Program: Thursday, October 9, 2003

Frank Quattrone Takes The Stand
President Bush Continues To Defend His Money Matters
Disney's New Mission To Space
Commentary-401k's & Retirement
Last Word-The Color of Money
Paul Kangas' Stocks In The News
Market Stats

10/09/03: Frank Quattrone Takes The Stand

SUSIE GHARIB: Frank Quattrone, the former Wall Street star investment banker, took the witness stand in his own defense today. His much anticipated testimony is key in the trial that charges him with obstruction of justice and tampering with witnesses. Erika Miller was there and reports on the latest.

FRANK QUATTRONE: Good morning, folks.

ERIKA MILLER, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Frank Quattrone appeared confident as he arrived at federal court in New York today. He conveyed that same confidence on the witness stand, testifying in his own defense. His goal was to convince jurors he did not obstruct justice or tamper with witnesses when he endorsed a subordinate's suggestion to get rid of documents in December 2000. Legal observers say Quattrone's decision to testify is likely to be viewed positively by jurors.

LEWIS LOWENFELS, SECURITIES LAWYER, TOLINS & LOWENFELS: Very often in a trial, a defendant will be careful about, be wary about taking the stand. But if he believes that he's telling the truth and he believes in the ability to project and to impact on the jury and that his sincerity will come across, his integrity and reputation will come across, then he's testifying and he's standing up and I think one has to give a person credit for that.

MILLER: Quattrone flatly denied knowing that an SEC investigation of initial public offerings by his firm involved him and the investment banking division. Speaking directly to jurors, Quattrone said he was simply following his firm's policy of routinely purging old documents. Quattrone, who was paid millions as an investment banker, tried to portray himself as an ordinary guy. He stressed his humble origins from a working class Philadelphia neighborhood. Quattrone's case is the most high profile white collar crime trial in more than a decade and legal experts predict the verdict will have far reaching implications.

LOWENFELS: I've been practicing for a long time, 40 years, and the last one I remember is the Milken case. So that's significant in that sense. I think it's also significant in the sense that people want to see how a jury reacts to this kind of a case in a post-Enron (ENRNQ.OB), post-WorldCom (WCOEQ.OB) situation.

MILLER: Quattrone's testimony is the centerpiece of the defense case. Legal experts say whether Quattrone is found guilty or innocent will depend largely on how credible jurors find his testimony. 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.

10/09/03: President Bush Continues To Defend His Money Matters

JEFF YASTINE: Cooler weather encouraged shoppers to open their wallets in September. The result: the biggest monthly retail sales gain in 18 months. Discounters did well, as Wal-Mart's (WMT) sales jumped six percent. Target (TGT) posted a 5.4 percent increase. And Sears (S) fared much better than Wall Street expected. Its sales at stores open at least a year rose 3.2 percent. But JC Penney (JCP) posted only a modest increase. Mall-based stores turned in a surprisingly strong performance. Gap (GPS) sales jumped 13 percent, while Limited Brands (LTD) gained eight percent. Analysts say the results set the tone for the upcoming holiday season.

MARK MANDEL, RETAIL ANALYST, BLAYLOCK & PARTNERS: I think we can be, you know, reasonably optimistic, especially compared to we've seen in the last couple or few years. You know, I think this is, you know, shaping up to be a better year, for sure, you know, not a gang buster year, but I think we're on the right track.

YASTINE: Those encouraging retail sales figures are among other signs the economy is looking up. That's the message President Bush took to the key primary state of New Hampshire today. The President points to low inflation, rising incomes and increased productivity as evidence the economy is turning the corner. Stephanie Woods reports.

STEPHANIE WOODS, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Under fire for his handling of the economy and the war in Iraq, President Bush went on the offensive in New Hampshire. Speaking to business leaders in Manchester, the President credited tax cuts for signs the economy is improving.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES:

BUSH: Our strategy has set the stage for sustained growth. By reducing taxes, we kept a promise and we did the right thing at the right time for the American economy.

WOODS: The President also defended the war in Iraq.

BUSH: Our work in Iraq is essential to our own security and no band of murders and gangsters will stop that work or shake the will of America.

WOODS: Back in Washington, the House Appropriations Committee approved the President's $87 billion spending request for Iraq. Republicans beat back a proposal from Democrats that would cancel scheduled tax cuts for the wealthiest one percent of Americans to pay the tab.

REP. DAVID OBEY (D-WI), RANKING MEMBER, APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: I don't want to say to my kids and grandkids that we thought it was more important to provide $88,000 tax cuts for millionaires than it is to meet our obligations to pay our bill.

WOODS: Democratic leaders say the high price tag for the war is beginning to jeopardize the President's domestic agenda.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: Every day that we run up the bill, the tab in Iraq diminishes the prospects for affording a prescription drug benefit.

WOODS: Analysts still expect the Republican controlled Congress to pass a prescription drug benefit for Medicare, since the $400 billion has already been set aside in the budget.

CHUCK GABRIEL, POLITICAL ANALYST, PRUDENTIAL SECURITIES: Partisan politics are intense, though. I think Republicans are very worried about passing a bill and then basically it being a hollow triumph because the bill could then be attacked from Democrats.

WOODS: Partisan politics promise to get even hotter as the Democratic presidential hopefuls meet tonight in Arizona. Still, analysts expect Congress to pass the must do spending bills without too much rancor. 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.

10/09/03: Disney's New Mission To Space

JEFF YASTINE: Well, Walt Disney and Hewlett Packard are debuting a new attraction called Mission: Space at Disney World's Epcot Center. It's a thrill ride, the first of its kind for Epcot, using a giant centrifuge and virtual reality to simulate a rocket launch. Disney hopes the attraction will bring more people to the parks and it's a marketing showpiece for Hewlett Packard. We talked with H.P. Chairman and CEO Carly Fiorina and Disney President Robert Iger about their business and the Mission: Space attraction.

ROBERT IGER, PRESIDENT, THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY: Well, we describe it as the high energy ride. We describe a lot of our rides as high energy rides. But this one, I think, has more energy than any that we've ever opened. It is an incredible experience. It's very real in feel and lots of people tell us that. And so I think people who have always been fascinated with space travel get a chance to actually experience what it must be like, and that obviously is a big part of why it's so attractive.

YASTINE: Miss. Fiorina, the H.P. name is co-branded on this ride. What does this kind of marketing deal do to help Hewlett-Packard?

CARLY FIORINA, CHAIRMAN & CEO, HEWLETT PACKARD: Well, first, I should say the relationship with Disney spans our entire history as a company. We sold one of the very first H.P. products to Walt Disney over 60 years ago. The relationship also spans our entire portfolio, from imaging and printing, to PCs, to enterprising systems, to services. It also touches all aspects of the company we are. We're both a consumer technology company, the largest in the world, as well as an enterprise technology company. And so for us, this relationship is about showcasing the breadth and depth of H.P. as a technology company.

YASTINE: is this really about marketing and getting the H.P. brand out there in front of yet another audience? Or is it really about the technology that goes into the ride and the associated, you know, interactive activities?

FIORINA: Yes, it's both. It's about showcasing the brand to consumers, who are a very important part of our marketplace. But it's also about showcasing what technology makes possible. And, of course, our brand and our capabilities are linked.

YASTINE: Now, you're also signing or have signed a 10 year strategic alliance with Disney. Again, is that really more of a marketing pact or is it really about providing computer services and those sorts of things to Disney?

FIORINA: And once again the answer is yes. It certainly is about a marketing relationship, as witnessed today by the ad campaign that we put, Disney plus H.P.. But it's also about providing our capabilities, our technology, our products, our people, our services, our software to continue to make the Disney experience very exciting. We think all processes are being digitized, and that includes the entertainment experience. I think Bob Iger himself has described this as the digital decade and we certainly agree with that. And we have a lot to offer.

YASTINE: Well, beginning with the news today and what we've seen recently, beginning to see some glimmers, perhaps, of hope and a response from the economy, I'm curious from what you can say, because I know you have earnings coming out soon, but I'm curious if you're seeing any sort of reaction in your business to this stimulus that's going through the economy.

FIORINA: Well, I described to others that I would describe the economy right now as having a gentle breeze blowing. This is not a gale force wind, but there clearly is some accelerating activity. I would quickly, also, say, though, that in the technology industry, we think how customers buy technology has changed fundamentally. And that makes the I.T. industry going forward more like a two times GDP industry, not the five times GDP kind of industry that we saw in the late '90s. So I think people who follow the I.T. industry have to have their expectations appropriately set in terms of what economy recovery means.

YASTINE: And, Mr. Iger, a similar question here. You know, certainly the parks were hurt in previous years by the slowdown in travel and that sort of thing. What are you seeing nowadays? Again, a similar sore of sort of response, a glimmer of hope there in your business?

IGER: Well, we've seen a gradual improvement, but that gradual improvement has been more consistent. We had been seeing erratic patterns that were difficult to really read in terms of just how real they were or how sustainable they were. And over the last three to four months, we've seen a more consistent improvement and I think that bodes well. But we're sticking with those words right now. It's difficult for us to predict long-term whether we'll see something more dramatic than that. So I like what Carly said about gradual wind or breeze, and not a gale force wind.

YASTINE: Well, let's hope the breeze continues. I want to end it there, so I want to thank both of you for joining us today. Our guests, H.P. Chairman and CEO Carly Fiorina and Disney President Robert Iger.

FIORINA: Thank you.

IGER: Thank you.

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.

10/09/03: Commentary-401k's & Retirement

SUSIE GHARIB: In tonight's commentary, 401Ks and your retirement. Here's Alicia Munnell, Director for the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

ALICIA MUNNELL, COMMENTARY: I want to talk about the retirement age. For decades, it declined. People were retiring earlier and earlier. Then in the mid 1980s, the decline stopped. The question is why? Some suggest the end of mandatory retirement. Others focus on changes in Social Security. But an even more important factor may be recent trends in retirement plans. Since the 1980s, 401Ks have replaced traditional plans as the dominant form of pension, and this shift has had a big impact on when people decide to retire. First, 401Ks do not have the explicit early retirement incentives embedded in traditional plans. These incentives provide more in lifetime benefits to people who retire earlier. Second, 401K plans provide benefits in the form of a lump sum rather than an annuity. People are often reluctant to spend lump sums and therefore work longer to accumulate enough assets so they can live off the income. Third, 401K balances are unreliable. If the stock market tanks, people can lose a lot of money fast. Therefore, they work longer to accumulate a buffer. Given these factors, we found that the typical person covered by a 401K plan will work 15 months longer than his counterpart covered by a traditional plan. This is a good development. People will have to work longer in the future to have a comfortable retirement, given the coming changes in Social Security and increases in life expectancy. I am Alicia Munnell.

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.

10/09/03: Last Word-The Color of Money

JEFF YASTINE: Well, those greenbacks in your wallet are getting a touch of blue and yellow. That's because the new colorized $20 bill hit the streets today. The colors, along with other security measures, such as an additional portrait, are intended to make the 20 harder to counterfeit. New designs for the $50 and $100 notes will follow in 2004 and 2005. But, Paul, don't expect to see the ones and the fives and the tens in that colorized version. No change or no decision, rather, has been made on those yet. By the way, the first one hit circulation today here in Miami. It bought a burger and a coke at a Burger King, I understand.

KANGAS: You know, I don't think it makes much difference what color they are. They all spend just as quickly.

YASTINE: Absolutely.

KANGAS: And I think that they ought to make the bigger bills the brighter color.

YASTINE: Just because you'll be able to identify them more quickly.

KANGAS: Exactly.

YASTINE: Interesting.

KANGAS: Make no mistakes.

YASTINE: We make plenty of them.

KANGAS: Yes.

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.

10/09/03: "Paul Kangas' Stocks In The News"

PAUL KANGAS: Wall Street opened with a rollicking rally, triggered by a much better than expected drop of 23,000 in the latest new weekly jobless benefit claims, which suggested the economy is finally creating jobs. Another plus was the fact that after the close yesterday, Yahoo! reported earnings above Street estimates. After an hour of trading, the Dow was up 84 points and the NASDAQ Composite rose 30 points. The market continued to rise sharply thanks to news of strong September retail sales, about which we'll have details shortly. By mid session, the Dow was sporting a 130 point gain and the NASDAQ Index was up a hefty 41 points. With the dollar still struggling and bond prices weak, profit takers couldn't resist taking some money off the table, so stocks saw their gains cut back considerably.

The Dow Industrial average ended up a rather moderate 49.11 points, at 9,680.01. The NASDAQ Composite rose a modest 18 points, to 1,911.90. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index closed up 4.95 points, at 1,038.73.

Over in the bond market, the 10-year note fell 14/32, to 99 21/32, putting the yield at 4.29 percent.

The most active New York Exchange issue, Lucent Technologies (LU), trading 30.1 million shares, and edging $0.04 higher.

Then one of the bigger percentage losers of the day, Computer Associates (CA) falling $3.01. The company has asked three top executives, including the chief financial officer, to resign in the wake of an audit committee inquiry. The S&P, Standard & Poor's, I should say, says even despite this news, hold onto the stock for the moment.

G.E. (GE), earnings due out tomorrow. The stock down $0.07 today.

AOL Time Warner (AOL) up $0.31.

Hewlett Packard (HPQ) gained $0.79. Morgan Stanley thinks that Hewlett Packard is poised for a very strong fourth quarter and rated it an "over weight."

Looking at NorTel Networks (NT), a loss of $0.13.

Pfizer (PFE) managed to gain $0.11.

AT&T Wireless (AWE) down $0.14.

The Gap Incorporated (GPS) up nearly a $1. The company's September same store sales up a respectable 13 percent. The Street was only looking for about a 5.8 percent rise.

Tenth in volume, Micron Technology (MU), moved up $0.12.

AMR (AMR), parent of American Airlines, up $1.50. Morgan Stanley upgraded most of the major airlines from "under weight" to "equal weight," and that includes AMR Corp. They had a very good performance today.

Sears (S) up almost three percent with that gain of $1.45. The company's September same store sales up 3.2 percent. The Street sought less than a one percent gain.

And the whole sector of big retailers did rather well.

Dillard Department Stores (DDS) had a three percent rise in last month's same store sales.

Federated's (FD) were up 3.2 percent.

And TJX (TJX) an eight percent gain. The Street was expecting only a three percent -- a 3.6 percent rise.

And nice gains in all of those stocks there.

And then the specialty retailers like Bombay (BBA), up $1.63. Bombay's September same store sales up a whopping 17 percent.

Let's look at more stocks in the specialty retailer sector.

Pier One Imports (PIR) up $1.74. A two percent gain in last month's same store sales. And A.G. Edwards upgraded Pier One's stock from "hold" to "buy."

Limited Brands (LTD) up $1.01. An eight percent jump in its same store sales. Also, Limited plans to buy back $100 million of its own stock.

Men's Wearhouse (MW) did well and so did Chico's FAS (CHS), with good same store sales last month.

Marvel Enterprises (MVL) moving up $4.30. The company increased third quarter guidance from $0.25 to $0.30, all the way up to $0.37 to $0.41 in earnings per share.

Quanta Services (PWR) one of the biggest percentage losers of the day, down over 14 percent with that loss of $1.27. The company is in construction services and it plans to offer $175 million in convertible subordinated debentures. Potential earnings dilution there.

Tidewater (TDW) was down $1.11. The company sees only $0.20 to $0.23 in earnings in the current quarter and that's well below the Wall Street estimate of $0.31 a share. A little disappointment there.

Halliburton (HAL) down a $0.50. The company cut its third quarter earnings outlook from $0.32 a share down to $0.27 and it cited lower joint venture profits and higher legal fees. Not a good combination.

Yahoo! (YHOO) topped the NASDAQ active list with a gain of $3.96. As we reported after the close yesterday, third quarter earnings for Yahoo! $0.10, a $0.01 above Street expectations. A nice move in the stock today.

Intel (INTC) rose a $0.10.

Microsoft (MSFT) up $0.12.

Amazon.com (AMZN) doing well, up $2.16.

Cisco Systems (CSCO) a $0.16 rise, number five in dollar volume on NASDAQ.

eBay (EBAY) up $1.78, following Yahoo! nicely.

And then Applied Materials (AMAT) was up $0.42.

Dell (DELL), a $0.53 gain there.

And Oracle (ORCL) down $0.30.

InterActive Corp. (IACI) was up $1.30.

Children's Place (PLCE) up $4.67, over a 24 percent gain there. The toy retailer reported September same store sales up a whopping 30 percent. And as a result of that, Children's Place says its third quarter earnings should come in around $0.40 a share. That's way up from the $0.27 per share Wall Street estimate.

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.

10/09/03: Market Stats

			     
                                      NET    PERCENT
                         CLOSE     CHANGE     CHANGE
DOW CLOSE              9680.01     +49.11       + .5
HIGH                                         9768.69
LOW                                          9633.20

NASDAQ COMP.           1911.90     +18.12       +1.0
HIGH                                         1936.93
LOW                                          1899.21

VOLUME                                       1,559.3
PREVIOUS                                     1,234.1
UP VOLUME                                    1,036.0
DOWN VOLUME                                    500.7

DOW TRANSPORTS         2850.73     +59.11      + 2.1
DOW UTILITIES           253.56      +1.10       + .4
CLOSING TICK                                   +1006

S&P 500                1038.73      +4.95       + .5
S&P 100                 518.48      +1.94       + .4
MIDCAP 400              537.21      +2.86       + .5
REUTERS/CRB             244.87      +1.49       + .6

NYSE COMPOSITE         5886.89     +31.55       + .5
VALUE LINE              336.87      +2.73       0.82
RUSSELL 2000            521.34      +5.66        1.1
WILSHIRE 5000         10092.92     +54.34       0.54

U.S. TREASURIES
5-YEAR NOTE 3.125%
Sept. 15,2008         99 25/32       -4/32       3.17

10-YEAR NOTE 4.25%
Aug. 15,2013          99 21/32      -14/32       4.29

30-YEAR NOTE 5.375%
Feb. 15, 2031        102 10/32      -25/32       5.22

LEHMAN BROS.
LONG BOND INDEX        1713.40       -6.12


DOW CLOSE              9680.01     +49.11       + .5
ADVANCES                                        2036
DECLINES                                        1229
NEW HIGHS                                        514
NEW LOWS                                          10

                                      NET    PERCENT
NYSE MOST ACTIVES    4PM CLOSE     CHANGE     CHANGE
LU     Lucent Tech        2.33       +.04       +1.8
CA     Computer Assoc    25.95      -3.01      -10.4
GE     GE                30.13       -.07        -.2
AOL    AOL Time Warner   15.52       +.31       +2.0
HPQ    Hewlett-Packard   21.04       +.79       +3.9
NT     Nortel Networks    4.43       -.13       -2.9
PFE    Pfizer            30.77       +.11        +.4
AWE    AT&T Wireless      8.25       -.14       -1.7
GPS    Gap Inc           19.15       +.96       +5.3
MU     Micron Tech       12.93       +.12        +.9

NASDAQ CLOSE           1911.90    + 18.12      + 1.0
VOLUME                                       2,090.0
PREVIOUS                                     1,810.7
ADVANCES                                        1918
DECLINES                                        1264

NASDAQ ACTIVES
YHOO   Yahoo!            42.75      +3.96      +10.2
INTC   Intel             29.77       +.10        +.3
MSFT   Microsoft         28.94       +.12        +.4
AMZN   Amazon.com        57.86      +2.16       +3.9
CSCO   Cisco Systems     20.95       +.16        +.8
EBAY   eBay              60.25      +1.78       +3.0
AMAT   Applied Matl      20.55       +.42       +2.1
DELL   Dell              35.27       +.53       +1.5
ORCL   Oracle            12.33       -.30       -2.4
IACI   InterActiveCorp   37.71      +1.30       +3.6

AMEX CLOSE             1015.95     + 2.14       + .2

INDEX SHARES
DIA    DIAMONDS TRUST    97.15       +.42        +.4
QQQ    NASDAQ 100        34.69       +.24        +.7
SPY    S&P DEP.RECEIPTS 104.28       +.28        +.3

STOCKS IN THE NEWS
AMR    AMR Corp          14.85      +1.50      +11.2
S      Sears Roebuck     50.18      +1.45       +3.0
DDS    Dillard Dept      16.07      +1.37       +9.3
FD     Fed Dept Strs     45.60      +1.20       +2.7
TJX    TJX Companies     21.20      +1.11       +5.5
BBA    Bombay            12.86      +1.63      +14.5
PIR    Pier 1 Imports    22.14      +1.74       +8.5
LTD    Limited Brands    17.01      +1.01       +6.3
MW     Men's Wearhouse   30.20      +2.11       +7.5
CHS    Chico's FAS       35.31      +2.75       +8.5
MVL    Marvel Enterpr    28.52      +4.30      +17.8
PWR    Quanta Services    7.68      -1.27      -14.2
TDW    Tidewater         28.02      -1.11       -3.8
HAL    Halliburton       24.76       -.50       -2.0
PLCE   Childrens Place   23.86      +4.67      +24.3