11/02/04:
Tracking The Outcome of Election 2004 as Voters Go To The Polls
SUSIE GHARIB: The world is waiting tonight to find out who will
be the next president of the United States. In just a few hours, polls
across the country will close and the vote counting will begin. Americans
turned out in force today to cast their ballots in one of the tightest
presidential elections in recent history. President Bush, his wife Laura
and their twin daughters cast their ballots this morning at the Crawford,
Texas fire department and ambulance building. The president told reporters
he was calm and had confidence in the judgment of the people.
After they voted, the Bushes made one last campaign stop in Ohio before
heading to the White House to watch the returns tonight. Democratic
challenger John Kerry voted in Boston after spending the morning thanking
volunteers in La Crosse, Wisconsin. His wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, voted in
Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania, where she maintains a residence. The Kerry`s
will be in Boston tonight, watching the results as the election come in.
Joining us now with more on Election Day 2004, our Washington bureau chief
Darren Gersh, who`s standing by on the White House lawn. Darren?
DARREN GERSH, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Hi Susie. The
president is back at the White House tonight, and in a few hours we may or
may not know if he gets to stay here for four more years. The election is
finally in the hands of the voters. Now the pundits, the analysts and the
journalists are looking for any clues we can find. Political analyst
Stuart Sweet advises institutional investors and spent much of the day
searching for a theme in what appears to be record turnout.
STUART SWEET, PRES., CAPITOL ANALYSTS NETWORK: Trying to track our young
people showing up, the so-called cell phone voters, are they going to show
up? Are we getting any evidence of large turnout in urban areas? That will
be of course be good for Kerry. Is it raining as hard as people think it`s
going to rain in Ohio, perhaps the western part of Pennsylvania, that would
be good for George Bush.
GERSH: At electionline.org, Doug Chapin is tracking a different kind of
turnout. Republicans are not showing up to challenge voter registrations
in the key swing state of Ohio, despite a last-minute court victory
allowing them to be at the polls. Instead, buckeye Republicans are merely
observing.
DOUG CHAPIN, DIRECTOR, ELECTIONLINE.ORG: With the result that you`ve got,
many Democratic or nonpartisan challengers who were there to watch the
Republicans who`ve got no one to watch.
GERSH: If this close election does come down to a re- count, Chapin says
this time will be different. The focus will not be on hanging chads.
CHAPIN: 2004 looks more and more like it is going to be a case of disputed
voters. Was this person properly registered? Should they cast a
provisional ballot? Was it cast in the right precinct?
GERSH: We already know one clear winner: campaign fundraisers. The
congressional and presidential elections are estimated to have cost $4
billion. The McCain/Feingold campaign finance reform law breathed new life
into so-called 527 groups like America Coming Together. It also convinced
businesses to funnel more of their money through old-fashioned political
action committees.
LARRY NOBLE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OPENSECRETS.ORG: The other big thing we
are seeing is the bundlers. These are the people who have wealthy friends,
wealthy business associates. Both parties have them, both presidential
candidates have them and they go around and raise $100,000, $200,000 in
lawful $2,000 contributions. That`s how business is still being involved.
GERSH: Stock traders were also involved today, reacting to rumors and web-
postings claiming exit polls showing Kerry ahead, but there was no
definitive news in the polls or the markets.
SWEET: The market is holding its breath with a certain amount of optimism
about the future this is finally coming to an end.
GERSH: Now Susie, for what it`s worth, the Iowa electronic markets, where
investors and political junkies can place bets about the outcome of the
election, that is signaling that Kerry is the winner-- but fortunately, it
is the voters who will decide this election.
GHARIB: You`re absolutely right about that and everybody is anxiously
waiting to find out when we`re going to get those definitive results. When
do you think that might be?
GERSH: Oh, boy, well, the polls are going to close in Florida around 7:00,
in Ohio around 7:30 and the key is what this big turnout that everybody is
expecting is going to mean. If Kerry got his troops out there, he got the
new voters out there for him or if the president got the faithful out there
for him, we could see a (INAUDIBLE). If that happens, we might know around
10:00, if not, we`re going to be here for a while.
GHARIB: All right. We`re going to be watching that. If there is such a
fantastic voter turnout, how might that affect some of the other key races
and when are we going to get the results from those in the Senate and in
the House?
GERSH: Right. That`s a good question, that could go very late. There`s
some key Senate races, Alaska, which is going to go very late, South
Dakota, Florida, Louisiana which could go into a runoff situation. So we
may not know who controls the Senate for a while. The betting is still
Republican, but we may not know for a long time.
GHARIB: You`ve been covering this for a long time and I`m sure you`re going
to do more tomorrow Darren. Thanks a lot. Darren Gersh reporting from
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.
11/02/04:
>A Ray of Hope For Smooth Voting in the Sunshine State
PAUL KANGAS: A critical concern of this presidential election is that it not end
with a repeat of the last one. In 2000, the hanging chad ballots of the
state of Florida were the factor on which the election finally hinged.
This time around, though and to the relief of voting authorities, in
Florida Election Day 2004 has been smooth sailing. Jeff Yastine reports.
JEFF YASTINE, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: The lines were long in
some places, shorter in others, but Florida elections officials appeared to
be breathing a sigh of relief that a long-feared meltdown of electronic
voting never came to pass.
BRENDA SNIPES, BROWARD COUNTY ELECTIONS SUPERVISOR: We`re getting reports
of glitches, but they`re regular Election Day glitches, voters turning up
at the wrong precincts. Maybe their names aren`t found in the registration
books. But, so far, we haven`t had anything that indicates that there are
major problems.
YASTINE: Miami-Dade County authorities took the unusual step of opening
this testing facility. Electronic voting machines were gathered at random
and subjected to test votes throughout the day. The idea was to check for
software bugs and computer viruses that could alter election results.
GARY BURGESS, COUNTY MANAGER, MIAMI-DADE COUNTY: It`s voter confidence,
it`s making sure that voters realize that their votes will count-- anything
we can do to allay concerns, to instill some confidence in our electorate.
We want to do it.
YASTINE: Florida wrapped up two week`s worth of early voting and that
appeared to help keep congestion down at many polling places. That was a
relief to many.
DONNA & MICHAEL CABRERA, FLORIDA VOTERS: Everything was very organized.
It was such an easy, simple process that we did not anticipate. We thought
it was going to be a much rougher process to go through.
YASTINE: But there has been controversy. Thousands of voters in Broward
County did not receive absentee ballots or were only getting them in the
mail today. Jerry Van Horn`s son never received his.
JERRY VAN HORN, FLORIDA VOTER: Nothing ever came. It didn`t come to our
house. It didn`t come to his address up there. So I got this notification
on the 28th about this new number they were going to put in. It was a
hotline or something. He tried that. It rang for over an hour, not an
hour, but it rang excessively long time so then he tried the regular number
and then he was put on hold for over an hour. So he`s very frustrated.
YASTINE: Elsewhere in Florida, a few precincts opened late, others reported
clerical errors and minor equipment problems. But with voter turnout
described as heavy across the state, elections officials say they`ll be
happy if that`s the worst of today`s irregularities. Jeff Yastine, NIGHTLY
BUSINESS REPORT, Fort Lauderdale.
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.
11/02/04:
Oil Prices Slide On Election Day
SUSIE GHARIB:
Oil prices closed today at their lowest level in over a month.
At the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude for
December delivery now stands at $49.62, down $0.51. Experts
say the falling price of crude can be chalked up to a number
of factors, including today`s presidential election. Scott
Gurvey reports.
SCOTT GURVEY, NIGHTLY
BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: It might not have looked like
it, but it was a relatively quiet day in the energy futures
pits -- something of a relief after weeks of frenzied trading.
Prices are now below $50 a barrel for the first time in a
month. The lower prices come as traders consider a series
of factors which could effect supplies. First, there are reports
of increased production in the Gulf of Mexico as extensive
damage from the hurricanes is repaired. But foremost on the
minds of traders is a new view on the presidential election.
Some now see an increased likelihood of a Kerry victory and
they say that could mean a change in government policy on
the use of the strategic petroleum reserve to help control
prices.
JACK AYDIN, OIL
ANALYST, KEYBANC CAPITAL MARKETS: The speculation is, if Kerry
wins, he`s more likely to use the strategic reserve versus
President Bush, that has been very adamant of not using strategic
reserve on a short term basis but only on an emergency basis.
GURVEY: There was
also a decline in natural gas prices in today`s trading. That
is also a result of increased production from the Gulf and
in reaction to the mild temperatures seen in the northeast
over the last few weeks. Traders today also reconsidered reports
of labor disputes in the oil fields of Nigeria, concluding
that a strike is months away, if it comes at all. Most traders
expect prices to stay at their current levels in the near
term.
IRA ECKSTEIN, ENERGY
TRADER, AREA INTERNATIONAL TRADING: Now that the news has
kind of drifted away, we`re looking at technical levels. I
spoke about yesterday`s low of $49.30 being pretty significant,
and if we can rally, we`d have to settle above $51.50 to see
a push back around $54.00. So, as it looks right now, we`re
kind of right in the middle of that range, and that looks
like how we`re going to sit right now.
GURVEY: The regular
weekly update on petroleum supplies is due out tomorrow morning.
Most experts expect to see an increase in inventories for
crude oil and gasoline, but expectations for heating oil are
mixed. Scott Gurvey, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, New York.
To Learn More
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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.
11/02/04:
China's Shrinking Farm Land
SUSIE
GHARIB: Land reform is a topic of fertile discussion in China
these days as millions of acres of arable land disappear each
year due to new development. The shrinking stock of farmland
is beginning to affect the economy and food supplies. So the
government is beginning a push to keep tighter control over
land management. As Nick Mackie reports from western China,
peasants losing their land to development is a widespread
problem.
NICK MACKIE,
NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Here in the rural countryside
of Bishan County, Chongqing, in western China, most people
are farmers, earning around $300 U.S. a year. But like millions
of peasants across the country, their property is shrinking,
and with it their incomes.
UNIDENTIFIED
MALE: The way us peasants make a living depends on land, isn`t
that right? If you lose the land you have nowhere to make
a living.
MACKIE:
They`re not showing their faces because they fear reprisals
from the local authorities. The typical compensation for land
their families may have tilled for generations is around $2,000
per adult plus $0.42 a square meter. As the country urbanizes,
many of China`s rural poor feel used and abused. Beijing is
currently revising its land management policies to take account
of these growing concerns. But for the local government in
Bishan, the belief is that for the economy to grow, enterprises
must grow and some small farms must go.
TRANSLATION
OF: FENG JIAN, SR. ECONOMIST, BISHAN COUNTY, CHONGQING: We
confiscate land after considering the exact development needs
of enterprises. The land isn`t just taken and left aside,
because the economic development cannot stop. We cannot stop
and wait for the central government to complete its policy
adjustments.
MACKIE:
But contrast the meager sums farmers receive with this: 140
villas under construction at this Chongqing golf resort are
expected to sell at over $400,000 U.S. For the land`s former
residents, this sum is equivalent to 2,000 years of income.
In China, developments like this are openly described as a
land grab.
TRANSLATION
OF: ZHAO YOUSHENG, URBAN MANAGEMENT DEPT., CHONGQING UNIV:
The term land grab has surely been accepted by Chinese society,
including the government. It has been accepted.
MACKIE:
With over 300 operational and planned golf courses in China,
we can only be sure that a mere 10 have full planning permission.
Most have gone ahead with a nod from the local authorities.
After repeated requests, no one here would even answer the
simple question, "do you have approval," but golf is just
one factor in China`s land grab. Across the country, there
are over 6,000 business development zones on former ploughed
land and at least 3,700 lack full planning approval. Although
most confiscations across the country are legal, so far this
year, China`s central government received more complaints
about land abuse than the 18,000 delivered in 2003.
TRANSLATION
OF: DONG JIANGUO, DIR., CHONGQING STATE LAND RESOURCES: The
states macro regulation on land is aiming to control investment
in real estate to a certain extent. Secondly, the aim is to
promote the efficient use of land by making better use of
land resources.
MACKIE:
With 900 million of the 1.3 billion Chinese living in the
poor rural heartland, if the abuses aren`t checked, the concern
is that the social fabric of China`s modernizing society could
crumble. Nick Mackie, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Chongqing.
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.
11/02/04:
Paul Kangas' "Stocks In The News"
PAUL KANGAS: Stocks posted moderate gains this morning as
oil prices fell below $50 per barrel and we`ll have details
on that next. Some of the buying came on hopes that there
will be a clear-cut winner in the presidential election instead
of a stalemate. At mid-session, the Dow was up 70 points and
the NASDAQ up 21. This afternoon took a late hit on rumors
some exit polls showed Kerry ahead of Bush in areas where
that wasn`t expected. So the Dow industrial average came in
with a closing loss of 18 2/3 points at 10,035.73. The NASDAQ
Composite managed to hold onto a five point gain at 1,984.79.
Standard & Poor`s 500 rose just a fraction to 1,130.58. In
the bond market, the 10-year note rose 6/32, putting the yield
at 4.05 percent.
New York Exchange volume leader on 41 1/2 million shares
today, Merck & Company (MRK) hitting another multi-year low
with that loss of $1.48. Several lawsuits have now been filed
against the company regarding its Vioxx painkiller.
Pfizer (PFE) dropped a dime.
Lucent Technologies (LU) managed a $0.06 gain.
Time Warner (TWX), there you see it, down a dime.
Then Texas Instruments (TXN) a $0.61 loss, fifth in big board
volume.
Citigroup (C) moved up $0.68.
Followed by Liberty Media (L) with a quarter point gain.
No change in General Electric (GE).
Viacom B (VIA.B) was up $0.46. One of the most powerful women
in Hollywood is calling it quits. Sherry Lansing (ph) is stepping
down as chairman of Viacom`s Paramount motion picture group
when her contract expires next year. Lansing is the first
woman ever to head a major Hollywood movie studio.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) was tenth in volume and up $0.36
a share.
National Semiconductor (NSM) fell $0.29. The company cut
its two, second quarter revenue guidance from $493 million
down to $445 to $450 million.
Then U.S. Steel (X) up $1.18. Goldman Sachs upgraded it from
"in line" to "outperform" because it`s expecting upside earnings
surprises from a lot of the steels. Goldman Sachs also upgraded
Nucor by the same thing, from "in line" to "outperform." Nucor
was up $2.07.
Forest Laboratories (FRX) down $2.10. The company`s hypertension
treatment fell short of its pre-set targets and the company
also slashed its 2005 earnings estimate from $2.70 a share
down to $2.50 a share.
Aon Corporation (AOC), the insurance company, was down only
$0.19 on the close but it traded as low as $19.72 after Merrill
Lynch downgraded it from "neutral" to "sell" because of New
York attorney general`s expanding probe into the insurance
industry.
UNOVA (UNA) up $4.71. The manufacturer of wireless networking
equipment had better than expected third quarter earnings
of $0.10 versus a loss of $0.02 last year. Revenues up a respectable
14 percent.
SRA International (SRX), which is in the information technology
services business had strong first quarter earnings, $0.45
up from $0.29 last year, $0.06 above the Street estimate.
Revenues soared 54 percent. The Legg Mason brokerage upgraded
it from "hold" to a "buy."
Alpharma (ALO) down $2.02. A third quarter loss reported
today of $0.09 a share versus earnings of a penny last year.
Revenues fell 6 percent. The company cut its fourth quarter
guidance because of pricing pressures in the generic drug
business.
Mentor Corporation (MNT) which makes breast implants had
higher earnings, second quarter $0.28, up from $0.23 last
year, but the Adams Harkness brokerage downgraded it from
"buy" to just a "market perform" rating.
BMC Software (BMC) off $2.32. Second quarter earnings of
$0.16, $0.02 above the Street estimate but maintenance revenues
had their first quarter to quarter drop in 4 1/2 years according
to the Bear Stearns brokerage.
And then BJ Services (BJS), in the oil field business, down
$3.67. Despite higher fourth quarter earnings of $0.52 versus
$0.37, but I should say they were lower than expected earnings
by $0.03 a share.
NASDAQ`s most active, Microsoft (MSFT) up $0.16.
Then Google (GOOG) down $1.16.
$0.17 rise in Intel (INTC).
eBay (EBAY) moved up $1.38.
Yahoo! (YHOO) an $0.82 gain, fifth in dollar volume.
Research In Motion (RIMM) gained $1.06.
Cisco Systems (CSCO) was a $0.03 gainer.
Travelzoo (TZOO) coming down $6.01 after jumping $19 yesterday
on frantic short covering.
Applied Materials (AMAT) up $0.26.
And Apple Computer (AAPL) gained $1.05.
Nanometrics (NANO) up $2.35, a real turnaround. Third quarter
earnings of $0.20 versus a loss of $0.25 a share in the same
period last year.
And then Expeditors International of Washington (EXPD) down
$7.01. The freight forwarding firm says despite higher third
quarter earnings, it sees a very challenging fourth quarter
because of rising fuel costs.
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) 2004 Community Television Foundation
of South Florida, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms of use.
11/02/04:
Market Stats
NET PERCENT
CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE
DOW CLOSE 10035.73 -18.66 - .2
HIGH 10132.99
LOW 10011.18
NASDAQ COMP. 1984.79 +4.92 +.3
HIGH 2002.93
LOW 1978.64
VOLUME 1,665.8
PREVIOUS 1,396.9
UP VOLUME 830.1
DOWN VOLUME 801.3
DOW TRANSPORTS 3449.62 -54.45 - 1.6
DOW UTILITIES 308.93 -5.45 - 1.7
CLOSING TICK +885
S&P 500 1130.58 +.07 + .0
S&P 100 540.67 +.17 + .0
MIDCAP 400 601.52 -.73 - .1
REUTERS/CRB 281.06 -.71 - .3
NYSE COMPOSITE 6701.47 +1.61 + .0
VALUE LINE 365.66 -.18 - .1
RUSSELL 2000 585.44 -1.56 - .3
DJW 5000 11075.22 -3.89 - .0
U.S. TREASURIES
5-YEAR NOTE 3.375%
Oct. 15,2009 100 9/32 +3/32 + 3.31
10-YEAR NOTE 4.25%
Aug. 15,2014 101 19/32 +6/32 + 4.05
30-YEAR NOTE 5.375%
Feb. 15, 2031 108 10/32 +10/32 + 4.81
LEHMAN BROS.
LONG BOND INDEX 1770.31 +2.98
DOW CLOSE 10035.73 -18.66 - .2
ADVANCES 1790
DECLINES 1532
NEW HIGHS 255
NEW LOWS 14
NET PERCENT
NYSE MOST ACTIVES 4PM CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE
MRK Merck & Co 26.80 -1.48 -5.2
PFE Pfizer 28.70 -.10 -.4
LU Lucent Tech 3.59 +.06 +1.7
TWX Time Warner 16.28 -.10 -.6
TXN Texas Instrument 24.19 -.61 -2.5
C Citigroup 44.99 +.68 +1.5
L Liberty Media 9.15 +.25 +2.8
GE GE 34.05 unch. unch.
VIAb Viacom "B" 36.60 +.46 +1.3
AMD Advanced Micro 17.70 +.36 +2.1
NASDAQ CLOSE 1984.79 + 4.92 + .3
VOLUME 1,859.6
PREVIOUS 1,559.3
ADVANCES 1566
DECLINES 1549
NASDAQ ACTIVES
MSFT Microsoft 28.24 +.16 +.6
GOOG Google 194.87 -1.16 -.6
INTC Intel 22.61 +.17 +.8
EBAY eBay 100.66 +1.38 +1.4
YHOO Yahoo! 37.74 +.82 +2.2
RIMM Rsch In Motion 93.96 +1.06 +1.1
CSCO Cisco Systems 19.29 +.03 +.2
TZOO Travelzoo 82.48 -6.01 -6.8
AMAT Applied Matl 16.25 +.26 +1.6
AAPL Apple Computer 53.50 +1.05 +2.0
AMEX CLOSE 1305.26 + .23 + .0
INDEX SHARES
DIA DIAMONDS TRUST 100.53 -.18 -.2
QQQ NASDAQ 100 37.21 +.21 +.6
SPY S&P DEP.RECEIPTS 113.55 +.04 +.0
STOCKS IN THE NEWS
NSM Natl Semiconduct 16.40 -.29 -1.7
X US Steel 38.57 +1.18 +3.2
FRX Forest Labs 42.00 -2.10 -4.8
AOC Aon Corp 20.46 -.19 -.9
UNA Unova 20.00 +4.71 +30.8
SRX SRA Intl 58.25 +6.00 +11.5
ALO Alpharma 14.76 -2.02 -12.0
MNT Mentor 29.69 -5.49 -15.6
BMC BMC Software 17.02 -2.32 -12.0
BJS BJ Services Co 46.58 -3.67 -7.3
NANO Nanometrics 14.28 +2.35 +19.7
EXPD Expeditors 50.70 -7.01 -12.2
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