Program: Tuesday, December 9, 2003

Interest Rates Hold Steady But Spark A Stock Sell Off
President Bush & Premier Jiabao Talk Money, Trade & Nuclear Weapons
Help Wanted-Part 1: Career Commute
"Commentary"-Cheat To Compete
Last Word-Commercial Flights Go Commercial
Paul Kangas' Stocks In The News
Market Stats

12/09/03: Interest Rates Hold Steady But Spark A Stock Sell Off

SUSIE GHARIB: The Federal Reserve met today to consider changing short-term interest rates. But in the end, the central bank left rates at a 45 year low of one percent. Stocks sold off on the decision to hold rates steady. Both the Dow and the NASDAQ lost just over 40 points. As Erika Miller reports, Wall Street was focused on any hints from the Fed about the future direction of rates.

ERIKA MILLER, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Traders watched their screens with more intensity than usual as the federal Reserve`s announcement came over the wires. But it was not the decision to keep rates unchanged that had Wall Street riveted. All eyes were on the statement accompanying the Fed`s decision. In it the central bank continued to say it would keep rates on hold for "a considerable period." Many economists thought the Fed would drop that phrase.

ROBERT BRUSCA, CHIEF ECONOMIST, NATIVE AMERICAN SECRETARIES: I don`t think that the Fed is really that eager to start raising rates even yet. I think the Fed realizes that the economy is still spotty, it has some holes in it. The Fed really wants to make sure the economy has got a good head of steam before it starts to hike rates.

MILLER: The central bank also made a small shift in its position on inflation, saying the threat of disinflation is almost equal to that of inflation. Previously, the Fed had said disinflation was its predominant concern. The Fed also noted signs of economic improvement.

JOHN RYDING, SENIOR ECONOMIST, BEAR STEARNS: The economy is, in the Fed`s opinion, and certainly my opinion, is growing quite strongly at the present time. We`re now seeing a manufacturing recovery that looks to be quite fast. And that`s something that has been missing. And the labor market does seem to be improving.

MILLER: On Wall Street today, traders debated when the Fed might start to nudge up rates. Economists say the answer depends on how quickly the job market recovers.

RYDING: It will be the point at which the economy has been creating, say, 250,000 jobs a month for two or three months. When we have seen that, then we`ll know the Fed is close to moving, raising rates.

MILLER: Most Fed watchers say the soonest the central bank is likely to raise rates is the second quarter of next year. But there are still plenty of traders on Wall Street that predict the Fed will wait until the third quarter at the earliest. 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.

12/09/03: President Bush & Premier Jiabao Talk Money, Trade & Nuclear Weapons

LINDA O`BRYON: President Bush told the Chinese premier today that he wants to see China take concrete steps towards a free floating currency. The U.S. argues the undervalued Chinese yuan gives exporters there an unfair advantage. Security issues also topped today`s agenda as the two men met at the White House. But as Darren Gersh reports, the leaders still found time to talk about China`s $120 billion trade surplus with the United States.

DARREN GERSH, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: The pomp of the Chinese premier`s South Lawn arrival was barely over when the President got down to business, signaling he expects China to further open its markets and move towards a floating exchange rate.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We recognize that if prosperity`s power is to reach in every corner of China, the Chinese government must fully integrate into the rules and norms of the international trading and finance system.

GERSH: There is broad agreement among U.S. business that China has not made good on market opening promises it made when it entered the World Trade Organization. The President urged Wen to beef up China`s Intellectual property protection. Copyright theft in China cost U.S. businesses an estimated at $1.8 billion last year. Despite some high profile crackdowns, Chinese counterfeiters are again exporting CDs and DVDs. And over 90 percent of the software used in China is illegal.

MICHAEL SCHLESINGER, INTERNATIONAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ALLIANCE: That means that over nine copies out of every 10 of software being used in China is illegal. That`s unacceptable and it`s really a piracy level that`s almost unparalleled around the world.

GERSH: Throughout his visit, Wen has defended his country`s trade record, arguing China has reduced average tariffs to 11 percent and slashed other barriers on hundreds of products.

WEN JIABAO, CHINESE PREMIER (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): We have to admit, though, in our economic and trade relationship, problems do exist, and mainly, the U.S. trade deficit with China. The Chinese government takes this problem seriously and has taken measures to improve the situation.

GERSH: Still, the U.S. is pressing China to do much more. The President raised concerns that China`s currency is undervalued, giving exports an unfair advantage. The Chinese premier repeated his country`s desire to move to a floating exchange rate over time, and a U.S. Chinese working group will meet next month on the issue. But trade tensions are clearly rising. In recent weeks the Commerce Department has threatened to slap tariffs on Chinese products that it says are unfairly flooding into the U.S. But China analyst Minxin Pei believes the those actions will do little to resolve China`s $120 billion trade surplus with the U.S.

MINXIN PEI, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: People not living in the U.S. would view these measures not as genuine steps taken to address the trade imbalance, but rather as cynical moves taken by a President in an election campaign.

GERSH: Pei says the U.S. will be more successful if it can convince China to deliver on the promises it has already made to open its markets.

PEI: In that case, I think American companies will benefit a little bit more and probably that will bring down the trade deficit a little bit.

GERSH: But in a meeting with the two leaders and their economic teams, the Chinese premier urged both sides not to politicize their differences over trade. 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.

12/09/03: Help Wanted-Part 1: Career Commute

LINDA O`BRYON: The United States is in the midst of what economists call a jobless recovery, and the tight job market is forcing many Americans to retool their careers. So tonight we begin a three part series looking at how some people are doing just that. In part one of Help Wanted, Diane Eastabrook introduces us to one displaced worker who is trading in one highly competitive career for another.

EMILY TRIGGIANO, TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT STUDENT: Help desk. This is Emily. Can I help you?

DIANE EASTABROOK, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Getting laid off from a corporate sales job last year led 33-year-old Emily Triggiano down a new career path.

TRIGGIANO: I knew that what I was doing wasn`t truly my passion and what I wanted to do.

EASTABROOK: Technology turned out to be Triggiano`s passion. So she now works mornings troubleshooting computer problems at a DeVry University campus near Chicago.

TRIGGIANO: Do you print from any DOS-based programs?

EASTABROOK: Afternoons are spent taking classes at DeVry. Triggiano is working towards a bachelor`s degree in technical management. Even though Triggiano is a single parent racking up student loan debt, she thinks her future is much brighter today than it was a few years ago.

TRIGGIANO: Technology is changing by leaps and bounds and I`m the kind of person that`s not afraid to flow with the changes and to learn new technologies and new systems.

EASTABROOK: Triggiano`s career plans could also reflect a possible change in the technology industry. The sector began shedding jobs by the thousands in late 2000 and early 2001. But now there are signs the industry may finally be turning itself around. While the jobless rate in information technology is still high, around six percent, the sector is improving. The outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas says the number of technology job cuts fell by a third in the last quarter compared to the same period last year. Industry watchers think renewed demand for tech workers could be just around the corner. Some predict corporate spending on technology could increase between six and eight percent next year, paving the way for future hiring.

JOHN CHALLENGER, CEO, CHALLENGER, GRAY & CHRISTMAS: Tech spending is up in the last six months. Companies are hiring tech workers to come in and do their computer security, to build their enterprise systems, especially smaller companies, to just develop that technology infrastructure.

EASTABROOK: DeVry thinks optimism about technology is bringing more students back to its campuses. The for profit educational company is known for its tech programs. Enrollment at its nearly 70 schools began dropping in early 2001. But last summer it began picking up again.

JERRY DILL, REGIONAL VICE PRESIDENT, DEVRY: Every company has networks these days. And so it`s going to take, you know, good skilled people who have good technology skills to work in that environment and be productive for those organizations.

EASTABROOK: Triggiano probably won`t graduate for a couple of years. She hopes by then the tech sector will be red hot again and demand for workers like her will be hot, as well. Diane Eastabrook, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Addison, 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.

12/09/03: "Commentary"-Cheat To Compete

SUSIE GHARIB: Tonight`s commentator has a question -- do you have to cheat to compete? Here is Daniel Henninger, Deputy Editor of the "Wall Street Journal`s" editorial page.

DANIEL HENNINGER, COMMENTARY: We Americans are a competitive people. Competition is the watchword of American business. We spend weekends cheering our sports teams, compete in sports ourselves and encourage our children to learn the rigors of competition. What are we to make, then, of the fact both these most American of endeavors, sports and business, are now engulfed in serious cheating scandals? Readers of sports pages know about the growing scandal of professional athletes using steroids. Baseball, football, swimming and track have all been tarnished by allegations of athletes taking steroids to produce super human performances. We now know that a lot of what looked like super human performance in business was mainly accomplished with financial steroids and accounting supplements. I think we should call it cheat to compete. Some say they have to do this because the pressure to perform now, whether a won/lost record or a profit and loss statement is so intense that they need an extra edge. Which means that many of us, in business or sports are now operating inside a very narrow band. On one side is tough, honest competition. But always lurking nearby, it seems, is behavior that dishonors the idea of competition. Prosecutions and exposes will help clean up the scandals. But the better solution lies within ourselves. In the past 10 years, we learned a lot about the obsession of winning. Maybe it`s time to rebuild a workable theory of honorable competition. 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.

  12/09/03: Last Word-Commercial Flights Go Commercial

LINDA O`BRYON: And finally tonight, here`s another reason to keep your tray table in the upright and locked position if you`re flying America West (AWA), because that way you can read the ads on it. The carrier said today it has sold advertising space on its tray tables to Mercedes Benz, Bank of America (BAC) and the History Channel. America West is the first airline to launch this type of tray table ad placement, in what it calls a novel opportunity for passengers to learn about new products. And it`s the only to a customer, since only one advertiser per aircraft will be permitted, Paul.

KANGAS: Linda, after looking at that ad in front of you on a five hour flight, I guarantee you the advertiser is going to get his message across.

O`BRYON: That`s for sure. Talk about a captive audience.

KANGAS: Boy, you`ve got it.

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.

12/09/03: "Paul Kangas' Stocks In The News"

PAUL KANGAS: Wall Street`s blue chips opened with enough strength to lift the Dow Industrial average above the 10,000 level for the first time in 18 months. Fueling that strength were brokerage upgrades on General Motors (GM) and International Paper (IP). Just 10 minutes into the session, the Dow was up 38 points, at 10,003. But that move triggered a lot of pre-arranged sell orders, and the Dow quickly backed down. The NASDAQ Index rose about 8 points at the outset of trading. The market spent the next several hours narrowly mixed as investors stood by for the Fed`s interest rate decision at 2:15 p.m. News that rates would stay unchanged prompted a rally, which lifted the Dow back to the 10,000 level. But once again, sellers took control and sent the market into a late slide. The Dow Jones industrial average fell to a closing loss of 41.85 points, at 9,923.42. The NASDAQ Composite lost 40 1/2 points, or 2.1 percent, ending at 1,908.32. The Standard & Poor`s 500 Index dropped 9.12, ending at 1,060.18. Over in the bond market, the 10-year note fell 21/32, to 99 5/32, lifting the yield to 4.35 percent.

The most active list on the big board, trading 20.4 million shares, Lucent Technologies (LU) dropping a $0.10 a share.

Followed by General Electric (GE), up $0.19.

Then EMC (EMC) down $0.81.

Newell Rubbermaid (NWL) was off $1.97. The company sees 2003 earnings at about $1.47 a share, well below the $1.60 Wall Street estimate. The company cites soft sales. Standard & Poor`s repeated an "avoid" on Newell`s stock.

Washington Mutual (WM) dropping $3.88. The company cut its 2003 earnings outlook from $4.42 a share down to about $4.20 due to lower mortgage income. And that news affected the whole mortgage sector.

Let`s have a look at some other stocks in that group.

Countrywide Financial (CFC) dropping $5.10.

Almost a $3 loss in Doral Financial (DRL).

And Wells Fargo (WFC) down $0.78.

Texas Instruments (TXN) was down $0.75.

Pfizer (PFE) fell $0.04.

Nokia (NOK) dropping $0.41.

Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) off $0.44 a share. After the close yesterday, the company aid November revenues were up 27 percent from a year ago, but they were actually nine percent below October`s record level and that hurt the whole semiconductor group, including Motorola (MOT), which dropped $0.39, tenth in volume.

General Motors (GM) up $1.27. Goldman Sachs upgraded it from "in line" to "outperform" because of the reduced pension expenses for G.M.

And then another Dow stock, International Paper (IP), edging up $0.38. It traded as high as $41.15 after Morgan Stanley upgraded it from "under weight" to "equal weight."

Amerada Hess (AHC) rose $2.16. The big oil company got an upgrade from Goldman Sachs from "under perform" to "outperform."

Tyco International (TYC) edging up $0.40 a share. Merrill Lynch increased its price target from $25 a share all the way up to $33 a share.

Hovnanian Enterprises (HOV) tumbling $7.61. This is the big home builder. 2003 earnings out today, $7.85, way up from $4.28 the year before and $0.10 above the Wall Street estimate. But the company sees next year`s earnings coming in at $9 a share, and that`s just "in line" with the Street estimate. A little disappointing to some shareholders.

Also, the declining mortgage activity I talked about earlier at Washington Mutual hurts the whole home building sector.

Let`s have a look at some other stocks in there.

Centex (CTX) dropping $5.29.

Over a $2 drop in D.R. Horton (DHI).

And Lennar (LEN) off $3.89.

Ryland Group (RYL) fell $4.15 a share.

Dow Chemical (DOW) moved up $0.71. Prudential upgraded the whole chemical industry from "neutral" to "favorable" and upgraded Dow`s stock from "neutral" to "over weight."

Interstate Bakeries (IBC), well, $1.34 sliced off the value of its stocks by sellers. The story here, the company sees second quarter operating income down 30 percent from last year`s level at that period.

Stanley Works (SWK) up $1.32. The company increased fourth quarter sales growth forecasts from plus seven percent to the mid-teens. Raymond James Financial upgraded the stock from "market perform" to a "strong buy."

And more news on Stanley Works, having to do with Masonite International (MHM), which rose $1.80. Masonite`s going to acquire Stanley Works` residential entry door business for $160 million in cash.

The NASDAQ`s most active, Intel (INTC), down $1.39 in that weak semiconductor group.

Followed by Microsoft (MSFT), which edged $0.14 higher.

Cisco Systems (CSCO) a $1.06 loss.

Dell (DELL) down $1.25 today.

And Amgen (AMGN), fifth in NASDAQ dollar volume, lost $0.02 a share.

Applied Materials (AMAT) down $1.09.

SanDisk (SNDK) tumbling $5.54.

Qualcomm (QCOM), a $0.78 loss there.

Costco Wholesale (COST) fell $0.14.

Amazon.com (AMZN), tenth in Nasdaq dollar volume, down $1.74.

We had a big initial public offering today, Ctrip.com International (CTRP). This is a Chinese hotel and airline travel company based in Shanghai. 4.2 million American depository shares offered at $18 each, opened at $24, the high of the day $37.35. It backed off a little bit, but it was still up 88 1/2 percent from its offering price on the first day.

CCBT Financial Companies (CCBT) up $8.41. This is a Massachusetts commercial bank and it`s going to be acquired by Bank North for almost 1.1 shares of Bank North for each share of CCBT. Today, that would be worth about $34.75 to CCBT holders. Bank North`s stock was down $0.71, at $32.06.

And then REMEC Incorporated (REMC), this is a manufacturer of communications equipment. The company had a third quarter loss of $0.07, not as bad as last year`s $0.26 loss, but the Street was thinking only about a $0.01 per share loss. And on top of that, the Ferris Baker Brokerage downgraded it from "hold" to "sell."

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.

12/09/03: Market Stats

   
                                      NET    PERCENT
                         CLOSE     CHANGE     CHANGE
DOW CLOSE              9923.42     -41.85       - .4
HIGH                                        10003.12
LOW                                          9916.90

NASDAQ COMP.           1908.32     -40.53       -2.1
HIGH                                         1956.97
LOW                                          1906.84

VOLUME                                       1,421.7
PREVIOUS                                     1,193.6
UP VOLUME                                      409.6
DOWN VOLUME                                    999.2

DOW TRANSPORTS         2920.92      -8.55       - .3
DOW UTILITIES           252.73      -2.88      - 1.1
CLOSING TICK                                    +677

S&P 500                1060.18      -9.12       - .9
S&P 100                 524.15      -3.52       - .7
MIDCAP 400              559.09      -7.57      - 1.3
REUTERS/CRB             261.05       +.44       + .2

NYSE COMPOSITE         6137.17     -29.00       - .5
VALUE LINE              346.74      -4.04      -1.15
RUSSELL 2000            534.54      -8.50      -1.57
WILSHIRE 5000          10326.7     -98.46      -0.94

U.S. TREASURIES
5-YEAR NOTE 3.375%
Nov. 15,2008         100  4/32     -14/32       3.35

10-YEAR NOTE 4.25%
Nov. 15,2013          99  5/32     -21/32       4.35

30-YEAR NOTE 5.375%
Feb. 15, 2031        103  1/32     -26/32       5.17

LEHMAN BROS.
LONG BOND INDEX        1710.51     -12.76


DOW CLOSE              9923.42     -41.85       - .4
ADVANCES                                        1285
DECLINES                                        1994
NEW HIGHS                                        342
NEW LOWS                                           7

                                      NET    PERCENT
NYSE MOST ACTIVES    4PM CLOSE     CHANGE     CHANGE
LU     Lucent Tech        2.92       -.10       -3.3
GE     GE                29.56       +.19        +.7
EMC    EMC Corp          12.26       -.81       -6.2
NWL    Newell Rubbermaid 21.00      -1.97       -8.6
WM     Washington Mutual 39.97      -3.88       -8.9
TXN    Texas Instrument  27.49       -.75       -2.7
PFE    Pfizer            34.39       -.04        -.1
NOK    Nokia Corp        17.49       -.41       -2.3
TSM    Taiwan Semi       10.12       -.44       -4.2
MOT    Motorola          12.78       -.39       -3.0

NASDAQ CLOSE           1908.32    - 40.53      - 2.1
VOLUME                                       1,816.5
PREVIOUS                                     1,589.4
ADVANCES                                         977
DECLINES                                        2227

NASDAQ ACTIVES
INTC   Intel             30.25      -1.39       -4.4
MSFT   Microsoft         26.38       +.14        +.5
CSCO   Cisco Systems     23.23      -1.06       -4.4
DELL   Dell Inc          33.46      -1.25       -3.6
AMGN   Amgen             57.93       -.02        -.0
AMAT   Applied Matl      21.36      -1.09       -4.9
SNDK   SanDisk           60.80      -5.54       -8.4
QCOM   Qualcomm          48.44       -.78       -1.6
COST   Costco Wholesale  36.00       -.14        -.4
AMZN   Amazon.com        49.34      -1.74       -3.4

AMEX CLOSE             1124.57     - 5.69       - .5

INDEX SHARES
DIA    DIAMONDS TRUST    99.45       -.36        -.4
QQQ    NASDAQ 100        34.45       -.78       -2.2
SPY    S&P DEP.RECEIPTS 106.74       -.83        -.8

STOCKS IN THE NEWS
CFC    Countrywide Fncl 103.20      -5.10       -4.7
DRL    Doral Finl        49.17      -2.84       -5.5
WFC    Wells Fargo       56.43       -.78       -1.4
GM     GM                48.41      +1.27       +2.7
IP     Intl Paper Co     40.61       +.38        +.9
AHC    Amerada Hess      49.64      +2.16       +4.6
TYC    Tyco Intl         23.99       +.40       +1.7
HOV    Hovnanian Enterp  89.00      -7.61       -7.9
CTX    Centex           107.51      -5.29       -4.7
DHI    D.R. Horton       42.38      -2.09       -4.7
LEN    Lennar            95.61      -3.89       -3.9
RYL    Ryland Group      87.02      -4.15       -4.6
DOW    Dow Chemicl       39.85       +.71       +1.8
IBC    Interstate Baker  14.02      -1.34       -8.7
SWK    Stanley Works     35.58      +1.32       +3.9
MHM    Masonite Intl     25.95      +1.80       +7.5
CTRP   Ctrip.com          33.94     +15.94      +88.6 
CCBT     CCBT Financial    34.15      +8.41      +32.7
REMC   REMEC           8.65      -2.41      -21.8