10/05/04:
The Chiron Ban Could Mean A Fierce Flu Fight This Year
SUSIE GHARIB: A stunning setback tonight for Chiron, the company that produces half the flu vaccine used in the United States. Today, regulators in Britain temporarily suspended Chiron`s manufacturing license on concerns about its sterility standards. That means that 48 million doses or 90 percent of the flu vaccine that Chiron would have produced will not be delivered to the United States. The vaccine, called flu-virin, is only produced at the company`s plant in Liverpool, England, and comes under the control of Britain`s health agency, or MHRA. Chiron`s CEO says his first concern is protecting public health, even with today`s action in Britain.
HOWARD PIEN, CEO & PRESIDENT, CHIRON: Today`s action by the MHRA is disappointing and unexpected, but we respect the regulatory authority`s judgment because it is based on concerns over safety. We will begin the discussion with MHRA to understand how we can alleviate those concerns starting tomorrow.
GHARIB: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says today`s development poses a serious challenge to the effort to fight influenza this year and vaccines may have to be rationed. It also poses a serious financial challenge for Chiron, which now says earnings will be $0.35 to $0.45 a share for the year. The previous estimate had been $1.50 to $1.60 a share. And the shares themselves took a huge hit today, falling $7.44, or more than 16 percent, to $37.98.
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) 2004 Community Television
Foundation of South Florida, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms
of use.
10/05/04:
Cheney Vs. Edwards-The Showdown For Second-In-Command
PAUL KANGAS: With 28 days until the presidential election, tonight the spotlight falls on the men on the bottom half of the ticket. Vice President Dick Cheney and Democratic challenger John Edwards face off tonight in their only debate. Experts predict the most striking thing about the event will be the candidates` very different views of business. Darren Gersh has a preview.
DARREN GERSH, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: On the right, there is the former big energy company CEO, on the left the former trial lawyer who sued big companies. The contrast could not be clearer. Analyst Stephen Hess expects that will make for good theater tonight.
STEPHEN HESS, POLITICAL ANALYST, THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: The CEO happens to be from Halliburton and that is a word we may hear an awful lot of tonight. It`s not that he is the CEO. It is that he is the CEO from a company that can be said to be benefiting from the war in Iraq.
GERSH: Senator John Edwards wasn`t waiting for tonight. He gave a small preview at a rally today in suburban Cleveland when he was asked about energy independence.
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS, DEMOCRATIC VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We are never going to fix this problem with a president and a vice president as close to the big oil companies, as close to the Saudi royal family as this president and vice president is.
GERSH: Dick Cheney had no public events today, but Republicans were not silent. The Bush campaign chose today to launch this new television ad attacking Democratic challenger John Kerry for his cozy relationship with trial lawyers. It doesn`t mention Edwards by name, but it is hard to miss the point, and if anyone did, the White House reminded them today that Edwards is quote a master litigator. Business groups are spending millions to convince voters that Edwards`s former colleagues are driving up the cost of malpractice insurance.
BILL MILLER, NATL. POLITICAL DIR., US CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: And it is frivolous litigation. It is the litigation that is being put forth by these same trial lawyers that are by and large the largest block of contributors to John Edwards campaign.
GERSH: But environmentalists say Dick Cheney has former colleagues too.
SHARON BUCCINO, SR. ATTORNEY, NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL: What we`ve ended up with is an energy plan that benefits a few, Dick Cheney`s friends in the oil and gas industry at the expense of the public`s health and the environment.
GERSH: Much spin will be devoted post-debate to the clash of personalities: Edwards the optimist, Cheney the sober realist. But more fundamental will be the clash of world views when it comes to the world of business. 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) 2004 Community Television
Foundation of South Florida, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms
of use.
10/05/04:
One On One With Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister
SUSIE GHARIB: Israel`s finance minister was in New York today talking up investment opportunities in his country. Meeting with big institutional investors, Benjamin Netanyahu was encouraging them to invest in Israel. When I talked with Minister Netanyahu earlier today, I asked him what`s his message to American businesses and investors.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI FINANCE MINISTER: If you`re looking at the world today and you say where do I have this concentration of stem cell research, nano technology, IT, security on the information networks, pharmaceuticals, medical devices. There are only two places where have you this concentration. One is the United States in a bundle if a few clusters and the other is Israel in a very small place. That is very powerful. It means value added. It means wealth. If you couple that with free markets, it`s explosive growth.
GHARIB: But Minister Netanyahu, how do you respond to investor concerns about security? The Middle East still seems like an unsafe place to invest.
NETANYAHU: The terror rate, the number of terror victims has declined by 90 percent in the last year and a half. We have built a security barrier that they don`t cross. We have - we take offensive actions against the terrorists, pinpointed strikes at them. As a result, the security situation has increased to the point not only where investments are coming in, tourists are coming in. There has been a 50 percent rise in tourism, which is the best indication that people have figured out that security is going up.
GHARIB: I understand you`ve made considerable progress in turning around Israel`s economy. What kind of shape is it in?
NETANYAHU: It is growing now at 4 percent. It is... The deficit has been slashed from close to six to below four. This is in one year. We`ve cut taxes across the board, cut government expenditures to sustain the cutting back of taxation. And it is now on a significant fast track that investors are responding to. I hope those who listen to me respond to it, too. But the best thing is come and check for yourself.
GHARIB: Many Americans have invested in high-tech Israeli stocks. What is the outlook there?
NETANYAHU: High-tech stocks are coming back. The high-tech companies are coming back. High tech venture funds are filling up with money again. I don`t expect values to rise in quite the meteoric way that they did in 1999 and the year 2000, but I think that there is real value there. There is real innovation in the Israeli high-tech industry and investors are recognizing it.
GHARIB: To what extent are high oil prices impacting Israeli businesses and the economy?
NETANYAHU: Less so than in other countries because we are a high tech economy. We`re not an economy that has heavy industry that is dependent on energy costs. Of course it affects us indirectly the way it does the entire world because it affects the markets that we sell to.
GHARIB: American businesses are concerned about the situation in Iraq and the political and economic implications of that. What are your thoughts?
NETANYAHU: I think Iraq will take considerable time to stabilize. I think the shift to democracy is a process of democratization. It is not an instant process. Maybe it would take several years and whoever is president will have to deal with that reality.
GHARIB: What about Iran? Does that pose a threat to the economic and political stability of the region?
NETANYAHU: Yes. It does. I think Iran poses a great threat and a great challenge. The great threat is if it acquires nuclear weapons, which will enable it to actually increase the terror that it is sponsoring. The great promise is that if, to the contrary, Iran undergoes a regime change and democratizes, it will be a thriving democracy which will bolster the direction of the moderation and democratization in the entire region, indeed in the entire Muslim world.
GHARIB: What are the challenges that the Israeli economy faces?
NETANYAHU: The most important one actually, paradoxically is not security. I think the most difficult challenge is to, once we assure that we have adopted and cemented free market reforms, it is to continually upgrade our education because value in the marketplace is created by two things. It`s created by innovation that requires free markets to make people invest. And the second thing, it requires a tremendously open and successful educational system. We`re moving very rapidly on the free market side. We are going to embark on an educational reform to make sure that we constantly produce the best minds, the best scientists, the best engineers.
GHARIB: Minister Ntanyahu thank you very much for talking to NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT.
NETANYAHU: Thank you very much.
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) 2004 Community Television
Foundation of South Florida, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms
of use.
10/05/04:
Japan's Rural Heartland Is Reaping The Benefits of Outsourcing
SUSIE GHARIB: When American firms want to outsource customer service centers or accounting, there are many choices: anywhere in the world where English is spoken. But for Japan, where the outsourcing boom is in the infancy, the language barrier has kept most jobs onshore. As Lucy Craft reports from Sapporo, outsourcing is turning out to be a bonanza for Japan`s rural heartland.
LUCY CRAFT, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Japan`s northern island of Hokkaido is famed for its leafy boulevards, rustic charm and ski resorts. But nowadays, it`s economic stagnation, not powdery snow, that keeps this island of six million in the headlines. While growth reignites across most of the rest of Japan, Hokkaido remains a pocket of distress, afflicted with the nation`s second highest rate of unemployment. Chronically dependent on pork barrel spending at a time when fiscal austerity is forcing the national government to tighten its belt, Hokkaido is scrambling for new ways of supporting itself.
TRANSLATION OF: ISAO HARA, PRESIDENT, HOKKAIDO INSTITUTE/FUTURE ADVANCEMENT: The Japanese economic recovery is being led by the manufacturing sector, which is riding a wave of exports to China. But Hokkaido has no significant manufacturing base. So we haven`t been able to join the recovery sweeping the rest of the country.
CRAFT: Anxious to create jobs and fast, Hokkaido and other far-flung, depressed corners of the Japanese archipelago such as Okinawa, have taken a page from the playbook of developing countries like India and the Philippines. They`re aggressively courting the call center business, offering subsidies for investment and salaries, and helping employers recruit workers. The perks have paid off. Hokkaido is home now for nearly 30 call centers employing 6,000 residents. Thanks to cheap voice over Internet lines, Hokkaido now mans the phones for Japan`s leading airlines, insurers and retailers.
TRANSLATION OF: KENJI MIYAMAE, ASST. DIR., INDUSTRIAL LOCATION POLICIES/HOKKAIDO GOV.: Our unemployment rate last year hit 6.7 percent the worst in our history. Joblessness was even worse among young adults at 12 percent. Call centers play an extremely valuable role in soaking up unemployment, especially among younger workers. That`s why we`re wooing the call center industry.
CRAFT: Incentives helped lure this Tokyo-based outsourcing company, IT-IT, which runs a help desk for a Japanese Internet service provider. Equally enticing were Hokkaido`s dirt-cheap wages and bargain real estate. IT-IT has declared the one-year-old venture a success and is in the process of expanding here.
TRANSLATION OF: MINORU IMANISHI, SAPPORO OPERATIONS CENTER CHIEF, IT-IT CO.: Hokkaido has lots of universities and no regional accent. That`s what brought us here, in addition to the low-cost advantage.
CRAFT: Japanese outsourcing companies have opened a few call centers offshore in low-wage countries like China. But companies say the demand for native-quality Japanese speakers will force the Japanese call center business to remain a largely domestic one, shielding Japanese workers from the job exodus that has cause so much political havoc in the United States. Lucy Craft, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Sapporo, Japan.
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) 2004 Community Television
Foundation of South Florida, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms
of use.
10/05/04:
3rd Quarter Mutual Fund Report With Christine Benz, editor of "Morningstar Fund Investor"
PAUL KANGAS: Echoing the summer doldrums on Wall Street, the third quarter wasn`t exactly a rip-roaring time for most mutual funds. But as always, there were some funds that managed to beat the market and here to tell us about them is Christine Benz, editor of "Morningstar fund investor." Christine, welcome back to NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT.
CHRISTINE BENZ, EDITOR, MORNINGSTAR FUNDINVESTOR: Hi, Paul, nice to be here.
KANGAS: First, let`s see which fund categories managed to do best in the quarter. And as we see and look at the board, it seems the best action was actually south of the border in funds that specialized in Latin American stocks. Why the sudden surge there, Christine?
BENZ: The big story here, Paul, is Brazil. The Brazilian market has been red hot as investors have seen that perhaps the Brazilian market isn`t quite as bad as they thought it would be. And in some cases in the Latin American funds, Brazil makes up about 50 percent of their assets.
KANGAS: Right and Brazil is the largest economy south of the border, too isn`t it?
BENZ: It is and also the Mexican market has been pretty good. So that`s been another tail wind for these funds.
KANGAS: Now let`s move over to the top individual funds of the third quarter and it looks like many of the gold funds made a very nice comeback. What was behind that?
BENZ: Well, I think a couple of separate things, Paul. First, investors are feeling a little bit defensive about the war in Iraq and also the upcoming election. So I think that`s one thing. Then also I think amid what could be the backdrop of a continued decline in the dollar`s value, investors see gold and other precious metals as a stable store of value. So that`s why they`ve done well.
KANGAS: Interesting. Now looking at the past year, the number one gainer for the period was State Street Research Global Resources. What kind of resources does it invest in?
BENZ: This is an energy focused fund. In particular, it focuses on some smaller companies, exploration and production companies. So it tends to perform really well when there`s a spike in energy prices as everyone who has been paying at the pump knows has been going on so far this year.
KANGAS: You can say that again. And now looking out over the past five years, the big gainer was ING Russia with an annualized gain of better than 47 percent, not bad if you are prepared to take the risk associated with that very volatile market, right?
BENZ: That`s right. This fund I think has been on our five-year leader`s list for a few years now. And I think investors are responding to a couple of separate things. First, they think that Putin is committed to making capitalist reforms in Russia and second, this is a market that is very leveraged or very responsive to energy prices. So it`s heavy on energy stocks and so it tends to perform well when energy is doing well.
KANGAS: Perform well? It has. Finally, let`s take a look at the largest funds and while the top two were each down by about 2 percent, Pimco Total Return, a bond fund, actually registered a 3.25 gain in the quarter. Was it a good quarter for bond funds generally?
BENZ: It generally was. I think the economy showed signs of life but perhaps wasn`t accelerating to the extent that a lot of market watchers thought it would be coming into this year. And so the Fed was not raising interest rates as aggressively as some people thought they would, and that`s good for bonds and bond funds.
KANGAS: Well it certainly was and Pimco did very well indeed. Anyway, I think that that wraps it up, Christine. I want to thank you for your insights into the mutual fund scene.
BENZ: Thank you, Paul. Thanks for having me.
KANGAS: My guest, Christine Benz of "Morningstar Fund Investor."
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) 2004 Community Television
Foundation of South Florida, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms
of use.
10/05/04:
Paul Kangas' "Stocks In The News"
PAUL KANGAS: Wall Street`s two-day rally was stopped short by oil prices surging to new record highs and earnings warnings from Advanced Micro Devices and Pulte Homes among others. At mid-day, the Dow was off 22 points but the NASDAQ was up three points. Firmness in some tech stocks led to a rally attempt in the blue chips this afternoon but it collapsed as oil closed at $51.09 a barrel, up $1.18.
So the Dow Industrial Average closed down 38.86 at 10,177.68. The NASDAQ Composite gained a little over 3 points to end at 1955.50. Standard & Poor`s 500 lost a fraction to 1134.48.
Over in the bond market, the 10-year note dipped 3/32 lifting the yield to 4.18 percent.
For the fourth consecutive trading session, Merck (MRK) topped the active list today on 19 million shares, stock down another $0.80 or 2.3 percent. A class action suit has been filed against the company in Illinois to cover about 300,000 people who Vioxx, which of course was pulled off the market last week.
Lucent Technologies (LU) dropped a nickel.
Viacom B (VIA) a dime loss.
Blockbuster (BBI) up $0.16.
NorTel Networks (NT) dropped $0.04, fifth in big board volume.
Corning (GLW) down $0.33.
General Mills (GIS) lost $0.16. The company is offering 33.3 million common shares to the public priced at $45.20 each.
EMC Corporation (EMC) was up $0.07.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) down just $0.02, although the company did warn third quarter revenues are going to fall below its earlier guidance.
Pfizer (PFE), tenth in volume, dropped a penny a share.
Then IBM (IBM) up $0.16. JPMorgan upgraded it from "neutral" to "overweight" on the upbeat outlook for the company`s microelectronics division.
On the other hand, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) dropped $0.08. JPMorgan downgraded this one from "over weight" to "neutral" on concern that holiday sales for the company`s PCs and printers will be rather muted.
Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) managed to gain a dime, even though the company sees third quarter earnings at the low end of its estimated $0.52 to $0.54 per share range.
Pulte Homes (PHM) down $3.88. The company cut its full year earnings estimate from the $7.80 to $8 a share range down to $7.47, 70 (ph) and RJ - I should say Raymond James financial downgraded the stock to just a "market perform" rating.
Summit Properties (SMT) moved up $2.80. The company will be acquired by Camden Property Trust for $1.9 billion. You can take it either in cash at $31.20 per share or 2/3 of a share of Camden Property Trust.
Forest Laboratories (FRX) up $1.23. The company expected to do better than Wall Street estimates of $0.63 a share for the second quarter, do better by 20 percent.
Ruby Tuesday (RI) down $4.05. The company sees flat second quarter earnings at a 4 to 6 percent drop in same store sales. First quarter earnings were a bit higher, though, $0.44 versus $0.37 a year ago.
Microsoft (MSFT) topped the active list on NASDAQ moving up $0.26.
Followed by Intel (INTC), $0.19 gain there.
Google (GOOG) hit a new closing record high there, up $3.31.
And Chiron (CHIR) as you heard earlier, tumbling $7.44 and the low of the day was $29 a share.
Cisco Systems (CSCO) up $0.14, fifth in dollar volume.
Applied Materials (AMAT) up $0.17.
And then we had a couple of initial offerings. We got out of that second row of actives on NASDAQ a bit quickly, but let`s go on these initial public offerings.
Texas Roadhouse (TXRH) restaurant chain went public today, 9.1 million shares offered to the public at $17.50, opened at $21.50, the high of the day $23, backed off a little from there.
And then Theravance (THRX) at $18.11 on the close was up $2.11. This is a biopharmaceutical company, 6.2 million shares offered to the public at 16. The stock opened at 19 and the high of the day $19.06, then it backed down just a bit from there.
Finally DuPont Photomasks (DPMI) an $8.06 gain there. The stock is going to be acquired by Toppan Printing Company and the acquisition price, $27 a share.
Those are the stocks in the news.
10/05/04:
Market Stats
NET PERCENT
CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE
DOW CLOSE 10177.68 -38.86 - .4
HIGH 10221.11
LOW 10158.07
NASDAQ COMP. 1955.50 +3.10 +.2
HIGH 1960.90
LOW 1946.86
VOLUME 1,418.9
PREVIOUS 1,540.8
UP VOLUME 577.9
DOWN VOLUME 826.0
DOW TRANSPORTS 3335.60 +16.98 + .5
DOW UTILITIES 299.85 +.67 + .2
CLOSING TICK +111
S&P 500 1134.48 -.69 - .1
S&P 100 544.48 -.26 - .1
MIDCAP 400 602.12 -1.50 - .3
REUTERS/CRB 284.47 +2.68 + 1.0
NYSE COMPOSITE 6679.25 +1.50 + .0
VALUE LINE 367.06 -.94 - .3
RUSSELL 2000 587.34 -1.75 - .3
DJW 5000 11089.80 -10.05 - .1
U.S. TREASURIES
5-YEAR NOTE 3.375%
Sept. 15,2009 99 25/32 -1/32 + 3.43
10-YEAR NOTE 4.25%
Aug. 15,2014 100 19/32 -3/32 + 4.18
30-YEAR NOTE 5.375%
Feb. 15, 2031 106 17/32 -3/32 + 4.93
LEHMAN BROS.
LONG BOND INDEX 1752.08 +1.47
DOW CLOSE 10177.68 -38.86 - .4
ADVANCES 1624
DECLINES 1680
NEW HIGHS 289
NEW LOWS 10
NET PERCENT
NYSE MOST ACTIVES 4PM CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE
MRK Merck & Co 33.43 -.80 -2.3
LU Lucent Tech 3.12 -.05 -1.6
VIAb Viacom "B" 35.45 -.10 -.3
BBI Blockbuster 7.84 +.16 +2.1
NT Nortel Networks 3.56 -.04 -1.1
GLW Corning 11.39 -.33 -2.8
GIS General Mills 45.10 -.16 -.4
EMC EMC Corp 12.48 +.07 +.6
AMD Advanced Micro 13.68 -.02 -.2
PFE Pfizer 31.29 -.01 -.0
NASDAQ CLOSE 1955.50 + 3.10 + .2
VOLUME 1,722.4
PREVIOUS 1,862.5
ADVANCES 1395
DECLINES 1709
NASDAQ ACTIVES
MSFT Microsoft 28.38 +.26 +.9
INTC Intel 21.32 +.19 +.9
GOOG Google 138.37 +3.31 +2.5
CHIR Chiron 37.98 -7.44 -16.4
CSCO Cisco Systems 19.10 +.14 +.7
AMAT Applied Matl 17.33 +.17 +1.0
ORCL Oracle 12.21 +.34 +2.9
EBAY eBay 93.87 +.22 +.2
DELL Dell Inc 36.10 +.44 +1.2
YHOO Yahoo! 34.96 +.05 +.1
AMEX CLOSE 1286.68 + 10.34 + .8
INDEX SHARES
DIA DIAMONDS TRUST 102.04 -.27 -.3
QQQ NASDAQ 100 36.36 +.08 +.2
SPY S&P DEP.RECEIPTS 113.91 +.10 +.1
STOCKS IN THE NEWS
IBM IBM 87.32 +.16 +.2
HPQ Hewlett-Packard 18.98 -.08 -.4
WMT Wal-Mart 53.41 +.10 +.2
PHM Pulte Homes 52.45 -3.88 -6.9
SMT Summit Properties 30.64 +2.80 +10.1
FRX Forest Labs 46.97 +1.23 +2.7
RI Ruby Tuesday 23.35 -4.05 -14.8
TXRH Texas Roadhouse 22.46 +4.96 +28.3
THRX Theravance 18.11 +2.11 +13.2
DPMI Dupont Photomask 26.34 +8.06 +44.1
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