12/15/05: A Big Win For Big Tobacco
LINDA O'BRYON: Investors lit a fire under shares of tobacco
giant Altria, after the company scored what analysts say was a home run in
the Illinois supreme court. In a controversial case, the court ruled
Altria did not defraud consumers about the health risks of so-called light
cigarettes. As Darren Gersh reports, lawsuits against the tobacco industry
could now face much tougher scrutiny.
DARREN GERSH, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDDENT: In a case of
corporate understatement, Altria Group`s Philip Morris U.S.A. would only
say it was gratified by today`s ruling. No wonder, the Illinois state
supreme court not only decertified a $10 billion class action lawsuit, but
it also went further. The court said Federal Trade Commission regulations
allowed cigarettes to be labeled low tar and nicotine or light and so the
tobacco industry could not be sued for defrauding smokers about the health
risks of light cigarettes.
GREGG WARREN, EQUITY ANALYST, MORNINGSTAR: And the Illinois supreme
court is saying, "hey, there is no consumer fraud." if the companies aren`t
out there saying to the consumers saying, "you should smoke this because it
is healthier for you," when instead the tobacco companies were just
following the letter of the law.
GERSH: One of the plaintiff`s attorneys in the case says the Federal
Trade Commission never specifically regulated the terms light and low-tar,
but he stopped short of promising an appeal.
GEORGE ZELCS, PLAINTIFF`S ATTORNEY, KORIEN TILLERY: As you probably
appreciate, the opinion was issued a few hours ago. It`s 125-pages long,
but certainly there are issues that we are looking at very closely to
determine whether or not we have recourse in appealing to the United States
Supreme Court. That would be the appeal if there is one.
GERSH: Some analysts say this decision may make it more difficult to
sue tobacco companies in other states for defrauding smokers about the
risks of light cigarettes, but Zelcs disagrees.
ZELCS: I don`t think so and certainly not as it relates to light
cigarettes. There are numerous cases pending, and there is nothing in this
decision that to me would suggest that those cases are not going to go
forward before the various courts where they`re pending.
GERSH: Even so, the legal cloud over tobacco may now be clearing. Key
decisions are expected soon from the Florida state supreme court and the
judge overseeing the Justice Department`s tobacco industry racketeering
case. Litigation expert Mary Aronson says the big rush to sue big tobacco
is over.
MARY ARONSON, TOBACCO LITIGATION AND POLICY ANALYST: The big days of
fear from the black box of litigation that analysts always had a very
difficult time in assessing, you know, number wise are pretty much over.
GERSH: Analysts say today`s court decision could help speed up
Altria`s plans to spin off its Kraft Food division and set up an
international tobacco company sometime next year. 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) 2005 Community Television Foundation of South Florida,
Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms of use.
12/15/05: One on One With Merck CEO, Richard Clark
LINDA O`BRYON: Merck announced a new prescription today to reduce costs and
to reinvigorate the struggling drug maker. At a meeting with analysts, the
company said it will streamline sales and marketing, saving up to $1
billion over the next five years. These cuts come on top of Merck`s
recently announced restructuring plan, bringing total savings to as much as
$5 billion. New CEO Richard Clark also detailed plans to boost sales and
profits with new drugs for treating diabetes, high cholesterol and cervical
cancer. NBR co-anchor Susie Gharib talked with Clark at Merck`s
headquarters in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, asking him why investors
should feel confident that his plan will get Merck growing again.
RICHARD CLARK, CEO, MERCK: The important thing about a strategic plan
is execution and we spent a great deal of time putting the right structure
in place, having the right leadership and our capabilities in order to
execute this plan. We put the right metrics in place and we told our
shareholders today that we will keep updating them on the plan as we make
those execution plans.
SUSIE GHARIB, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT ANCHOR: So Mr. Clark, how are
you going to measure your success? At what bench marks are you going to
know that you`re succeeding?
CLARK: I think there are several. First of all is how are we doing in
research? Are we productive in research? Are we launching products that
have unmet medical needs? Are our shareholders seeing the value there and
we`re seeing EPS growth and obviously market acceptance on the stock price.
GHARIB: You announced some cost reductions, more cost savings today.
Do you think that this is going to be enough to get Merck to be growing
again?
CLARK: The first priority is to execute what we`ve already announced.
So we`ll be setting the next three to four years executing those
activities. But if you put in place a culture that has an operational
excellence, (INAUDIBLE) capability, you`re always looking for ways of
improvement.
GHARIB: You targeted today nine disease areas that Merck is going to
be focused on. Are you considering to make any acquisitions that will help
you advance your execution in reaching these goals?
CLARK: Yes. I think an important part of our strategy is that in all
nine diseased areas, if there is a targeted acquisition that can help us
from a science standpoint or it can help us from a revenue standpoint in
those areas, we will certainly take a look at it.
GHARIB: How large might these acquisitions be?
CLARK: We`re certainly not talking about large mergers or acquisitions
of that magnitude, but we`re talking about biotech companies, mid-sized
companies the may be able to help us in a research standpoint as well on a
science and marketing standpoint.
GHARIB: You talked a lot today about making Merck a leader again. So
what is Merck going to look like five years from now? What is your vision?
CLARK: Certainly when we talk about it internally and we look five
years from now, it is a very simple statement: Merck is back. We have the
scientific leadership and we`re recognized by stake holders. We`re
recognized by our stockholders, but it really is regaining that leadership
that we`ve always had in the pharmaceutical industry.
GHARIB: Let`s talk a little bit about Vioxx. You said today that the
number of lawsuits are now up to 9,200. The scorecard, one win, one loss,
one mistrial. Why are you and Merck so opposed to settling these lawsuits?
CLARK: I think the most important thing is that Merck did the right
thing, that we did put patients first, that we did communicate the
information when it became available and the way to be able to focus on
Vioxx is case by case. Each patient is different, each disease state is
different and we`re going to have the ability to do it case by case because
that`s the right way to do it.
GHARIB: How are you going to go about communicating and addressing all
of the uncertainty that has come up because of this "New England Journal of
Medicine" article? How you going to address that?
CLARK: I think in the courtrooms or in the media, we`ll be able to
communicate the facts and communicate them from Merck`s standpoint, and I
think when the facts are shown, you`ll see that Merck, as always, in our
foundation as a company, is ethics and integrity.
GHARIB: Let`s talk a little about Merck stock for investors,
especially with all these lawsuits coming up here and there. What should I
do with my Merck stock? What do you say to investors who are getting a
little impatient?
CLARK: Merck`s stock, as you know, has an excellent dividend and the
dividend is in place. It`s stable. And if you look at what we`ve presented
today about the core vaccinations that we`re getting ready to launch, new
product for diabetes, a whole new way of looking at lowering cholesterol
and increasing HDL, those are pretty powerful new products and so our plan,
as you saw today, is really to bring Merck back to its leadership role and
I think that is what will gain the confidence of the investors.
GHARIB: Mr. Clark, thank you very much. We appreciate you talking to
NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT.
CLARK: Thank you.
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.
12/15/05: Monster.com President Steve Pogorzelski On The Company's Latest Jobs Report
LINDA O`BRYON: Well, Paul, monster.com is out with its latest employment
index looking at the nation`s job market. There`s at least one surprise
such as strong demand in the manufacturing sector, despite continued
weakness in the automotive industry. Joining me to talk about the online
study is Steve Pogorzelski. He is group president at monster worldwide.
And welcome to NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Steve.
STEVE POGORZELSKI, PRESIDENT, MONSTER.COM: Thank you, glad to be
here.
O`BRYON: How do you account for that strong showing in the
manufacturing sector?
POGORZELSKI: We`ve actually seen the manufacturing sector been rising
in the past six months. So although we had a surge this time of the year,
it is not a surprise. It actually is a trend. I would like to note though
that this manufacturing trend upward growth is not related to the
automotive industry. We`re not seeing in those markets related to Detroit
or other midwestern cities.
O`BRYON: Well, any other big moves in specific job categories.
POGORZELSKI: There is a high demand for military and defense right now
as the U.S. government, U.S. Military tries to fulfill its year-end
recruiting quotas. We also saw strong growth in engineering and IT and
legal, which is good for the economy.
O`BRYON: Now let`s talk a moment about geographic areas. Your study
tracks 28 metro markets and what did you find there?
POGORZELSKI: There`s three real hot markets right now, Minneapolis,
Phoenix and Houston. Houston is showing signs of being able to actually
gain some jobs based on the recovery efforts with Katrina and Rita, so you
saw construction, utilities, extraction, installation and maintenance all
go up at very high levels in the Houston marketplace.
O`BRYON: What about Minneapolis and Phoenix?
POGORZELSKI: Well, Minneapolis`s unemployment rate is far below the
national average and it is a very broad-based occupational industry sector
in Minneapolis that kind of buffets against some of the other Midwestern
cities. Phoenix has by far been the hottest market over the past 15 months
that we`ve tracked this data as more and more businesses enter that
marketplace.
O`BRYON: Let`s talk for a moment about monster worldwide stock. It
took a dip back in May and has been tracking upwards since then. Would you
say the stock is a proxy for the economy and job growth in a sense?
POGORZELSKI: Actually it is. We`re doing very well in this economy,
but I would also note that we did very well when the economy was not as
strong. I think we`re operating very well. We`re hitting our strategic
targets and the promises we`ve made to the street, we`ve over delivered on
and will continue to do so.
O`BRYON: Are you seeing a big shift online from traditional ways of
recruiting?
POGORZELSKI: Yes, absolutely. For the past five years, there has been
a strong secular shift away from off-line recruiting to online recruiting
and as a leader in the space, our numbers are certainly reflective of that.
O`BRYON: What kind of job growth, very briefly do you think we`ll see
in 2006 and where do you think we`ll see the greatest demand?
POGORZELSKI: We`ll continue to see strength in the labor market
economy. I think we`ll see the unemployment rates continue to drop next
year particularly in the first half. I`m sure that we`ll deliver more than
2 million jobs again in 2006. And when you start to look -- go ahead.
O`BRYON: No. Please, go ahead.
POGORZELSKI: I think we`re just seeing also a few skill shortages in
the United States. We don`t have enough truck drivers, enough healthcare
workers. IT is in high demand. We don`t have enough accounting and
auditing people. That will really bode well for the consumer in this labor
market.
O`BRYON: Quite a turnaround from just a few years ago.
POGORZELSKI: Absolutely.
O`BRYON: Thank you, our guest, Steve Pogorzelski, group president at
Monster Worldwide.
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.
12/15/05: Identity Theft-
Part 2: The Anti Fraud Shield
LINDA O`BRYON: Millions of Americans have been victims of identity theft,
sometimes because they weren`t careful to guard their personal information.
But not always. ID theft is a growing problem in the corporate arena as
well. In part two of her ID theft series, Stephanie Dhue looks at efforts
to protect you from fraud.
STEPHANIE DHUE, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Data broker
Choicepoint became synonymous with identity theft after it inadvertently
sold thousands of names, addresses, Social Security numbers and credit
histories to identity thieves. Since then, the company has hired security
expert Carol Dibattiste to make sure it doesn`t happen again.
CAROL DIBATTISTE, CHIEF PRIVACY OFFICER, CHOICEPOINT: The key really
is for Choicepoint and for other companies like us and the entire industry,
not just the data industry, but anyone that maintains information on
individuals, is to constantly put measures in place to mitigate the risk
and to know what is going on out there.
DHUE: Choicepoint is far from alone in its security breach. In the
last year, there have been 125 incidents reported, involving everything
from universities to hospitals to shoe stores, affecting more than 57
million people. Critics call for new laws to better protect consumers.
States have begun to do that, including New Jersey, which has a new law
that lets people easily freeze access to their credit.
ED MIERZWINSKI, U.S. PIRG: Identity thieves take advantage of instant
credit. They don`t get your credit report, which is actually hard to get.
They get your Social Security number, apply for credit. The creditor can
easily get your credit report, then issues credit in your name to the wrong
guy. But if have you a security freeze on your credit report, bang, it no
longer works.
DHUE: Bank regulators are requiring financial institutions do more to
protect consumers information online. Beginning next year, financial firms
will be required to have more than just passwords and user names to access
accounts.
JIM MALONEY, SECURITY CHIEF, CORILLIAN: That could be something like
a token itself, or it could be doing some sort of behavior analysis to say
that, when this person comes to the site, I see this account name. I see
this password, but I also see this is their normal way of connecting to the
site and I use that as a second way to verify the person.
DHUE: Companies like Microsoft and America Online are also attacking
identity theft. The companies are rolling out new anti-spyware tools and
virus removal software. Here at AOL`s network operations center, they try
to stop cyber-thieves before they can steal. The company blocks about 1.5
billion suspicious e-mails each day. It estimates about 5 percent of them
are from thieves phishing for identities. AOL and Microsoft also work with
law enforcement and have filed civil cases against spammers and phishers.
But consumers are often the best line of defense.
TATIANA PLATT, CHIEF TRUST OFFICER, AMERICA ONLINE: There`s a lot we
can do from a technology perspective to try to prevent the scams from
reaching our customers, but we can`t do it 100 percent. It`s not
foolproof. Some scams may still get through.
DHUE: There are practical steps you can take to lower your risk of
identity theft. Monitor your credit report. You can get one free copy a
year from each of the three major credit rating agencies, Equifax, Experian
and Transunion. Shred anything with a number. Don`t leave mail in an
unlocked box. Don`t give out personal information on the phone, through
the mail, or on the Internet unless you`ve initiated the contact. Update
computer virus protection software regularly. And unplug Internet
connections when you`re not using them. That acts as a firewall. And if
your identity does get swiped, immediately report the crime to the police,
the Federal Trade Commission and the credit agencies. 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.
12/15/05: "Paul Kangas' Stocks In The News"
PAUL KANGAS: That big drop in consumer prices gave the blue chips a leg up
this morning. Adding to the Dow`s 50 point morning gain was Altria`s big
court victory, but the NASDAQ fell as much as 11 points in early trading.
That weakness in the tech laden NASDAQ market acted as a drag on the rest
of the market this afternoon, as did selling linked to tomorrow`s quarterly
expiration of futures and options known as the quadruple witching.
So the Dow Industrial Average slumped to a closing loss of 1.84 points
at 10,881.67. The NASDAQ Composite ended off nearly two points at 2260.63.
Standard & Poor`s 500 down 1.80 ending at 1270.94. In the bond market, the
10-year note fell 1/32nd to par and 9/32nds, putting the yield at 4.47
percent.
Big board volume leader for the fifth consecutive trading session
today on 25.8 million shares, Pfizer (PFE) down $0.06 after several days of
good gains.
That was followed by General Electric (GE) with a $0.23 rise.
And then we see parent of Philip Morris, Altria Group (MO) up $2.89
and that move did help the Dow Industrial Average by 21 1/2 points, traded
as high as $78.55 today on that big court victory.
Lucent Technology (LU) up $0.06.
And fifth in volume was Time Warner (TWX) down a nickel a share.
And Motorola (MOT) up a dime a share.
Then Citigroup (C) down $0.54.
Ford Motor Co (F) edged a penny higher.
Elan Corp Plc (ELN) up $1.33.
And then Copa Holdings (CPA), this is new issue. It`s a Panamanian
airline, 14 million shares offered to the public at $20, opened at $22.53,
the high of the day $24.42 and it closed very close to the high, nice debt.
AMR (AMR), parent of American Airlines, up $1.83, good percentage move
there. A Bear Stearns analyst says the company has hidden asset values
that are not being reflected in the price of AMR stock.
Bear Stearns Company (BSC) up $6 a share, big fourth quarter earnings,
$2.90, $0.27 above the Street consensus and well up from $2.61 a year ago.
Another big investment firm, Goldman Sachs Group (GS) down $1.33
despite fourth quarter earnings rising 37 percent from a year ago to $3.35,
but that was a penny below the Wall Street estimate, down went the stock a
bit.
Lennar Corp (LEN) the home builder, up $2.03. Fourth quarter earnings
out early today, $3.54, up from $2.29 last year, $0.20 better than expected
and revenues jumped up 42 percent over the previous year.
CBOT Holdings (BOT) down $4.09. Citigroup started covering
interestingly enough the stock with a "sell" recommendation and had a price
target of $86, another $4 lower.
Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment (DDE), a Delaware casino and race
track owner began a tender offer for up to 1,063,937 of its shares at a
price of $14.50 each.
BJ`S Wholesale Club (BJ), the big wholesaler, up $2.51. UBS financial
says the company may go private. It has a price target of $32 which it just
about achieved today and rates it a "buy." The stock went up nicely.
First Marblehead Corp (FMD) down $4.82. Standard & Poor`s thinks the
reason for the drop was concern the company could lose a major client,
namely JPMorgan, which plans to acquire a rival, Collegiate Funding
Services and the price $20 and that stock up $4.36 at $19.63 today.
And then came Pier 1 Imports (PIR) down $1.66. A third quarter loss of
$0.08 versus earnings of $0.22 a share last year.
NASDAQ`s most active Google (GOOG) up $3.57.
Microsoft (MSFT) $0.17 drop.
Intel (INTC) off a nickel.
Apple Computer (AAPL) up $0.17.
Abgenix (ABGX) up $7.03. After the close yesterday as we reported,
Abgenix is going to be acquired by Amgen for $22.50 a share.
Cisco Systems (CSCO) $0.07 gain.
Sandisk (SNDK) up $4.97. Citigroup upgraded Sandisk from a "hold" to a
"buy" recommendation.
Amgen (AMGN) itself up $3.66.
Yahoo! (YHOO) a $0.45 gain.
Then a major loser, KOS Pharmaceutical (KOSP) plunging $19.07. An IMS
health report shows growth for the company`s cholesterol drug Niaspan (ph)
is slowing and it`s facing more competition from Merck.
And finally Oracle Corp (ORCL) a $0.02 gain in regular trading. After
the close, the company out with second quarter earnings, $0.15, down from
$0.16 last year. In after hours trading, Oracle stock dropped about $0.30
from what you see on your screen.
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.
12/15/05:
Market Stats
NET PERCENT
CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE
DOW CLOSE 10881.67 -1.84 - .0
HIGH 10938.74
LOW 10865.42
NASDAQ COMP. 2260.63 -1.96 -.1
HIGH 2267.55
LOW 2247.32
VOLUME 1,612.5
PREVIOUS 1,639.4
UP VOLUME 647.4
DOWN VOLUME 941.9
DOW TRANSPORTS 4145.77 +29.17 + .7
DOW UTILITIES 417.89 +1.20 + .3
CLOSING TICK +918
S&P 500 1270.94 -1.80 - .1
S&P 100 580.85 -.37 - .1
MIDCAP 400 745.99 -3.62 - .5
REUTERS/CRB 328.61 -2.78 - .8
NYSE COMPOSITE 7815.71 -36.47 - .5
VALUE LINE 417.43 -2.30 - .6
RUSSELL 2000 684.74 -5.76 - .8
DJW 5000 12724.48 -31.10 - .2
U.S. TREASURIES
5-YEAR NOTE 4.50%
Nov. 15,2010 99 31/32 -1/32 4.38
10-YEAR NOTE 4.50%
Nov. 15,2015 100 9/32 -1/32 4.47
30-YEAR NOTE 5.375%
Feb. 15, 2031 110 9/32 -5/32 4.68
LEHMAN BROS.
LONG BOND INDEX 1754.32 - .77
DOW CLOSE 10881.67 -1.84 - .0
ADVANCES 1229
DECLINES 2155
NEW HIGHS 97
NEW LOWS 87
NET PERCENT
NYSE MOST ACTIVES 4PM CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE
PFE Pfizer 22.79 -.06 -.3
GE General Electric 36.00 +.23 +.6
MO Altria Group 76.62 +2.89 +3.9
LU Lucent Tech 2.81 +.06 +2.2
TWX Time Warner 17.84 -.05 -.3
MOT Motorola 22.82 +.10 +.4
C Citigroup 49.10 -.54 -1.1
F Ford Motor Co 8.17 +.01 +.1
ELN Elan Corp Plc 14.23 +1.33 +10.3
CPA Copa Holdings 24.25 +4.25 +21.3
NASDAQ CLOSE 2260.63 - 1.96 - .1
VOLUME 1,819.8
PREVIOUS 1,771.3
ADVANCES 1178
DECLINES 1843
NASDAQ ACTIVES
GOOG Google 422.53 +3.57 +.9
MSFT Microsoft 26.92 -.17 -.6
INTC Intel 26.58 -.05 -.2
AAPL Apple Computer 72.18 +.17 +.2
ABGX Abgenix 21.68 +7.03 +48.0
CSCO Cisco Systems 17.76 +.07 +.4
SNDK SanDisk 56.20 +4.97 +9.7
AMGN Amgen 80.44 +3.66 +4.8
YHOO Yahoo! 41.75 +.45 +1.1
KOSP Kos Pharmaceutical 50.86 -19.07 -27.3
AMEX CLOSE 1763.25 - 3.74 - .2
INDEX SHARES
DIA DIAMONDS TRUST 108.79 -.21 -.2
QQQ NASDAQ 100 41.97 +.07 +.2
SPY S&P DEP.RECEIPTS 127.42 -.39 -.3
STOCKS IN THE NEWS
AMR AMR Corp 21.44 +1.83 +9.3
BSC Bear Stearns Cos 116.50 +6.00 +5.4
GS Goldman Sachs Grp 128.30 -1.33 -1.0
LEN Lennar "A" 62.61 +2.03 +3.4
BOT CBOT Holdings 90.81 -4.09 -4.3
DDE Dover Downs Gaming 14.03 +1.83 +15.0
BJ BJ's Wholesale 31.50 +2.51 +8.7
FMD First Marblehead 28.75 -4.70 -14.1
PIR Pier 1 Imports 9.80 -1.66 -14.5
ORCL Oracle 12.83 +.02 +.2
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