12/05/05: The Guidant Bidding War Grows
LINDA O'BRYON: A bidding war is underway tonight for medical
device maker Guidant. Boston Scientific today offered to pay $25 billion
for Guidant. That`s $3 billion more than an offer already on the table
from Johnson & Johnson. But that J&J proposal has a troubled past. It
nearly fell apart after Guidant recalled some heart defibrillators. Last
month J&J agreed to buy Guidant, but for a lower price. Now Boston
Scientific says its proposal is better for Guidant`s shareholders and
employees. Guidant says it will consider the offer. Analysts say it will
scrutinize the specifics.
DEBBIE WANG, STOCK ANALYST, MORNINGSTAR: They`ll be looking at the
risk of going with one, with Boston or with J&J. They will also be looking
at what`s going to happen to their technology and their people, which is
going to be the better fit, that`s going to allow them to continue to do
what they`ve done in the past, which is innovate and come up with new
products.
O`BRYON: And analysts say it is possible Johnson & Johnson will raise
its bid for Guidant. Still, that could be awkward since J&J pressed hard
just three weeks ago to lower the offer price on Guidant, citing those
product problems.
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.
12/05/05: Winter Snowfall Is Causing Fuel Prices & Concerns To Rise
JEFF YASTINE: And oil prices were on the move higher again. In New York
trading, light sweet crude for January delivery traded above $60 for most
of the day, finally settling up $0.59 at $59.91 a barrel. Traders say cold
winter weather is raising fears of shortages in heating fuels. Erika
Miller has the details.
ERIKA MILLER, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Frigid
temperatures in the northeast led to heated trading in the New York oil pit
today. Crude oil shot above $60 a barrel at the New York Mercantile
Exchange before pulling back. There was snow over the weekend in the
northeast, the world`s biggest consumer of heating oil. Many
meteorologists are forecasting a prolonged cold snap in much of the country
that could drive up demand for heating fuels.
IRA ECKSTEIN, OIL TRADER, AREA INTERNATIONAL TRADING: Definitely
weather is the biggest factor. We`re coming into the heaviest usage.
We`re in the fourth quarter. This is the biggest, heaviest usage of the
year and we`re going to have a cold snap. It`s going to drive everything
higher, which you could see reflected in the prices today.
MILLER: Other oil experts are also worried about soaring demand but
from a different source: a strong U.S. economy.
ROBERT MORRIS, OIL ANALYST, BANC OF AMERICA SECURITIES: I think a
bigger factor is how strong the economy is. We got the data here last week
that GDP growth in the third quarter was even stronger than what everybody
expected and the strongest it has been in quite sometime.
MILLER: In the short term, traders predict the direction of energy
prices will depend on how cold it is in the northeast.
ECKSTEIN: I`m going to give you a wide range because we don`t know.
It`s depending on the weather. If we`re going to stay cold, this market,
crude oil, could be at $65 the second, third week of January pretty easily.
MILLER: Industry experts do not expect an upcoming OPEC meeting in
Kuwait to have much of an impact on prices. At that December 12th meeting,
OPEC is expected to announce it will keep pumping close to capacity.
MORRIS: Demand growth has been the key driver here and it has really
put them out of control of the market for the most part. But they are
trying to bring on more supply. But I can tell you that they are not going
to bring on a lot of spare capacity or invest billions of dollars in spare
capacity they`re not going to use and/or that may drive the oil price down
as long as the global economy is doing well.
MILLER: Traders say they`ll be paying close attention to weekly oil
inventory data out Wednesday. They are eager to see whether the onset of
cold weather has triggered an increase in energy demand. 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) 2005 Community Television Foundation
of South Florida, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms of use.
12/05/05: Budget Outlook With Joel Kaplan, Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget
LINDA O`BRYON: President Bush is talking up the economy today, trying to
reassure Americans concerned about energy prices, as well as growing
numbers of layoffs and broken pension promises. Speaking in North
Carolina, Mr. Bush called on Congress to strengthen and clarify the rules
on pension funding and he warned businesses not to shirk their pension
obligations.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My message to
corporate America is you need to fulfill your promises. When you say to a
worker this is what they`re going to get when they retire, you better put
enough money in the account to make sure the worker gets that which you
said.
O`BRYON: Despite polls showing a majority of Americans disapprove of
his handling of the economy, Mr. Bush says his tax cuts have boosted both
employment and growth. The president wants Congress to extend those tax
cuts while reining in spending. For more on the administration`s views on
the economy and budget, Washington bureau chief Darren Gersh talked with
the deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget today. Darren
began by asking Joel Kaplan about the budget outlook as Congress returns to
work.
JOEL KAPLAN, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT & BUDGET: I think
the outlook is actually very encouraging. The president submitted a budget
this past February that would for the first time since Ronald Reagan was in
office, the president proposed to cut non-security discretionary spending,
the annual appropriations bills. And Congress is on track to actually
achieve that cut. On the mandatory side, the president proposed to cut
mandatory spending and Congress is on track to do so when they come back in
the next week or two and when they do that, it will be the first time since
1997 that Congress has reined in growth in our entitlement programs.
GERSH: And yet House Republicans, moderates in the House, are worried
that those entitlement cuts and spending cuts are going to fall hardest on
the poor and the low income and they`re balking. Are they right?
KAPLAN: I don`t think they`re right. I think in particular on the
Medicaid side where you hear a lot of discussion, what the president
proposed was very common-sense reforms to rein in the growth in spending.
Often times you hear in Washington that the reforms to entitlement programs
are called cuts when in fact what we`re talking about is reducing the rate
of growth. Medicaid is projected to grow over 7 percent without any reform
and the president`s reforms would slow that growth to just about 7.1
percent over the five-year period of the budget window.
GERSH: One conservative budget analyst told me -- and maybe this falls
under the category of you can`t win for losing -- on the mandatory side
we`re talking about $50 billion in the House out of $14 trillion over five
years. He said it`s a rounding error.
KAPLAN: Well, I don`t think it`s a rounding error. These are
responsible - as I said, these are responsible efforts to rein in the
growth in spending. And it will be the first time that Congress has done
so since 1997 so it`s important progress. The president in North Carolina
today will talk about the steps that Congress is taking. He will also talk
about the need to look more broadly at our entitlement programs. Because
while we are making progress in this budget and the president`s past couple
of budgets on restraining growth and discretionary spending, it`s the
entitlement programs, Social Security and Medicare in particular that pose
the greatest long-term threat to our fiscal position.
GERSH: But if Congress is having trouble passing $50 billion of
entitlement spending cuts, what does that say about the Republicans`
ability to put in place fiscal discipline?
KAPLAN: Well, first of all, it`s Republicans who are voting for these
first efforts to restrain entitlement spending and they`re doing it, I
think, without much support, if any, from the Democrats in Congress. So I
think the president today in North Carolina has mentioned this. There`s a
lot of talk in Washington about restraining spending, but when it come time
to actually vote for responsible spending restraint, we haven`t seen a lot
of cooperation on that from the Democratic side of the aisle. We`re
hopeful that that will change in the weeks ahead.
GERSH: Well, Alan Greenspan, a good Republican, just gave a speech and
he warned about a pernicious fiscal situation and he advocated strongly to
put in place the old budget rules to rein in spending. The White House
opposes those budget rules. Why?
KAPLAN: Well, what the president has proposed is to put in place
budget rules that restrict the ability of Congress and the president to
spend money. We think the problem in Washington, D.C. has to do with
Washington spending too much, not taxing the American people too little.
GERSH: Well, let me ask you about the economy. I`ve heard from people
who say that the administration feels it`s not getting political credit for
the good economy. You`re in the administration. Is that how the
administration feels?
KAPLAN: I think the administration is focused on making sure people
understand how vibrant and robust this economy is and that`s what the
president talked about today in North Carolina. It`s important that people
understand that because there are debates going on in Washington even as we
speak about what our future economic policy ought to look like. And this
administration believes that the pro growth economic policies, particularly
keeping tax relief in place, is critical to ensuring that the job growth
that we`ve seen these last couple of years continues.
GERSH: Joel Kaplan, deputy director of the Office of Management and
Budget, thank you very much.
KAPLAN: Thanks.
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.
12/05/05:"Commentary"-New Year's Resolutions For The Economy
SUSIE GHARIB: Tonight`s commentator says he has a new year`s resolution for the
economy. Here`s Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody`s economy.com.
MARK ZANDI, CHIEF ECONOMIST, MOODY`S ECONOMY.COM: It`s December and
time to take stock of the economy`s performance over the past year and
consider its prospects during the coming one. Broadly speaking, the
economy did very well in 2005 and should do nearly as well in 2006.
Despite a string of devastating hurricanes and soaring energy prices, the
economy will create well over two million jobs this year, resulting in a 5
percent unemployment rate.
The annual income of the average American household will rise by some
$4,000 and their net worth by $35,000, good by any standard. The economy
will surely face some hurdles in the coming year, but should create just as
many jobs and an even lower unemployment rate. Incomes and net worth are
on track to post solid gains. Powering growth are flush businesses. Aside
from the airlines and auto makers, profit margins have never been wider.
Businesses will have all the financial wherewithal they need to invest and
hire aggressively. With more, better paying jobs, consumers will continue
spending.
A steadily improving global economy will also lift U.S. exports for
everything from technology and aircraft to agricultural goods and financial
services. There are risks. Energy prices could spike higher and interest
rates will continue to move up, increasing pressure on overdone housing
markets and over-leveraged households. Global investors could become
skittish buyers of U.S. assets, turning what should be an orderly decline
in the dollar`s value into a rout. Odds are, however, that the U.S.
economy will enjoy a solid 2006. This is Mark Zandi.
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.
12/05/05: "Gifts & Gadgets"-Big Buys of All Shapes & Sizes
LINDA O`BRYON: And if you`re looking for that perfect holiday present for
the gadget lover on your list, well, maybe we can help. Tonight and for
the next two Monday nights, technology guru Scott Gurvey will look at the
latest in gifts and gadgets for the holiday season. Scott begins with this
year`s best electronics.
SCOTT GURVEY, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: `Tis the season
to exhibit an irrational exuberance if you are a gadget fanatic. This year
the most popular include both the smallest and the biggest items to be
found.
JOHN ZITTRAUER, SALES PROFESSIONAL, BEST BUY: The hottest items right
now are obviously MP3 players like the iPod nano and iPod video. Digital
cameras are still hot and, surprisingly for most of us, flat-panel
televisions. We`re seeing a trend where families are buying just one big
gift for the whole family and that would be in the form of like a big-
screen TV.
GURVEY: Selecting a big-screen TV is very much a matter of taste, so
go and take a look at as many as you can. Be sure to buy one ready for
high-definition TV. At the top of my personal list: the pocket-sized
Garmin Nuvi travel companion. It combines a navigator, language translator
and travel guide with an MP3 player, world clock and currency converter.
Its new GPS technology navigates better in cities than older models.
Priced at nearly $900, they`re in very short supply. The $250 sling box is
another novel device. It connects to your home TV set and beams whatever
is onscreen to any web-enabled device. Sony`s Vaio XL1, $5,000 with a 37-
inch screen, is one of the best-quality media center computers I`ve seen.
It can store and manage hundreds of CDs and DVDs.
MARK HANSON, VP, SONY ELECTRONICS: We invite a lot of people to come
into the retail outlets and actually experience it for yourself. It`s
quite a unique experience.
GURVEY: Microsoft`s Xbox 360 is another of the items in short supply
this season, even selling for $400. It is without question the best game
platform at this moment. Electronic Arts has made Xbox versions of its
games. It also makes versions for the other major platforms and its sports
titles dominate the market.
ALISON ROSS, BRAND DIRECTOR, EA SPORTS: Madden NFL `06 is in its 16th
year so we`ve sold over 43 million copies. This is the number one sports
product. It is the competitive standard and with each year, we`ve brought
something new.
GURVEY: "Diplomacy," the decades-old classic of international
intrigue, has come to the personal computer this year. This first version
has some rough edges, but I love being able to play against others over the
Internet.
And then there`s the movies from Activision. Not only do you get to
play movie mogul running a studio and developing stars, you also write and
direct, even build the sets, and you can post your films to the Internet
where others can play critic. Next Monday night, making your own music for
the holidays, for the rest of the year. 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.
12/05/05:
"Paul Kangas' Stocks In The News"
JEFF YASTINE: That up tick in oil prices provided an excuse for some
profit-taking in the major indexes. The Dow dropped 65 points in the first
hour and a half of trading. Then a report from the Institute for Supply
Management, showing continued growth in the U.S. services sector, limited
the downside pressure. On the NASDAQ, profit taking in Intel, which lost
better than 2 percent and other semiconductor stocks accounted for much of
that weakness on the exchange. Now the Dow finishing down 42 1/2 points at
10835 and a fraction. The NASDAQ falling 15 3/4 points to 2257 and the S&P
500 index dropping three points to 1262.09. In the bond market, the 10-
year note falling 15/32 to 99 13/32, the yield at 4.58 percent.
And starting things off, Boston Scientific (BSX) losing $0.98 after
the company announced its intention to buy Guidant for $25 billion.
Interestingly, Moody`s says it may downgrade Boston Scientific debt ratings
because of its willingness to pay up for Guidant and leverage its balance
sheet.
Liberty Media (L) slipping a fraction. Liberty will acquire
(INAUDIBLE) Commerce for nearly $34 a share in cash. Shares in (INAUDIBLE)
jumped over 10 percent on that news.
And there`s the reaction in Guidant (GDT) jumping over $6. Guidant`s
board says it will have to examine the offer from Boston Scientific.
Pfizer (PFE) gaining a nickel.
General Electric (GE) rising $0.27.
And Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) falling $0.83. Wal-Mart said over the
weekend it is sticking to previous forecasts, conservative forecasts
perhaps for its December sales.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) there`s the reaction, losing $0.16 and it
remains to be seen whether the company will raise its bid for Guidant.
ExxonMobil (XOM) jumping $0.44.
Motorola (MOT) losing $0.30.
AT&T (T) jumping $0.22.
General Motors (GM) gaining the nickel. The CEO of Wells Fargo says he
has no interest in buying GM`s finance unit, GMAC and you`ll recall selling
GMAC has been one option on the table for General Motors as it tries to
free up some cash. By the way, GMAC did sell $20 billion in auto loans, a
portfolio of them to Bank of Nova Scotia.
Shares in Monsanto Co (MON) sprouting nearly $3. A higher profit
forecast for the company, noting strong demand for its Roundup brand of
herbicides.
St. Jude Medical (STJ) climbing over $2. Some on Wall Street think St.
Jude`s could be the next takeover candidate after the bidding settles for
Guidant.
Quicksilver Resources (KWK) tacking on more than $3. The oil producer
will be added or was added to the S&P mid cap 400 index today.
Telesp Celular Participacoes (TCP) slipping a touch, part of a major
restructuring combining four providers under one corporate umbrella, to be
known as Vivo Participacoes and here`s a look at how some of those ADRs
trading in the states fared today.
Tele Centro Oeste (TRO) and the rest all trading nicely higher.
Applied Industrial Tech (AIT) rising $2.44. An analyst at Morgan
Keegan upgrading that stock.
And shares in Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF) mauled for a big loss.
The independent film maker seeing sharply lower profits in 2006 because of
box office and sales disappointments.
And looking at the NASDAQ, Google (GOOG) falling almost $12 or nearly
3 percent. The stock`s had trouble climbing above $420 in recent days.
Apple computer (AAPL) ending off $0.81.
Microsoft (MSFT) down $0.16.
Intel (INTC) losing $0.53. It gives a mid-quarter update on Thursday
and the semis were all fairly week today as a sector.
Sandisk (SNDK) rising $0.81. "Barron`s reporting that SDM (ph)
Electronics is preparing to mount of patent infringement lawsuit against
Sandisk.
Cisco Systems (CSCO) losing $0.14.
Dell (DELL) a big gainer for the day or somewhat of a big gainer.
Ebay (EBAY) up just a fraction.
Adobe Systems (ADBE) gaining $0.28.
Yahoo! (YHOO) losing $0.74.
Noven Pharmaceuticals (NOVN) rising over $4. An FDA review panel
Friday approved the use of Noven`s drug skin patch for children with
attention deficit disorder, quite a reversal since on Thursday, the FDA`s
lead scientist in the case recommended the patch not be approved. The
shares were halted all day Friday.
Dynamic Materials (BOOM) climbing over $4. It signed a big five-year
contract with GE. No word on the dollar amount, but big enough that Dynamic
Materials will expand the size of its Connecticut factory.
Lanvision Systems (LANV) falling over $1. Third quarter results below
expectations.
And RSA Security (RSAS) off nearly $2. Its CFO has quit. The company
announced a restructuring of one division and an acquisition of Cyota for
$136 million. It`s a firm that develops anti-fraud software for the finance
industry.
And those are our look at 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.
12/05/05:
Market Stats
NET PERCENT
CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE
DOW CLOSE 10835.01 -42.50 - .4
HIGH 10876.95
LOW 10810.67
NASDAQ COMP. 2257.64 -15.73 -.7
HIGH 2269.48
LOW 2250.84
VOLUME 1,688.3
PREVIOUS 1,528.9
UP VOLUME 699.8
DOWN VOLUME 973.8
DOW TRANSPORTS 4086.81 -51.74 - 1.3
DOW UTILITIES 404.24 +1.21 + .3
CLOSING TICK -62
S&P 500 1262.09 -2.99 - .2
S&P 100 578.54 -1.07 - .2
MIDCAP 400 742.21 -3.13 - .4
REUTERS/CRB 325.59 +2.21 + .7
NYSE COMPOSITE 7759.24 -1.61 - .0
VALUE LINE 416.20 -1.89 - .5
RUSSELL 2000 686.57 -4.00 - .6
DJW 5000 12652.57 -40.19 - .3
U.S. TREASURIES
5-YEAR NOTE 4.50%
Nov. 15,2010 100 -8/32 4.50
10-YEAR NOTE 4.50%
Nov. 15,2015 99 13/32 -15/32 4.58
30-YEAR NOTE 5.375%
Feb. 15, 2031 108 28/32 -27/32 4.77
LEHMAN BROS.
LONG BOND INDEX 1733.48 -.41
DOW CLOSE 10835.01 -42.50 - .4
ADVANCES 1351
DECLINES 2006
NEW HIGHS 161
NEW LOWS 73
NET PERCENT
NYSE MOST ACTIVES 4PM CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE
BSX Boston Scientific 26.35 -.98 -3.6
L Liberty Media 7.77 -.03 -.4
GDT Guidant 67.98 +6.16 +10.0
PFE Pfizer 21.35 +.05 +.2
GE General Electric 35.77 +.27 +.8
WMT Wal-Mart Stores 47.14 -.83 -1.7
JNJ Johnson & Johnson 61.05 -.16 -.3
XOM Exxon Mobil 59.51 +.44 +.7
MOT Motorola 23.29 -.30 -1.3
T AT&T 25.29 +.22 +.9
NASDAQ CLOSE 2257.64 - 15.73 - .7
VOLUME 1,714.1
PREVIOUS 1,815.3
ADVANCES 1152
DECLINES 1883
NASDAQ ACTIVES
GOOG Google 405.85 -11.85 -2.8
AAPL Apple Computer 71.82 -.81 -1.1
MSFT Microsoft 27.85 -.16 -.6
INTC Intel 26.90 -.53 -1.9
SNDK SanDisk 48.56 +.81 +1.7
CSCO Cisco Systems 17.50 -.14 -.8
DELL Dell 31.26 +.44 +1.4
EBAY eBay 45.20 +.01 +.0
ADBE Adobe Systems 35.25 +.28 +.8
YHOO Yahoo! 40.47 -.74 -1.8
AMEX CLOSE 1738.34 + 11.89 + .7
INDEX SHARES
DIA DIAMONDS TRUST 108.39 -.43 -.4
QQQ NASDAQ 100 41.80 -.31 -.7
SPY S&P DEP.RECEIPTS 126.58 -.31 -.2
STOCKS IN THE NEWS
GM General Motors 22.13 +.05 +.2
MON Monsanto Co 78.07 +2.72 +3.6
STJ St Jude Medical 50.56 +2.29 +4.7
KWK Quicksilver Rscs 44.00 +3.71 +9.2
TCP Telesp Celular 4.11 -.03 -.7
TRO Tele Centro Oeste 12.00 +.91 +8.2
TBE Tele Leste 15.19 +7.39 +94.7
TSD Tele Sudeste 13.65 +4.82 +54.6
AIT Applied Industrial 34.07 +2.44 +7.7
LGF Lions Gate Entert 8.21 -1.07 -11.5
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