SUSIE GHARIB: A dramatic day of news in Florida, and on Wall Street. We begin with the latest on the presidential election. After the financial markets closed today, a stunning development from the Florida Supreme Court. It ruled that manual recounts of the so-called, "undervotes" begin immediately. This is a major victory for Vice President Al Gore, and gives new life for his hopes for the White House. Darren Gersh has details.

DARREN GERSH, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: The Florida Supreme Court was considered Al Gore's last best hope for the White House, and with good reason. Today, the justices split 4 to 3 in the vice president's favor.

CRAIG WATERS, SPOKESMAN, FLORIDA SUPREME COURT: The Circuit Court of the Second Judicial Circuit, here in Tallahassee, shall immediately begin a manual recount of the approximately 9,000 Miami-Dade ballots that registered undervotes.

GERSH: Analysts say the news stunned stock traders, who had largely built a Bush victory into their portfolios, sending stocks tumbling in after-hours trading.

STEVEN EAST, MARKET STRATEGIST, FRIEDMAN, BILLINGS, RAMSEY: With all the court victories up until this point, it looks like Bush has been the cat with eight lives, but he needs nine; and that ninth life, he might not get.

GERSH: For investors and the nation, the decision is almost guaranteed to bring weeks of more legal maneuvering. Even before the ruling, Texas governor, George W. Bush vowed an appeal.

GOV GEORGE W. BUSH, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're prepared to, if need be, take our case back to the Supreme Court. But I hope that doesn't have to happen.

GERSH: The odds now increase that the Florida legislature, which began debating the issue today, will move next week to appoint electors to keep the White House from Al Gore's reach.

FLA SEN. JOHN MCKAY, R- SENATE PRESIDENT: We cannot abandon our constitutional duties, and let the six million Floridians who voted for the candidate of his or her choice not be heard.

GERSH: It is a move that is sure to inflame partisan passions.

FLA SEN. TOM ROSSIN, DEMOCRATIC LEADER: That this procedure is illegal, unconstitutional and just plain wrong.

GERSH: Analysts fear the partisan rancor and increased election uncertainty, which have dogged markets over the last month, may now begin to weigh on the economy itself.

CHARLES GABRIEL, POLITICAL ANALYST, PRUDENTIAL SECURITIES: With consumer sentiment worsening and the possibility of four to five, six weeks of continued uncertainty in South Florida, all the way up to the Supreme Court, it's just a nightmare in the making.

GERSH: So after considering this race all but over, it now looks like investors are now back to watching vote counts and spinning scenarios of constitutional showdowns. 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.

JEFF YASTINE: The recount could have a major impact on the stock market, Monday; but today, Wall Street was bullish. Stocks rallied on a weaker-than-expected employment report. The Dow rose 95 points; the NASDAQ shot up 164. As Suzanne Pratt reports, investors are now counting on an interest rate cut.

SUSAN PRATT, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: The nation's tight labor market may finally be showing signs that it's easing up, at least a little bit. According to the latest jobs data, the unemployment rate inched up to 4 percent in November from October's 3.9 percent, which had been a three-decade low. The economy created 94,000 new nonfarm jobs last month, far fewer than forecast; and that follows an even slimmer and revised increase of 77,000 in October. Economists say the one dark spot in the monthly report was that average hourly earnings jumped 0.4 percent. That's good news for workers, but not so good for financial markets, which loath even whispers of inflation. Despite the inflationary aspect of today's report, some economists say the fresh data raises the odds of a rate cut at the Federal Reserve's first meeting in 2001, at the end of January. But others say the report is not likely to alter the path the Fed is already on, one which will see a neutral bias adopted at the Fed's December 19 meeting, and a series of rate cuts next year.

DAVID JONES, CHIEF ECONOMIST, AUBREY G. LANSTON: If I had to make a guess, I would say they start in March, the second meeting of the year, March 20, and could be spread over a period let's say, out through October 2, maybe three quarter-point cuts, which would bring the overnight federal funds rate down from 6.5 percent to say 5.75 percent.

PRATT: The stock market responded to the possibility that the Fed may begin to cut rates soon, and execute a soft landing. But some experts say there's still some nervousness among investors that the economy will slow down, too much.

PHIL DOW, EQUITY STRATEGIST, DAIN RAUSCHER WESSELS: My guess is the market is still kind of operating in paranoid mode with regard to the economy. Nobody knows how far this slowdown in going to go, and the hope is that the Fed can keep it from going into a really "hard landing" mode.

PRATT: Most experts say the likelihood that the economy will suffer a hard landing next year is still pretty slim. But they say there's no question that the chance of a recession has definitely grown in the last few months. 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.

12/08/00:"Market Monitor"- Peter Green, Editor, green-on-money.com

SUSIE GHARIB: Our market monitor guest tonight is Peter Green, Editor of green-on-money.com. Nice to have you, Peter.

PETER GREEN, EDITOR, GREEN-ON-MONEY.COM: Thank you. Nice to be here.

GHARIB: Well, let's talk about what's going to happen on Monday given today's ruling by the Florida Supreme Court. What does this mean for trading on Wall Street?

GREEN: Well, it means on Monday I would think that they're going to sell off, first of all, and just make up their mind and see what the other traders think. But when in doubt, they usually sell.

GHARIB: What do you think-what is your take on the markets just generally?

GREEN: Well, I think they're a little shaky right now. They've had enough of all the unsettlement. We've really missed the year end rally, most of it anyway. It should have started in early November and now we've had this continual legal battle over who's going to be the next president and people are pretty beaten up over the whole thing, I think.

GHARIB: Well, whether you're a Democrat or whether you're a Republican, you are an investor, and what should investors be doing, in your view?

GREEN: I think you've got to be looking at 2001 and getting all set to look for what should be a pretty good year. We've had a bad year. It's been a bad year, no doubt about it. But we did have four good years so you're going to get a bad one once in a while.

GHARIB: It's been a rough year for you, too, Peter.

GREEN: I know it has.

GHARIB: I was looking over some of the stocks that you were talking about on our show back in June. They've done, you know, it's been difficult, to put it mildly. Amazon (AMZN), eBay (EBAY), Yahoo! (YHOO), Covad Communications (COVD), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Oracle (ORCL), a lot of these are high tech companies and Ericsson (ERICY), all have been cut down dramatically since you recommended them in June.

GREEN: Right.

GHARIB: What did you do with your holdings in those stocks?

GREEN: Well, I sold the Yahoo!, Amazon and eBay about three weeks after the program, and then the rest have been sold since then. I had tried to be a tax efficient investor. I decided to save money instead. So there was a lot of selling.

GHARIB: So, what is your view on stocks like this, on these technology stocks and some of them Internet stocks?

GREEN: I think you've got to wait, I think they're going to come back into favor, but you want to wait till they start rolling. These are momentum stocks. Be sure there's momentum before you buy them, because they have a nasty way of dropping. So don't get in early. Let the other people get in early and then jump on the horse later.

GHARIB: So, what's your view now? What are some of the stocks that you're buying that you feel good about that have momentum?

GREEN: I like, well, Rite Aid (RAD) doesn't have momentum, but I think it's a terrific turnaround. It's in the drugstore sector. It has 3,800 stores. They have a new management team from Fred Meyer's. They only closed 150 stores so they must have very good locations.

GHARIB: But it's a troubled stock, isn't it?

GREEN: It is a troubled stock, but it's not as troubled as its price may show. And if CVS (CVS) is selling for $53 and Rite Aid is selling for $2.50, there's a wide spread there. It looks like a $20 stock to me.

GHARIB: From $2 to $20?

GREEN: Yeah.

GHARIB: Over what time period?

GREEN: Over six months, or maybe less than that. If people jump on it, it will go.

GHARIB: All right, what other stocks do you like right now?

GREEN: I like Nokia (NOK). These wireless is going to continue being replaced. It's really becoming an addiction with people. They have to be on the phone all the time no matter what they're doing. I like Wal*mart (WMT) -

GHARIB: So you-well, let me just back up a little.

GREEN: Sure.

GHARIB: Even though you have not been very successful with other telecommunication stocks, you're still feeling positive about Nokia?

GREEN: Oh, well absolutely. I mean it's the future. This is what you invest in.

GHARIB: And you were saying, what else do you like?

GREEN: I like Wal*Mart. If there is a recession, people will be a little more careful with what they buy. They want to get a good price. Wal*Mart is great at buying huge amounts.

GHARIB: It's at $54 now. What's your target on it?

GREEN: I would say $70. Citigroup, Procter & Gamble (PG) and the Qs (QQQ) for play in the NASDAQ.

GHARIB: The Qs? Now, wouldn't that be a little risky given that so many of the NASDAQ Qs are technology stocks that are very volatile?

GREEN: You've got diversification so if you've got a diversification across the NASDAQ, I think that's really worth the risk.

GHARIB: And what is your outlook for the NASDAQ?

GREEN: I think it's going to be good.

GHARIB: It's at 2900 now but some people are saying it's going to test the 2500 level.

GREEN: Well, it could test the 2500 but I think it will be a quick test and I think when January the 1st comes around, people will start having a different frame of mind. We've almost had a rational depression right now and I'm looking for the Chairman Greenspan to reduce rates even at the December meeting.

GHARIB: Do you, which is, there are a number of people who-

GREEN: Pretty soon.

GHARIB: -- yeah, say that it might not happen in December, but it could happen in January. But let's say that Mr. Greenspan does cut interest rates and earnings, we still get all of these difficult earnings in the first quarter. What will that mean for stocks?

GREEN: I think it's such a signal that the Fed realizes there could be trouble that I think it's good news for stocks. And the earnings will settle down and you're right, there may be bad earnings because if we are going into a recession, there will be lower earnings.

GHARIB: All right, well, we'll see what happens in the new year and hopefully you'll come back and visit us then.

GREEN: My pleasure. Thank you.

GHARIB: Thank you so much, Peter. And our market monitor guest, Peter Green, Editor of green-on-money.com.

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.


12/08/2000: Paul Kangas' Wall Street Wrap Up

JEFF YASTINE: Well today's employment number, in anticipation of that Florida Supreme Court decision, put investors in a buying mood. They shook off last night's revenue warning from Intel (INTC) and began buying the blue chips right from the opening bell. The Dow jumping about 100 points in the first hour of trading. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones by a two-to-one margin. The rally was broad-based with financials and tech-oriented stocks leading the charge. By noontime, the Dow was up about 90 points. The NASDAQ Composite, seeing a big reaction as well, opening about 120 points higher, and doing kind of a sawtooth pattern throughout the day; generally higher though, gaining more than 150 points shortly after 2:00 p.m. Now later in the afternoon, some profit-taking for the blue chips came in. The Dow going on to close up 95 ½ points at 10,712. This week, the Dow fell twice, and rose three times, for week-over- week gain of about 339 points, a 3.4 percent. The NASDAQ Composite bolting 164 points higher to end at 2917. This week, it rose twice and fell three times, for an overall advance of 217.14 points, that's about a 10 percent gain there.

Big board volume weighing at 1.3 billion shares. Up volume outweighing down volume by a wide margin.

Transports gaining nearly 84 points, penetrating resistance levels of the past two weeks. Strength in airlines was certainly helpful there.

The Utilities rising about a-half point.

And the Closing Tick bullish at +800.

And the S&P indices each posting sizable gains of about 2 percent or more.

The Bridge CRB Index dipping about a-third of a point.

We have over a 10 1/2-point gain in the New York Exchange Composite.

An 11-point advance in the Value Line.

The Russell2000 Small Caps climbing nearly 18.

And the broadly-based Wilshire 5000 jumping 337 points.

Well, today's employment data might have been bullish for bonds, but prices fell as some traders sold bonds to buy into the stock rally. There was also some concern that the data reflected a bit more wage inflation than some traders wanted. So corporates and munis finished unchanged. But Treasuries fell across the board.

The 5-year note dropping 8/32.

The 10-year note falling 1/32.

And the 30-year bond lost 18/32, the yield rising at 5.54 percent.

And the Lehman Brothers Long Bond Index falling about 8 ¼ points.

Well, there's no telling what will happen on Monday, but the bulls will take their gains when they can find them. Today was certainly one of those days. The blue chips ending up 95 ½ points, the Dow at 10,712. You can see advancers an easy 2 to 1 lead there, 245 issues with a 52 week high, 60 with new lows.

MetLife (MET) rising more than $2. After the close it replaced Seagram's (VO) in the S&P 500 Index, but J.P. Morgan downgraded the stock.

And there's Seagram's (VO) exiting the S&P 500 today. Index fund, of course, selling, and the company's merger with Vivendi (V) and Canal Plus closed today.

Lucent Technologies (LU) gained $0.88.

And there's Vivendi (V) finishing down $0.81.

Motorola (MOT) gaining $1.50 today.

Nortel (NT) rising more than $4, the Canadian firm signing a deal to deliver optical Ethernet systems to New Zealand.

Compaq (CPQ) gaining $0.15.

Texas Instruments (TXN) jumped $6.63 to $49.50. This has been a resistance level for that stock the last two months, but semiconductors doing quite strongly today despite Intel's (INTC) revenue warning yesterday.

GE (GE) climbed $1.69. And Morgan Stanley setting a one year price target of 70 bucks.

Pfizer (PFE) rising just a fraction.

Among the widely helds, Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) falling $3. Next year's earnings, it said, will be about 12 percent below Wall Street estimates.

GM (GM) slipped $0.38.

And ICICI (IC) climbing $1.31. The company's board is meeting on Monday to consider a merger with India's Bank of Madura, terms not disclosed there.

Morgan Stanley Dean Witter (MWD) picking up 6 1/3 points on the Merrill Lynch upgrade from "neutral" to "accumulate."

Rockwell International (ROK) gaining $2.69. It announced plans to spin off its avionics and communications unit to shareholders.

And Stilwell Financial (SV) moved up $6.06, the Kansas City firm getting a new $600 million credit facility.

Specialty Labs (SP) advancing 7 1/3 points today went public with 5 million shares priced at $16 each. The symbol is SP.

Dave & Buster's (DAB) jumping $2.38 to a high for the year, third quarter earnings coming in at $0.12 a share. That was up from $0.02 a share a year ago and that was a 34 percent rise in revenues.

W.P. Stewart (WPL) jumping 4 1/2, the asset management firm going public with 11.2 million shares at $20.

AMCOL International (ACO) falling $1.31. The company's policy not to comment on trading activity.

Empire District Electric (EDE) down $3.69. On Monday, the stock will exit the S&P Small Cap 600 Index.

Three-Five Systems (TFS) giving up $2.25. Yesterday it fell about $2.50 after warning profits and revenues in the fourth quarter will be 50 percent below Street estimates of $0.20 a share.

On the NASDAQ, soaring 164 points, volume 2.3 billion shares, 1,663 more issues up than down.

Among the leaders here-and by the way, nearly all of these are actually trading lower in after hours because of that Florida Supreme Court decision.

Sun Microsystems (SUNW) ending down $3.88. Shares dropped on rumors of an accounting irregularity at Sun, which was sweeping

Wall Street today. But an analyst at Merrill Lynch said there's no reason to believe those rumors were true.

CIENA (CIEN) rising $18.38. An IRS inquiry into the company's financial statements was announced for 1997 and '98. The company said it doesn't expect any financial impact.

Microsoft (MSFT) gaining $1.31.

Intel (INTC) rising $1.69.

And Cisco (CSCO) tacking on $2.44. It's trading at about 50 bucks after hours, though.

Juniper Networks (JNPR) climbing $17.25 but it lost about $11 in after hours trading.

Intuit (INTU) edged up $0.69.

JDS Uniphase (JDSU) rising more than 7 points.

QUALCOMM (QCOM) dipped about $1.19.

And Brocade Communications Systems (BRCD) ending up $18.75.

The