SUSIE GHARIB: The Bush presidency was topic number one around the globe today, even on Wall Street. But after an opening rally, it was back to business as usual. The Dow tacked on just 26 points, and the NASDAQ posted another triple-digit loss, down 109. As both Vice President Al Gore and President-Elect George Bush prepare to address the nation tonight, Bush's transition team revs up. What can we expect from the new president's economic agenda? Darren Gersh has a preview.

DARREN GERSH, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: The protesters were mostly gone, leaving the Supreme Court once more a place of magisterial calm. Across the street, workers hammered away at the inaugural platform. Finally, the nation knows who will raise his hand here on January 20. The future vice president made courtesy calls with Senate Republicans.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT: We're moving forward on the transition, things are going well.

GERSH: It was almost a normal post-Election December day. Almost.

TOM GALLAGHER, POLITICAL ANALYST, INT'L STRATEGY & INVESTMENT: And obviously there are some hurt feelings, hard feelings left over from this election impasse, but I think they only compound the difficulty in governing that was created by the close election outcome.

GERSH: Investors said all along what they most wanted was finality, and today they got it. Stocks that were expected to do well under a Bush administration, did well: pharmaceuticals, energy and tobacco. But for the broader market, news the vice president was preparing to bow out was almost a non-event.

GALLAGHER: The markets have declared Bush the winner four or five times already. Most of that effect had already been priced in, and just how many more times can you really rally on that news

GERSH: Now the question for the nation and investors is: What can the president-elect do with his difficult victory? In his speech tonight, Mr. Bush is expected to reach out for bipartisan support. No question, it will be a tough challenge.

JOAN WOODWARD, POLITICAL ANALYST, GOLDMAN SACHS: So, we'll have some gridlock, which the bond market likes, and we'll have some bipartisanship on some of the bigger ticket items.

GERSH: The huge budget surplus may act as a balm for the nation's political wounds. With so much money flowing into Washington, analysts say reaching agreements may be easier.

WOODWARD: The opportunities there, should he want to capture this federal budget surplus - for some modest tax cuts, for some incremental reforms in Medicare, for a drug benefit. So you will see some policy initiatives actually get signed into law.

GERSH: But few here expect Mr. Bush can deliver on his promise of across-the-board tax cuts. Instead, they're looking for more modest changes, such as increased incentives for retirement savings, estate tax and marriage penalty relief. The normal speculation about what the next president can and can't get done, has begun. 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.

PAUL KANGAS: It has been almost a year since America Online (AOL) and Time Warner (TWX) announced plans to merge. Tomorrow, regulators meet to vote on the deal. AOL and Time Warner say they're on track to finalize the deal by the end of the year or early next. But opponents have waged a last minute lobbying effort to change the deal or block it. Stephanie Woods reports.

STEPHANIE WOODS, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: The guest list at the Federal Trade Commission this week reads like a who's who of opponents to the merger of AOL and Time Warner. Microsoft (MSFT), Disney (DIS) and the ACLU have come to make their case to regulators one last time. They want to make sure a merged AOL/Time Warner won't play favorites when it comes to content.

BARRY STEINHARDT, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, ACLU: The key point we have tried to drive home with the FTC is that what AOL/Time Warner intend to do is put a stranglehold on a new marketplace. That happens, in this case, that's a marketplace of ideas.

WOODS: Not so, say AOL and Time Warner, and they point to the recently signed agreement letting rival EarthLink (ELNK) use its high speed network as proof. Still, some smaller regional Internet service providers worry they will get squeezed out.

SCOTT MCCOLLOUGH, TEXAS INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS ASSOCIATION: Our concern is not that they've reached agreement with EarthLink. It is that we will not be able to get onto the system on terms that make business sense to us.

WOODS: Sources say the commissioners are still weighing the issues and it's too close to call whether there are enough votes to clear the deal. Throughout the process, AOL and Time Warner have said they expect the deal to go through, but today had no comment. In addition to the FTC, the deal must still be cleared by the Federal Communications Commission. But if the FTC gives the OK, that process may not take long.

WILLIAM KENNARD, CHAIRMAN, FCC: Our review has been ongoing for months now. We've been meeting with the parties and preparing to make a decision. I would like to see the FCC decide by the end of the year and we are working toward that goal right now.

WOODS: If the deal clears regulatory hurdles, the companies still must make the business plan work. With technology stocks in a slump and ad sales slowing, they'll have their work cut out for them. 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.

12/13/00:The Outlook For The U.S. Economy

PAUL KANGAS: As I noted earlier, Whirlpool (WHR) today jumped on the bandwagon of corporate earnings warnings. Add to that reports of problems in some sectors of the economy and you have signals suggesting an economic slowdown. Joining us with his outlook for the U.S. economy in the year 2001 is Simon Kennedy, Senior Economics Reporter for BridgeNews. And welcome, Simon.

SIMON KENNEDY, SR. ECONOMICS REPORTER, BRIDGENEWS: Good evening.

KANGAS: How serious a slowdown is the United States economy experiencing?

KENNEDY: Well, certainly it's displaying signs of weakening from outside gains earlier in the year. Growth was half what it was in the third quarter than it was in the previous three months. It was its slowest in four years and we're seeing manufacturing start to make jobs growth stall. We're seeing the confidence fall and retail sales fell 0.4 percent according to data released today. So certainly the economy is slowing.

KANGAS: What would you say the growth rate would be for 2001 overall?

KENNEDY: 2001 overall is still a moot point.

KANGAS: Two and a half percent, 3 percent? What do you think?

KENNEDY: Two and a half percent is within the realms of possibility, although most analysts pencil in three percent but admit that risk is to the down side.

KANGAS: Well, given that, do you think that a Federal Reserve rate cut is definitely in the offing, let's say in the first quarter of the new year?

KENNEDY: I think we can expect the Fed to cut interest rates. A BridgeNews poll conducted just today found 23 analysts pointing to a reduction of 25 basis points by March, 50 basis points over the year as a whole.

KANGAS: No more than 50 basis points for the whole year?

KENNEDY: Well, that was certainly the forecast of analysts today, but the expectation of the markets is for at least 75 basis points. And certainly if the economy doesn't react to the first trimming of interest rates since 1998, then the Fed may be forced to do more.

KANGAS: Or maybe President Elect Bush's idea of a tax cut might pass Congress. What do you think of that?

KENNEDY: Certainly Republicans are starting to talk up the chances of that tax cut being implemented. But it should be noted that such cuts won't come on stream until 2002. So while we're already seeing the loosening of fiscal policy, Bush's arrival on the scene may be just too late to provide the fiscal policy boost to the economy.

KANGAS: We just have 20 seconds, Simon. Is recession a possibility?

KENNEDY: Recession is certainly is a possibility and it has grown in recent months as the slowing data has picked up. But BridgeNews' poll of analysts today attributed just a one in four chance of recession.

KANGAS: All right, well, that's fairly good news, I guess. Simon, thank you very much for being with us. My guest, Simon Kennedy, Senior Economics Reporter for 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.


12/13/00: Business Week" Digital Economy-Scott Russell, the Managing Director of SOFTBANK Venture Capital

SUSIE GHARIB: The collapse of so many dot.coms has brought with it the drying up of the IPO market and that has put pressure on the venture capitalists who nurture new companies in hopes of profiting when they sell stock to the public. At a recent "Business Week" forum on the digital economy, Scott Russell, the Managing Director of SOFTBANK Venture Capital, told Scott Gurvey that it's been a tough year.

SCOTT RUSSELL, MANAGING DIRECTOR, SOFTBANK VENTURE CAPITAL: The world has sort of been turned on its head over the last 12 months and, you know, the conferences are really focused now on survivors, who's going to make it and who is not going to make it. Whereas a year ago when the go-go years were going on, it was all about who is going to make the most money. So, the tone has changed and it creates a much different dynamic.

SCOTT GURVEY, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Is there a change in the types of ventures that are receiving funding? You get the sense that they have to be more concrete.

RUSSELL: Oh, yeah. This year's the sort of the return to the basics. It's interesting how the VCs talk to each other and we all talk about well, I've got a really old-fashioned deal for you, one that's just purely about software and doesn't have any gimmicks to it. So, yeah. It definitely is a year when people are getting back to the basics and there's a lot less hype out there.

GURVEY: What is the different about the time frame? Does it take longer now for a company to get to the IPO stage?

RUSSELL: Well, there's two things that are going on. One is of course we're looking for half the profitability, is one of the new buzz words going on. How soon are the people going to be able to break, cash flow break even. But the second thing that's happening in the venture world is that we're taking sort of a longer horizon to it. We're making more reserves so that we say well, maybe this business will take four years before it goes public. And during the go-go years, it was, you know, one or two years. So you didn't have to reserve as much.

GURVEY: What kinds of things do you look for when you look for a company to fund?

RUSSELL: In the era of back to basics, we're looking for people with even more experience in business. You know, in the years past, we would take people who were green, who had never been in a business before and try to, you know, help them build a store even though they had never been a merchant. So we're looking for people who have, particularly in software, who have had a lot of experience in building enterprise software applications, and we're looking for people who don't need as much capital. You talked about, you know, half the profitability and how quickly you can get there. It's more are these people cost conscious and more in it for the long haul as opposed to the quick flip.

GURVEY: Do you think there's been an overreaction in terms of the falling stock prices and the drying up of IPO capital?

RUSSELL: Yeah. It has over reacted and the thing that is probably most important for America in general is if the capital dries up for entrepreneurship and innovation, then, of course, innovation slows down and, you know, America has always been the world's leader in innovation. And right now there's a lot of people with really good ideas that just can't get them off the ground. So I'd like to see some moderation. I mean it doesn't have to go totally back to the go-go years but some easing up so that, you know, more and more good ideas can get founded.

GURVEY: Thank you. Scott Russell, SOFTBANK Ventures.

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.



12/13/00: "Money File"-The Muscle Behind Midcaps

SUSIE GHARIB: In the money file tonight, technology stocks have been battered this year and they've managed to pull down the rest of the stock market. But tonight's commentator says that mid cap stocks have shown a surprising strength. Here's Don Phillips, Managing Director of Morningstar.

DON PHILLIPS, MANAGING DIRECTOR, MORNINGSTAR: We've all heard about the plunging prices of technology stocks, but that doesn't mean that there haven't been pockets of opportunity in this market. In particular, mid cap stocks are having an exceptionally strong year and that's translating into some nice returns for many stock fund shareholders, especially when viewed against the weak returns for the S&P 500 Index. While relatively few mutual funds label themselves as mid cap funds, nearly all actively managed funds shade toward the mid cap sector. That's because managers of large cap funds often spice up their portfolios by throwing a few smaller stocks into the mix. Conversely, many small cap managers hold onto some of their hottest stocks, even after they grow beyond conventional definitions of small. As a result, most stock funds tend to benefit when mid caps rally and to suffer when they stall. In recent years, this mid cap bias has worked against many funds, as the market showered its rewards on only the biggest of the big. In other years, when small stocks have rallied, the natural fund bias toward mid caps has slowed the performance of some funds. In both cases, funds appear to be weaker than pure play indices of either large or small cap stocks, adding further fuel to the fire for Index fans. This year, however, has seen a very different scenario. With mid caps rallying and most large and small cap indices flat or down, nearly 70 percent of all U.S. stock fund managers are beating the S&P 500 Index. What had been a head wind is now a tail wind. We'll see how long it lasts, but beleaguered fund investors should enjoy it while it does. For once, it's nice to be in the middle. I'm Don Phillips.

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.


12/13/2000: Paul Kangas' Wall Street Wrap Up

PAUL KANGAS: The Supreme Court's decision favoring a George W. Bush presidency created some opening euphoria on Wall Street today, which sent the Dow Industrial Average up 146 points, and the NASDAQ Index up 70 points at the outset of trading. But it wasn't long before the market faded under the weight of more corporate earnings warnings, including one from Whirlpool Corporation (WHR) which revived concern about the slowing economy. By 11:00 a.m., the Dow had its gain cut to only 35 points, while a sell-off in the tech sector sent the NASDAQ Index to a 49-point loss. High quality blue chip stocks, like Philip Morris (MO), J.P.Morgan (JPM) and Microsoft (MSFT), which investors feel would benefit from a Bush administration, led a rally which lifted the Dow back to an 87-point gain by noontime; but the NASDAQ Index fell to a 30-point deficit. Buyers moved to the sidelines in afternoon trading, not wanting to make strong commitments until hearing tonight's speeches by Al Gore and George W. Bush. The Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to hold onto a closing gain of only 26.17 points putting it at 10,794.44. In today's 147-point trading range, the Industrial Average closed down 121 points from its best level of the session. The NASDAQ Composite fell exactly 109 points ending at 2822.77. In its 188-point trading range, the Composite Index settled 179 points below its best level of the day.

Big board volume moved up considerably, about 107 million shares from yesterday's pace. Six to 5 ratio of down volume over up volume.

The Dow Transport Index losing nearly 58 points.

The Utility Index managed to gain 1.24.

And the Closing Tick just slightly bullish at +106.

Standard & Poor's 500 down nearly 11 ¼ points.

About an 8 1/3-point drop in the 100.

The MidCap 400 fell just over 9 points.

And the Bridge Futures Price Index down just over 2 ½ points.

New York Stock Exchange Composite fell nearly 1 ¾ points.

Nearly a 5-point drop in the Value Line.

Russell2000 Small Cap off 7.87.

And the Broadly-Based Wilshire 5000 lost just about 140 points, or 1.1 percent.

The bond market put in a strong performance today against a background of more signals that the economy is flagging, including this morning's report of a bigger-than-expected drop in November retail sales, about which we'll have the details shortly. Among other positive factors was a fairly firm U.S. dollar and nearly a one-dollar-per-barrel decline in some of the New York oil futures. Tax-free and corporate issues rallied 3/8 to 5/8 of a point on average, and the Treasury market posted solid gains across the board.

5-year notes up 13/32.

Bellwether 10-year note up 22/32, bringing the yield all the way down to 5.26 percent.

And the 30-year bond up 31/32.

And the Lehman Brothers Long-Term Treasury Bond Index gained just over 10 points.

There wasn't much left of the opening blue chip rally by the closing bell and of course the NASDAQ didn't do well at all. But the Dow managed to hold on to a 26 point closing gain. The broader market lower by 88 issues and yet 109 new yearly highs; 65 new lows.

Lucent Technologies (LU) once again topped the active list today on 32.6 million shares, up another $1.25 after gaining $2 yesterday on a rumor that Nokia (NOK) might want to make a buyout bid. But most analysts discount that and say that's not going to happen.

But today the rumor was Alcatel (ALA) might be interested.

Nortel Networks (NT) losing $2.31 on concern about whether the company's sales targets will be met.

Compaq Computer (CPQ) down $2.67. After the close yesterday, of course, the company issued a fourth quarter earnings warning.

AT & T (T) moved up $0.75.

Pfizer (PFE) in that strong drug group, up $1.81, fifth in volume.

Charles Schwab (SCH), the big broker, down $0.56, traded as low as $28 today. The company reported November daily average trades from clients were down 10 -- or five percent from last year in November and down 15 percent from October of this year.

General Electric (GE) moved up $0.19 a share.

And EMC (EMC), a little more profit taking there, down $4.25.

Philip Morris (MO) up $2.47. Now, first of all, there's these ideas that there'll be less regulation of tobacco companies by the Bush administration and today there were reports that Philip Morris may soon sell 10 percent of its Kraft Foods division in an initial public offering.

America Online (AOL) down $0.20, 10th in volume.

Bear Stearns (BSC) down $1.56. This is one of the several brokers, according to the "Wall Street Journal"'s 'Heard On The Street' column, that the SEC wants more information from regarding how they allocate hot initial public offerings.

IBM (IBM) was the biggest point loser in the Dow today.

J.P. Morgan (JPM) was the biggest point winner, up $5.81.

Medtronic (MDT) gained $2.06. The company's management repeated recent revenue and earnings guidance for the second half of the year, holding steady with previous pronouncements, so that's good news.

STMicroelectronics (STM) down $2.56. First Boston downgraded it from "strong buy" to just a "buy."

And then Whirlpool (WHR), which we talked about earlier, down $2.75. The company sees frequent earnings around $0.98, the same as in the third quarter, and the Street was looking for $1.42.

St. Joseph Light & Power (SAJ) up $2.25, one of the better percentage gainers. There's optimism the company's merger with

UtiliCorp United (UCU) will get approval by the Missouri utility regulators when they meet tomorrow.

R.J.Reynolds Tobacco (RJR) up $4.25. This company plans to buy back $350 million of its own common stock over the next year.

General Semiconductor (SEM) down $1.63. The company sees fourth quarter earnings at $0.26 to $0.28 versus Street estimates of $0.34. It also sees revenues falling five to seven percent from a year ago.

Fleetwood Enterprises (FLE), one of the largest maker of recreational vehicles, down $1.88. The company sees a third quarter loss bigger than its second quarter loss and it's also cutting its quarterly dividend from $0.19 all the way down to $0.04 a share.

Santa Fe International (SDC) down $4.44. The company cut its fourth quarter earnings estimate from $0.32 down to $0.29 a share.

And Claire's Stores (CLE) down $2.56, the company predicting fourth quarter earnings of $0.70 to $0.80. The Street was expecting $1.12.

NASDAQ trading, a loss of exactly 109 points or 3.7 percent. Volume moved above two billion shares from yesterday. About 16 stocks higher for every 22 lower.

Sun Microsystems (SUNW) topped the active list, losing $2.13 in the weak high tech group.

Microsoft (MSFT) off $1.13.

A $3.25 loss in Cisco (CSCO).

Veritas Software (VRTS) off $9.75.

CIENA (CIEN) lost nearly $11.50 a share.

JDS Uniphase (JDSU) down $1.69.

Intel (INTC) dropped a $1.

Juniper Networks (JNPR) falling $6.06.

And then Broadcom (BRCM) down $2.81.

And 10th in volume, Applied Micro Circuits (AMCC) down $2.19.

Not a plus sign on the 10 mo