| 09/02/05:
President Bush & Aid Comes To The Hurricane Katrina Victims
SUSIE GHARIB: More than $100 billion. That`s how much the
damage from hurricane Katrina and the ensuing flood in New
Orleans could end up costing. The estimate was announced today
by Risk Management Solutions which had originally assessed
the cost of Katrina at $25 billion. But that was before the
levees burst in New Orleans flooding at least 150,000 properties
according to Risk Management. In fact, the firm says it`s
the most damaging flood in U.S. history.
ROBERT MUIR-WOOD, CHIEF RESEARCH OFFICER, RISK MANAGEMENT
SOLUTIONS: The situation in New Orleans indicate that actually
probably people weren`t sufficiently informed about the probabilities
were that this event could happen and what the consequences
are actually going to be, because the consequences I think
are now proving to be much more significant then anybody had
actually thought through.
GHARIB: Meanwhile, Congress pledged $10.5 billion to fund
the relief efforts in the Gulf coast region. Nearly all of
that money is earmarked for the Federal Emergency Management
Agency. A half billion goes to the Department of Defense to
help the victims of hurricane Katrina. The president called
the measure a small down payment for what will be a years
long rebuilding effort. Stephanie Dhue reports.
STEPHANIE DHUE, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Walking
the storm ravaged streets of Biloxi, handing out hugs along
the way, President Bush saw the devastation and heard from
survivors of hurricane Katrina. While he admitted the results
of the relief effort were inadequate, he promised to repair
the region.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We`ve got
a lot of rebuilding to do. First, we`re going to save lives
and stabilize the situation. And then we`re going to help
these communities rebuild. The good news is -- and it`s hard
for some to see it now -- that out of this chaos is going
to come a fantastic Gulf coast, like it was before.
DHUE: But there are rumblings that rebuilding New Orleans
may be a mistake. House Speaker Dennis Hastert questioned
if it made sense to rebuild a city that sits seven feet below
sea level. He later clarified that saying he didn`t mean New
Orleans would be abandoned or relocated. Still, Hastert`s
comments infuriated members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D) MARYLAND, CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS:
We are rebuilding Baghdad, but we got a speaker of the House
who says he questions whether we should rebuild New Orleans.
Give me a break.
DHUE: On Capitol Hill, lawmakers were promising to rebuild.
REP. TOM DELAY, HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER: Beyond this initial
installment of funding, we will provide for humanitarian relief
as long as the victims of this storm need it.
DHUE: Lawmakers are also considering the long term economic
impact, to the affected states and the nation.
REP. ROY BLUNT, HOUSE MAJORITY WHIP: I suspect that means
some kind of stimulus package out there to be sure that we
see the economy move forward as it needs to rather than it
might in response to this disaster.
DHUE: But for now, the focus is still getting the victims
of hurricane Katrina the food, water, and medical attention
they need. Stephanie Dhue, 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) 2005 Community Television Foundation
of South Florida, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms of use.
09/02/05:
How Will The Nation's Employment Picture Change Post Hurricane
Katrina
PAUL KANGAS: The monthly employment report is a look back
at where the economy has been. And the report for August,
released today, looks good. But with hundreds of thousands
of people left homeless and jobless in the wake of hurricane
Katrina, a big question remains over the future employment
picture. Scott Gurvey reports.
SCOTT GURVEY, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: The
economy added 169,000 new jobs in August and the unemployment
rate fell to a four year low. Manufacturing lost jobs but
other sectors gained, led by leisure and hospitality and construction.
In addition, the report sharply revised upward the job creation
number for July and the unemployment rate of 4.9 percent is
lower than the Federal Reserve`s expected 5 percent for the
end of the year. It is a strong combination.
DEAN MAKI, CHIEF US ECONOMIST, BARCLAYS CAPITAL: I think
what this report tells the Fed is that growth both in GDP
and in the labor market were quite solid heading into the
hurricane. That`s all we can learn from today`s report but
that signal is quite positive.
GURVEY: But the report says nothing about the elephant in
the economic room, the future impact of hurricane Katrina
on jobs and the overall economy. Hundreds of thousands of
people are out of work in the hurricane`s aftermath. Many
face long term unemployment and may have to move to find work.
But new jobs for cleanup and reconstruction will be created.
Even gathering statistics for next month`s employment report
will be difficult in the effected area where government offices
have been destroyed.
ROBERT BRUSCA, CHIEF ECONOMIST, FACT AND OPINION ECONOMICS:
At this time we are being hit with this major uncertainly
and I think the only clear thing you say about the hurricane
effects is that it creates a major uncertainly. Even once
we move ahead by a month and we could do this interview and
look back, we would still say, oh, these numbers we`re looking
at now reflect major uncertainties about what`s going on in
the economy so policy is going to have to deal with this situation
and so the most obvious thing is that policy is going to become
much more careful and much less aggressive.
GURVEY: The hurricane`s destruction cuts growth in the short
term, but the reconstruction will add to it later and the
short term effect on prices increases inflation. The Federal
Reserve will have to sort through out all the conflicting
data when it meets next to review interest rates on September
20. Scott Gurvey, 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) 2005 Community Television Foundation
of South Florida, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms of use.
09/02/05:
The Outlook On Energy From John Felmy Chief Economist Of The
American Petroleum Institute
SUSIE GHARIB: Some big help is on the way to relieve the American
energy crunch. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said today that
President Bush has authorized the sale of 30 million barrels
of crude from the strategic petroleum reserve on top of the
nine million barrels previously loaned to several oil companies.
Bodman also said that Europe will dip into its emergency stocks
of gasoline and oil to help the United States. The International
Energy Agency will send 1.1 million barrels of gasoline and
two million barrels of crude per day to the U.S. for the next
month. Joining me now to talk more about these developments,
John Felmy. He`s chief economist of the American Petroleum
Institute. Hi, John.
JOHN FELMY, CHIEF ECONOMIST, AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE:
Good evening.
GHARIB: To what extent do you think that this influx of crude
and gasoline will help our situation?
FELMY: Well all in things equal, adding more supply to market
generally helps the conditions. The SPR loans were very important
because we have refineries that were still operating that
were starting to run out of crude and this additional crude
in the market could really help.
GHARIB: How long will it help?
FELMY: Well, it`s going to help as long as it continues.
Right now they`re talking about a 30-day window and so over
that period at least, it could help the market conditions.
GHARIB: At what point will we see prices at the pump come
down as these refined products and gasoline start getting
distributed through the system?
FELMY: At this point it`s hard to say, but one important
thing that has happened is we`ve seen the futures price of
gasoline drop by over $0.40 a gallon over the past two days.
Now we know that retail prices tend to follow the futures
and wholesale prices, so we`ll have to see how soon they respond.
GHARIB: So what do you think will be the direction of prices
next week?
FELMY: Well, at this point, we`ve had very good news over
the past week. We`ve seen pipelines begin to operate. We`ve
seen crude import facilities operating again. We have barges
running and so on. So, the system is recovering from what
was a real body blow.
GHARIB: Now John, we`ve heard stories of price gouging in
some markets. The price of gasoline has gone up by a $1 overnight.
We have people now going into a long weekend where many Americans
like to drive for the holiday weekend. What do you think that
they can expect in terms of prices on this holiday weekend?
FELMY: Well at this point, what we`ve seen is of course the
futures market had reacted very sharply in the beginning of
the week and so futures prices went up by over $0.60 a gallon
and spot markets went up even more. And so that was reflected
in some retailers` costs. Going forward, as long as consumers
are prudent in their use and purchase of gasoline, we should
see adequate supplies. But we`ll have to see how things proceed.
GHARIB: What if they`re not prudent? What if people are filling
up their tank even though they don`t need the gasoline? Are
they contributing to shortages?
FELMY: We learned from the 70s when people filled up and
topped off unnecessarily, lined up and essentially bought
more gasoline then they needed, they can really drain the
system, even when you have things functioning normally.
GHARIB: So do you think that we`re on the verge of an energy
crisis something like what we saw in the 70s?
FELMY: The difference between now and then is one of the
reasons why we had such an energy crisis in the 70s was because
of a self-inflicted wound. We had very bad energy policy,
that had price controls and allocation controls that created
an artificial shortage and created that crisis. Now we have
a very real shortage that we`re working our way through and
as long as we`re able to keep working as hard as we can, we`ll
be able to rectify some of the supply problems.
GHARIB: Can you give us a little update on the supply situation?
I know at the time of the whole Katrina catastrophe, nine
refineries were down. Three major pipelines were interrupted
and disrupted. Where do we stand on all this now?
FELMY: The three major pipelines have been restarted to some
degree either between 60 and 90 percent of capacity. So we`re
getting crude flowing. We`re getting refined products flowing.
The nine refineries are still down. We`ve had word that a
couple are starting their restart procedures. Three of the
remaining ones appear to have at least some degree of damage,
but what was important is that the local utility has been
able to restore power to those refineries and so now we can
actually begin to restart.
GHARIB: OK, still a lot of work to be done. John. Thank you
very much for coming on the program. Appreciate it.
FELMY: My pleasure.
GHARIB: We`ve been speaking with John Felmy, chief economist
of the American Petroleum Institute.
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) 2005 Community Television Foundation
of South Florida, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms of use.
09/02/05
"Market Monitor"-Robert Stovall, Managing Director of Wood
Asset Management
PAUL KANGAS: My guest "market monitor" this week is Robert
Stovall, managing director of Wood Asset Management based
in Sarasota, Florida. Bob, welcome back to NIGHTLY BUSINESS
REPORT.
ROBERT STOVALL, MANAGING DIRECTOR & STRATEGIST, WOOD ASSET
MANAGEMENT: Thanks for asking me back, Paul.
KANGAS: As a Wall Street veteran of some 52 years, give us
your assessment of the stock market`s behavior in light of
the sharp recent jump in oil prices, rising interest rates
and now this national tragedy, namely hurricane Katrina.
STOVALL: I think the market has held up remarkable well.
He bond market is certainly firm. Money flowing in, the money
that`s frightened in the stock market, you`ll seeing the expected
groups have been strong. Those that will benefit from rebuilding,
from energy search and those that have to pay for it not doing
too well.
KANGAS: On a scale of one to 10 with 10 being the best, how
would you rate the stock market`s behavior?
STOVALL: The last few days, I`d rate it about an eight. For
the year so far, it`s more like a seven.
KANGAS: Oh boy, you`re quite impressed then overall.
STOVALL: I`ve been on the negative or cautious opportunistic
side Paul, all year but I`m getting a little more optimistic.
KANGAS: Will this cause the Federal Reserve to stop boosting
rates in the wake of the hurricane?
STOVALL: They could of course, but my guess is that they`ll
make up their mind on September 19th or early on the morning
of the 20th and decide and proceed further with their 25 basis
points increase and probably have an extensive statement about
the current situation and how it looks a few days from now
and maybe warn people that rates will not go up much more
if at all for the balance of the year.
KANGAS: That would be bullish for the stock market and the
bond market for that matter.
STOVALL: I think so but I`m gathering that we`ll end up the
year with short-term money costing about 4 percent interest
rates and that will be a level from which the new chairman
who succeeds Mr. Greenspan can cut when the next recession
come along. You can`t much when you`re down too low.
KANGAS: OK, how about oil prices? Are they close to topping
out?
STOVALL: I think we`ll see an oil range Paul of $60 to $75
a barrel for the next several weeks or longer and then next
year it would be some fading and maybe from $50 to $65 a barrel
but it will be expensive. It`s not going to get cheap again.
KANGAS: I understand. Now in your last visit with us in late
August, you gave our viewers four stock recommendations. Let`s
see how they performed. We see Chubb Corporation up 26 and
a half percent. That was a great call and Weyerhaeuser up
4.2 percent. Are you still with those two?
STOVALL: Yes, I think Chubb is one of the better insurers
and will have another good year.
KANGAS: OK. Then you had two others that you gave us and
just one of them was a loser and that was Sabre Holdings down
19 percent. That`s the airline reservation company. Are you
out of that?
STOVALL: Yes. I`ve given up on that one.
KANGAS: OK, how about Freeport-McMoran copper and gold?
STOVALL: That moves up with copper and gold. It`s up a little
bit. I think it can go up some more and we still have it in
our Wood Asset portfolio.
KANGAS: OK, so that`s done very well. Three out of four is
a good batting average, 750, very good. Any new buy recommendations
Bob?
STOVALL: Yes Paul. I do have four new ones and they`re connected
with energy, three out of four, I own every one of them and
they`re in the Wood Asset Management portfolio too. And my
first one is a utility that`s 65 percent of earnings coming
from oil and gas (INAUDIBLE) Energen (EGN), Energen, yes.
It`s down in Alabama and my number two favorite is Nabors.
KANGAS: That`s an oil driller right?
STOVALL: Nabors is a land driller. It doesn`t drill out over
the water but it has a great order book build up.
KANGAS: And that trades on the American exchange, does it
not?
STOVALL: American stock exchange. It has a great symbol,
NBR.
KANGAS: I like that one. OK, three and four quickly.
STOVALL: Quickly is Tiffany and my favorite retailer, had
a great earnings statement the other day. It helped our monthly
performance go up more and I think it also could be involved
in a combination (INAUDIBLE).
KANGAS: And then Noble Corp (NE).
STOVALL: And Nobel Corp is also an exploration company, contract
driller global and the business is going to be good. We have
to spend more money looking for oil and gas.
KANGAS: You personally own them all right Bob?
STOVALL: I own them all personally and they`re all in the
Wood portfolio.
KANGAS: Robert, I want to thank you for your input to the
program. It`s been a pleasure.
STOVALL: Thank you Paul.
KANGAS: My guest Robert Stovall of Wood Asset Management.
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) 2005 Community Television Foundation
of South Florida, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms of use.
09/01/05:
"Paul Kangas' Stocks In The News"
PAUL KANGAS: Wall Street initially showed a slightly positive
reaction to the employment report, with the Dow rising 16
points at the outset of trading while the NASDAQ gained two
points. The market then lapsed into a narrow trading range
until a sizable drop in oil help boost the Dow to a 32 point
mid-afternoon gain. But caution ahead of the long holiday
weekend led to a late slump. So the Dow industrial average
closed down 12 1/4 points at 10,447.37. This week, the Dow
rose twice and fell three times for a net gain of 50.80 points.
The NASDAQ Composite lost 6.83 points today, ending at 2141.07.
It also rose twice and fell three times this week and advanced
20.30 points overall. The Standard & Poor`s 500 was down 3.57
points ending at 1218.02 today. Over in the bond market, the
10-year note fell 4/32 to 101 21/32, putting the yield at
4.05 percent.
The New York exchange volume leader on 40.4 million shares,
Albertson`s (ABS) up $2.32. It`s the nation`s second largest
grocery store chain and it`s exploring strategic alternatives
including the possible sale of the company. Prudential says
Kroger and Safeway could be potential suitors, but it`s more
likely they would buy just some Albertson stores. The stock
traded as high as $25.95 during the day.
General Electric (GE) second in volume, up $0.19.
Pfizer (PFE) a $0.03 gain.
ExxonMobil (XOM) lost $1. Some profit taking time in some
of the major oils today. Let`s have a look at some of the
others in the group.
Chevron (CVX) down just a fraction.
ConocoPhillips (COP) and Marathon Oil (MRO) bigger losses
there on some profit taking.
Then we see Hibernia Corp (HIB) down $1.23. There`s speculation
that the New Orleans-based bank`s acquisition by Capital One
may be scuttled by hurricane Katrina`s damage to its facilities.
That`s just speculation. That was fifth in big board volume.
Valero Energy (VLO) down $1.07 on some profit taking.
Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) fell $0.45.
Citigroup (C) $0.17 gain.
Merck & Co (MRK) edged up $0.42.
And AMR (AMR), parent of American Airlines down $0.08. Today,
Goldman Sachs downgraded AMR from "out perform" to "in line,"
citing the high cost of fuel.
There we finally see Boeing (BA) down $1.65, as you heard
shutting down production because of the mechanics strike.
And then another weak group was the coal group. Arch Coal
(ACI) dropping $2.01. Morgan Stanley said the strong fundamentals
of the coal industry are already discounted by the price levels
of the stock. So let`s have a look at some of the other in
the sector.
Consolidated Energy (CNX), Massey Energy (MEE) and Peabody
Energy (BTU) all down over $1 each.
Then Textron (TXT) a $0.12 loss, although earlier in the
day, the stock was as high as $72.95 after Merrill Lynch upgraded
it from "neutral" to "buy" saying the recent sell off of Textron
has been unwarranted.
Maritrans (TUG) up $2.47. This company operates tankers and
tugboats in the Gulf of Mexico and all of the company`s vessels
are operating at pre-storm levels and they have no physical
damage, the crews uninjured. Good news for that company.
Esterline Technologies (ESL), which is involved in aerospace
equipment, had third quarter earnings jump to $0.55 versus
$0.33 a year ago, a penny above the Street estimate, but sales
missed Street projections by $1.6 million.
Microsoft (MSFT) topped the active list as it has all week
on NASDAQ, down $0.18 today.
Then Google (GOOG) jumping $2.20.
Intel (INTC) $0.02 gain.
Cisco Systems (CSCO) up $0.07.
Dell (DELL) was down a nickel a share. That was fifth in
dollar volume.
Oracle (ORCL) up $0.08.
Apple Computer (AAPL) a $0.04 loss.
Ebay (EBAY) down $0.25.
Amgen (AMGN) moving up $0.26.
And Qualcomm (QCOM), tenth in dollar volume down $0.04.
Neoware Systems (NWRE) up $2.87. It`s in software solutions
and the company`s fourth quarter earnings $0.14, $0.02 better
than the Street expected and way up from only $0.03 a year
ago. On top of that, the company sees 2006 revenues jumping
30 percent.
On the downside, Ashworth Inc (ASHW), this is a company in
the sportswear apparel marketing business and it had a third
quarter loss of $0.24 a share versus earnings of $0.04 last
year and on top of that, the company cut its 2005 earnings
estimate from as high as $0.82 all the way down to $0.15 a
share at best.
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) 2005 Community Television Foundation
of South Florida, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms of use.
09/02/05:
Market Stats
NET PERCENT
CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE
DOW CLOSE 10447.37 -12.26 - .1
HIGH 10497.45
LOW 10434.71
NASDAQ COMP. 2141.07 -6.83 -.3
HIGH 2152.22
LOW 2139.28
VOLUME 1,265.6
PREVIOUS 1,705.8
UP VOLUME 514.1
DOWN VOLUME 732.5
DOW TRANSPORTS 3652.55 -18.28 - .5
DOW UTILITIES 414.23 -2.00 - .5
CLOSING TICK +612
S&P 500 1218.02 -3.57 - .3
S&P 100 563.17 -1.21 - .2
MIDCAP 400 707.56 -3.90 - .6
REUTERS/CRB 331.35 -4.85 - 1.4
NYSE COMPOSITE 7531.13 -12.72 - .2
VALUE LINE 409.21 -2.06 - .5
RUSSELL 2000 663.33 -5.12 - .8
DJW 5000 12189.58 -44.23 - .4
U.S. TREASURIES
5-YEAR NOTE 4.125%
Aug. 15,2010 101 7/32 -4/32 + 3.86
10-YEAR NOTE 4.25%
Aug. 15,2015 101 21/32 -4/32 + 4.05
30-YEAR NOTE 5.375%
Feb. 15, 2031 116 19/32 +8/32 + 4.30
LEHMAN BROS.
LONG BOND INDEX 1835.97 -3.73
DOW CLOSE 10447.37 -12.26 - .1
ADVANCES 1463
DECLINES 1774
NEW HIGHS 155
NEW LOWS 36
NET PERCENT
NYSE MOST ACTIVES 4PM CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE
ABS Albertsons 23.05 +2.32 +11.2
GE GE 33.33 +.19 +.6
PFE Pfizer 25.33 +.03 +.1
XOM Exxon Mobil 60.68 -1.00 -1.6
HIB Hibernia 30.56 -1.23 -3.9
VLO Valero Energy 108.43 -1.07 -1.0
WMT Wal-Mart Stores 44.55 -.45 -1.0
C Citigroup 43.88 +.17 +.4
MRK Merck & Co 28.83 +.42 +1.5
AMR AMR Corp 11.95 -.08 -.7
NASDAQ CLOSE 2141.07 - 6.83 - .3
VOLUME 1,156.5
PREVIOUS 1,664.0
ADVANCES 1229
DECLINES 1759
NASDAQ ACTIVES
MSFT Microsoft 27.02 -.18 -.7
GOOG Google 288.45 +2.20 +.8
INTC Intel 25.28 +.02 +.1
CSCO Cisco Systems 17.72 +.07 +.4
DELL Dell 34.98 -.05 -.1
ORCL Oracle 13.39 +.08 +.6
AAPL Apple Computer 46.22 -.04 -.1
EBAY eBay 39.69 -.25 -.6
AMGN Amgen 80.33 +.26 +.3
QCOM Qualcomm 39.96 -.04 -.1
AMEX CLOSE 1680.04 - 1.31 - .1
INDEX SHARES
DIA DIAMONDS TRUST 104.55 +.02 +.0
QQQ NASDAQ 100 38.77 -.15 -.4
SPY S&P DEP.RECEIPTS 122.27 -.22 -.2
STOCKS IN THE NEWS
CVX Chevron 62.30 -.41 -.7
COP ConocoPhillips 66.77 -2.23 -3.2
MRO Marathon Oil 65.07 -1.75 -2.6
BA Boeing Co 64.34 -1.65 -2.5
ACI Arch Coal 63.15 -2.01 -3.1
CNX Consol Energy 68.13 -1.88 -2.7
MEE Massey Energy 49.75 -1.05 -2.1
BTU Peabody Energy 70.27 -1.50 -2.1
BBI Blockbuster 6.12 -.16 -2.6
TXT Textron 71.53 -.12 -.2
TUG Maritrans 30.02 +2.47 +9.0
ESL Esterline Tech 40.00 -3.50 -8.1
NWRE Neoware Systems 13.51 +2.87 +27.0
ASHW Ashworth 6.20 -1.98 -24.2
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