SUSIE GHARIB: A U-turn on Wall Street today: stocks surged in a late afternoon rally reversing earlier losses. The Dow climbed 114 points, and the NASDAQ posted a loss of only three points. Investors were troubled by a string of weak economic news, including a spike in jobless claims. But they were encouraged by President Bush's sweeping proposals today for airport security. As Quinn O'Toole reports, the outlook for airlines depends on Americans feeling safe in the air.

QUINN O'TOOLE, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: With jets roaring overhead, President Bush told airline workers at Chicago's O'Hare airport, America's skies are safe.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're returning America's airlines back to the American people. We're making a strong statement that together, together the government and the private sector will make flying a way of life again in America.

O'TOOLE: The president outlined new steps to bolster security in the air and on the ground. The National Guard will be called on to patrol airports as an immediate measure. The Federal government will take over responsibility for screening passengers and baggage. $500 million in Federal money will be made available to fortify cockpit doors and for other measures to boost security on board planes. And the number of armed, plain clothed Federal air marshals will be increased. The government has already set aside $3 billion to pay for heightened security. Airlines and eventually passengers will likely shoulder some of the cost. But for now, the government and industry are focused not on cost, but restoring confidence and filling seats. Travel is down by as much as 80 percent. Despite a Federal bailout, the airline's access to capital is limited and they're losing millions every day. And while analysts do expect travel to pick up by early next year, they say even then...

PHILLIP BAGGELY, AIRLINE ANALYST, STANDARD & POOR'S: We're talking about going from huge losses to merely very large losses. So the risk of some airlines failing is still very real.

O'TOOLE: In the short run, analysts expect airlines will start slashing fares to lure customers back and that should help. But they say it will be a long time before low fares will outweigh the memories of September 11. Quinn O'Toole, "NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT," Washington.

Nightly Business Report transcripts are available on-line post broadcast. The program is transcribed by eMediaMillWorks. 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.

09/27/01: Turbulent Times Trickle Down To Regional Air Carriers

PAUL KANGAS: Much of the focus on the airline industry and its financial woes in the wake of the terrorist attacks, has been on the major carriers, but as Diane Eastabrook reports, the smaller regional carriers are also dealing with turbulent times.

DIANE EASTABROOK, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Like most Midwest Express (MEH) flights this week, flight 114 arrives in Milwaukee roughly half full and heads out to Kansas City the same way. The terrorist attacks two weeks ago are taking a toll on this regional airline. With passenger traffic off, Midwest Express has cut capacity about 30 percent.

TIMOTHY HOEKSEMA, CHAIRMAN & CEO, MIDWEST EXPRESS AIRLIINES: I think it's going to take a long time for traffic to come back, despite the fact that it's safer to fly today than it has been anytime in the 17 years that we've been in business.

EASTABROOK: Hoeksema's days recently have become a constant juggling act, examining flight schedules and passenger loads, determining which planes will take off and which ones won't.

HOEKSEMA: If we have four flights to a particular city, we might cut it back to two or to three.

EASTABROOK: But despite those cuts, Midwest Express is still burning through cash. Hoeksema says the $17 million the company should receive from the government's grant program will only get it through early October. So that means the capacity cuts will continue indefinitely, and the purchase of some new jets will be delayed. And beginning tomorrow, 450 Midwest employees will be laid off-that's about 13 percent of its workforce.

HOEKSEMA: As a small airline, I know most of the employees that make up our team of terrific people. And nothing hurts me more than having to tell some of those people that they're on temporary furlough.

EASTABROOK: Midwest Express was struggling months before the events of September 11. As a so-called premium airline, the company primarily targets business customers and those customers have been cutting back dramatically on travel because of the sagging economy. Analysts say getting travelers over their fear of flying is just the first hurdle Midwest Express must cross before it can start making money again.

ANDREW MEISTER, AIRLINE ANALYST, ROBERT W. BAIRD & CO. Comfort with air travel is probably 10 percent of the story, and 90 percent of the story is what happens to the economy.

EASTABROOK: Midwest Express expects 2001 to be its first unprofitable year in 15 years. But the company is confident it will rebound from this turbulence.

HOEKSEMA: We are one of the airlines that will survive and get through this, and we're very confident of that.

EASTABROOK: Diane Eastabrook, "NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT," Milwaukee.

Nightly Business Report transcripts are available on-line post broadcast. The program is transcribed by eMediaMillWorks. 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.

09/27/01: One On One With eBay CEO, Meg Whitman

SUSIE GHARIB: The NASDAQ wants to help keep its listings in business. It has suspended its minimum per share price requirement for NASDAQ listed stocks. The $1 requirement has been lifted until January 2, and NASDAQ says it will review making the change permanent. The move was aimed at supporting companies in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Also at the NASDAQ this morning, eBay CEO Meg Whitman lit up the electronic board to open trading. She was in New York to publicize a special auction at eBay to raise money for families and communities affected by the World Trade Center attack. It's called "auction for America." EBay has already donated $1 million. Earlier today I talked with Whitman and asked her about the response so far.

MEG WHITMAN, CEO, eBAY: The response has been incredibly actually, not only from our community of registered users which is now 34 million strong, but also celebrities and politicians and athletes and musicians who are putting up things that are real interesting and fun for people to buy.

GHARIB: Ms. Whitman, it's a wonderful idea. I understand the auction has already been under way for about a week. How much have you raised?

WHITMAN: We've raised about $4 million and of course the first set of auctions just began to close on Monday. So we're really just beginning to get under way. And Auction For America is, the objective is to raise $100 million in 100 days, which coincidentally, the 100 days ends on Christmas day.

GHARIB: Ever since those terrorist attacks, consumers have become a little nervous, a little hesitant about spending money. How has that impacted your traditional eBay auctions?

WHITMAN: Right after September 11, the site listings dropped quite dramatically, as did bids, because I think everyone was focused on figuring out what had actually happened and what the impact was. In the last four or five days we've seen the site rebound and I have been so pleased by the resiliency of the eBay community. And we're now back to the levels of volume and trading prior to September 11.

GHARIB: So what has been the trend in listings?

WHITMAN: Well, of course, it dropped off quite dramatically the week of September 11 and is now back up to almost seven million items on the site as a whole with similar levels of listings, about a million new listings a day, and commensurate bids.

GHARIB: What about in terms of eBay Motors?

WHITMAN: EBay Motors is actually coming back really nicely, as well. As you know, eBay is the largest used car site on the entire Web in terms of the buying and selling of used vehicles.

GHARIB: Do you think, though, that if consumer spending continues to decline and consumer confidence continues to decline that that could have a negative impact for eBay?

WHITMAN: It's possible. I think that it depends on how negative it is. I think we will do better than almost any other company because people come to eBay for a value. If you want that laptop but you don't want to pay full retail, eBay is the natural place to come. So I think we, you know, if the consumer really does stop spending hard, then certainly we will be affected. But I think we'll be better than most any other venue, land based or on the Net.

GHARIB: You recently reiterated your guidance on third quarter earnings. What is your forecast for the rest of the year?

WHITMAN: We feel very comfortable with Q3 and we're cautiously optimistic about Q4. We will reassess our guidance and talk about it officially in the middle of October when we release our earnings. But I feel pretty confident about the outlook for Q4 notwithstanding everything that's going on around us.

GHARIB: Looking at your overall corporate strategy beyond Auction For America, eBay had been really expanding into so many new venues.

WHITMAN: Yes.

GHARIB: Do you see more opportunities for eBay or do you feel your strategy has been affected by the September 11 attacks?

WHITMAN: We see tremendous opportunities going forward. Fundamentally trading is in the human DNA. This concept is as relevant outside the United States as it is inside the United States. EBay users are enjoying trading not only in the auction format, but the fixed price format. We just launched eBay Stores, which allows sellers to set up a virtual store front on eBay. So the opportunities are endless and we are going to continue to aggressively go after them and continue to set pretty aggressive growth targets for the company.

GHARIB: Thank you very much for talking to NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT.

WHITMAN: Thank you very much.

Nightly Business Report transcripts are available on-line post broadcast. The program is transcribed by eMediaMillWorks. 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.

09/27/01: Commentary: The US Economy Proves Tougher Than Terrorism

SUSIE GHARIB: Commentator says September 11 proved that the nation's financial infrastructure is strong. Here's Alice Rivlin, former Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve.

ALICE RIVLIN, COMMENTARY: Catastrophe is a stress test for the institutions that keep our economy functioning. The Federal Reserve gets high marks for damage control in the wake of September 11. The terrorists that took out the World Trade Center did not succeed in throwing the world's financial systems into chaos. Payments got made and markets outside New York continued to function. Credit goes to the robust infrastructure tested in preparation for Y2K and to the Fed's ability, working with the European Central Bank, to flood the banking system with astronomical amounts of liquidity. Moreover, the Fed, doing all that a central bank can do, accelerated its aggressive rate cutting and will doubtless lower rates another notch on Tuesday. The stress test for budget stimulus is harder because it requires the president and the Congress to work together fast. Their swift action to aid New York and bail out the airlines is encourage, but more is needed. If our politicians can resist the temptation to use the crisis as an excuse to fund their pet projects or tax theories, they can help avert a destructive drop in spending without undermining long run fiscal discipline. A rebate based on individual payroll taxes but paid out of general revenues, not the Social Security Trust Fund, would be the best way of putting money in the hands of low and moderate income consumers, the ones most likely to spend it. I'm Alice Rivlin.

Nightly Business Report transcripts are available on-line post broadcast. The program is transcribed by eMediaMillWorks. 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.

09/27/01: How The Value Of Family Values Has Changed

SUSIE GHARIB: The recent terrorist attacks have changed the way the United States does business. Also, many Americans are reevaluating their priorities when it comes to work and family. Here's Tracey Matisak with more from WHYY in Philadelphia.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: All right. Good play.

TRACEY MATISAK, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: It's the middle of the business day and CEO Michael Halter has left the office for the football field. Work will have to wait until after his son's game.

MICHAEL HALTER, PRES & CEO, HAHNEMANN UNIV. HOSPITAL: I want to be there for them.

MATISAK: Halter is at the helm of Philadelphia's Hahnemann University Hospital. While his family has always come first, it has become even more important in the aftermath of the recent terrorist attacks.

HALTER: I now have a cell phone on me all the time so that my children and my wife can call me any time they want.

MATISAK: Wharton School Professor Nancy Rothbard studies workplace trends. She says the monumental loss of life on September 11 is causing many of us to reevaluate what is truly important.

NANCY ROTHBARD, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF MANAGEMENT, WHARTON SCHOOL OF BUSINESS: A lot of people have talked about how they're sort of reassessing whether they are, you know, engaging in work to the exclusion of family and going back to engaging their family to try to recoup, to kind of gain some emotional stability.

MATISAK: In addition to the renewed focus on family, experts say they're also seeing changes at the office.

ROTHBARD: People have been talking about how leaders are refocusing on people, prioritizing their people.

HALTER: We had moments of silence. We've had prayer sessions. We've let people know that if they need time off they can have it. This is a time where we just forget business for a while.

ROTHBARD: And I think that that's a really critical step that needs to take before we can move on and get back completely to business as usual.

MATISAK: With a rising death toll, a turbulent stock market and the country bracing itself for war, some question whether it will ever be business as usual again. Back at the football field, Michael Halter reflects on the legacy he wants to leave his children, a legacy that has taken on even greater meaning in recent weeks.

HALTER: Hopefully my children will understand what's really important and if I can give that to them, a good education and a good value structure, you know, what else can I leave them with?

MATISAK: No one knows for sure how long this trend toward reprioritizing will last. In the short-term, though, many American businesses are having to decide how to respond as more and more employees rethink what matters most. Tracey Matisak, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Philadelphia.

Nightly Business Report transcripts are available on-line post broadcast. The program is transcribed by eMediaMillWorks. 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.

09/27/01: Paul Kangas' Wall Street Wrap Up

PAUL KANGAS: Wall Street's blue chips tried to extend yesterday's late upturn, which cut a 120 point deficit in the Dow to a 92 point closing loss, and the Dow rose some 36 points at the outset today. That gain soon evaporated, however, when the NASDAQ market moved lower from the start. And that report of a bigger than expected jump in the latest weekly jobless claims was another negative. By 10:30 this morning, the Dow slumped to a 60 point loss. NASDAQ was down 33. The market extended its downturn for the rest of the morning partly in reaction to a cut in earnings estimates by Goldman Sachs for all of the semiconductor stocks it covers. Putting additional pressure on the tech sector was Morgan Stanley's cut in earnings estimates for Cisco Systems (CSC). At 12:30 p.m., the Industrial Average fell to a 68 point deficit. NASDAQ was off 42 points or 2.9 percent. Selling pressures eased in early afternoon and a flurry of aggressive buying followed, which appeared to be linked to end of month portfolio balancing by institutional investors. The Dow Industrial Average surged to a closing gain of 114.03 points, or 1.3 percent, to stand at 8,681.42. The NASDAQ Index slashed its closing loss to only 3.33 putting it at 1460.71.

Big board volume down to 1.47 billion shares, below yesterday. About a 9 to 5 ratio of up volume over down volume.

Dow Transports Index off 7 3/4 points.

A 4 1/10 point drop in the Utility Index.

The Closing Tick just slightly bullish at +146.

Standard & Poor's 500 up 11 1/2 and then some.

A 5 2/3 point rise in the S&P 100.

MidCap 400 up nearly 7 1/4.

Bridge Futures Price Index edged up .61.

A gain of just about 7 3/4 in the New York Composite.

A 1 1/2 point rise in the Value Line.

Russell2000 Small Cap up 3.17.

And the broadly based Wilshire 5000 up nearly 103 1/2 points.

Bond prices advanced for the third straight day, thanks in part to that report of a much larger than expected jump in the latest weekly jobless claims. The early sell-off in the stock market prompted some safe haven buying, which also propped up the bond market. It did hold its gains despite the late rally in stocks interestingly.

Tax free and corporate issues ended with gains of 3/8 to 1/2 point, on average and Treasuries were solidly higher across the board.

A 5/32 rise in the 5-year note, 38 year low incidentally.

10-year up 19/32.

And the 30-year bond up 27/32.

And the Lehman Brothers Long-Term Treasury Bond Index up 13.12.

It was a rather impressive come from behind rally both for the blue chips and the NASDAQ markets, the Dow ending with a gain of 114 points after being down as much as 70 and the broader market higher at the close by a 19 to 12 margin. Only 32 new yearly highs, though; 231 new lows. Qwest Communications (Q) topped the active list on 22.6 million shares, down $2.90. It's on no specific news. A lot of portfolio shuffling going on between the institutional investors.

EMC (EMC) down $0.83.

Pfizer (PFE), the drugs remain firm these days, up $1.20 there.

AES (AES) rebounding a mere $1 after tumbling $12 yesterday on the announcement that the company thinks it's going to have lower than expected earnings.

General Electric (GE) in there with a $0.47 gain.

AOL Time Warner (AOL) moved up $0.17.

And Orion Power Holdings (ORN), the star of the day, up $5.86 on news Reliant Resources (RRI) will acquire the company for $26.80 a share in cash. Reliant's stock was down $0.93, incidentally.

Compaq Computer (CPQ) moved up $0.16.

Nokia (NOK) down $0.23.

And tenth in volume, Citigroup , moving up $0.57.

Ace Limited (ACE) up $2.35. That's an indicator that some of the insurance stocks are making a bit of a comeback. Nice move there.

Analog Devices (ADI) down $0.80. And this morning it traded as low as $29 a share after Goldman Sachs cut earnings estimates on those semiconductor related stocks.

Frankliin Resources (BEN) down $1.26. The company sees fourth quarter earnings falling short of the $0.45 per share Street estimate. Merrill Lynch meantime downgraded the stock from "accumulate" to "near term neutral."

Continental Airlines B stock (CAL) off $1.75. The Dow Jones newswire says the weakness is due to liquidity concerns.

ExxonMobil (XOM) up $2.41. The oils made a nice comeback today. New York November oil futures were up $0.36 a barrel to $22.74.

And then Global Crossing (GX) down $0.45. The company said it's going to take a third quarter non-cash charge, reflecting its 20 percent stake in the now bankrupt Exodus Communications (EXDS).

Walter Industries (WLT), which is in construction services, up $1.40, one of the best percentage gainers. A spokesman suggested bottom fishing. The 52 week high on the stock was close to $15.

Massey Energy (MEE) had a good day, up $1.70. Merrill Lynch upgraded it from "accumulate" to "near term buy."

Granite Construction (GVA) up $2.48. UBS Warburg upgraded it from "hold" to "buy." This company builds airports, highways, dams and so forth.

Alstom (ALS) was down $5.76, one of the big percentage losers. The company says it's uncertain about the extent of its liability linked to the bankruptcy of Renaissance Cruise.

Milacron (MZ) down $1.72. The company sees a third quarter loss ranging from $0.30 to $0.35 a share on a 25 percent drop in sales.

And Exelon (EXE), this is the big holding company for Commonwealth Edison, it sees lower than expected third quarter earnings of $1.10 to $1.20 versus its earlier projection of $1.35 to $1.80.

NASDAQ trading, a loss of only 333. That Index was down close to 50 at one stage. Volume moved up to two billion shares. 13 stocks higher for every 22 lower.

Microsoft (MSFT) topped th