composite Index settled 96 points below its best level of the day, but up 107.5 points from the low of the session.

Big board volume moved over a billion shares, 1.12 billion, well up from Friday's pace; and about a 6 to 5 ratio of down volume over up volume.

The Dow Transport Index had a good day, up 67 points.

Airlines did well.

Utility Index, however, down 3 2/3 points.

The Closing Tick modestly bullish at +356.

Standard & Poor's 500 off nearly 14 3/4.

Almost a 7-point drop in the 100.

The MidCap 400 off 8.61.

The Bridge Futures Price Index down 1.18.

New York Stock Exchange Composite off 7.39.

A 1 2/3-point drop on the Value Line Index.

Russell2000 Small Cap off a 4 1/3 points.

And the broadly-based Wilshire 5000 fell 166 1/3 points.

The bond market rallied this morning when the steep sell-off in stocks triggered plenty of safe haven buying, especially in government guaranteed debt securities. But bonds lost some of their big early gains this afternoon, when the stock market staged that rather impressive comeback. Buyers were also somewhat cautious ahead of tomorrow's October retail sales report.

Tax-free and corporate issues ended up 1/8-point on average.

And the Treasury market closed with similar gains.

The 5-year notes up 4/32.

10-year notes rising 5/32, with the yield at 5.77 percent.

30-year bond up 12/32.

And the Lehman Brothers Long-Term Treasury Bond Index up just over 4 1/2 points.

The Dow off 8,570, but much improved from where it was at midday; 12 stocks up for every 16 lower; 42 new yearly highs; 104 new lows.

Hewlett-Packard (HWP) topped the active list on 26 ½ million shares, closing down $5 a share, but that's improved from its low of the day of $32.63.

Nortel Networks (NT) at one stage today was as low as 36 1/4, so it rallied rather nicely.

Nokia (NOK) down $0.69 on the close.

EMC (EMC) off $3.44. Its low was $75.44.

AT & T (T) edged up $0.63, fifth in volume.

General Electric (GE) down $2.44.

Lucent Technologies (LU) edged up $0.88. The company is going to sell its power systems business to Tyco International (TYC) for $2.5 billion.

Compaq Computer (CPQ) down $0.46.

And then Home Depot (HD) up $1.13, maybe a little optimism there. Third quarter earnings due tomorrow. The Street's looking for $0.28 a share.

And Corning (GLW) down $1.13, but it traded as low as $56.50 during the day.

AMR (AMR), that strong airline group I mentioned earlier, up $1.81 on parent of American Air.

Analog Devices (ADI) up $3.69. Siemen's A.G., the big European company, has selected one of Analog's products for use in the next generation of GSM phones for Seamen's.

Honeywell International (HON) down $2.75. As I mentioned earlier, the company projecting growth of only four percent for the year 2001. That's for its core aerospace unit, incidentally.

IBM (IBM) gave a good accounting itself today, up $4.44.

Toys 'R Us (TOY) gained $1.81. The company in with better than expected third quarter earnings, $0.07, even though they were down from last year's $0.11 a share.

And Watson Pharmaceutical (WPI) doing well, up $4.94. Third quarter earnings came in better than expected, $0.13, although that was down from last year's $0.38. But the company projecting fourth quarter earnings will be $0.48 to $0.50 and next year's earnings will be $2.78 to $2.80 a share.

International Aluminum (IAL) one of the better percentage gainers, up $2.81. The new Barings Financial reported the company should earn $1.50 this year.

CB Richard Ellis Services (CBG), this company is in the real estate services business, up $2 a share. The company received a $15.50 cash buyout bid from the investment group led by Blum Capital Partners.

And Triton Energy (OIL), the oil exploration company, up $3.31. Positive comments in the 'Heard On the Street' column and today's "Wall Street Journal" about that company.

Insignia Financial (IFS) up $1.25. "Crane's New York Business" publication says Warnedo Realty (ph) is in preliminary talks to acquire Insignia.

PE Corp. - PE Biosystems (PEB) down $17.31. A "Barron's" article this week criticized the high biotech stock valuations, asking the question, "Could biotechs become the market's next dot.coms?" Ouch.

Smithfield Foods (SFD) down $3.63. The company's going to pay $25 a share in its stock for IBP. That's the old Iowa Beef Packers. That's $2.7 billion. Iowa Beef's stock, or IBP, was up $1.44 to $22.31.

NASDAQ trading, a loss of 62 1/4 points, but it was off over 100 more points than that. At one stage, volume just eked above two billion shares; 13 stocks higher for every the lower.

Sun Microsystems (SUNW) topped the active list, still down $3.88.

But Cisco (CSCO) edged up $0.31 on the close.

Intel (INTC) up $1.19.

Juniper Networks (JNPR) fell $6.39. All these prices much improved from their lows of the day.

A $0.94 loss in Microsoft (MSFT).

JDS Uniphase (JDSU) down $0.56.

Along with PMC Sierra (PMCS).

Siebel Systems (SEBL) down $9 on no specific news there.

SDL (SDLI) losing $2.69.