Program: Tuesday, November 18, 2003

Management At The NYSE Is Put To A Vote
Mr. Donaldson Goes To Washington With A New Plan For Mutual Funds
The Yuan Greenback Conflict
Commentary: "Letting Teachers Teach."
Last Word: Happy Birthday Mickey Mouse
Paul Kangas' Stocks In The News
Market Stats

11/18/03: Management At The NYSE Is Put To A Vote

SUSIE GHARIB: Just a short while ago, members here at the New York Stock Exchange finished casting their ballots on a momentous issue. At stake, whether the exchange should adopt sweeping changes in the way it is managed. Erika Miller joins us now with the latest, Erika?

ERIKA MILLER, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Susie, the official tally isn`t in yet, but the NYSE is confirming that interim chief John Reed did get the support he needs to pass his reform package. As a result, investors are likely see historic changes at the big board. The biggest proposed change is in the governance of the 211-year-old institution. The plan calls for all 27 members of the board of directors to resign, except for former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and TIAA-CREF Chairman Herb Allison. Those two would be joined by six new independent directors handpicked by John Reed. They include: Dennis Weatherstone, the former chairman of J.P. Morgan; Rolls Royce Chairman Euan Baird; former State Street chief Marshall Carter; as well as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute President Shirley Ann Jackson; James McDonald, the CEO of Rockefeller & Company; and the former head of Monsanto, Robert Shapiro. That new board will appoint a separate member advisory panel made up of wall street CEOs and other people tied to the securities industry. That panel will advise the board on business issues, but have no say in regulatory or compensation matters. The 102-page plan has been generally applauded as a good first step, but it still needs approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Some big institutions like Fidelity have been calling for more sweeping changes, like eliminating the big board`s specialist trading system. Others are disappointed that the exchange would continue as a self-regulating organization. Another contentious issue is whether the NYSE should have one person serve as chairman and CEO, or split the two roles to dilute power at the top.

LANCE MYERS, ATTORNEY, HOLLAND & KNIGHT: I think it`s better to have two different people work together, sort of like a general manager and a head coach in football. That seems to work a lot better than to have the situation where you have the general manager and the head coach being the same person. It`s just too many jobs to deal with, too many functions and too much power being put into one person`s hands.

MILLER: The official results from today`s vote are not expected until some time tomorrow, Susie?

GHARIB: Erika, what about the SEC, you mentioned that this needs SEC approval, is it expected that they`re give the OK?

MILLER: The experts that I`m speaking to say it`s all but a slam dunk. As we`ve been reporting on NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, John Reed has had ongoing discussions with SEC Chairman William Donaldson, and the expectation is that the SEC will approve it sometime in mid-December.

GHARIB: And what about the search for a new chairman and CEO of the New York Stock Exchange, where do things stand on getting a replacements for John Reed who is serving as the interim?

MILLER: John Reed has said he`d like to have a successor in place sometime at the beginning of next year. And the expectation is that the new board will have a list of potential candidates to consider as a replacement to Reed, and they`re expected to have that at the meeting on December 4.

GHARIB: And what about John Reed, I know he has said in protest that he is not interested in being the next chairman and CEO, but do you think he might change his mind?

MILLER: No, he`s said that he`s really not interested in that job but he has hinted that he would consider the possibility of serving on the board. So really in an advisory capacity. But he doesn`t want to run the day-to-day operations, he`s made that very clear.

GHARIB: All right, Erika, thank you very much, that`s Erika Miller reporting from the New York Stock Exchange.

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.

11/18/03: Mr. Donaldson Goes To Washington With A New Plan For Mutual Funds

SUSIE GHARIB: The head of the Securities and Exchange Commission is cracking down on trading abuses in the mutual fund industry. SEC Chairman William Donaldson says he will propose new trading rules, including a firm 4:00 p.m. cutoff for all trades. Donaldson outlined the plan on Capitol Hill today, but not before a few strong words for the mutual fund industry and SEC critics. Stephanie Woods reports.

STEPHANIE WOODS, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman William Donaldson blasted critics as well as the mutual fund industry. Donaldson told lawmakers he`s appalled at what the SEC has found in its investigation.

WILLIAM DONALDSON, CHAIRMAN, SEC: It is conduct that represents fundamental breeches of fiduciary obligations and betrayal of our nation`s investors. I can assure you that we are committed to seeking redress for investors, and meting out the appropriate punishment in these matters to send a strong message that these types of abuses will not be tolerated.

WOODS: Donaldson defended the commission`s settlement with Putnam Investments, and called criticism from New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer misguided.

DONALDSON: By acting quickly, the SEC required Putnam to agree to terms that produce immediate and lasting benefits for investors currently holding Putnam funds.

WOODS: Donaldson said the Putnam settlement wasn`t a catch-all to correct the industries abuses.

DONALDSON: The commission is already moving forward with rulemaking that will address fee disclosure issues and others on an industry-wide basis. Those lacking rule-making authority seem to want to shoehorn the consideration of fee disclosure issues into the settlement of lawsuits about other subjects.

WOODS: The public dispute between Donaldson and Spitzer has some lawmakers calling for a truce between the federal and state regulators.

SEN. CHRIS DODD (D), CONNECTICUT: We`ve got to break through this. We can`t have you, Mr. Spitzer, and the guy in Massachusetts, screaming at each other in a public forum every day. That doesn`t help, in my view.

DONALDSON: Unfortunately, I can`t control what certain state regulators decide they want to say publicly. I believe that it`s very counterproductive.

WOODS: Donaldson promised new rules to crack down on market timing and late trading by the end of the year. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan and Treasury Secretary John Snow weighed in on the mutual fund reform debate. In a letter to the committee chairman, they called for reforms that give real value to investors without increasing costs. 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.

11/18/03: The Yuan Greenback Conflict

SUSIE GHARIB: The Bush administration said today that it will impose quotas on some textiles imported from China. The president wants to give the beleaguered American textile industry a break against a flood of cheap imports. It`s the latest move in U.S. efforts to nudge China into reforming its trade and economic policies, including floating its currency, the yuan. As Adrian Brown reports, that fixed currency is becoming a sore spot for both countries.

ADRIAN BROWN, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: China is the world`s fastest growing economy, and within two years stands to be the fourth largest. But according to the Bush administration, that growth is happening at the expense of millions of American manufacturing jobs. The friction is over China`s currency, the yuan. For nine years it`s been pegged to the U.S. dollar. And now Washington insists the yuan may be undervalued by as much as 40 percent, making Chinese exports much cheaper. What`s less publicized though is that its foreign companies, U.S. ones included, that are helping drive that export boom. American David O`Rear is chief economist of Hong Kong`s chamber of commerce.

DAVID O`REAR, HONG KONG CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: More than half of all of China`s exports are from foreign invested companies, so there`s Motorola (MOT) and Hitachi (HIT) and Siemens (SI) that are creating the boom in China`s exports, by utilizing very good cost-benefit analysis and making their investments in China.

BROWN: Also on the increase and little known, he says, America`s surging exports to China.

O`REAR: American exports to China in the year-to-date have been growing 11 times faster than American exports to the world at large. This is one of the greatest markets for American exports. But we`re not seeing that in the debate.

BROWN: What can`t be disputed, says Washington, is the deepening trade deficit with China, set to top $100 billion this year. But Beijing`s new leadership, in power for less than a year, is resisting pressure to float its currency, and seems to understand that this debate is linked to next year`s presidential elections.

PAUL WOOD, PRINCIPAL, BUSINESS STRATEGIES GROUP: Frankly, this is going to be a big issue in this election year. Once it`s gone away we`ll probably get down to the more mundane, practical issues which will actually make a difference to American business.

BROWN: Floating the yuan simply isn`t in China`s interest right now, even the IMF accepts that its banking system remains fragile. The region is still haunted by the Asian currency crisis of six years ago. It triggered the downfall of several Asian leaders, including Indonesia`s President Suharto. And the sudden change in the yuan`s value could hasten what the Chinese leadership fears most, instability.

CHRIS LEUNG, CHIEF ECONOMIST, DBS: Chinese (UNINTELLIGIBLE) is not gong to devalue the yuan, at this point I`m very sure, and I think actually the U.S. knows this well enough.

BROWN: But Hong Kong is watching anxiously from the sidelines. It has to. The majority of its exports are re-exports from China. And any retaliatory tariffs by Washington on Chinese-made products would hurt Hong Kong badly.

O`REAR: And so we`re very concerned about it. To date we haven`t had any major statements, we`re still looking and watching and hoping that this stays at the political level and doesn`t get into actual trade sanctions. If it does, we get hurt very badly.

BROWN: As this debate deepens, Hong Kong is hoping its voice won`t be forgotten. Adrian Brown, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Hong Kong.

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.

11/18/03: Commentary: "Letting Teachers Teach."

SUSIE GHARIB: In tonight`s commentary: "Letting Teachers Teach." Here`s Daniel Henninger, deputy editor of "The Wall Street Journal"`s editorial page.

DAN HENNINGER, COMMENTARY: Political issues are sometimes called burning issues, which means that the politicians fiddle while the issue burns down. Legislation to diminish wildfires festered for years, then it passed last month, after California had burned. No issue has burned longer than education. And tomorrow, the Wallace Foundation and Public Agenda release a survey of public school superintendents who issue a collective cry to the politicians: "please let us teach!" The superintendents say they`re swamped by legislated mandates such as special education that take time from reading, writing and arithmetic. While this is one time we had better be able to see the forest for the trees. Here, the trees are the nation`s schools and the forest is the U.S. economy. We know that America is a knowledge and service economy, and that it`s globally competitive. But frustrated managers who can`t get sufficient supplies of good workers from the schools are going to move away from our great cities, which will shrivel. They will move offshore for workers, certainly for cost reasons, but also for reasons of core competencies. Desperate parents will migrate to school-choice and home-schooling. Time was, teaching basic competency wasn`t difficult. Now, politicians, unions, and special pleaders have made it hard. We need to clear out the educational underbrush before this burning issue also turns into cold embers. I`m Daniel Henninger.

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.

11/18/03: Last Word: Happy Birthday Mickey Mouse

SUSIE GHARIB: And finally tonight, he`s one of the most recognized Americans in the world, known for his pluck, humor, and marketability. And now, he`s celebrating his 75th birthday. Mickey Mouse made his screen debut 75 years ago today as "Steamboat Willie." The irreverent rodent quickly became a national personality. Now, he`s the corporate face of his creator`s namesake, the Walt Disney Company`s (DIS) huge entertainment empire, and is splashed on thousands of merchandise products from watches to bedsheets. And Paul, here`s an interesting tidbit, apparently Walt Disney originally wanted to call his creation Mortimer Mouse, but Disney`s wife thought it was too pompous and she suggested Mickey. I kind of like the name Mickey.

KANGAS: Yes. All kind of a "Goofy" story, but nevertheless it worked out well. (LAUGHTER)

GHARIB: And he looks pretty good for 75, wouldn`t you say?

KANGAS: I would say wonderful.

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.

11/18/03: "Paul Kangas' Stocks In The News"

PAUL KANGAS: Wall Street opened higher in a continuation of yesterday`s late rally. Buyers were also spurred on by the report that October consumer prices showed no change. Another plus was Home Depot`s strong earnings, which we will detail shortly, and then there was a Merrill Lynch upgrade on General Electric (GE). After 30 minutes of trading, the Dow was up 31 points, the NASDAQ Index had gained 14 points. The market soon faded, reflecting investors` disappointment that the flurry of good news out this morning did not trigger a more impressive early rally. At noontime, the Dow fell to a 10-point loss, and the NASDAQ Index was down a fraction. The sell-off deepened this afternoon following a rise in oil prices and a drop in the dollar to a record low against the euro. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 86 2/3 points at 9624.16, that`s its seventh loss in the last eight trading sessions. The NASDAQ Composite fell 27.86 points or 1 1/2 percent, closing at 1881.75. Standard & Poor`s 500 Index lost almost 9 1/2 points to 1034.15. Over in the bond market, the 10-year note rose 14/32 to par and 27/32, pushing the yield down to 4.15 percent.

The volume leader on the New York Exchange, trading 29.6 million shares, was General Electric (GE), closing up $0.63. It traded as high as $28.92 this morning after Merrill Lynch upgraded it from neutral to buy.

Pfizer (PFE) was up $0.11.

Then Lucent Technologies (LU), a $0.03 gain.

But NorTel Networks (NT) dropped a penny.

And Home Depot (HD) itself closed down $0.52 despite those earnings that were $0.04 above the Street estimate. And the company also said 2003 earnings will grow by 15 to 17 percent, up from its previous estimate of a 9 to 14 percent growth rate. The stock did trade as high as $36.55 a share today.

Time Warner (TWX) was down $0.12. "The Wall Street Journal" reports an investment group lead by Edgar Bronfman is expected to offer $2 1/2 billion for Time Warner`s entire music business.

Corning (GLW) down $0.56.

Citigroup (C), a $0.74 loss there.

Texas Instruments (TXN) fell $0.48.

Tenth in volume was AT&T Wireless (AWE) dropping $0.02 a share.

Vodafone (VOD), the big British cellular firm doing well, up $1.38. In the six months ending September, the company`s pre-tax profits rose 26 percent on a 13 percent rise in revenues. The company will bump up its dividend by 20 percent. And it plans to buy back up to $4.2 billion worth of its own stock.

Agilent Technologies (A) moved up a $1.02, nearly a 4 percent gain. Fourth-quarter turnaround, earnings of $0.03 versus a loss of $0.51 in the same period a year ago. And the company predicting first-quarter earnings to rise to $0.05 as high as $0.15 a share.

CIGNA (CI) down $1.18. The company plans to sell its investment and retirement products division to Prudential (PRU) for $2.1 billion. Prudential`s stock, interestingly, moved up $0.40 to close at $0.37 a share even.

Ryder System (R), the logistics company, up $2.32. C.S. First Boston brokerage upgraded the stock from neutral to outperform.

Longs Drug Stores (LDG) rising $2.23. The stock up on takeover rumors, rather vague ones, but speculation is the Walgreen`s (WAG) might be one the suitors. Longs will report third-quarter earnings, incidentally, tomorrow.

Jo-Ann Stores (JAS), one of the big losers in that chart that only dates back to the first of the month, when the company changed the status of its A and B shares into one class of common stock, so that`s why the chart is so short. But the stock had a rough day, down $4.55, even though third-quarter earnings were higher, $0.54 versus last year`s $0.40. But the company did cut 2004 earnings estimates from around $2.04 a share all the way down to $1.75. Hence the big loss.

Apria Healthcare Group (AHG) was down $2.44. The Legg Mason brokerage downgraded it from buy to hold on concerns over possible cuts in Medicare reimbursement.

BJ`s Wholesale Club (BJ) fell $1.60. Third-quarter earnings lower, $0.29 versus $0.33 a year ago. The company blamed higher costs and lower margins.

Another big percentage loser, Friedman`s (FRM), this is the jewelry chain, traded as low as $5.40 and dropped 18 percent and then some today. The company said its going to restate results from 2000 through the first nine months of this year, and said a 10K filing may have to be delayed.

NASDAQ`s most active, Microsoft (MSFT), no change there.

Followed by Intel (INTC), a $0.39 drop.

Cisco (CSCO) fell $0.32.

Symantec (SYMC) tumbling $4.71. Standard & Poor`s blamed the drop in the stock on news that Computer Associates (CA) plans a free one-year subscription for its anti-virus software for users of the Windows operating system. That`s what Symantec does, anti-virus software.

MedImmune (MEDI) down $1.08. The company cut its 2003 earnings estimate from about $0.86 down to $0.72. The company blames lower-than-expected sales of its FluMist flu vaccine.

Yahoo! (YHOO) down $2.35.

A $1.10 loss in Amgen (AMGN).

Applied Materials (AMAT) fell $0.71.

eBay (EBAY) dropping $2.17.

And Amazon.com (AMZN) lost $1.86, tenth in volume.

Innovative Solutions (ISSC) tumbling - or gaining $3.10, not tumbling. That because of much higher earnings. Fourth quarter, $0.23, nearly double last year`s $0.12. And revenues shot up 40 percent.

Here`s the big loser, V.I. Tech (VITX) tumbling $1.50, or almost 67 percent. The company has halted its Phase III trials of its blood cleansing technology due to safety concerns.

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.

11/18/03: Market Stats

			     
                   
                                      NET    PERCENT
                         CLOSE     CHANGE     CHANGE
DOW CLOSE              9624.16     -86.67       - .9
HIGH                                         9750.46
LOW                                          9622.39

NASDAQ COMP.           1881.75     -27.86       -1.5
HIGH                                         1926.00
LOW                                          1881.75

VOLUME                                       1,313.7
PREVIOUS                                     1,335.8
UP VOLUME                                      393.3
DOWN VOLUME                                    911.2

DOW TRANSPORTS         2866.95     -26.18       - .9
DOW UTILITIES           243.47      -2.87      - 1.2
CLOSING TICK                                    +187

S&P 500                1034.15      -9.48       - .9
S&P 100                 512.22      -4.01       - .8
MIDCAP 400              547.09      -5.71      - 1.0
REUTERS/CRB             255.37      +1.80       + .7

NYSE COMPOSITE         5939.05     -24.30       - .4
VALUE LINE                 338      -2.96      -0.87
RUSSELL 2000            521.68      -4.53      -0.86
WILSHIRE 5000         10082.84     -89.58      -0.88

U.S. TREASURIES
5-YEAR NOTE 3.375%
Nov. 15,2008         101  6/32      +7/32       3.12

10-YEAR NOTE 4.25%
Nov. 15,2013         100 27/32     +14/32       4.15

30-YEAR NOTE 5.375%
Feb. 15, 2031        105 17/32     +24/32       5.00

LEHMAN BROS.
LONG BOND INDEX        1739.81       +.79 


DOW CLOSE              9624.16     -86.67       - .9
ADVANCES                                        1356
DECLINES                                        1909
NEW HIGHS                                        141
NEW LOWS                                          12

                                      NET    PERCENT
NYSE MOST ACTIVES    4PM CLOSE     CHANGE     CHANGE
GE     GE                28.44       +.63       +2.3
PFE    Pfizer            34.18       +.11        +.3
LU     Lucent Tech        3.03       +.03       +1.0
NT     Nortel Networks    4.04       -.01        -.3
HD     Home Depot        34.95       -.52       -1.5
TWX    Time Warner       15.52       -.12        -.8
GLW    Corning           10.54       -.56       -5.1
C      Citigroup         45.56       -.74       -1.6
TXN    Texas Instrument  27.86       -.48       -1.7
AWE    AT&T Wireless      6.61       -.02        -.3

NASDAQ CLOSE           1881.75    - 27.86      - 1.5
VOLUME                                       1,902.6
PREVIOUS                                     1,869.1
ADVANCES                                        1215
DECLINES                                        1948

NASDAQ ACTIVES
MSFT   Microsoft         25.15      unch.      unch.
INTC   Intel             31.84       -.39       -1.2
CSCO   Cisco Systems     21.73       -.32       -1.5
SYMC   Symantec          61.35      -4.71       -7.1
MEDI   Medimmune         24.50      -1.08       -4.2
YHOO   Yahoo!            38.01      -2.35       -5.8
AMGN   Amgen             58.84      -1.10       -1.8
AMAT   Applied Matl      23.03       -.71       -3.0
EBAY   eBay              51.11      -2.17       -4.1
AMZN   Amazon.com        48.50      -1.86       -3.7

AMEX CLOSE             1072.58     + 1.10       + .1

INDEX SHARES
DIA    DIAMONDS TRUST    96.60       -.87        -.9
QQQ    NASDAQ 100        33.88       -.80       -2.3
SPY    S&P DEP.RECEIPTS 103.84      -1.09       -1.0

STOCKS IN THE NEWS
VOD    Vodafone Group    22.82      +1.38       +6.4
A      Agilent Tech      27.77      +1.02       +3.8
CI     Cigna             53.82      -1.18       -2.2
R      Ryder System      30.85      +2.32       +8.1
LDG    Longs Drug Store  24.12      +2.23      +10.2
JAS    Jo-Ann Stores     20.07      -4.55      -18.5
AHG    Apria Healthcare  28.07      -2.44       -8.0
BJ     BJ's Wholesale    23.90      -1.60       -6.3
FRM    Friedmans          6.04      -1.34      -18.2
ISSC   Innovative Solut  14.10      +3.10      +28.2
VITX   VI Technologies     .75      -1.50      -66.7