SUSIE GHARIB: Wall Street got an early Christmas present from Alan Greenspan. At a speech in New York today, the chairman of the Federal Reserve hinted that the Central Bank is rethinking its interest rate policy. Investors translated that to mean that the Fed could soon cut rates, and they went on a buying spree. The NASDAQ skyrocketed 274 points, or more than 10 percent - that's the biggest point and percentage gain, ever. The Dow surged about 340 points, or 3 percent. Here's Suzanne Pratt with the news and analysis.

SUZANNE PRATT, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: It looks like a healthy dose of Alan Greenspan was just what the equity markets needed for a mega-rally. Stocks surged today after the Fed chairman indicated that he was concerned about the effects higher energy prices and tightening credit are having on spending patterns. And after keeping "mum" for weeks, Greenspan also weighed in on just how the economy is faring.

ALAN GREENSPAN, CHAIRMAN, FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD: More recently, though, the pace of expansion of economic activity has moderated appreciably, in part as tighter financial conditions have had some impact on interest-sensitive areas of the economy.

PRATT: Fed Watchers say Greenspan's remarks clearly suggest the Central Bank is prepared to take a market-friendly approach to interest rates. One that will most likely mean a shift in its policy directive to neutral when it meets again on December 19. And many economists believe not only is the Fed finished raising rates, but it may soon consider lowering them.

BRUCE STEINBERG, CHIEF ECONOMIST, MERRILL LYNCH: Greenspan is telling us that the Fed is on watch, that it knows the economy is slowing, and probably sometime early next year the Fed is going to ease policy.

PRATT: Greenspan uttered the words the market was looking for on a day when stocks were already in rally mode because of signs that the fight for the White House may soon be over. Both the Dow and the NASDAQ were posting triple-digit point increases before release of Greenspan's comments. And some market pros were impressed that stocks were able to build significantly on those gains.

ART HOGAN, CHIEF MKT. STRATEGIST, JEFFERIES & CO.: It's a rally that started from the opening bell and has lasted throughout the course of the day. The magnitude is terrific. It's across the board. It's the Dow; it's the NASDAQ; and interestingly enough, a lot of the money that had been in safe harbors is coming out of those things and going into the tech and telecom shares.

PRATT: Some experts are worried that the market could still face tough times this year. They point out that warning season for fourth-quarter earnings will be heating up in the coming weeks, a time that often spells trouble for investors. 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. © 2001 Community Television Foundation of South Florida, Inc.



12/05/00: 3Com Suffers Telcomm Troubles

SUSIE GHARIB: It was a great day for most tech stocks, but not for 3Com (COMS). It fell another 4 points today, or 25 percent, after warning yesterday of lower earnings because telecom companies have cut back spending. The pullback by telecom has also hurt investors who bought up those stocks hoping to benefit from the Internet boom. But as Stephanie Woods explains, the telecom growth story has taken a different turn.

STEPHANIE WOODS, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Just nine months ago telecommunications start up Net 2000 (NTKK) had found its place in the sun. The company's IPO soared 75 percent on its first day of trading. But now Net 2000 is caught in a hurricane. Investors are bailing out of telecomm stocks, fearing the industry has over promised and under delivered. Net 2000 stock is down 95 percent from its high. Company President Clyde Heintzelman says he's preparing to ride out the storm.

CLYDE HEINTZELMAN, PRESIDENT, NET2000: We have absolutely battened down the hatches.

WOODS: Heintzelman has scaled back plans to build new switching centers and add sales teams on the west coast. Instead he's focused on making a profit.

HEINTZELMAN: Expanding into new markets is a very expensive proposition, so rather than seizing new territory, we're trying to penetrate the existing markets and territory where we are more completely.

WOODS: Net 2000 considers itself lucky, having enough money to last through next year. Two competitors have gone bankrupt and others like NorthPoint (NPNT) and Teligent (TGNT) are struggling to raise immediate cash. Industry executives and analysts alike say only a few firms out of the dozens in the market will survive.

BLAKE BATH, TELECOM ANALYST, LEHMAN BROTHERS: Basically, companies that should not have gotten funding, got funding and, you know, they've gone out and put a little bit of capital in place and many of them have tried to go after, you know, bigger market opportunities than they had the management or capital to effectively pursue and now, you know, we're in the retrenching mode.

WOODS: And its not just the start ups that are retrenching. AT&T (T) and SBC (SBC) have both scaled back their broadband spending. Equipment companies from 3Com to NorTel (NT) are beginning to feel the effects of the slowdown.

BATH: In the near term, it could get a bit worse before it gets better.

WOODS: For Net 2000 and dozens of telecom companies like it, the focus just six months ago was on growth. Now the focus is on surviving the shakeout by showing investors they can make money. Stephanie Woods, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Herndon, Virginia.

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. © 2001 Community Television Foundation of South Florida, Inc.

12/05/00: Is Japan's Economy Ready To Stand On Its Own?

GHARIB: Economists say that Japan has finally emerged from recession and will end this fiscal year in the black. Its GDP Is expected to rise two percent. That's after 10 years and a trillion dollars of public money spent trying to re-ignite growth. But as Lucy Craft reports from Tokyo, consumer demand is still weak and analysts are divided over whether the economy can really run without life support.

LUCY CRAFT, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Japanese machinery makers are heaving a sigh of relief. After years of stagnation, sales are surging again as at this Tokyo based maker of semiconductor testing devices. The firm expects net sales this fiscal year top $2 billion, a more than a 60 percent leap over last year.

TOSHIO MARUYAMA, EXEC. DIR., ADVANTEST CORP.: Our company this year's business is very good, very nice. And that's because recording for this company.

CRAFT: Japan's core machinery orders, a closely watched indicator of private demand, have bounced back this year thanks to brisk exports as well as I.T. spending by Japanese companies.

JEFFREY YOUNG, ECONOMIST, NIKKO SALOMON SMITH BARNEY: There is also a domestic process going on where Japanese companies, Japanese individuals are using the Internet, they're using mobile telephones and these sorts of things to a much greater degree than in the past and that has provided most of the driving force behind the machinery orders increase.

CRAFT: The rebound in business investment has prompted some observers to declare that after a sluggish decade, Japan is finally on a self-sustaining path.

JAMES MALCOLM, ECONOMIST, J.P. MORGAN SECS. ASIA LTD.: We are certainly well on the way to recovery. And as long as we get sentiment holding up relatively firmly, as long as we get business investment continuing to increase and corporate profits being good, and so far all indications of those things are that it is continuing to be reasonably good, then the recovery is likely to continue.

CRAFT: But households account for more than half of GDP and aside from budget priced stores such as this one, Japanese consumers continue to keep a tight grip on their wallets. The long recession has sparked fear about the viability of the pension system and wiped out much of the value of real estate and stocks.

YOUNG: Even if the employment outlook is looking a little bit better, which it definitely is, even if wages are starting to rise, which they are, that might not be enough to get consumers to spend when they have such large losses on, say, their home equity.

CRAFT: Even the most bullish experts agree that Japan's current economy recovery remains fragile. Continuing turmoil within Japan's political leadership, Japan's massive fiscal debt and concerns over the slowing of U.S. economic growth are just some of the clouds hovering over Japan's recent recovery. Lucy Craft, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Tokyo.

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. © 2001 Community Television Foundation of South Florida, Inc.

12/05/00: Dresdner RCM Biotechnology Exhibits Earnings Chemistry

PAUL KANGAS: While it hasn't been a great year for most mutual fund sectors, one exception is biotechnology funds. And within that group, one of the hottest funds is Dresdner RCM Biotechnology, with a return of nearly 65 percent since the start of the year. Besides its record, another factor that makes this fund stand out is the fact that it's managed by a team of three medical doctors. And one of them, Dr. Camilo Martinez, joins us now from San Francisco. Doctor, welcome to NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT.

DR. CARMILO MARTINEZ, DRESDNER RCM BIOTECHNOLOGY FUND: Thank you, Paul.

KANGAS: First, do you think your medical background has enabled your group to do better at stock picking than other biotech fund managers?

MARTINEZ: I think it has. I think by nature biotechnology companies are very complex from both a scientific and a medical basis and our team's background is in science and it gives us an edge at looking at the fundamentals of these companies.

KANGAS: Of course, there are many different subspecialties within biotech. For example, earlier this year genomics was the big winner. Is there is one area which you believe to have the best potential right now?

MARTINEZ: I think the area is basically therapeutics, biotherapeutics and genomic companies are also set up to assist in the development of therapeutics. So companies which either directly or indirectly advance products through the pipeline and into the market, I think, stand a good chance of being successful.

KANGAS: Give us an idea of a typical therapeutic product that you might be familiar with?

MARTINEZ: For example, one is a new product that's coming out by a company that we like a lot called Amgen (AMGN). And it's a product called Aranesp and it's an extended version, extended release version of their product, Epogen. We think this product will give them a marketing advantage over existing products and allow them to enter new markets which they currently are prevented from entering.

KANGAS: I take it Amgen is one of the stocks in your portfolio and, if so, say yes. Yes?

MARTINEZ: Yes.

KANGAS: And how about others that you like right here?

MARTINEZ: Amgen, as I mentioned, is one of our favorite large cap stocks. Some small cap stocks which I think are very interesting after the recent pullback we've seen in biotechnology are, for example, one we like is Praecis (PRCS), which has a product partner with Amgen. I think they have a good technology platform to develop new drugs.

KANGAS: Can you spell that? What is it?

MARTINEZ: Praecis. The ticker is PRCS.

KANGAS: OK. Praecis. All right. Very good. Well, now the momentum in biotech stocks has slowed a little bit lately and do you think the sector is about to give back a large part of its gains or do you see this as just a brief lull before biotech takes off again?

MARTINEZ: Well, I think your concern is warranted. I think it reflects more the market in general rather than the fundamentals of the group. I think with the problems that we've seen in the economy and certainly the election and the problems of technology, portfolio managers and investors have become a little bit more violation sensitive, so they've been wanting to take their, capture their gains right now.

KANGAS: OK. All right. Give us one other favorite. We have 15 seconds.

MARTINEZ: OK, another company I like a lot is 3D-P, 3D Pharmaceuticals, the ticker is DDDP.

KANGAS: All right. We've got it. Thank you, Dr. Martinez.

MARTINEZ: OK. You're welcome.

KANGAS: My guest, Dr. Camilo Martinez of Dresdner RCM Biotechnology Fund.

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. © 2001 Community Television Foundation of South Florida, Inc.


12/05/2000: Paul Kangas' Wall Street Wrap Up

PAUL KANGAS: The stock market opened with a solid rally, even though it was an hour before the Greenspan speech, with its unusually clear-cut suggestion that a monetary easing may soon be in order. Behind the early buying was the latest Florida legal proceedings, which gave investors new hope that the presidential election would soon be decided once and for all, and that George W. Bush, the Wall Street favorite, was likely to be the winner. In any event, the Dow Industrial Average jumped 180 points by 10:30 a.m., while the NASDAQ Index rocketed 123 points. As the content of Alan Greenspan's speech became known, Wall Street's bulls could hardly contain themselves, and the scared bears ran frantically to cover or buy back their short positions, which added to the extent of this massive rally. By noontime, the Dow had vaulted to a 302-point gain, which is 2.7 percent gain; the NASDAQ Index was up 211 points, or 8 percent. The market took a little breather in early afternoon, but the pullback was so mild, buyers figured the path of least resistance was still higher. And sure enough, the Dow Industrial Average came back to post a closing gain of 338.62 points, its third largest point gain ever in a day - that's 3.2 percent. It now stands at 10,898.72. The NASDAQ Composite vaulted 274.05, or 10 1/2 percent, ending at 2889.80. Big board volume 1.39 billion shares, well up from yesterday. And look at that, more than a billion shares of up volume, three and a half times what the down volume was.

Dow Transport Index up nearly 76 points.

The Utility Index fell nearly 2 1/2.

The Closing Tick though still pretty bullish at +650.

Standard & Poor's 500 up 51 1/2.

The 100 gained nearly 31 points.

MidCap 400 up just over 18.

Bridge Futures Price Index fell just over 2 1/4 points.

New York Stock Exchange Composite up the better part of 16 points.

Value Line rising just over 11.

The Russell2000 Small Cap Index up just over 20 3/4 points.

And the broadly-based Wilshire 5000 up 532.70, its third largest one-day point gain ever.

Like stocks, bond prices took off today at the mere hint of the need for lower interest rates in the face of a slowing economy, as forwarded by Fed chief, Alan Greenspan. That, along with a sharp drop in New York oil futures below $30 per barrel were reason enough to send tax-free and corporates up 3/4 to 7/8 of a point.

And the Treasury market also to big closing gains.

5-year notes up 13/32.

10-year notes up 28/32.

And the 30-year bond up 1 14/32 with the yield down to 5.59 percent.

And the Lehman Brothers Long-Term Treasury Bond Index gained just over 6 points.

Well, this truly was one for the record books, especially on NASDAQ. But the Dow did pretty well, its third biggest point gain in the day ever, 338, and look at the advance/decline ratio, very impressive, 20 to 8 positive and 187 new yearly highs, only 90 new lows.

Nokia (NOK) topped the active list on 30.3 million shares, up $6.81. At an upbeat meeting with investors in London, the company says it sees its revenues rising 30 to 35 percent through the year 2003.

Nortel Networks (NT) joining in the rally, up $4.13.

Lucent Technologies (LU) gained $1.50. The company is going to name its new microelectronics unit, which will be spun off. It's going to call it Agere. That's spelled A-G-E-R-E, pronounced a-GEER..

Motorola (MOT) not much of a gain there, only $0.63.

General Electric (GE) did well, up $2.50, fifth in volume.

Citigroup joining the rally, up $2.94.

But poor Xerox (XRX) down to another low, $0.31 to the negative.

EMC (EMC) up $10.44. The company unveiled its new low price data storage device. Obviously it got a good reception.

And then 3M Company (MMM) up $11.63. The company did, indeed, confirm speculation and selected GE's James McNerney as its new Chairman and CEO.

America Online (AOL) did well, up $3.03, 10th in big board volume.

AMR (AMR), parent of American Airlines, up $2.75. Oil prices sharply lower, as I mentioned earlier.

That didn't help the oil stocks like ExxonMobil (XOM), which lost $2.31. New York January Futures down $1.69 to $29.53 a barrel, a four month low.

J.P. Morgan (JPM) the biggest point gainer in the Dow, up $13.13.

Masco (MAS), the building products provider, up $1.94 after Goldman Sachs added it to the "recommended" list.

Outback Steakhouse (OSI) falling $1.75 after First Boston downgraded it from "buy" to "hold."

And Symbol Technologies (SBL) up $2.13. This stock will be added to the Standard & Poor's 500 after the close this Friday.

Grubb & Ellis (GBE) one of the better percentage gainers, up just $1. But the company did see lower than expected second quarter earnings of $0.20. The Street thought $0.34. But the company also plans to a self tender offer for up to seven million of its shares, that's 35 percent. And the price will be $7.

Plantronics (PLT) up $6.38. This stock will be added to the Standard & Poor's Midcap 400 Index after the close on Friday.

Rogers Corp. (ROG) up $5.69. This company makes polymers and it's going to be added to the Standard & Poor's Smallcap 600 Index after the close this Friday.

The big loser of the day, Navistar International (NAV), down $10.81. Fourth quarter earnings came in at $1.41, way down from $2.04 last year. Sales actually dropped 23 percent. The company blamed a very poor truck market.

SuperValu (SVU) down $3.69. The company sees lower than expected third quarter earnings of $0.36 to $0.38. The Street was looking for $0.52.

And Oxford Industries (OXM), an apparel maker, down $2.69. It sees second quarter earnings of only $0.30 to $0.35, way down from $0.88 a year ago.

NASDAQ trading, record one day gain, 274 points, 10 ½ percent, which is also a record. Look at that volume, nearly 2 ½ billion shares, 28 stocks up for every 11 down.

Cisco Systems (CSCO) topped the active list, up 631.

Microsoft (MSFT) up 344. You won't see any minus signs on this list.

Up $26.52 on Juniper (JNPR).

Sun Micro (SUNW) up $12.88.

QUALCOMM (QCOM) gained $9.63.

Intel (INTC) up $3.06.

JDS Uniphase (JDSU) gained $9.56.

Broadcom (BRCM) up $6.44.

Brocade Communications (BRCD) just over a $28 gain.

And CIENA (CIEN) up $19.63.

Inktomi (INKT) up $12.50 and 57 percent. The software provider says its traffic server platform is getting a lot of praise.

AvantGO (AVGO) did, indeed, go, up 48 ½ percent in a sympatheti