9/20/05: HURRICANE
RITA SWEEPS THROUGH SOUTH FLORIDA
GHARIB: Good evening everyone. First Katrina, now it`s Rita.
Hurricane Rita gains strength today, transforming itself from
a tropical storm into a dangerous category two hurricane.
The storm swept past the Florida Keys walloping south Florida
with heavy rain and strong winds. Rita also had an effect
on NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT. It forced the shutdown of our
studios in Miami. So we`re coming to you tonight with a limited
program from our bureau in New York City.
9/20/05: The Federal
Reserve Raises Rates Amid Katrina Concerns
SUSIE GHARIB: the Federal Reserve raised
interest rates again today on concern that hurricane Katrina could spark a
rise in inflation. The central bank boosted its key Federal funds rate by a
1/4 of a percent to 3.75 percent. It`s the 11th consecutive hike by the
Fed. Some economists had expected policy makers to pause in the wake of
Katrina, but the Fed said in a policy statement, while these unfortunate
developments have increased uncertainty about near-term economic
performance, they do not pose a more persistent threat.
For the first time since the Fed began raising rates, the decision was
not unanimous. One central bank official voted to hold rates steady.
Economists, including Bear Stearns John Ryding expects the Fed to keep
raising rates for the foreseeable future.
JOHN RYDING, BEAR STEARNS: The Fed repeats (INAUDIBLE) accommodative,
repeats that accommodation can likely be moved at a pace that is measured
or gradual. Those aren`t the words you tend to use if you think you`re
going to go up one more rate to go, so we will hold to our views that the
funds rate will be at 4 1/4 percent at the end of the year and that 5
percent by the middle of next year.
GHARIB: Oil prices fell sharply today after OPEC offered to sell its
remaining spare capacity, two million barrels a day. The news sent prices
tumbling more than 3 percent, but they rebounded as traders worried that
hurricane Rita might threaten oil operations in the Gulf of Mexico. In New
York trading, crude futures for October finally closed down $1.16 to $66.23
a barrel. But analysts expect prices to move back up.
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.
09/20/05: Lyle Gramley, Former Fed Governor On Increased Interest Rate
SUSIE GHARIB: Darren Gersh talked with former Fed Governor Lyle Gramley and began by asking him if the
Fed is signaling more rate hikes are ahead.
LYLE GRAMLEY, FMR FED GOVERNOR: I think they did, yes. They`re
looking at a situation that`s uncertain, but they think the negative
effects of Katrina on the economy are going to be of limited duration.
They indicate that higher inflation is likely to result, not only from
energy prices, but from boosts in other prices. They tell us that long-
term expectations of inflation are contained, but not well contained as
they were in the previous statement. So I think they`re looking at a
situation now in which we have to anticipate an increase again in November
and one in December in the Federal funds rate, ending at 4 1/4 percent by
the end of this year.
DARREN GERSH, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Why are they so
concerned about inflation? We haven`t seen it actually break out in any of
the core indicators. Why the inflation concern?
GRAMLEY: Well, I think the release we saw last week on Friday from the
University of Michigan which indicated that consumer expectations of
inflation one year down the road took a very big jump. It`s quite
problematic for it . It`s worrisome because it suggests that increases
in energy prices and so on are more likely to spill over into core
inflation and remain there than what otherwise had been the case.
GERSH: But this was a close decision. There were some dissents in
here. What do you make of that?
GRAMLEY: I think it was - I don`t think Mark Olsen , Governor Mark
Olsen would have dissented if everyone else on the committee had been
absolutely sure that increasing the Federal funds rate was the right thing
to do.
GERSH: All right. Lyle Gramley, thank you very much.
GRAMLEY: You`re most welcome.
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.
09/20/05:
"Paul Kangas' Stocks In The News"
SUSIE GHARIB: On Wall Street today, the Fed`s decision caused a sell off in
stock. The Dow fell 76 points. The NASDAQ lost 14. The S&P slipped almost
10 points. The benchmark 10-year note was little changed, yielding 4.24
percent. On the NYSE, Tempropedic (ph) led the most active list. Shares
fell 28 percent after the mattress maker slashed its 2005 earnings and
revenue estimates.
Lucent (LU) fell $0.05.
Wal-Mart (WMT) slumped $0.79 on concerns that September retail sales
may be weak.
Time Warner (TWX) dropped $0.17.
And Pfizer (PFE) fell $0.19.
On the NASDAQ, Connectiv Systems (ph) rose $0.29.
Cisco (CSCO) dropped $0.21.
Microsoft (MSFT) slipped $0.23.
But Oracle (ORCL) gained $0.11 after the company said it`ll buy Gelog, a maker of transportation management software.
And JDS Uniphase (JDSU) gained $0.03.
Also today, the big talk on Wall Street was Goldman Sachs. It reported
record third quarter earnings and revenue. The investment firm`s earnings
jumped 84 percent to $3.25 a share, $0.87 more than analyst estimates.
Revenue surged 61 percent to $7.3 billion. The stock initially soared on
the news, but closed down $0.23 to $118.05.
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.
09/20/05:
Market Stats
NOTE: MARKET STATS ARE NOT AVAILABLE FOR THIS DATE.
MARKET STATS ARE PRODUCED IN OUR PRODUCTION FACILITY IN MIAMI, WHICH WAS CLOSED AS HURRICANE RITA CAME THROUGH SOUTH FLORIDA.
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