Program: Monday, August 25, 2003

Home Sales & Mortgage Rates Are Rising
Back To School Bells Are Ringing Up Big Sales In Retail
The Great Blackout & Pump Problems Are Fueling Sky High Gas Prices
The Dollar Drought May Finally Be Over For Farmers
Fame, Fortune & Politics
"Square One: Building Your Investments"
Commentary: Tort Reform and the Economy
Paul Kangas' Stocks In The News
Market Stats

08/25/03: Home Sales & Mortgage Rates Are Rising

PAUL KANGAS: Home sales surged to record levels last month as Americans rushed to lock in low mortgage rates. Existing home sales jumped 5 percent in July, to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 6.1 million units. That was sharply higher than forecasts for a rise of 1.2 percent. Economists say the reason for the surge in home buying is simple: Mortgage rates have begun to creep higher since hitting historic lows in June.

DAVID LEREAH, CHIEF ECONOMIST, NATL. ASSN. OF REALTORS: If you are thinking about buying a house, and interest rates are starting to increase, what do you do? Your first impulse is, I better buy now, don't want to lose out on the low cost of borrowing.

KANGAS: Mortgage rates have gone up almost a full percentage point since June. And Lereah says that he thinks as the cost of borrowing continues to rise, we'll see a drop in home sales activity, with a decline of as much as 4 to 5 percent before year's end.

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. Copyright (c) 2003 Community Television Foundation of South Florida, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms of use.

08/25/03: Back To School Bells Are Ringing Up Big Sales In Retail

SUSIE GHARIB: Wal-Mart is ringing up stronger-than-expected back-to-school sales. The nation's largest retailer is raising its estimates for August sales. It now says sales growth could reach 4 to 6 percent. That's up from previous estimates for gains of 3 to 5 percent for the month. The boost comes after an unexpectedly strong week of sales, especially food, clothing, pharmaceuticals, and toys. And analysts say the strong back-to-school season may boost Wal-Mart's upcoming holiday sales.

HEATHER BRILLIANT, EQUITY ANALYST, MORNINGSTAR: Historically they have seen whatever happened in the back-to-school season has been somewhat of an indicator of how the rest of the year is expected to follow-through. And I think that the fact that they're seeing a strong back-to-school season is relatively positive for the rest of the year. It means consumers are opening their wallets a little bit more, at least at Wal-Mart, and we should be able to see some of that strength continue.

GHARIB: But Brilliant says other retailers may not see the same kind of sales gains that Wal-Mart is logging. Wal-Mart's stock jumped $0.70 today to $59.10 on that news.

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. Copyright (c) 2003 Community Television Foundation of South Florida, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms of use.

08/25/03: The Great Blackout & Pump Problems Are Fueling Sky High Gas Prices

SUSIE GHARIB: AAA says a record number of Americans are expected to take to the road this coming holiday weekend. But they'll need to fill up their wallets before filling their gas tanks. As Scott Gurvey reports, prices at the pump are hovering at record levels.

SCOTT GURVEY, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Late in the day, the Department of Energy officially announced what most of us already expected: The price of gasoline is now at an all-time high. The national average for self-serve regular is now $1.747. In many parts of the country, the price today already exceeds this level, and drivers are frustrated.

GREG BECHT, DRIVER: It's outrageous. But you know, what can you do? If you need to go somewhere, you've got to fill up.

DAVID GARFIELD, DRIVER: That's more than I've paid on a single gas tank, so what are you going to do?

GURVEY: The previous record for gasoline was set on March 18, amid concerns over the war in Iraq. Prices usually decline around Labor Day as the summer driving season ends, but not this year. Instead, the national average has been creeping up, and today set a new record. It is up 7 percent in the last week, 25 percent in the last year.

FADEL GHEIT, OIL & GAS ANALYST, OPPENHEIMER & CO.: We have a pipeline rupture in the Phoenix area which pushed gasoline prices to a record level of almost $4.50. In addition, we have refinery problems, several on the West Coast, some in the Midwest. To add to that, we started the season with very low level of inventories. Oil and product inventories right now are at 25-year lows.

GURVEY: Some of those problems driving up prices were just bad luck; others a result of the East Coast blackout, Hurricane Erika, and continuing unrest in Iraq. But with inventories so low, any disruption can have a major impact, and if the impact is prolonged, can damage a still fragile economy.

STEPHEN GALLAGHER, CHIEF U.S. ECONOMIST, S.G. COWEN: If gasoline prices hold this levels for a long period of time, we could see a scenarios where consumption pulls back by 1 percent from where it should be. And that's the difference between hiring or not hiring in the economy.

GURVEY: One to two months is most economist's definition of a long period of time. If high gas prices linger, many economists say they will revise downward their growth estimates for the rest of the year. Scott Gurvey, 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. Copyright (c) 2003 Community Television Foundation of South Florida, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms of use.

08/25/03: The Dollar Drought May Finally Be Over For Farmers

SUSIE GHARIB: The American farm slump could be over. Higher prices for livestock and predicted bumper crops this fall could add up to a profitable year for farmers for the first time in five years. And as Diane Eastabrook reports, there's hope that farmers will spend some of that extra money on new equipment.

DIANE EASTABROOK, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: The combine at the Willrett farm is getting prepped for the fall harvest. But this could be the last year the machine works the farm's 1800 acres. Farmer Jamie Willrett is confident this is going to be one of his most profitable years ever. So he's thinking of trading in the six-year-old combine for a new one.

JAMIE WILLRETT, FARMER: We'll look at the age of the machine, the hours we've got on it, what kind - how much trouble we have through the fall, as well as the cost of replacements and the availability of maybe some new or used equipment on the market.

EASTABROOK: Bumper crops of corn, soybeans, and wheat, better livestock prices, and better government subsidies are combining to make this one of the most profitable years for American farmers. The United States Department of Agriculture estimates total U.S. farm income will top $55 billion this year. That's a 25 percent improvement over last year. Deere & Company (DE) is cautiously optimistic a turnaround could be coming to its beleaguered farm equipment business. Earlier this year the Moline, Illinois, based firm estimated sales to be down 5 to 7 percent in the second half of the year for the John Deere Division. Now it says sales could be flat compared to last year.

DOUGLAS DEVRIES, SENIOR V.P., DEERE & COMPANY: If you look at the indications on a broader basis, it would suggest we are coming out of one of those troughs. And I think that the farm economy in general is improving. Farmers', frankly, their balance sheets are as good as they have been in a long time, and all of these things together I think offer opportunity.

EASTABROOK: Like manufacturing, farming tends to be a cyclical industry. But unlike manufacturers, farmers face a variety of factors like weather, crop and livestock disease and even changes in government policies that make it difficult to predict profitability. Analysts say one issue currently threatening farm profits is an effort by the World Trade Organization to scale back government subsidies to farmers.

MARK OLINE, INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT ANALYST, FITCH RATINGS: The U.S. and the E.U. have reached a framework to massively phase down some of the support payments and tariffs related to the farm economy. However, that has not yet been presented to the WTO and there remain substantial hurdles to overcome before any of this is actually put in place.

EASTABROOK: While Jamie Willrett is bullish about the U.S. farm economy, he's still cautious when it comes to his own business. Willrett doesn't want to buy any new equipment until he has tallied this year's receipts and is confident the rebound in farming is for real. Diane Eastabrook, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Malta, Illinois.

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. Copyright (c) 2003 Community Television Foundation of South Florida, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms of use.

08/25/03: Fame, Fortune & Politics

SUSIE GHARIB: California gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger has worldwide fame and a vast personal fortune. What he doesn't have is a lead. A new poll by "The Los Angeles Times" shows Democratic Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante in front of Schwarzenegger by 13 percent in the race to recall California's governor. As Darren Gersh reports, Schwarzenegger is the just latest and perhaps the best-known example of a new breed of wealthy candidates trying their hand at politics.

DARREN GERSH, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: In the campaign to become California's leading man, Arnold Schwarzenegger has cast himself as the outsider.

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA RECALL CANDIDATE: I have the advantage that I am going to Sacramento without any baggage. I haven't made any deals with anyone. I haven't sold out to any special interest groups. I'm not taking any money from anyone.

GERSH: With a net worth estimated at $200 million or more, Arnold is the latest example of super-wealthy men and women who are giving up the private sector in hopes of becoming the ultimate political insider. Former Wall Streeter Michael Bloomberg spent $69 million to be called mayor of New York. Ross Perot laid out $63 million on his first presidential race. And former Goldman Sachs executive Jon Corzine pulled $60 million out of his own pocket to win a New Jersey Senate seat. In politics today, analysts say a vast personal fortune buys instant credibility and may scare less wealthy candidates out of the race. And there's another advantage: Both political parties often recruit candidates who have their own cash.

STEVEN WEISS, COMM, DIR., CTR. FOR RESPONSIVE POLITICS: When you've got a wealthy individual, the parties know they are not going to have to baby-sit that person. The parties know their resources are going to be able to go to other candidates.

GERSH: As more rich candidates jump into politics, analysts say they are helping drive up the cost of campaigns. The result: Money becomes even more important in politics, making it that much harder for Mr. Smith to afford to go to Washington.

WEISS: The average wealth of elected officials continues to rise. Congress is already filled with people who for the most part are much more wealthy than the constituents they represent. And when you get multimillionaires running for office and then winning, that just drives that average wealth up even higher.

GERSH: But is it a bad thing that more wealthy men and women are running for office? Political analyst Stephen Hess doesn't think so.

STEPHEN HESS, POLITICAL ANALYST, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: And I think it's interesting, I think these are some very important, useful, intelligent people who are now willing to get into politics. I certainly wouldn't discourage them.

GERSH: What may be discouraging is the record for rich politicians: 19 candidates in the last congressional election spent $50 million out of their own pockets on their campaigns, 17 lost.

HESS: The history of these is that so often they fail at it. They are not natural politicians to begin with, and they find the skills very often of being a CEO of a large corporation are not exchangeable.

GERSH: But that hasn't stopped many of the nation's wealthiest people from giving up the movie set or the boardroom for a chance to work in a place like this. Darren Gersh, 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. Copyright (c) 2003 Community Television Foundation of South Florida, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms of use.

08/25/03: "Square One: Building Your Investments"

PAUL KANGAS: The bear market on Wall Street sent many investors to the sidelines. But now that the stock market is showing signs of a turnaround, many would-be investors are taking a fresh look. As we lead up to our Labor Day special edition, "Square One: Building Your Investments," we're taking viewer questions on the basics of investing. Phillip from Hawaii wants to know: "Which one do you prefer: individual or Roth IRAs?"

ERIC TYSON, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST & AUTHOR: The different between the two IRAs is that with a regular IRA you may or may not get the up-front tax deduction on your contribution. And that depends on if you have access to a retirement plan at work and you're a married couple filing jointly with an adjusted gross income of over $60,000 or a single person over $40,000, then you're not eligible for the tax break up-front on a contribution to a regular IRA. In that case, you should definitely consider putting the money into a Roth IRA. You don't get a tax break on the up-front contribution but you do get tax-free withdrawal of investment earnings on the back end at least you do under current tax law.

KANGAS: You can learn more about the basics of investing this Labor Day with our NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT special edition "Square One: Building Your Investments."

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. Copyright (c) 2003 Community Television Foundation of South Florida, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms of use.

08/25/03: Commentary: Tort Reform and the Economy

PAUL KANGAS: In tonight's commentary: tort reform and the economy. Here's Glenn Hubbard, professor of economics and finance at Columbia University's Graduate School of Business, and former chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisors.

GLENN HUBBARD, COMMENTARY: President Bush said recently that the best thing Congress could now do to jumpstart the economy would be to pass meaningful tort reform. Could tort reform pack the punch of a tax cut? With estimated annual costs of $180 billion, or nearly $650 for every citizen, the U.S. tort system is the most expensive in the world, more than double the average cost of other major economies. Now, defenders of the status quo argue the existing system protects consumers by making firms responsible for damages caused by their products and services. But if claims are excessive, they act like a tax. Economists have been busy here. Conservatively, half of tort costs, or about $90 billion per year, are estimated to be excessive. And these dollars don't capture all the harm of the tort system. For example, concerns over liability have resulted in the withdrawals of certain medicines and halted the production of vaccines. Who pays for all of this? We do. We pay the "tort tax" through higher prices, lower wages, and lower returns on our investments. These excessive costs are equivalent to a new national sales tax of 1.5 percent, a new tax on all savings of 3 percent, or a higher payroll tax of 2 percent. Now that is interesting. Many Social Security reformers have talked about putting 2 percent of payroll into personal retirement accounts to shore up Social Security, if we could find the money. Fixing the tort mess would generate the resources to do just that. I guess the president was right. I'm Glenn Hubbard.

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. Copyright (c) 2003 Community Television Foundation of South Florida, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms of use.

8/25/03: "Paul Kangas' Stocks In The News"

PAUL KANGAS: Despite those encouraging reports on home sales and Wal-Mart's outlook, Wall Street opened broadly lower in an extension of last Friday's sell-off. After 30 minutes of trading, the Dow was down 51 points, the NASDAQ Composite down 6 points. The market remained moderately lower, with the big board losing stocks ahead of gainers by nearly a 2 to 1 ratio as investors seemed content to lock in more profits from the recent upturn. At mid-session, the Dow was still off 56 points, the NASDAQ down 9. Trading slowed to a crawl, and that lack of interest kept stocks on the defensive really right up to closing bell. The Dow Industrial Average did trim its closing loss to 31 ¼ points, putting it at 9317.64. The NASDAQ Composite ended down only about 1 point at 1764.31. While the Standard & Poor's Index managed to close on 2/3 of a point gain, putting it at 993.71. Treasury prices slid on continuing strength in the housing sector, the 10-year note fell 14/32 to 97 25/32, lifting the yield to 4.53 percent

The most active New York Exchange issue on 15.1 million shares, Pfizer (PFE) moving up $0.32. Both Pfizer and Merck (MRK) are abandoning plans to expand their research operations in Germany, blaming that county's health care reforms which could hurt profits. Pfizer is going to move its research activities to the United Kingdom.

NorTel Networks (NT) was down a penny.

Citigroup (C), an $0.18 loss.

Texas Instruments (TXN) fell $0.20.

Sprint PCS Group (PCS) down $0.16. Wachovia Securities downgraded PCS from outperform to market perform.

Schering-Plough (SGP) managed to gain $0.06 after cutting its dividend sharply and losing a lot of ground last week.

Motorola (MOT), no change today.

General Electric (GE) down $0.03. The company sent a letter to Vivendi (V) over the weekend detailing a proposal to buy Vivendi's entertainment assets. And late today, incidentally, Liberty Media (L) said it is withdrawing from bidding for Vivendi's entertainment assets.

Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), a $0.06 loss.

AOL Time Warner (AOL) dropped $0.28, tenth in volume.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) moved up $0.18. SoundView Financial brokerage upgraded it from neutral to outperform citing a good risk-reward ratio for the stock.

Then we see ALCOA (AA), which is a Dow stock, down $0.34, about 1.2 percent. It traded as low as $26.85, though. Prudential downgraded from buy to hold on a valuation basis.

Caterpillar (CAT), another Dow stock, off $2.03. Legg Mason brokerage downgraded it from buy to hold because it feels the stock has gotten ahead of itself. It has more than doubled since last October.

And then Medco Health Solutions (MHS) continuing to rise, up another $1.15. That stock has been moving steadily higher since Merck completed the spin-off to shareholders just last Wednesday.

Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF), that's up $2.85. "Barron's" financial this week reports the company's investment in International Steel Group will pay off nicely when International Steel goes public. Cliffs will own about 7 percent of it which will exceed its own present market valuation. So that indeed would be a good deal.

And then Trex Company (TWP) up $1.71. The maker of wood plastic lumber is upgraded by Legg Mason from hold to buy on the company's positive outlook which could feature earnings gains of 20 to 30 percent over the next year or so.

And then Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (KKD) down $2.57. RBC Capital today downgraded it from top pick to outperform.

And China Petroleum & Chemical (SNP) off $2.96, that's just profit-taking after a sharp run-up. But its second-quarter profits were down 12 ½ percent. The stock traded as low as 28 today.

And then Freddie Mac (FRE) up $2.19, making a comeback after weakness last week. Friday's announced resignation of CEO Greg Parseghian seemed to settle a lot of matters. And then today Fitch Ratings cut Freddie Mac's subordinated debt rating for double-A to double-A-minus, but it did leave intact its best rating on the senior debt for the company, and that along with the sharp rise in existing home sales last month seemed to buoy the stock very nicely.

NASDAQ's most active issue was Intel (INTC), down $0.15.

Followed by Microsoft (MSFT), up $0.28.

Then Cisco Systems (CSCO), a $0.19 gain there.

Applied Materials (AMAT) down a dime.

eBay (EBAY) was up $0.51 a share, fifth in dollar volume.

Amgen (AMGN) down $0.28.

Dell (DELL) a $0.07 loss.

And UTStarcom (UTSI), down $2.68. Three employees were arrested by the Chinese authorities on charges they stole commercial secrets from a top telecom firm while they were working for another company.

Amazon.com (AMZN) was up $0.63.

KLA-Tencor (KLAC), an $0.08 loss.

McDATA (MCDTA) down $2.26. Second-quarter revenues were lower than expected although the company did a turnaround, earnings of $0.08 versus minus $0.03 last year. But third-quarter revenues are also expected to fall short of expectations.

Metrologic Instruments (MTLG) had a great day, up $5.44. The company increased earnings guidance not only for the third quarter but for the full year.

And then Liquid Metal Technologies (LQMT) down $1.14. The Robert Baird brokerage downgraded it from neutral to underperform.

And over on the American Exchange, a nice gainer. Immtech International (IMM) up $1.52. The company says clinical trials in Thailand show that its oral drug to treat malaria is safe and effective.

And those are our "Stocks in the News."

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. Copyright (c) 2003 Community Television Foundation of South Florida, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms of use.

08/25/03: Market Stats

									   NET    PERCENT
                          CLOSE     CHANGE     CHANGE

DOW CLOSE              9317.64     -31.23       - .3
HIGH                                         9350.77
LOW                                          9280.94

NASDAQ COMP.           1764.31      -1.01        -.1
HIGH                                         1768.12
LOW                                          1752.12

VOLUME                                         957.4
PREVIOUS                                     1,308.9
UP VOLUME                                      355.0
DOWN VOLUME                                    575.6

DOW TRANSPORTS         2633.01      -8.55       - .3
DOW UTILITIES           238.09      +1.79       + .8
CLOSING TICK                                    +442

S&P 500                 993.71       +.65       + .1
S&P 100                 497.66       +.24       + .1
MIDCAP 400              505.75      -2.03       - .4
REUTERS/CRB             240.32       -.79       - .3

NYSE COMPOSITE         5585.64      -9.29       - .2
VALUE LINE              317.32       -.92      -0.29
RUSSELL 2000            483.87      -1.64      -0.34
WILSHIRE 5000          9607.99      -4.40      -0.05

U.S. TREASURIES
5-YEAR NOTE 3.25%
Aug. 15,2008          98 26/32      -7/32       3.51

10-YEAR NOTE 4.25%
Aug. 15,2013          97 25/32     -13/32       4.53

30-YEAR NOTE 5.375%
Feb. 15, 2031        101  1/32     -20/32       5.30

LEHMAN BROS.
LONG BOND INDEX        1680.18     - 9.92


DOW CLOSE              9317.64     -31.23       - .3
ADVANCES                                        1326
DECLINES                                        1910
NEW HIGHS                                         55
NEW LOWS                                          12

                                      NET    PERCENT
NYSE MOST ACTIVES    4PM CLOSE     CHANGE     CHANGE
PFE    Pfizer            29.87       +.32       +1.1
NT     Nortel Networks    3.22       -.01        -.3
C      Citigroup         42.92       -.18        -.4
TXN    Texas Instrument  22.61       -.20        -.9
PCS    Sprint PCS Group   5.00       -.16       -3.1
SGP    Schering-Plough   15.02       +.06        +.4
MOT    Motorola          10.31      unch.      unch.
GE     GE                29.85       -.03        -.1
HPQ    Hewlett-Packard   19.40       -.06        -.3
AOL    AOL Time Warner   15.74       -.28       -1.8

NASDAQ CLOSE           1764.31     - 1.01       - .1
VOLUME                                       1,122.9
PREVIOUS                                     1,709.2
ADVANCES                                        1348
DECLINES                                        1805

NASDAQ ACTIVES
INTC   Intel             27.24       -.15        -.6
MSFT   Microsoft         26.50       +.28       +1.1
CSCO   Cisco Systems     18.98       +.19       +1.0
AMAT   Applied Matl      21.20       -.10        -.5
EBAY   eBay             111.49       +.51        +.5
AMGN   Amgen             66.20       -.28        -.4
DELL   Dell Inc          32.06       -.07        -.2
UTSI   UTStarcom Inc     42.53      -2.68       -5.9
AMZN   Amazon.com        45.85       +.63       +1.4
KLAC   KLA Tencor        56.97       -.08        -.1

AMEX CLOSE              967.01     - 1.92       - .2

INDEX SHARES
DIA    DIAMONDS TRUST    93.48       -.23        -.3
QQQ    NASDAQ 100        32.51       +.07        +.2
SPY    S&P DEP.RECEIPTS  99.93       +.16        +.2

STOCKS IN THE NEWS
AMD    Advanced Micro    10.09       +.18       +1.8
AA     Alcoa             27.79       -.34       -1.2
CAT    Caterpillar       69.66      -2.03       -2.8
MHS    Medco Health      27.35      +1.15       +4.4
CLF    Cleveland Cliff   25.22      +2.87      +12.8
TWP    Trex Company      36.46      +1.71       +4.9
KKD    Krispy Kreme      43.60      -2.57       -5.6
SNP    China Petroleum   29.16      -2.96       -9.2
FRE    Freddie Mac       51.66      +2.19       +4.4
MCDTA  McData Corp       10.40      -2.26      -17.9
MTLG   Metrologic        37.27      +5.44      +17.1
LQMT   Liquidmetal        3.76      -1.14      -23.3
IMM    Immtech Intl      18.01      +1.52       +9.2