Program: Wednesday, October 1, 2003

Wall Street Shifts Into Rally Mode
One On One With Barry Griswell, Chairman & CEO of Principal Financial Group
Prepare For Natural Gas Prices To Get Pumped Up
Money File- The IRS's New Prescription For Change
Last Word: Who's Who On The "Do-Not-Call-List"
Paul Kangas' Stocks In The News
Market Stats

10/01/03: Wall Street Shifts Into Rally Mode

SUSIE GHARIB: Wall Street greeted the fourth quarter with euphoria: all of the major stock indexes surged by 2 percent or more. The Dow soared 194 points today, and the NASDAQ vaulted 45. Investors bought up stocks on encouraging news about earnings and the manufacturing sector. Erika Miller takes a look at where the market could be heading for the rest of the year.

ERIKA MILLER, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: There's an old saying on Wall Street: "sell in May and walk away." But chances are if you followed that advice, you're kicking yourself now. Historically, May through October has been the weakest six-month period for stocks. But so far, this year has been an exception. Since May, the Standard & Poor's 500 benchmark is up more than 10 percent.

SAM STOVALL, SR. INVESTMENT STRATEGIST, STANDARD & POOR'S: Basically it's because in the first year of a new bull market, you can throw all old adages out the window, because investors are more typically optimistic about the longer term.

MILLER: While October is notorious for its market crashes and steep sell-offs, most investment strategists are confident neither will happen this year. In fact, quite the opposite. They see big gains for stocks powered by solid corporate profits and an improving economy.

STOVALL: Both an economic recovery and then a follow-through in terms of earnings increases are likely to cause the market to rebound for the rest of this year. S&P is looking for about a 19 percent increase in year-over-year operating earnings for the third quarter, followed up by about a 21 percent increase in the fourth quarter. And so that kind of an earnings increase will likely boost the optimism toward stocks.

MILLER: But other investment strategists are concerned the market has come too far, too fast. They warn if the economic recovery proves disappointing, there could be a retreat in stock prices.

JAMES AWAD, PORTFOLIO MGR., AWAD ASSET MGMT.: I am concerned that the stimulus will last only a quarter or two, and that it will not lead to enough hiring and gains in the labor market to allow the recovery to keep up the strength next year that it will have had in the third and fourth quarters of '03. And therefore, you have to question as to whether the stock market can keep going.

MILLER: Another potential concern is that the election climate next year could make investors uneasy. But one comforting thought is that since 1939 there hasn't been a single down year for Wall Street in the third year of a presidential term. Erika Miller, 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.

10/01/03: One On One With Barry Griswell, Chairman & CEO of Principal Financial Group

SUSIE GHARIB: Our guest tonight is the leading provider of 401(k)s in the country. Joining us now, Barry Griswell, chairman and CEO of Principal Financial Group. Mr. Griswell, nice to have you on the program.

BARRY GRISWELL, CHMN. & CEO, PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL GROUP: Thank you, Susie, good to be here.

GHARIB: Thank you. Well, as you heard us reporting at the top of our program, we have gotten a strong start to the fourth quarter. Just wondering what your market strategists are forecasting for the balance of this year?

GRISWELL: Yes, we really do see a slow but continuing growth through the balance of this year. And we are continuing to be pretty optimistic about next year. I think we're definitely in a recovery. I think the question is how quickly it will unfold. But we're pretty optimistic about the balance this year, some slight growth and then better growth next year.

GHARIB: I know it's difficult to generalize but what kind of allocations are you suggesting for the portfolio -- 401(k) portfolio that you manage in terms of stocks, bonds and cash?

GRISWELL: Yes, you know, that's a great point. People in 401(k)s, we typically recommend that it's a pretty complex process. It really depends on their risk tolerance. It depends on their age, how far away they are from retirement. But we're seeing, quite frankly, a slight movement back to equities. If you look at our overall portfolio, I think something in the order of 52, 53 percent are allocated to equities. And if you look at new cases that we're bringing in today, new sales, about 70 percent of the allocation is toward equity. So we actually do see on the margin a slight movement back toward equities.

GHARIB: Given all of the volatility and the corporate scandals that we've seen over the last couple of years, are you finding that investors are holding back from making more contributions to their 401(k)s?

GRISWELL: No. Quite the contrary. In fact, we just completed a very comprehensive study of 23,000 of our 401(k) plans. We have 2 million plan participants. And we actually saw year over year an increase in participation rates and an increase in deferral rates. And company matches are holding quite steady as well. So - and I think this is particularly true in small to medium businesses. I think a lot of the news your hear is about Fortune 100 companies where maybe some of that is going on. Certainly in the smaller end of the market, that's not the case. It's just the opposite. There is good confidence among participants in small 401(k) plans.

GHARIB: Do you - are you finding that Americans, particularly the Baby Boomers, are taking the right steps for what they should be doing for their retirement planning?

GRISWELL: Well, I think they are to some extent but there is a lot of room for improvement. One of the things that we're finding unfortunately is that among the younger workers in America, say 35 and under, there is a real lack of participation. I think only 42 percent of those workers are actually participating. That's real problematic. Obviously as people get closer to retirement they understand the need. But we have got to educate people early to start saving, because the power of compound interest in returns over a long period of time really do make the difference. The other thing is investment advice. We really have, in this country, to get to a point where we can provide more investment advice to people in 401(k) because they really don't understand some of the rebalancing techniques, some of the asset allocation techniques. And so I think that's an area we could really improve in this country.

GHARIB: Well, one of the vehicles for planning for retirement have been investing in mutual funds. And I'm just wondering what your take has been on the trading abuses in mutual funds and what impact this has had on investors confidence and putting money into a mutual fund?

GRISWELL: Well, I think it's very, very unfortunate what has happened. I mean, obviously all of us who run mutual funds and retirement plans have a fiduciary responsibility to all shareholders. And I think it's very unfortunate that some would be allowed to optimize returns for a few to make fees and then disadvantage other shareholders. So I'm very discouraged at that. I hope it's not widespread but I think it's a trend that we have really got to stop. We've been very vigilant at our company to make sure that we don't allow market timers in our plans because it disadvantages other shareholders.

GHARIB: Have you had to suspend any of the mutual funds that you do business with?

GRISWELL: No we haven't, at this point.

GHARIB: What kinds of changes would you like to see, that is, the mutual funds or hedge funds?

GRISWELL: Well, I think there does need to be more oversight and more regulation. I don't usually like to say that, but I think the hedge funds to some extent have gotten a bit out of control. You'd like to think self- regulation and the best interest of your shareholders, but it seems to me all this brings to light that we probably do need some level of oversight just to make sure it doesn't happen.

GHARIB: All right. Thank you very much for coming on the program. Appreciate it.

GRISWELL: Thank you, Susie.

GHARIB: We've been speaking with Barry Griswell, chairman and CEO of Principal Financial Group.

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.

10/01/03: Prepare For Natural Gas Prices To Get Pumped Up

SUSIE GHARIB: Federal regulators are suing one of the nation's largest natural gas traders, accusing it of manipulating the market by reporting fake prices and pocketing $63 million in profits. American Electric Power (AEP) says it's cooperating with the government to resolve the matter, and is surprised by the timing of the legal filing. Meanwhile, if you heat your home with natural gas, be prepared for your bills to be almost 10 percent more this winter than last year. Natural gas prices have backed off their highs a bit for the year. But experts say a colder than normal season could easily send prices soaring. As Stephanie Woods reports, worries over increasing prices are already heating up on Capitol Hill.

STEPHANIE WOODS, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: The sight of jackets and sweaters in Washington has brought with it heated debate over the energy bill. The sudden cold snap in the East this week boosted the price of natural gas futures 6 percent. Price spikes this summer shut down some fertilizer and chemical manufacturing plants, and prices are expected to remain volatile.

GUY CARUSO, ADMINISTRATOR, ENERGY INFORMATION AGENCY: The main reason for the volatility is our natural gas industry in this country and our total supply situation is operating very close to its capacity.

WOODS: The energy bill contains financial incentives for exploration and drilling to boost natural gas supplies. Environmentalists oppose that in favor of conservation. Congressman Chris John, from the energy-producing state of Louisiana, today called on business leaders to recast the debate.

REP. CHRIS JOHN (D), LOUISIANA: If we change this debate to talk about jobs, and you are very critical, the businesses of this country, the guys who create the jobs, to tell your employees that guys, your job could rely on an energy bill in Congress making sure that we have cheap, reliable natural gas.

WOODS: The House and Senate have both passed different versions of an energy bill. The battle is now being waged in conference behind closed doors, largely by Republicans. Democrats complain they're being shut out.

SEN. BYRON DORGAN (D), NORTH DAKOTA: In my judgment we should have an energy bill. We need an energy bill, but the process by which this energy bill is being written, with only one party present and the other party deliberately excluded, I believe threatens the ability to get an energy bill.

WOODS: Analysts predict anxiety over high fuel prices, blackouts, and keeping the economy on track will push lawmakers to get an energy bill done. 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. Copyright (c) 2003 Community Television Foundation of South Florida, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms of use.

10/01/03: Money File- The IRS's New Prescription For Change

SUSIE GHARIB: In the "Money File" tonight, a new tax break from Uncle Sam. Here's Kevin McCormally, executive editor of "Kiplinger's Personal Finance."

KEVIN MCCORMALLY, EDITORIAL DIR., "KIPLINGER'S PERSONAL FINANCE": Does the thought of collecting receipts and hassling with paperwork give you a headache? Well, at least you can use pretax money in a flexible spending account to pay for your aspirin. That's right, the IRS has reversed itself and now says the cost of aspirin and other over-the-counter medications qualify for reimbursement. In the past, only prescription drugs made the cut. Now vitamins still don't qualify, but the cost of herbal remedies might if they have been recommended by a doctor. This change comes at a great time because it calls attention to flex plans just as we enter the season when employees are asked how much money they want to contribute to their accounts for next year. As you decide, remember it's much better to put in too much than too little. Sure, there's that pesky use-it-or- lose-it rule, and you do forfeit any money that you put into the account but don't spent by the end of the year. But the tax breaks are so powerful that you can forfeit a good chunk of change and still come out ahead. Remember, salary run through a flex plan avoids federal income and Social Security taxes, and in all states but New Jersey, state income taxes, too. It's easy for the savings to be 25 percent to 40 percent or even more. So you could forfeit 25 to 40 percent and still break even. They money you lose would have gone to Uncle Sam, not into your pocket. Of course you don't want to lose anything, so "Kiplinger's" has built a calculator to help you estimate how much to set aside, and to encourage you to go whole-hog for the tax benefits, we'll even show how much you can forfeit and still win with your flex plan. You'll find a link to the calculator at the NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT Web site at www.nbr.com. 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. Copyright (c) 2003 Community Television Foundation of South Florida, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms of use.

10/01/03: Last Word: Who's Who On The "Do-Not-Call-List"

SUSIE GHARIB: And finally tonight, in the "don't call me, but I'll be sure to call you" department, 11 top executives of the Direct Marketing Association, the nation's largest trade group of telemarketers, have put their home phone numbers on the new national "do-not-call" registry. The numbers were tracked down through public records by reporters at the "Hartford Courant" newspaper, and the executives admit their phone numbers are on that list. A spokesman said the telemarketing insiders did it deliberately as an experiment to see whether it makes a difference in the number of calls that they get. And they're not the only ones on the registry. Apparently, Paul, the CFO of Convergys (CVG) also signed up. It's a company that makes 50,000 outbound sales calls every day.

KANGAS: I wonder if it's possible that half of them are at my home right around dinner hour.

GHARIB: I know the feeling. That's NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT for Wednesday,

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.

10/01/03: "Paul Kangas' Stocks In The News"

PAUL KANGAS: Wall Street opened with a solid rebound from yesterday's sell-off as institutions bought sectors they thought would do well in the fourth quarter, like the financials, technology, retail, and housing stocks. After a half hour of trading, the Dow was up 85 points and the NASDAQ rose 23 points. The market faded slightly in mid-morning after the Institute of Supply Management reported a slight dip in its September business activity index, while August construction spending rose a weaker than expected 0.2 percent. Institutions used that little market dip to step up their buying with early fourth-quarter money inflows. So the Dow Industrial Average soared to a closing gain of 194.14, that's 2.1 percent, ending now at 9469.20. The NASDAQ Composite vaulted 45 1/3 points, or 2 ½ percent, to 1832.25. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index jumped 22 ¼ points, or 2.2 percent, to close at 1018.22. Over in the bond market, the 10-year note managed to edge up 1/32 to 102 18/32, putting the yield at 3.93 percent.

The most active big board issue, as it has been so often recently, Lucent Technologies (LU) today trading 21.7 million shares, the stock losing $0.02.

Followed by Pfizer (PFE), up $0.42.

AOL Time Warner (AOL), a $0.21 gain there.

General Electric (GE) rose $0.82.

And fifth in volume was Motorola (MOT) with a $0.16 gain.

Citigroup (C) had a nice move. I mentioned earlier the financials were strong. And that's a good example, up $1.49.

EMC (EMC), a $0.37 rise.

Liberty Media (L) edged up a nickel.

NorTel Networks (NT), a $0.12 gain.

And there we see it, Ford Motor (F) rising $0.33 a share, tenth in big board volume.

3M Company (MMM), member of the Dow Industrial Average, doing it some favors with that gain of a $1.83. 3M said after the close yesterday its 2000 (sic) earnings will be growing on the order of 12 to 14 percent.

And while we're looking at one Dow stock, let's look at some other majors in the average, Caterpillar (CAT) up $2 ½ a share.

IBM (IBM) rising $2.02.

And then United Technologies (UTX) a nice gain of $2.60.

Wal-Mart (WMT) stores gained $1.21.

Eli Lilly (LLY) did well today, up $3.61. The FDA says the company's Cymbalta anti-depression drug can now be approved without any further studies, a big plus there.

And American Electric Power (AEP) down $0.40. A story here, the company confirmed it is the target of a lawsuit filed in federal court alleging that the firm attempted to manipulate natural gas prices.

Cablevision Systems (CVC) moved up nearly a dollar. In two weeks the company will launch its Voom DBS satellite television service with 39 high definition channels.

Then we take a look at another channel, that's Clear Channel Communications (CCU), up $2.01. The company repeated its earnings guidance for the third quarter, says it will be in the mid to high single digit growth range.

British Energy (BGY) moved up $0.54, an 8 ½ percent gain there. The company's creditors gave it a final approval for a government-backed restructuring plan.

And Actuant (ATU) doing well, up $4.46. The company is involved in electronic components and systems, in with fourth-quarter earnings up 41 percent over last year, $0.82 a share versus $0.58. The company also increased its sales and earnings guidance for the year 2004. And on top of all that, announced a two- for-one stock split. Pretty good combination.

D.R. Horton (DHI), one of the major residential builders, up $2.46. August residential construction hit a record high. And this had a very positive impact on the homebuilding sector. Let's have a look at some other majors in that area: Centex (CTX) up $4.68; a similar gain in K.B. Homes (KBH); Lennar (LEN) moved up $4.36; and Toll Brothers (TOL) rising $2.24. Very strong group.

On the other hand, LaBranche (LAB), which is the major specialist firm on the New York Exchange, down $1.23, or nearly 8 ½ percent. The company now predicting third-quarter earnings will fall to only $0.03 to $0.05 versus the Wall Street estimate of $0.17 a share. A major drop there.

Mastec (MTZ) moved up $1.21. The Friedman Billings brokerage upgraded it from market perform to outperform on the potential the company will have a rebound in earnings in the years 2004 and 2005.

And Christopher & Banks (CBK), a retailer of woman's apparel doing well, up $2.27. The company's September same-store sales were up 3 percent. And Christopher & Banks sees a similar rise for the rest of the year. The Brean Murray brokerage upgraded it from buy to a strong buy.

The NASDAQ most active issue was Intel (INTC), rising $1.11.

Microsoft (MSFT) moved up $0.72.

Cisco Systems (CSCO) up $0.61.

eBay (EBAY) did well, up a $1.06.

SINA Corp. (SINA), that's one of those Chinese Internet portal companies, down $0.45.

And then we see Dell (DELL) moving up $0.60.

Followed by Nextel (NXTL) with a $0.20 loss.

Amgen (AMGN) up $1.76.

Yahoo! (YHOO) gained $1.01.

And Amgen (AMGN) was up $1.76, tenth in dollar volume on NASDAQ.

Hollis-Eden Pharmaceuticals (HEPH) tumbling $4.79. The Legg Mason brokerage issued a sell recommendation on concern the stock is overvalued. And it has had quite a ride, as you can see.

Essex Corporation (EYW), which has only been trading since June on the American Exchange, was up $1.50, a 27 percent rise. The company won a new defense- related contract worth about $57 million over the next four years. And the contract is for its custom software.

And those are the "Stocks in the News" tonight.

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.

10/01/03: Market Stats

			
                                      NET    PERCENT
                         CLOSE     CHANGE     CHANGE
DOW CLOSE              9469.20    +194.14      + 2.1
HIGH                                         9472.76
LOW                                          9276.80

NASDAQ COMP.           1832.25     +45.31       +2.5
HIGH                                         1832.25
LOW                                          1796.09

VOLUME                                       1,507.9
PREVIOUS                                     1,512.1
UP VOLUME                                    1,283.1
DOWN VOLUME                                    209.0

DOW TRANSPORTS         2736.34     +62.48      + 2.3
DOW UTILITIES           253.03      +2.44      + 1.0
CLOSING TICK                                   +1067

S&P 500                1018.22     +22.25      + 2.2
S&P 100                 510.33     +11.77      + 2.4
MIDCAP 400              521.39     +10.97      + 2.2
REUTERS/CRB             244.28       +.62       + .3

NYSE COMPOSITE         5768.32    +124.29      + 2.2
VALUE LINE              325.77      +7.08       2.22
RUSSELL 2000            500.32     +12.64       2.59
WILSHIRE 5000          9859.56    +209.88       2.17

U.S. TREASURIES
5-YEAR NOTE 3.125%
Sept. 15,2008        101 13/32      +2/32       2.82

10-YEAR NOTE 4.25%
Aug. 15,2013         102 18/32      +1/32       3.93

30-YEAR NOTE 5.375%
Feb. 15, 2031        107  8/32      -3/32       4.89

LEHMAN BROS.
LONG BOND INDEX        1776.32      +1.56


DOW CLOSE              9469.20    +194.14      + 2.1
ADVANCES                                        2707
DECLINES                                         577
NEW HIGHS                                        178
NEW LOWS                                           7

                                      NET    PERCENT
NYSE MOST ACTIVES    4PM CLOSE     CHANGE     CHANGE
LU     Lucent Tech        2.14       -.02        -.9
PFE    Pfizer            30.80       +.42       +1.4
AOL    AOL Time Warner   15.32       +.21       +1.4
GE     GE                30.63       +.82       +2.8
MOT    Motorola          12.13       +.16       +1.3
C      Citigroup         47.00      +1.49       +3.3
EMC    EMC Corp          13.00       +.37       +2.9
L      Liberty Media     10.02       +.05        +.5
NT     Nortel Networks    4.22       +.12       +2.9
F      Ford Motor Co     11.10       +.33       +3.1

NASDAQ CLOSE           1832.25    + 45.31      + 2.5
VOLUME                                       1,828.9
PREVIOUS                                     1,886.4
ADVANCES                                        2255
DECLINES                                         955

NASDAQ ACTIVES
INTC   Intel             28.63      +1.11       +4.0
MSFT   Microsoft         28.52       +.72       +2.6
CSCO   Cisco Systems     20.20       +.61       +3.1
EBAY   eBay              54.70      +1.06       +2.0
SINA   Sina Corp         35.26       -.45       -1.3
DELL   Dell Inc          34.02       +.60       +1.8
NXTL   Nextel Comms      19.51       -.20       -1.0
AMGN   Amgen             66.28      +1.76       +2.7
YHOO   Yahoo!            36.40      +1.01       +2.9
AMZN   Amazon.com        49.12      + .69       +1.4

AMEX CLOSE             1003.71    + 12.90      + 1.3

INDEX SHARES
DIA    DIAMONDS TRUST    94.81      +1.68       +1.8
QQQ    NASDAQ 100        33.15       +.73       +2.3
SPY    S&P DEP.RECEIPTS 102.08      +2.13       +2.1

STOCKS IN THE NEWS
MMM    3M Co             70.90      +1.83       +2.7
CAT    Caterpillar       71.34      +2.50       +3.6
IBM    IBM               90.35      +2.02       +2.3
UTX    United Tech       79.88      +2.60       +3.4
WMT    Wal-Mart Stores   57.06      +1.21       +2.2
LLY    Eli Lilly         63.01      +3.61       +6.1
AEP    American Electric 29.60       -.40       -1.3
CVC    Cablevision Sys   19.09       +.99       +5.5
CCU    Clear Channel     40.31      +2.01       +5.3
BGY    British Energy     6.90       +.54       +8.5
ATU    Actuant           60.61      +4.46       +7.9
DHI    D.R. Horton       35.16      +2.46       +7.5
CTX    Centex            82.56      +4.68       +6.0
KBH    KB Home           64.20      +4.54       +7.6
LEN    Lennar            82.15      +4.36       +5.6
TOL    Toll Brothers     32.66      +2.24       +7.4
LAB    Labranche & Co    13.37      -1.23       -8.4
MTZ    Mastec            10.91      +1.21      +12.5
CBK    Chrstphr & Bank   26.13      +2.27       +9.5
HEPH   Hollis-Eden Phar  19.45      -4.79      -19.8
EYW    Essex Corp         7.05      +1.50      +27.0