SUSIE GHARIB: A triple-digit bull run on Wall Street today. Investors bought up stocks on the hope that the uncertainty swirling around presidential politics might be almost over. The NASDAQ charged ahead by about 6 percent, with a gain of 171 points; and the Dow jumped about 164. Bargain hunting in tech, financial and retail stocks powered the rally. Scott Gurvey takes a closer look at today's retail rally.

SCOTT GURVEY, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Retail stocks were in the spotlight today after a series of mostly favorable earnings reports were released. Dow components Wal*Mart (WMT) and Home Depot (HD), as well as Target (TGT) and J.C. Penney (JCP) all met or exceeded Wall Street's consensus expectations. All four stocks were up on the news. The S&P Retail Index gained 3.5 percent in today's trading. Analysts applauded the reports, but noted that most of the companies used the occasion to reduce expectations for the fourth quarter.

ROBERT BUCHANAN, RETAIL ANALYST, A.G. EDWARDS: We're in a slowing environment for retail sales. I think the growth rate continues to recede. And so I think that's going to put pressure on the top line and I think a number of retailers are going to have to be very, very aggressive on the pricing front, lest they lose market share.

GURVEY: There were also problems in reports from some of the leading specialty chains. Office supply king, Staples (SPLS) fell short of estimates, and while deep discounter, TJX (TJX) beat the Street by a penny, it warned it would miss fourth quarter estimates by as much as three cents. Investors punished both companies: Staples stock down 5 percent, while TJX lost 14 percent.

RICHARD JAFFE, RETAIL ANALYST, UBS WARBURG: Unexpected was the sales report by TJX, or rather, the earnings report. With soft sales the first two weeks of November, it was really a note of caution from one of our bigger retailers and also one that's been outperforming the last 12 months. So a little bit of an alarm there, and they've taken the stock down fairly dramatically as a result.

GURVEY: The Commerce Department reported today a sluggish October as far as the pace of retail sales was concerned. Sales grew at the rate of 0.1 percent, much less than September's strong increase. The slower rate of growth owes much to markdowns at automobile showrooms, as dealers clear space on lots for next year's models. The report drew mixed reviews from the bond market. Some economists were expecting to actually see a decline in sales, and the small increase raised some inflation fears ahead of tomorrow's Federal Open Market Committee meeting on interest rates. 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.



11/14/00: Yet Another Speed Bump In The Road To The White House

GHARIB: Paul, the presidential race to the White House is still not over. The critical Florida vote deadline has come and gone, but there are still no official results. The latest estimates from the Associated Press shows that Governor George W. Bush leads Vice President Al Gore by less than 300 votes in Florida. Now, earlier today, a state judge sided with the Bush campaign and refused to extend tonight's recount deadline. As Darren Gersh reports, that didn't end the legal wrangling.

DARREN GERSH, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 50 points in three minutes on news a state judge had upheld the 5:00 P.M. deadline. But the rally lost some steam once a clerk read the judge's ruling telling counties they could later file supplemental or corrective returns based on hand recounts.

TERRE CASS, COURT ADMINISTRATOR: The Secretary of State may ignore such late filed returns, but may not do so arbitrarily.

GERSH: The Secretary of State's office said it was pleased by the ruling and expected counties to deliver their results by the deadline.

DONNA BLANTON, COUNSEL TO FLORIDA SECRETARY OF STATE: If any county canvassing board subsequently desires to amend their return, the Secretary will evaluate that request on applicable facts and circumstances.

GERSH: The Gore camp claimed victory as well and in a sign of how this legal battle is intensifying, announced David Boies, the man who argued the government's case against Microsoft, would now argue for the Vice President. He urged key Florida counties to resume hand counting ballots.

DAVID BOIES, GORE CAMPAIGN ATTORNEY: All we're seeking is to have the votes counted and counted properly as Florida law specifies.

GERSH: Earlier James Baker, a former Treasury Secretary and the Bush campaign's representative in Florida, said the Gore campaign should agree to the 5:00 P.M. deadline to reassure markets.

JAMES BAKER, BUSH CAMPAIGN REPRESENTATIVE: Why are the markets disturbed? Because they don't see any finality here.

GERSH: That prompted the Gore campaign chairman to turn financial analyst, arguing markets were reacting to earnings news, not politics.

WILLIAM DALEY, GORE CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN: The only people who have indicated there was some impact of this on the markets were probably somewhat partisan investment bankers.

GERSH: Traders say they are learning to live with the uncertainty, although they also expect a relief rally when it's all over. v

STEVE EAST, MARKET STRATEGIST, FRIEDMAN, BILLINGS, RAMSEY: For a few days it can dominate, but after a while you have to get back t

o real business and life goes on and investments go on. And you look at things like earnings releases.

GERSH: Palm Beach County met the 5:00 P.M. deadline, but still plans to resume hand counting ballots tomorrow morning. Even so, markets now see a glimmer of hope all this might end in the next few days. 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.



11/14/00: Chrysler Braces for some Big Changes

KANGAS: A management shakeup could be in the works for Chrysler. News reports out of Detroit tonight suggest the company's parent, DaimlerChrysler (DCX), will oust its top American executive, James Holden in favor of a German. Published reports say that move could happen by the end of the week. Diane Eastabrook explains.

DIANE EASTABROOK, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: DaimlerChrysler officials in both Germany and the U.S. won't comment on a possible change at the top of the Chrysler division. But many analysts say they would not be surprised if such a move happens. Chrysler lost more than $500 million in the last quarter due to anemic sales. And poor performance at the company all year has been a drag on DaimlerChrysler's stock.

GARY LAPIDUS, AUTO ANALYST, GOLDMAN SACHS: They really had a lot of confidence the last few years and started contenting up the product, believing that their products would sell well and command good pricing in the marketplace and it just hasn't happened. And so their cost structure now is really out of alignment.

EASTABROOK: Industry watchers say in recent months, Chrysler Group President, James Holden has been losing support from leadership in Germany because of Chrysler's decline in sales. Dieter Zetsche is seen as the most likely replacement for Holden. Zetsche is currently a Daimler board member and the head of the company's commercial vehicle division. Some analysts fear a German at the helm of American-based Chrysler could deepen the morale problems that have plagued the company since it merged with Daimler Benz two years ago. They also fear innovation, which has been a trademark at Chrysler, could suffer under foreign management. But some of those same analysts admit an infusion of German leadership could bring more profitability to Chrysler.

DAVID GARRITY, AUTO ANALYST, DRESDNER KLEINWORT BENSON: We've been hearing indications out of Detroit for some time that there has been strong calls for price concessions from suppliers. Also, the company had been pretty clear that they wanted to reduce costs by about $2 billion annually, which probably might lead to some attrition at the Auburn Hills location.

EASTABROOK: All eyes in the auto industry will be on Stuttgart, Germany this Friday when DaimlerChrysler holds a supervisory board meeting. Any change in leadership at Chrysler could come then. Diane Eastabrook NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Chicago.

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.



11/14/00: Holiday E-Tailing Expectations

SUSIE GHARIB: Just 40 more shopping days until Christmas and this is a make or break holiday season for many e-tailers. With me now to talk to the outlook for e-tailers is Lauren Cooks Levitan, Senior Equity Analyst at Robertson Stephens. And she joins us from San Francisco. Hi, Lauren.

LAUREN COOKS LEVITAN, SR. EQUITY ANALYST, ROBERTSON STEPHENS: Hi, Susie .

GHARIB: Lauren, how popular is online shopping going to be this holiday season? What is the trend so far?

LEVITAN: Well, we certainly believe that the summer traffic patterns for online shopping indicate that we're going to continue to see some market share shifts with more people experimenting with online shopping and many people who tried in the past, particularly last Christmas, doing more of their shopping online this year. So we're looking for about $20 billion in total online shopping for the holiday season.

GHARIB: Well, some of the surveys show that one in five online shoppers last year were disappointed with their experience. Could that be a negative impact for this year?

LEVITAN: Well, it certainly, I think, directs consumers to go to those sites that they believe they can really trust. And so the best known brands, both off-line and online, we expect will have a disproportionate amount of traffic.

GHARIB: What about promotions? We saw a lot of heavy discounting last year. Are we going to see more of that this year?

LEVITAN: Well, we have been under the expectation that will you see less promotional activity this year. Remember last year, many companies were flush with cash that they had just raised in the public and private markets and they were rushing out to try to make a big splash last year, offering a wide range of promotions, many of which we thought were aggressive and somewhat irrational. Many of those companies are now gone. We've had a cleansing in the marketplace. So I think you'll see a slightly toned down promotional environment. There's two things to keep in mind, though. Some of the first shots across the bough have been fired. Amazon (AMZN) is already offering free shopping on orders over $100 to get people to shop before Thanksgiving and also a slowing economy could produce more promotional activity in the retailer stores, which could make the online guys have to respond.

GHARIB: How well prepared are e-tailers this season? What the did they learn from last year that they're doing differently this go around?

LEVITAN: Well, certainly the companies that we have talked to, those who are still left standing have spent this last year really bolstering their customer service capabilities and improving their backend fulfillment capabilities. The other thing is consumers expectations have also gotten higher, though. So I think consumers will be well served to go to sites like BizRate and Gomez and find out who does provide the best service and those retailers who are the best known names are going to be the ones who succeed.

GHARIB: From an investor's point of view, investing in e-tailers has been a very risky business. Which are the companies now that you think are worth the investment?

LEVITAN: Well, there's really a very short list. We're somewhat cautious on Amazon right now for short-term investors, largely because we think they're going to make their results for this quarter but we think once they shift towards into next year and we get focused on profitability, there is going to be a lot of questions raised. Some small cap names we really like include Alo-ann-line (ph) which is one of the few companies in our universe that we expect to be profitable during the fourth quarter, and our number one pick remains eBay (EBAY), which isn't the biggest fourth quarter call, but as a profitable company, as a leader in this space, we think it is a place, that it's almost a safe haven for investors looking for exposure to online retailing.

GHARIB: What about eToys (ETYS), Lauren? I mean, this is a stock that last year at this time was at $57. Now it's down to $2. Is this company going to make it?

LEVITAN: Well, we do think eToys is going to make it, pending showing the kinds of results we think they can this holiday season. They have done an awful lot to prepare themselves for the onslaught of holiday traffic.

GHARIB: Real quickly-

LEVITAN: That said-

GHARIB: Go ahead.

LEVITAN: That said, you know, the risk reward is really compelling down here below $3 but really only for investors that can take on the kind of risk associated with a stock like this.

GHARIB: We just have a few seconds left. What about the Wal-Marts (WMT), the Home Depots (HD), the K-Marts (KM), that have an online arm? Are these good investments, for your point of view?

LEVITAN: Well, they're certainly more serious this year about online shopping. But I think ultimately those stocks will perform based on their core businesses. Their online presence is still a minor part of their overall financial performance. So it's hard to bet on their online business moving those stocks.

GHARIB: All right. Well, we'll see what happens this holiday season. We appreciate your insights tonight.

LEVITAN: Sure. My pleasure, Susie.

GHARIB: My guest, Lauren Cooks Levitan of Robertson Stephens.

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.


11/14/00: Commentary: The Presidential Split Decision & Social Security

SUSIE GHARIB: Social Security is a major concern for many Americans. And tonight's commentator says that no matter who eventually wins the presidential election, Social Security policy will still be in the spotlight. Here's Louis Uchitelle, Economics Writer for the "New York Times."

LOUIS UCHITELLE, COMMENTARY: We are clearly divided over who should be the next president. There are many reasons for this split, but one stands out. Americans are in conflict over how big a role government should play in a market economy. Mr. Gore and Mr. Bush both favor a robust market system and that is as it should be. But Mr. Gore would use the federal government much more than Mr. Bush to correct the shortcomings of our market system. Government, in the Bush view, only gets in the way; the markets themselves will resolve any problems. Nothing illustrates this ideological divide between Democrats and Republicans more than Social Security. A Gore administration would keep Social Security just as it is, a giant insurance policy that guarantees every retiree a pension for life. These pensions for old people are funded almost entirely through a payroll tax on their still working children. Mr. Bush would give workers control over a portion of the payroll tax, in effect creating millions of individual retirement accounts. These accounts, invested mostly in stocks, would mushroom in value, eventually funding a bigger benefit check than Social Security can afford. On the other hand, if stock prices weaken, as they periodically do, then pensions would be smaller. The government, in effect, puts a necessary floor under old age pensions that is beyond the power of our mercurial markets. I'm Louis Uchitelle.

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.





11/14/2000: Paul Kangas' Wall Street Wrap Up

PAUL KANGAS: Stocks on Wall Street opened in an extension of yesterday afternoon's red-hot rally which cut a 225-point deficit in the Dow, to an 85-point closing loss; and a 170- point drop on the NASDAQ Index to a closing loss of only 62 points. A 101-point gain in the Dow Industrial Average at 10:00 a.m. today was partly due to those solid earnings reports from Wal*Mart and Home Depot, whose stocks were up over two points; and the NASDAQ Index was doing nicely with a 99-point advance. The market held its early gains very impressively throughout the rest of the morning with the help of buyers who felt a major bottom might be in hand. And at noontime, the Dow was up 112 points; NASDAQ posted a 114-point gain. Stocks spiked even higher around 1:00 p.m. on news that a Florida judge upheld today's 5:00 p.m. deadline for certification of Florida's presidential votes. And although the legal wrangling over the election is expected to continue, the market did close on a very strong note. The Dow Industrial Average posted a gain of 163.81 points, that's 1.6 percent; it now stands at 10681.06. In today's 211-point trading range, the Industrial Average closed down only 47 points from the best level of the session, and up 164 points from the low of the day. The NASDAQ Composite soared 171.55 ending at 3128.27. In its 179-point trading range, the Composite Index settled only seven points below its high of the day, up 171 points from the low of the session - very impressive.

Big board volume picked up just a little bit from yesterday to 1.16 billion shares. And up volume really swamped down volume by a 7 to 3 margin - that was impressive.

The Dow Transports, another good day, up nearly 50 points there.

Utilities, however, losing just about 8 1/2 points.

And the Closing Tick still rather bullish at +416.

Standard & Poor's 500 up 31.69.

A gain of 17 1/2 on the 100.

The MidCap 400 up nearly 9 3/4 points.

And the Bridge Futures Price Index edged up .91.

New York Stock Exchange Composite up nearly 9 1/2.

About a 6 2/3-point rise in the Value Line.

Russell2000 Small Cap up 10 1/3 points.

And the broadly-based Wilshire 5000 gaining over 324 points. That's about a percent better than the Dow did.

The bond market showed very little negative reaction to the stronger-than-expected October retail sales number. And its resilience worried traders on the short side just enough for them to do some short-covering purchases, and that produced some gains; and so did growing confidence that the Federal Reserve will maintain a steady monetary course at its policy meeting tomorrow. Although tax-free and corporate issues ended mostly unchanged, the Treasury market closed slightly higher on balance.

Not the 5-year notes which dropped 1/32.

But a gain of 4/32 in the 10-year note, bringing the yield down to exactly 5 3/4 percent.

30-year bond up 9/32.

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

Investors had a slam dunk on Wall Street today, especially the bulls, up 164 points or nearly so on the Dow and almost a 2 to 1 advance/decline ratio; 57 new yearly highs, 38 new lows.

Nortel Networks (NT) topped the active list on 26.7 million shares, moving up $0.63.

Tyco International (TYC) up $0.13. The company is going to buy the power systems business from Lucent (LU) for $2.5 billion.

Orion Power Holdings (ORN) went public today at a price of $20, opened at $22, that was the high of the day. And it then went back down to the original offering price. Traded 27 1/2 million shares.

AT & T (T) was down $0.31. Salomon Smith Barney cut its 2001 cash earnings estimate for the company from $1.45 to $1.40.

Lucent Technology (LU), slightly positive reaction to the news it's going to get $2.5 billion for its power systems business from Tyco.

TJX Companies (TJX) falling $3.81. Third quarter earnings looked a little bit higher, $0.56, up from $0.48 last year, but the company issued a fourth quarter profit warning.

Pfizer (PFE) edged up $0.63.

Hewlett-Packard (HWP), the best point gainer in the Dow, up $2.88.

General Electric (GE) gained $1.31.

And Corning (GLW) rose $7.50. The company's in an alliance with Cisco (CSCO) to make Internet optical equipment.

Delta Airlines (DAL), that group has been strong the last few days, up $1.44.

EMC (EMC) up $7.75, finally staging a solid rebound after its sharp recent descent from a high of $103.

Home Depot (HD) on those good earnings up $1.81.

Target (TGT), good earnings, up $2.

And then Vodafone Group (VOD) up $3.88. Its first half profits were up 24 percent and Vodafone is upbeat on the outlook for the second half, as well.

Wal*Mart (WMT) up $1.50 after those earnings that were in line.

Fresh Del Monte (FDP) produce had a peach of a day, rising $1.06. Forbes.com online noted the stock sells for just seven times estimated 2001 earnings.

Analog Devices (ADI) up $7.31. After the close, the company in with fourth quarter earnings, $0.54, $0.04 better than the Street estimate and the company sees seven to 10 percent revenue growth in the first quarter of 2001. The company also plans to buy up to 15 million of its own shares. In after hours trading ADI, or Analog Devices, was up as high as $63 a share.

Williams Communications Group (WCG) up $2.19. Kaufman Brothers brokerage began covering the stock with a "buy" today.

Too Inc. (TOO) big percentage loser, down $4.44. The company had slightly higher third quarter earnings, but Salomon Smith Barney downgraded the stock from "outperform" to "neutral" and cut 2001 earnings estimates by $0.12, down to $1.01.

Startek (SRT) off $2.63. Today First Boston downgraded it from "strong buy" to "buy."

And First Union (FTU) off $2.63. The company sees 2000 earnings growth less than 10 percent and it's not too happy with its customer retention rate, either.

NASDAQ trading, a gain of 171 1/2 points. Volume a bit disappointing and well down from yesterday, but 25 stocks up for every 13 lower.

Sun Micro (SUNW) up $8.69.

Cisco (CSCO) up $2.75.

Microsoft (MSFT) did well, up $2.38.

Juniper Networks (JNPR) a big gain, $19.45.

Oracle (ORCL) gained $3.63. The company's in a partnership with Citigroup to integrate their technologies and services.

JDS Uniphase (JDSU) up $7.63.

A gain of $2.75 on Intel (INTC).