| 12/27/04:
Killer Quake & Tsunami Devastates Southeast Asia
SUSIE GHARIB: The world is mobilizing its resources
tonight to help millions of people affected by the most powerful
earthquake in 40 years. The death toll is steadily increasing,
but so far it is estimated that more than 23,000 people have
died in 10 countries from southern Asia to Africa. The challenge
now is assembling an economic assistance package that will
help the affected countries recover from the quake`s deadly
destruction. Darren Gersh reports.
DARREN GERSH, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT:
What took moments to destroy will now take years to repair.
The United States has dispatched disaster recovery teams and
military aircraft to survey the damage. An initial U.S. contribution
of $15 million will meet only a small fraction of the need.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: Some 20,000-plus
lives have been lost in a few moments. But the lingering effects
will be there for years, the damage that was caused. The rebuilding
of schools and other facilities will take time, so you need
a quick infusion to stabilize the situation, take care of
those who have been injured, get immediate relief supplies
and then you begin planning for the longer haul.
GERSH: Sunday`s earthquake was the fourth most
powerful recorded in the last century. Centered off the coast
of Sumatra, it registered 9.0 on the Richter scale. The massive
force sent tidal waves slamming into the Indonesian coastline
and on to Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and Somalia, 3,000 miles
away. The United Nations estimates the damage at more than
$5 billion.
JAN EGELAND, CHIEF HUMANITARIAN RELIEF COORDINATOR,
U.N.: Hundreds of thousands of people have lost everything.
Millions of people are now living in the worst possible hazards
of having polluted drinking water, no sanitation, no health
services.
GERSH: This is the height of the vacation season
in south Asia and top destinations such as Thailand`s Phuket
were hit hard. U.S. hotel operators Marriott and Starwood
say their Thai properties suffered minor damage and are back
in operation. But the tourists are heading back home. The
World Bank expects to redirect funds from existing projects
and provide additional emergency aid to the region. Some of
the money could be used to help lure the visitors back.
DAMIAN MILVERTON, SPOKESMAN, THE WORLD BANK:
Obviously the number-one priority is humanitarian relief and
part of that means rebuilding roads and rebuilding electricity
systems and communications. And then, of course, at the same
time, yes, we must work out how best to get their lifeblood
industries up and running again and tourism is number one
for a couple of these countries in particular, so they will
have a lot of freedom to tell us what they will need to get
things going again.
GERSH: But other key sectors escaped major
damage. Oil and natural gas production in Indonesia was not
affected. And because many of the villages along the coastline
are so poor, the insurance losses are expected to be relatively
limited. Sadly, the same cannot be said for the loss of life.
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.
12/27/04:
The Holiday Retail Forecast
JEFF YASTINE: In other news tonight, deep discounts
lured shoppers to the nation`s malls today, but it may be
too little too late. Analysts say spending will be up only
slightly over last year. As Erika Miller reports, retailers
hope a piece of plastic will save the season.
ERIKA MILLER, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT:
Shoppers flocked7 to the stores today to scoop up bargains,
return unwanted presents and redeem gift cards. Many retailers
are hoping a late-season spending spree will turn their ho-hum
holiday into a very merry one.
MIKE NIEMIRA, CHIEF ECONOMIST, INTERNATIONAL
COUNCIL OF SHOPPING CENTERS: I think the way to think about
this holiday season was that it started out on a very soft
footing and ended on a very strong one. This last week certainly
showed a lot of kind of pent-up demand for holiday gift giving.
MILLER: Retailers hope that momentum will carry
over into this week, which typically accounts for 10 to 12
percent of holiday sales. But most analysts predict spending
will be up only modestly over last year. The National Retail
Federation is sticking to its forecast of a 4.5 percent gain
for retail sales in the combined November and December period.
But the International Council of Shopping Centers says the
increase will probably be no more than 3 percent for the period.
So far luxury retailers like Coach have been big winners.
So have online retailers like amazon.com. Data tracking firm
Comscore said Internet holiday spending is running 28 percent
ahead of last year, well above forecasts. It`s another story
for discount chains like Wal-Mart.
DANA TELSEY, RETAIL ANALYST, BEAR STEARNS:
The reason the discounters have been struggling is because
energy is up and their customers aren`t going to the stores
as frequently as they had in the past.
MILLER: A lot is riding on gift card redemption.
Analysts are predicting they`ll account for a bigger percentage
of holiday sales this year.
TELSEY: Gift cards will certainly help. They
have the potential to account for as much as 10 percent of
holiday season sales, up from maybe 8 percent last year.
MILLER: Unlike the sale of a sweater, the sale
of a gift card is not counted as revenue by the store until
the card is actually used. Plus, shoppers tend to spend more
than the face value of the card, also boosting sales. Analysts
estimate that about 70 percent of gift card values are redeemed
in January. So it may be difficult to get an accurate read
on holiday spending for at least another month. 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.
12/27/04:The
Holiday Air Travel Disaster-Julius Maldutis, President Aviation
Dynamics
SUSIE GHARIB: The Department of Transportation
is launching an investigation tonight into just how the nation`s
air system got so messed up over the Christmas holiday weekend.
For air travelers, airlines and airports, it was a perfect
storm of problems. This morning Atlanta`s Hartsfield airport
looked more like a dormitory as weary travelers slept anywhere
they could get in the terminals. Delta`s Airlines carrier,
Comair, said today it should run about 60 percent of its flights
and should be back to normal by Wednesday. On Saturday, all
the airline`s flights were cancelled after its computer system
crashed. And U.S. Airways is still trying to sort out its
flight and baggage handling systems today after what it called
an operational meltdown over the weekend. Severe weather on
the east coast and large numbers of employees calling in sick
grounded hundreds of U.S. Airways flights. Joining us now
with more analysis about the airline industry, Julius Maldutis,
president of Aviation Dynamics, a New York consulting firm.
Hi, Julius.
JULIUS MALDUTIS, PRESIDENT, AVIATION DYNAMICS: Good evening.
GHARIB: Well, it surely was a difficult weekend
for many passengers. Do you think that this just caps off
a lousy year for the airline industry? Or is it the beginning
of worst things to happen in the New Year?
MALDUTIS: It really is the former. The airline
industry is going to report a loss of somewhere about $6 billion
for this year, it is ending the year in a whimper. All of
these problems come at the peak travel period for the industry.
I think next year is going to be another loss year, but I
think more importantly we are going to begin to see a separation
between the winners and the losers.
GHARIB: Who do you think the winners and the
losers are going to be?
MALDUTIS: Well, the first problem which could
come as late as late January or February, is U.S. Air could
very well shut down, because if passengers book away as a
result of the fiasco this weekend, it will bring about that
very thing that is feared. Let me just remind you, that Pan
Am saw most of their business passengers vanish and it ended
up shutting down and liquidating
GHARIB: When do you think the US Airways collapse
could happen if at all?
MALDUTIS: If it happens and it would happen
because passengers book away, it could come at the end of
January or sometime in February.
GHARIB: You talked about winners and losers.
Who will be the winners? By this time in 2005, what domestic
carriers will still be standing?
MALDUTIS: Well, I think a lot of them will
be standing because, remember in the early 1990s, Pan Am,
Eastern and Braniff vanished and set the stage for the rest
of the industry. If U.S. Air vanishes, if United cuts back
very dramatically, if there are one or two other carriers,
this will help the remaining industry. But I think the big
winners could very well be carriers such as Southwest Airlines,
which is going to be the only airline that reports a profit
for this year.
GHARIB: What about the U.S. government? Today
Secretary of Transportation Mineta said they were going to
have an investigation. Is there any role for the U.S. government
in helping out the industry`s problems or is this something
that has to be done just by market forces?
MALDUTIS: I think it is more by market forces.
You know, it really depends on what happens to oil prices
next year. It really depends the degree to which consumers
travel. So all of these elements are going to be critical
in seeing the industry begin to dig its way out of this financial
morass. For the last four years, the airlines will have reported
a loss of about $28.5 billion.
GHARIB: That is a lot of money. For investors
who may be holding some of these airline stocks or others
who might see that this is an opportunity to buy, what would
you suggest?
MALDUTIS: My view is I think it is too late
to sell and it is too early to buy. I think those decisions
will have to be made towards the end of the first quarter
where we can begin to see the nature of the key issues for
the industry for 2005.
GHARIB: Real quickly, we just have a few seconds
left. You mentioned oil. Oil dropped today. Will lower oil
price alone help the airlines or is it the business model?
MALDUTIS: I think it is a combination of factors,
obviously after labor, oil is the second largest cost and
that could very well be the key.
GHARIB: Julius we`re going to have to leave
it there. Thank you so much for coming on the program. We
appreciate it. We`ve been speaking with Julius Maldutis, president
of Aviation Dynamics.
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.
12/27/04:
Commentary: What's Behind The Dollar Decline?
SUSIE GHARIB: Tonight`s commentator has been watching the
dollar`s slide against other world currencies recently and
he says maybe that`s not such a terrible thing. Here`s Glenn
Hubbard, professor of economics and finance at Columbia University
and former chairman of the White House Council of Economic
Advisors under President George W. Bush.
GLENN HUBBARD, FORMER CHAIRMAN, COUNCIL OF
ECONOMIC ADVISERS: If you`re planning a trip abroad this holiday,
be prepared to feel the impact of a lower value of the dollar.
But a crisis isn`t likely around the corner. The dollar`s
problem lies in two imbalances in the world`s economy. First,
tired of all that holiday shopping? The excessive dependence
of the world on U.S. demand has led to a large and growing
American current account deficit, currently more than 5 percent
of GDP and European and Japanese authorities are not doing
enough to stimulate their own domestic demand. Second, global
growth is allocated in a lopsided way. The Asian boom is driven
by manufacturing, while the industrial world`s demand is driven
by low interest rates. The dollar`s decline can push production
toward the United States, and a gradually tighter U.S. monetary
policy can rebalance the world`s demand. These events are
ringing alarm bells in some quarters with some analysts predict
a dollar collapse, spiking U.S. interest rates and bringing
on a recession. But sound policy around the world will make
this unlikely. The U.S. should continue to push hard for pro-domestic
growth policies in Asia and Europe and the U.S. should reduce
long-term budget deficits. To be serious, steps must include
both near-term spending restraint and reining in the rapid
growth of Social Security and Medicare spending. With these
steps, currency markets will adjust gradually and redistribute
global demand and production. And it`s not so bad to spend
the holidays at home. I`m Glenn Hubbard
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.
12/27/04:
Mobile Medical Makes Housecalls
JEFF YASTINE: Well, if you thought the days of doctors making
house calls were finished, you`re right. Fewer than 1 percent
of U.S. licensed physicians do home visits anymore, but a
few doctors groups around the country are hoping to revive
the practice. As a physician, Dr. Jim Padula and his assistant
do something almost entirely unheard of these days: they make
house calls. Padula used to work as a doctor in a regular,
office-based private practice, but three years ago joined
MD to You, part of a small but growing group of practices
around the country specializing in home visits by physicians.
In his words, they don`t train you for this in medical school.
DR. JAMES PADULA, PHYSICIAN, MD TO YOU: We
really become a part of our patients` lives. I really, really
enjoyed the concept. The first couple of house calls I went
out on, I was amazed that you know, people still do this.
And the patients love it. So they`re really happy to see us
come in. How many people do you see that are happy to see
a doctor?
YASTINE: Reviving the practice of house calls
is the focus of Padula`s employer, Mobile Medical Industries.
The company and its MD to You subsidiary was started in Florida
four years ago. It now has about two dozen doctors and 3,500
patients in 12 Florida counties. CEO Greg Bellomy says clients
are usually the chronically ill and new residents who don`t
have a primary care physician. But long term, he says the
company`s eye is on the aging of the baby boom generation.
GREG BELLOMY, PRESIDENT & CEO, MOBILE MEDICAL
INDUSTRIES: I think, quite frankly, people like myself are
looking at "what am I going to want when I`m older and
in need of care?" And I think people are starting to
realize that it`s important to have access to alternatives
that allow people to stay home safely, and so it is just a
reasonable assumption that the demand for these services is
only going to increase.
YASTINE: Mobile Medical says there are savings
in providing a house- call service. There`s no office overhead
and with so many doctors on the payroll, it`s cheaper to run
back office operations and buy malpractice insurance.
BELLOMY: We don`t do much in the way of invasive
procedures, so we`re not doing surgery, if you will, so the
risk factors are really less. So we`re really spending more
time just delivering good, old-fashioned, proactive medical
care to keep people safe and that ultimately has less risk
and better outcomes for the patients.
YASTINE: As a business, can it work? Executives
say yes. The company has picked up more than $26 million in
venture capital cash. It`s expanding its services to more
Florida counties and recently started making house calls in
Texas as well. About 1.8 million house calls were made by
doctors last year, Susie. And that`s growing at about a 5
percent rate a year, that`s according to the American Academy
of Home Care Physicians, their own group.
GHARIB: Jeff, that is the like the ultimate
in bedside manners. I hope we see more of them.
YASTINE: What is old is new again.
GHARIB: Sounds like 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.
12/27/04:
Paul Kangas' "Stocks In The News"
JEFF YASTINE: So much for the Santa Claus rally. The Dow opened
today about 40 points higher. But with those holiday retail
sales just good, not great, investors didn`t see much to get
excited about. The NASDAQ was also weaker, down about 12 points
in the early going, as whatever year-end tax loss selling
investors want to do, they`re doing it now. The Dow closed
off almost 51 points at 10,776.13. The NASDAQ falling 6 1/2
points to 2154.22. And the S&P 500 shedding just over
five points. Bonds were weaker as the dollar fell to a new
low against the euro and other major currencies, feeding concerns
about inflationary pressures on the U.S. economy. The 10-year
note falling 20/32 to 99 20/32. That puts the yield at 4.30
percent.
And topping our list Pfizer (PFE) rising $0.43.
A "Barron`s" article over the weekend suggests Pfizer
may not have to take Celebrex off the market. The FDA is reviewing
the safety of those Cox II inhibitor class of drugs in February.
Lucent Technologies (LU) edging up a fraction.
Calpine (CPN) ending $0.14 higher. The power
company has reportedly gotten financing to build a power plant
in Mexico.
ExxonMobil (XOM) falling $1.09 thanks to that
pull back in oil prices today. The company says it did see
minor disruptions to natural gas production in Indonesia because
of that weekend earthquake and tsunami.
And finally Time Warner (TWX) rising $0.30
for today.
General Electric (GE) falling $0.20.
Wal-Mart (WMT) gaining $0.24. Lehman Brothers
expects same store sales there to improve modestly in December.
Also the retailer says it will start using RFID tags in January
for tracking some of its inventory. A "New York Times"
article had earlier suggested that schedule might be delayed.
Sprint Fon Group (FON) gaining $0.07.
Merck & Company (MRK) off $0.35.
And Nortel Networks (NT) losing $0.02.
Here`s a look at Medtronic (MDT), which rose
$0.81. Again a article in "Barron`s" suggesting
Medtronic is a cheap stock given the strong demand for defibrillator
technology along with government plans to expand Medicare
coverage for use of defibrillators and suggests the stock
could hit $60 a share.
Here`s a look at Frontline Limited (FRO). It`s
an oil tanker company. It plunged over $3 today. Morgan Stanley
says current profit estimates could be at risk if oil prices
continue to fall and average winter temperatures remain on
the warm side and that weighed on the whole group today.
General Maritime (GMR), OMI Corporation (OMM),
Overseas Shipholding (OSG) all down over 5 percent.
Allied Capital (ALD) down $2.65. The U.S. attorney
in Washington, D.C. probing for questionable accounting practices
at Allied Capital and its business loan express unit.
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO) climbing
$1.43. "Barron`s" reports some options traders are
betting on the company`s successful prospects once Martha
is released from jail in March.
Over on the NASDAQ 100 (QQQQ), we have the
quadra Q`s falling $0.17.
Microsoft (MSFT) losing $0.16.
Google (GOOG) though gaining a little over
$4. That`s the highest closing price for Google since early
November.
Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI) rising $0.15.
The company hit its one million subscriber mark, announcing
that today.
Amazon.com (AMZN) jumping over $3. It set a
new one-day sales record for the holiday period.
Intel (INTC) down $0.17.
eBay (EBAY) off on the day.
Cisco Systems (CSCO) losing $0.15.
Apple Computer (AAPL) down a little bit there.
And Qualcomm (QCOM) down $1.11.
Here`s a look at Taylor Devices (TAYD) rising
over $4, again related to that tsunami event over the weekend.
It makes shock absorbing devices used in buildings, bridges
and other structures.
META Group (METG) rising $3.34. It received
a buy out offer from its larger rival Gartner for $162 million
or $10 a share cash, says it will help its own research capabilities.
And here`s a look at Cellegy Pharmaceuticals
(CLGY) which tumbled over $2 a share. The FDA declining to
approve its nitroglycerine ointment developed as a type of
pain relieving product. The company says it`s considering
its options there.
And finally Sharper Image (SHRP) off over $4
a share. The specialty retailer warning their fourth quarter
sales will come in weaker and so will profits. About $.99
to $0.94 a share is the expectation for the company.
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.
12/27/04:
Market Stats
NET PERCENT
CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE
DOW CLOSE 10776.13 -50.99 - .5
HIGH 10868.07
LOW 10776.13
NASDAQ COMP. 2154.22 -6.40 -.3
HIGH 2171.94
LOW 2147.59
VOLUME 920.9
PREVIOUS 955.9
UP VOLUME 325.4
DOWN VOLUME 572.3
DOW TRANSPORTS 3754.23 -33.55 - .9
DOW UTILITIES 333.66 -2.23 - .7
CLOSING TICK +28
S&P 500 1204.92 -5.21 - .4
S&P 100 573.86 -2.20 - .4
MIDCAP 400 654.45 -3.96 - .6
REUTERS/CRB 283.38 -1.83 - .6
NYSE COMPOSITE 7197.27 -11.51 - .2
VALUE LINE 399.12 -2.17 - .5
RUSSELL 2000 644.34 -5.03 - .8
DJW 5000 11881.37 -52.44 - .4
U.S. TREASURIES
5-YEAR NOTE 3.50%
Dec. 15,2009 99 10/32 -11/32 + 3.66
10-YEAR NOTE 4.25%
Nov. 15,2014 99 19/32 -21/32 + 4.30
30-YEAR NOTE 5.375%
Feb. 15, 2031 106 19/32 -38/32 + 4.92
LEHMAN BROS.
LONG BOND INDEX 1745.39 -14.31
DOW CLOSE 10776.13 -50.99 - .5
ADVANCES 1279
DECLINES 2017
NEW HIGHS 238
NEW LOWS 7
NET PERCENT
NYSE MOST ACTIVES 4PM CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE
PFE Pfizer 26.50 +.43 +1.7
LU Lucent Tech 3.76 -.02 -.5
CPN Calpine 3.92 +.14 +3.7
XOM Exxon Mobil 50.88 -1.09 -2.1
TWX Time Warner 19.44 +.30 +1.6
GE GE 36.57 -.20 -.5
WMT Wal-Mart Stores 52.79 +.24 +.5
FON Sprint Fon Group 24.83 +.07 +.3
MRK Merck & Co 31.95 -.35 -1.1
NT Nortel Networks 3.45 -.02 -.6
NASDAQ CLOSE 2154.22 - 6.40 - .3
VOLUME 1,484.9
PREVIOUS 1,433.8
ADVANCES 1327
DECLINES 1799
NASDAQ ACTIVES
QQQQ Nasdaq 100 39.59 -.17 -.4
MSFT Microsoft 26.85 -.16 -.6
GOOG Google 191.91 +4.01 +2.1
SIRI Sirius Satellite 8.10 +.15 +1.9
AMZN Amazon.com 42.25 +3.32 +8.5
INTC Intel 23.37 -.17 -.7
EBAY eBay 112.86 -.49 -.4
CSCO Cisco Systems 19.30 -.15 -.8
AAPL Apple Computer 63.16 -.85 -1.3
QCOM Qualcomm 43.44 -1.11 -2.5
AMEX CLOSE 1424.70 + 6.95 + .5
INDEX SHARES
DIA DIAMONDS TRUST 107.77 -.38 -.4
QQQ NASDAQ 100 39.59 -.17 -.4
SPY S&P DEP.RECEIPTS 120.52 -.25 -.2
STOCKS IN THE NEWS
MDT Medtronic 48.95 +.81 +1.7
FRO Frontline Ltd 44.40 -3.11 -6.6
GMR Genl Maritime 39.15 -2.66 -6.4
OMM OMI Corp 16.71 -1.05 -5.9
OSG Overseas Ship 54.21 -3.23 -5.6
ALD Allied Capital 25.61 -2.63 -9.3
MSO Martha Stewart 29.93 +1.43 +5.0
TAYD Taylor Devices 6.75 +4.27 +172.2
METG Meta Group 9.82 +3.34 +51.5
CLGY Cellegy Pharm 2.70 -2.19 -44.8
SHRP Sharper Image 18.96 -4.18 -18.1
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