SUSIE GHARIB: Another brutal day for Enron, the once-powerful energy trading company. The stock plunged further, as investors around the world waited to see if the company would file for bankruptcy. It didn't. And in Washington, Congressional leaders called for an investigation. We have two reports this evening looking at the latest developments. We begin with Suzanne Pratt in New York.

SUZANNE PRATT, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT ANCHOR: Enron's troubles went from bad to worse today, as its stock plunged 4 percent and the company teetered on the brink of bankruptcy. The once high-flying Wall Street darling closed at 36 cents a share, down a quarter-a far cry from where it was trading in mid October when it began its downward spiral. On Wednesday, rival Dynegy (DYN) canceled plans to rescue the troubled company after Enron's credit ratings were slashed to junk bond status. And today, the bad news continued. Among the latest developments, Enron's European arm filed for creditor protection in London. The New York Mercantile Exchange restricted all trades with Enron. And at its headquarters in Houston, Enron said it may not be able to pay dividends on some preferred stock. In the US, Many products were being traded again on Enron online after the trading system was shut down yesterday.

MICHAEL HEIM, SECURITIES ANALYST, A.G. EDWARDS: Certainly Enron's going do everything they can to keep operations as normal the bigger question is there anybody else on the other side of the trades and that's been the problem for the company the last month or so.

PRATT: Experts say the question now is not so much whether Enron will file for bankruptcy protection but when.

GORDON HOWALD, UTILITY ANALYST, CREDIT LYONNAIS SECURITIES: I don't think Enron has much of a choice in the future. I think the next step for Enron is probably bankruptcy filing and I think that's something, you know, because of the complexities of the situation that could take a couple of days before it actually gets done.

PRATT: While there has been talk of a white knight stepping out on the Street experts say that unlikely. They say Dynegy is the best fit and that idea is clearly that deal is beyond dead and buried. Suzanne pratt, "NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT." Suzanne pratt, "NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT," New York.

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.

11/29/01: The SEC Investigates Enron

STEPHANIE WOODS, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT ANCHOR: This is Stephanie Woods in Washington. The securities and exchange commission is already investigating Enron.

HARVEY PITT, CHAIRMAN, SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISION: We are looking at the entire situation to not only see whether laws were violated but whether we can learn anything and prevent some of the things we've seen from happening again.

WOODS: Congress is also asking questions. House Commerce Committee chairman Billy Tauzin today called for a probe of the firm. Enron's collapse may have a profound impact on the deregulation of critical gas and electricity markets.

SENATOR TOM DASCHLE: I think we need to find as much information as possible, make some assessment about whether it's indicative of energy in a larger context, and if it is, what we ought to do about it.

WOODS: Observers say Enron's wounds are self- inflicted. Questionable insider deals and billions of dollars in previously hidden debt caused energy traders to lose confidence in the firm. And even though the rest of the wholesale energy market is believed to be sound, the nation's top energy regulator says Enron's failures may change the approach to deregulation.

PAT WOOD, CHAIRMAN, FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION: We're open to kind of looking at if there needs to be any changes to the way that we oversee this industry in transition. There aren't a lot of rules from how somebody did it before because it hasn't been done before. So, we do want to be cautious.

WOODS: Enron was one of the loudest voices defending energy deregulation. It contributed millions of dollars to political candidates, including George w. Bush. Deregulation advocates say Enron will be missed.

KEN MALLOY, CEO CENTER FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF ENERGY MARKETS: We've lost our champion. We've lost the company that could be counted on time and time again to come to the party with the right answer in favor of competition, and they also had the right resources.

WOODS: At a minimum, observers expect tougher scrutiny on the entire wholesale electricity industry. But analysts say Enron's demise could also force some states to rethink their deregulation plans. Stephanie Woods, "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.

11/29/01: Rob Plaza of Morningstar Analyzes The Enron Activities

SUSIE GHARIB: Joining us live from Chicago to talk more about the deteriorating situation at Enron is Rob Plaza, a Utility analyst with Morningstar. Hi Rob.

ROB PLAZA, ANALYST, MORNIGSTAR: Good afternoon.

GHARIB: A lot people were surprised Enron didn't file for bankruptcy today, when do you think that will happen?

PLAZA: I was a little surprised it didn't happen today. So, it's really imminent. Any time we can get the report that Enron did file.

GHARIB: Do you think that it's possible that Enron can emerge from bankruptcy surviving in a form maybe a smaller entity or are the days of Enron just over altogether?

PLAZA: It's over. There is no chance at this point.

GHARIB: No chance of even a suitor - another coming in trying to rework something with Enron?

PLAZA: No. The balance sheet issues are too far and too deep. There is a lack of understanding. I mean, when Dynegy walked away that really was the only opportunity Enron had to save itself.

GHARIB: Enron dominated whole energy trading marketplace. With Enron gone, who is going to fill that void?

PLAZA: There is a - there's more than a few well capitalized energy marketers, energy trading companies out there, such as American Electric Power, Williams Energy (WEG); Duke Energy (DUK). Any of the independent power producers such as CPN; The AES Corporation (AES.)

GHARIB: Are they in a position to do that, do they have the stature do you think?

PLAZA: As I group they do. I mean, it's something you're not going to see immediately but over time that volume that Enron had to itself is going to be dispersed to the group.

GHARIB: Rob, we have viewers who still maybe holding Enron's stock. What should they do now?

PLAZA: It's pretty much a game over and what you see is what you get at $0.30. I can't see anything better from where we're at right now.

GHARIB: We've seen some of the other big energy utility companies, their stocks being hurt as a ripple effect from what was going on with Enron (ENE). For investors who have stocks in those companies, what do you suggest?

PLAZA: For all the names that I've previously mentioned, most of those, these is just going to be a knee jerk reaction to the Enron news and they're going to come back, with the exception of Dynegy (DYN). Because it was entangled with those merger talks and they did break those, there's going to be some litigation that goes along with Enron's bankruptcy proceedings.

GHARIB: Real quickly, do you think that what happened to Enron was an isolated situation or perhaps are there other companies in this area that may be vulnerable to what happened to Enron?

PLAZA: No, Enron was clearly the biggest risk taker in the group and went out of their way to try to make profit wherever it was possible and there's, the rest of the group is just too conservative to get in the position that Enron is in.

GHARIB: OK. All right, thank you very much, Rob. We appreciate your insights.

PLAZA: My pleasure.

GHARIB: We've been speaking with Rob Plaza of Morningstar.

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.

11/29/01: No Small Change-The Euro Pros & Cons

SUSIE GHARIB: Unionized bank workers in France are threatening to strike January 2 - that's the day after the new euro currency debuts -- unless they get pay raises and better security. That strike could throw a huge monkey wrench into France's plans to start using euros. But it's not the only problem confronting the 12 nation euro coalition. Tonight, as we wrap up our series on the euro, No Small Change, Paul Miller looks at the currency's potential positives and negatives.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: The euro makes life easier.

PAUL MILLER, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: The television ads from the European Central Bank call the euro our money. Not surprisingly, they paint an ideal future for the euro land and its single currency.

DR. JURGEN PFISTER, VICE PRESIDENT, COMMERZBANK: Well, certainly there are some benefits. One, of course, is that we get rid of the turmoils and turbulences in currency markets between European nations which we had almost regularly in the '70s and '80s, which, of course, bring about major disruptions of growth and employment.

MILLER: From Frankfurt to Helsinki, many of the advantages have been in place for two years since the euro as a set of fixed exchange rates went into effect for business and financial transactions.

KLAUS WERTENBROCH, INSEAD SCHOOL: I think in asset markets and so on we've already seen over the last two years that there are tremendous efficiencies created as a result of this.

MILLER: The question is what's in it for the 300 million people who have to use euro notes and coins? Most of them accept the reality, at least grudgingly.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: It's too late. We have to live with it.

MILLER: Many people have at least the rough idea of what a euro is worth in their old currency. Although the first few days are expected to bring a certain amount of confusion and delay, and perhaps a change in spending. Prices in euros are smaller numbers for everyone except the Irish. So things may appear to be cheaper. It's the phenomenon known as money illusion and it could encourage inflation.

WERTENBROCH: Consumers are willing to pay more than they used to pay for the same sorts of goods. That means retailers can increase prices. Couple that with the existing tendency by retailers to increase prices already, to round them up, and you will see that prices ought to rise.

MILLER: That could be offset by price transparency. Everyone in the euro land will be selling products in the same currency which theoretically makes bargains easier to find. Assuming that all goes well in January the euro is generally considered to be a positive development for the 12 countries which share it. But there is one way in which the euro can handcuff those country's economies. Monetary union includes what's called the stability pact. Among other things, the European Central Bank limits government deficits so than inflation stays in check and the fixed euro exchange rates make sense. That's fine during periods of growth, but it restricts a country's ability to stimulate its economy through deficit spending when the growth slows.

ERIC CHANEY, ECONOMIST, MORGAN STANLEY: Germany needs a big fiscal boost, but Germany has the highest deficit. So Germany cannot use the fiscal weapon to prevent its economic drop into a recession because of the stability pact.

MILLER: The lack of maneuvering room has recently hurt the euro's value against the dollar. But most people here believe the euro is less about economics and more about politics. It's expected to be the single greatest force pushing member countries towards political unification. By that measure it will be a success. Paul Miller, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Paris.

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.

11/29/01: Commentary-The Taxing Arguments Over The Economic Stimulus Plan

SUSIE GHARIB: The economic stimulus plan now being debated on Capitol Hill contains several changes to the tax structure. Tonight's commentator has some thoughts on those changes. Here's Todd Buchholz, author of "Market Shock."

TODD BUCCHOLZ, COMMENTARY: Did you get your tax cut last August? And did you spend it? Well, apparently you didn't spend enough because Congress and the President are arguing about yet another fiscal plan to get the economy going again. Unfortunately, both the Democrats and the Republicans got blinded by special interest lobbyists when they concocted their proposals. The Democrats felt the need to include special giveaways. It even included a ludicrous new subsidy for bison farmers. Bison farmers? Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle actually defended it by saying that the bison industry is suffering its worst year in decades and "it's just as much of a crisis as the airlines or anybody else." Come on, Senator. On September 11, the terrorists didn't throw buffalo at the World Trade Center. They attacked with airplanes and scared people from the airports. The Republicans have their own embarrassments, too, like sending out billions of dollars to big corporations as rebates under the alternative minimum tax. If you want to stimulate new activity, you've got to provide rewards for new activity, not givebacks for old, failed investments. Time is getting short. Congress and the President need to act in the next few weeks. Let's keep it simple. Tear up the tired old Christmas wish lists of the lobbyists. What should Congress do? Widen the new 10 percent tax bracket so more people fall into it rather than the 15 percent bracket. Cut the 27 percent bracket to 25 percent. And help laid off workers pay for their health care. That's it. No bison, no bull. Just give back some bucks to American workers. I'm Todd Buchholz.

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.

11/29/01: Paul Kangas' Wall Street Wrap Up

PAUL KANGAS: Stocks on Wall Street opened moderately higher as investors got a reprieve from the gloomy economic scenario and the Enron debacle, thanks to the report that October durable good orders jumped a record 12.8 percent. After an hour of trading, the Dow Jones Industrial average recouped 40 points of yesterday's 160-point tumble, and the NASDAQ Index regained 17 points of yesterday's 48-point loss. The market improved a bit more throughout the rest of the morning as hopes for a rebound in the economy were buoyed by the report that new home sales rose a stronger than expected 0.2 percent in October. At noontime then, the Dow posted a 42-point gain while the NASDAQ Index was up nearly 26 points. Positive presentations by a number of technology companies at a C.S. First Boston conference triggered a nice rally on NASDAQ on afternoon trading and some encouraging words from President Bush about an imminent defeat of the Taliban bolstered the blue chips. The Dow Industrial average then surged to a closing gain of 117.56 points putting it at 9829.42. And the NASDAQ Index came in with a gain 45.29 at 1933.26.

Big Board volume trickled off a bit from yesterday at 1.36 billion shares, about a 7 to 5 ratio of up volume over down volume.

The Dow Transport Index was up 27 2/3 points.

Utility Index gained 0.89.

The Closing Tick quite bullish at + 7.27

Standard & Poor's 500 up 11 2/3 points.

A 6 1/3 rise in the 100.

The MidCap 400 up nearly 7 1/4 points.

Bridge Futures Price Index edged up 0.34.

Gain of just over 4 1/2 points in the New York Stock Exchange Composite.

Value Line rising 4 1/2 points.

9 2/3 points rise in the Russell2000 Small Cap

And the Wilshire 5000 up 117.73 points.

The bond market paid little heed to that sharp rise in durable goods orders, focusing instead on a larger-than-expected rise of 54,000 in the new weekly jobless benefit claims, which many traders felt would assure another Fed rate cut next month. Additional buying was of the safe haven variety on fears that the Enron crisis could set off a wave of corporate financial problems.

In any case, tax-free and corporates issues jumped one full point as much as 1.25 points, while the Treasury market soared.

The 5-year notes jumping 29/32.

The 10-year notes up 1 10/32.

And the Bellwether 30-year bond up 1 23/32.

Lehman Brothers Long-Term Treasury Bond Index up 20 2/3 points.

The market made a good rally today, getting back a major portion of what it lost yesterday. The Dow Industrials up 117 1/2 points. The broader market higher by a very impressive 19 to 11 margin, but not that many more new highs than new lows for the year, 57 versus 38.

Enron (ENE) once again topped the active list on today 164.2 million shares. A lot of shares but not much money any more at that price. The stock lost 41 percent today with that $0.25 drop.

Nortel Networks (NT) lost a $0.01.

Motorola (MOT) losing $0.41.

And then Lucent Technologies (LU) down a $0.10 a share.

Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) moved up $0.78 per share.

AOL Time Warner (AOL) a $0.12 loss.

Citigroup (C) recouping $0.56 of over a $2 loss yesterday. It does have exposure to Enron.

And Dynegy (DYN) continues to fall, down $2.24.

The Gap (GPS) lost $0.41. Yesterday it was down on a downgrade from a major brokerage.

GE (GE) a $0.38 gain, tenth in volume.

Calpine (CPN) gained $1.28 today after losing over $2 yesterday. But today the company said it has no net exposure to Enron at all.

Delta Air Lines (DAL) gained $1.04 after the Alex Brown Brokerage upgraded it from "buy" to "strong buy."

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) down $1.51. Morgan Stanley downgraded it from "outperform" to just "neutral."

Mirant (MIR), this is another power dealer, a $2 gain. The company said it began limiting an exposure to Enron early in the crisis so now it only has about $50 million to $60 million in pretax exposure.

Philip Morris (MO) up $2.05. No specific news. Of course the company wants to change its name to Ultria and that proposed name is getting mixed reviews at best.

And United Technologies (UTX) the biggest point gainer in the Dow. The president of the company says it will sign a fuel cell deal with a major auto maker in January.

Collins & Aikman (CKC) up $1.20. The company says it's supplying the roofing systems on Ford's (F) new Thunderbird model, which has been voted the 2002 Car of the Year by "Motor Trend" magazine.

H&R Block (HRB) giving a good accounting of itself, up $4.34. It came in with second quarter results, a loss of $0.15 versus a loss of $0.27 last year, much less than last year, and the loss of $0.15 was much better than expected. The Street was expecting a $0.20 loss.

Barnes & Noble (BKS), the book seller, up $2.89. Its third quarter pro forma results, a loss of $0.08 a share. The Street was expecting a bigger loss, $0.10 a share.

REX Stores (RSC) gained $1.75. Third quarter earnings in sharply higher, $0.50 versus only $0.29 last year.

Alaska Air Group (ALK) did well, up $1.52. Alex Brown upgraded it from "buy" to "strong buy."

And then NTL (NLI), a huge percentage drop, $1.35 on the negative. This is the big British cable, TV cable company, and Moody's has cut its debt rating to CAA2. That's the fourth lowest junk rating from the bottom.

The Nasdaq, up 45 1/4 points, a nice move there. Volume up 50 million shares from yesterday. 22 stocks up for every 13 lower.

NVIDIA (NVDA) topped the active list with a good gain of $2.25. This stock was added to the Standard & Poor's 500 Index after the close today repla