SUSIE GHARIB:Tech stocks took charge on Wall Street today. Investors bought up big cap tech names at a vigorous pace, powering the NASDAQ 3 percent higher. The NASDAQ surged almost 58 points and the Dow advanced 130. But as Suzanne Pratt reports, experts are divided on the outlook for the tech sector.

SUZANNE PRATT, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: It's no secret that 2001 has been a rough year for the technology investors. At its worst, the tech-heavy NASDAQ was off as much as 42 percent. And even Wall Street darlings such as Cisco (CSCO) and Oracle (ORCL) were each down more than 60 percent. Lately, however, many areas in tech land have been showing serious signs of life.

BRIAN FINNERTY, MARKET STRATEGIST, C.E. UNTERBERG, TOWBIN: The screens are green today and it's an unbelievable thing. The momentum has definitely changed. The whole thing has swung around and now the pendulum is swinging back on the positive side.

PRATT: Since bottoming on September 21 at 1423, the NASDAQ has risen about 540 points or a whopping 38 percent, although for the year the index is still down. While Wall Street has become accustomed to outsize tech moves, the latest one has triggered some debate. In one camp there are those who believe the rally isn't over yet. In the other are those who think the market's recent euphoria is excessive and premature. And somewhere in the middle are a few that say that stocks need to take a breather before moving higher again.

FINNERTY: I think the momentum for the long-term is in our favor. I just think what investors should be cautious of is getting a little too enthusiastic and a little bit ahead of themselves right now. Wait and try and buy them if they dip.

PRATT: Still, others believe certain sectors are likely to be better bets in the next year. Today, UBS Warburg analyst Byron Walker said chip makers have hit bottom. Although the recovery may not come until next year.

BYRON WALKER, ANALYST, UBS WARBURG: By the second half of the year, I believe we're off to the races. Orders will be begin to accelerate meaningfully as cash flows improve in the semiconductor side and translate into equipment buying and by '03 that translates into hard revenues and earnings leverage.

PRATT: Historically, the month of December is usually a good one for technology stocks, and experts say this year is likely to be no different. But they also say by January or February investors should be bracing for a correction. 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.

12/04/01: What Is At Stake With The Threat Of Cyber Terrorism ?

JEFF YASTINE: Terrorists have attacked with bombs and guns, but experts fear they may soon use computers and the Internet. Computer cyber attacks have already cost an estimated $5 billion to clean up. And as Darren Gersh reports, in the information age, cyber terrorism is a growing concern.

DARREN GERSH, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: You're looking at what could be the next front in the battle against global terrorism. From its offices in northern Virginia, Riptech monitors computer networks in 30 countries. On an average day, the company detects 500 cyber attacks it considers serious. Now, it's watching for evidence one of those attacks may have been launched by a cyber terrorists.

ELAD YORAN, CO-FOUNDER, RIPTECH: It is a threat. The terrorists are clearly sophisticated users of technology. They demonstrated that through their actions in the past.

GERSH: From the conflict in the Middle East to the collision of a U.S. spy plane with a Chinese fighter, experts say there has been a steady rise in Web site defacements and denial of service attacks linked to political events. Richard Clarke, the President's top adviser on cyber terrorism, says since September 11, there have been no specific terrorist threats against the nation's information technology infrastructure but he says the danger is real.

RICHARD CLARKE, WHITE HOUSE CYBERSPACE SECURITY ADVISER: We have migrated function after function into the I.T. cloud without thinking about security. And our enemies know that and our enemies will look for those fissures and seeds.

GERSH: The attacks of September 11 have raised concerns about cyber terrorism, but they have also put the risks in perspective. Experts say a cyber terrorists attack is highly unlikely to result in loss of life, but it could easily cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars. To combat cyber terrorism or other attacks, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden wants to create the high tech equivalent of the National Guard.

SEN. RON WYDEN (D), OREGON: It would be almost like a strategic reserve of computers and laptops and trucks and a kind of a central information technology that can help communities when you have a situation like you had on September 11.

GERSH: Clarke is pressing software makers to come up with ways to make sure customers actually install the latest security patches. Symantec CEO John Thompson says the technology is now available to protect computer networks, but companies often don't follow through.

JOHN THOMPSON, CHAIRMAN & CEO, SYMANTEC: They don't execute their policies and plans whereas they may have built them, but they haven't done anything about them. So technology alone doesn't solve the problem. Discipline, disciplined planned implementation is what solves this problem.

GERSH: For now, though, the threat of cyber terrorism remains just that, a threat.

THOMPSON: It hasn't, however, forced companies to act and I think that takes a more thoughtful plan and, quite frankly, a better economic climate for people to act on what they now know is a real threat.

GERSH: And an increasingly dangerous one. As technology advances, experts say the attacks launched from cyberspace are growing more complicated and difficult to defeat. Darren Gersh, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Alexandria, Virginia.

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.

12/04/01: Commercial Real Estate Is Suffering Sales Setbacks

SUSIE GHARIB: Real estate has been one of the few bright spots in the shaky U.S. economy recently. But now there are signs that commercial real estate is entering a downturn, as well. Pat Anson reports from Los Angeles.

PAT ANSON, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: This building on L.A.'s west side used to be the home of eToys, an Internet company that went out of business last spring. Nine months later the building still sits empty, a lingering reminder not only of the dot-com bust, but the growing glut of office space.

TODD STENDER, REAL ESTATE ANALYST, CROWELL WEEDON & COMPANY: At this point supply certainly exceeds demand. There's so much space out there there's just not enough tenants to fill up those spaces.

ANSON: California is not alone. Office vacancies are rising across the country, in many cases well above the five to 10 percent vacancy rate that's normally considered healthy. Cities with large technology industries are being hit the hardest. Adding to the glut is a growing supply of new office space. Right next door to eToys' former headquarters, another office building is under construction. The project will be completed in a few weeks, but so far not a single tenant has been signed up. It's part of the boom and bust cycle that plagues the industry.

KEITARO MATSUDA, ECONOMIST, UNION BANK OF CALIFORNIA: The real estate development doesn't happen until the markets get extremely tight. The developers see that all available space is being taken, there's excessive demand in the market, rents going up, and then they usually decide to start a building. By the time the building gets completed after 18 months or 24 months under construction, typically the new products hit the market when the market has already weakened significantly.

ANSON: And so in a way they are building at the worst possible time?

MATSUDA: Yes, unfortunately that's what seems to be happening.

ANSON: Analysts say real estate investors should be very cautious at this point. While real estate investment trusts have done well this year and often have a high dividend yield, the growing supply of office space could be a drag on the sector for several months.

STENDER: In the REIT sector I would focus on health care REITs because they are stable. They have good diversity. I would avoid office REITs because of the downturn in the office environment.

ANSON: The news is bad for landlords but good for tenants. Rent in many office buildings is becoming more affordable, even in high priced markets like San Francisco. Prime office space there used to go for $80 a square foot. Now it's $40 a square foot and falling. Pat Anson NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT Los Angeles.

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.

12/04/01: Kevin McCormally's Tax Tips- Charitable Donations

SUSIE GHARIB: It's beginning to look a lot like tax time. So in the second part of this week's tax tips series, we look at he best way for you to handle charitable donations. Here's Kevin McCormally, Editorial Director of "Kiplinger's Personal Finance."

KEVIN McCORMALLY, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, KIPLINGER'S PERSONAL FINANCE: The rush of Americans to open their wallets after September 11 was awe inspiring. Already, close to $1.3 billion of donations have been made to help the victims and their families. But that huge amount is just a tiny part of what Americans donate each year. The total this year is likely to be close to $150 billion. Of course, the government encourages us to be generous. Most of that money will become money saving write-offs for taxpayers who itemize deductions. With the holidays coming, we know that billions of more dollars will be donated between now and new year's eve. And with that in mind, let me give you one piece of advice: put away your checkbook. No, I don't mean harden your heart. I mean consider giving appreciated assets such as stocks and mutual funds rather than cash. It can supercharge your tax savings. When you give securities you have owned for more than one year, you get to deduct the full market value and escape paying tax on the profit that built up while you owned them. Consider this example. If you make a $10,000 cash gift, you deduct $10,000 and that saves you $3,050 if you're in the 30.5 percent bracket. But let's say you have $10,000 worth of stock that you bought more than a year ago for $5,000. If you sold, you'd owe $1,000 in tax on the profit, so you'd only have $9,000 left to give to the charity. But if you donate the shares, the charity still gets $10,000, you still get a $10,000 deduction and you avoid that $1,000 capital gains tax. But what if you don't want to part with the investment? Give it away anyway and use the cash you would have donated to reinvest. It's legal and the charity you plan to help should be more than willing to help fill in the details. I'm Kevin McCormally.

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.

JEFF YASTINE: There was no correction in sight today for the major indexes, both moved within very narrow ranges early. But when no selloff materialized, buyers jumped back in. The Dow took the lead this morning with a sharp pop higher. Opening gains from Intel (INTC) and Home Depot (HD) helped the early sentiment. But the Dow quickly sold off from there, as traders took note of the situation in Israel, and higher oil prices. The Dow bottomed out about 11:00 a.m., and then began a slow climb higher. By noontime, the blue chips were about 20 points inside positive territory. In afternoon trading, the NASDAQ soon emerged from its anemic sideways trading range, chip stocks got hot. Cisco Systems' CEO made some positive comments and suddenly the race was on again as buyers came out of the woodwork, investors buying the old tech favorites, and perhaps some scared short-sellers as well. In late trading, it was the equivalent of "piling on" as everyone became scared they were missing the next move up in technology. And that bumped all the major indexes higher right into the close. The Dow going on to surge nearly 130 points, or 1.3 percent, to close at 9893. The NASDAQ participated as well, rising 58 points, or 3 percent, closing at 1963.

Big board volume, a bit more than yesterday at 1.3 billion shares. Up volume running about 3 to 1 over down volume.

Transports jumped nearly 52 points helped by another drop in oil prices.

Utilities rising about 4 points.

And the Closing Tick very bullish at +957.

In the broader market, the S&P 500 and 100 each were up over 1 percent.

The MidCap 400 gaining nearly 2 percent on the day.

And the Bridge CRB was down about 2 points.

The New York Stock Exchange Composite rising nearly 6.

The Value Line advancing about 7.

The Small Caps gaining nearly 11 points.

And the broadly based Wilshire 5000 jumping 150 points.

Well, bonds moved higher as bond bulls focused on the chances for more rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. The gains in the stock market hurt longer dated bonds early in the day. But the situation reversed later as bond traders became convinced that the Fed will continue to ease beyond next week's FOMC meeting. Many bond market watchers are looking at Friday's employment report for more clues about the Fed's moves. And the expected cut next week would the eleventh of the year. So corporate and tax-free issues gained and so did Treasuries.

The 5-year note rising 2/32.

The 10-year note jumping 6/32.

And the 30-year bond gaining 18/32. The yield at 5.21 percent.

And the Lehman Brothers Long Bond Index gained nearly 15 points.

Enron certainly capping a big day for stocks, the Dow going on to post at its highest of the day, a 129 point gain. You can see there an easy win for advancers over declines, 108 new highs versus 38 new lows.

And there it is, Enron (ENE) soaring about 55 percent today. Quite a gain for the world's biggest penny stock. It came after news from earlier in the day which received, Enron received a $1.5 billion credit line from

Citigroup © and J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM). The U.S. Energy Secretary also says he may order a review of the

impact that Enron's implosion could have on the energy market. Still, a good day for Enron.

GE (GE) rising $0.43.

Paxon Communications wants to end its relationship with NBC (NBY) if the network proceeds with its $2 billion purchase of Telemundo, the Spanish TV network. Paxon is afraid the Telemundo deal will hurt the chances of NBC buying the rest of Paxon that it doesn't already own.

Compaq (CPQ) edging up $0.60.

Lucent Technologies (LU) gaining $0.53.

Calpine (CPN) rising $1.54, helped by the Enron news today.

EMC (EMC) picking up a little over $1.

Micron Technologies (MU) advancing nearly $2 on excitement about a potential business combination between the company and Pynex Semiconductors .

AOL Time Warner (AOL) rising $1.17 on the day.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) rising, actually falling, rather, $1.08. J&J warned doctors in Canada and Europe about a side effect, a rare side effect to its anemia drug Procrit. Bear Stearns says it will not affect sales or profits.

United Microelectronics (UMC) edging up $0.38. The company planning a $273 million convertible offering.

Among the widely helds, British Airways (BAB) climbing $2 on positive comments from Goldman Sachs.

Cadence Design (CDN) falling $1.55. Needham Systems downgraded that stock.

Home Depot (HD) rising $1.31. Merrill Lynch thinks Home Depot will benefit from another round of mortgage refinancings granted by all those low interest rates.

Nokia (NOK) picked up $1.50. The Dain Rauscher Report hinks Nokia's 3300 series handset is a big seller and is picking up market share.

Shares in RadioShack (RSH), though, falling $1.10. There are concerns on holiday sales. They aren't what they had hoped and it reports same store sales on Thursday.

Shares in Sprint (FON) dipped $0.58. Sprint says fourth quarter earnings will miss analysts' estimates by about $0.06 and revenues will fall by about five percent.

Checkpoint Systems (CKP) rising $1.28. The company commissioned studies predict more shoplifting this holiday season and presumably more demand for the companies' stealth detection systems.

Fairchild Semiconductor (FCS) gaining $2.54 on news it's expanding into China.

Wipro (WIT) rising more than $3. Morgan Stanley increasing its weighting in the emerging India Market Index.

Shares in Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) rising $1.23. C.S. First Boston upgrading that stock.

CryoLife (CRY) rising $1.70. The FDA approving the use of the company's Bioglue (ph) surgical adhesive.

Magellan Health Services (MGL) falling $2.74. The company's predicting a loss in its upcoming quarter.

Among the Nasdaq Composite, vaulting 58 points, volume 1.9 billion shares and about 1,000 more stocks up than down.

Cisco Systems (CSCO) advancing $0.66. Cisco's CEO John Chambers said November orders were basically on target, but the company remains reluctant to