02/14/06:
The Dow Returns To 11K
SUSIE GHARIB: A big drop in oil prices and a big jump in
consumer spending sparked a big rally on Wall Street today.
The Dow surged 136 points, closing back above the psychologically
important 11,000 mark and the NASDAQ rose 22. Investors were
encouraged that January retail sales increased more than twice
as much as forecast, a sign consumers are still opening their
wallets and supporting the economy. Scott Gurvey has details.
SCOTT GURVEY, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Economists
were predicting an increase in retail sales of just under
1 percent in January, so the reported gain of 2.3 percent
was a shock. Auto sales were unexpectedly strong, increasing
by 2.9 percent. But this often volatile component of the sales
report was not the entire story. Excluding autos, retail sales
still gained 2.2 percent, the biggest increase since December
of 1999, with consumers spending on everything from furniture
to electronics, building materials to clothing. Economists
say unusually warm weather in much of the country encouraged
sales in January and that sales in February should be lower.
Still, most see this report as a sign the economy is very
strong.
KATHLEEN STEPHANSEN, ECONOMIST, CREDIT SUISSE: For all the
anxiety as to whether the consumer is going to slow down this
year, this tells you that from the lackluster performance
in the fourth quarter, now we`re seeing a rebound. We knew
that there was going to be a rebound from the car sales data,
but even excluding that you have a very solid trend.
GURVEY: The new Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke, makes his first
public comments on the state of the economy when he testifies
on Capitol Hill tomorrow. Fed watchers say the overall tone
of recent economic reports leads them to believe Bernanke
will signal still higher interest rates in the months ahead.
DAVID WYSS, CHIEF ECONOMIST, STANDARD & POOR`S: His outlook
on the real economy is going to be extremely strong. This
number won`t influence his estimate of inflation, but the
big increase in the average hourly earnings that came out
two weeks ago will. I think that combined with the weak productivity
growth we saw in the fourth quarter, although I think that
will bounce back in the first, is enough to give him more
concern about inflation and increases the probability of a
couple of more rate hikes.
GURVEY: Good news on retail sales may mean good news for
holders of retail stocks. In spite of a sales warning yesterday
from Target, most analysts forecast improved earnings when
retail store companies report over the next two weeks. 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.
02/14/06:
The Great Firewall of China
SUSIE GHARIB: These days. U.S. media companies are coming
under fire for inking Internet deals with China, deals that
tolerate Chinese censorship and human rights abuses. There
are hearings scheduled on Capitol Hill tomorrow for lawmakers
to look at possibly changing the way American companies can
do business there. Stephanie Dhue previews what`s at stake.
STEPHANIE DHUE, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Type
in "Tiananmen Square" on Google in China, and there`s
no mention of the 1989 protests and massacre. It`s part of
a deal Google agreed to in order to set up servers in China.
Congressman Chris Smith says that agreement is wrong.
REP. CHRISTOPHER SMITH (R) NEW JERSEY: That`s being complicit
in a gross disinformation campaign, so it`s not like they
are opening up. They are further closing. And I think out
of a sense of obligation and ethical duty, they should have
said those terms and conditions, we will not follow, we`re
out of here.
DHUE: He`s also concerned about reports that Yahoo! complied
with a Chinese government request for information about a
dissident who was then sentenced to 10 years in prison.
SMITH: If the Nazi`s half a century ago were knocking on
doors and saying, "where`s Ann Frank? We want to find
Ann Frank." And people were staying, "she`s upstairs,
why don`t you just go up and arrest her?" That`s exactly
what we`re doing in a very sophisticated way, we being these
U.S. corporations. DHUE: So Congressman Smith is drafting
legislation that would restrict U.S. companies from placing
servers in China, restrict what filtering technology can be
sold to China, and make U.S. firms liable in U.S. courts for
the consequences of their actions there. Smith has called
Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft and Cisco to testify tomorrow before
his subcommittee that overseas human rights. But none of the
companies would agree to be interviewed on NIGHTLY BUSINESS
REPORT today. In a statement Yahoo! says all U.S. and international
firms operating in China face the same dilemma of complying
with laws that lack transparency and that can have disturbing
consequences inconsistent with our own beliefs. Business groups
say U.S. companies are a positive influence in China and Smith`s
legislation is the wrong approach.
MYRON BRILLIANT, U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: The Internet service
providers are forces for change, they are providing information
and today, we are in a better situation then we were 10 years
ago and tomorrow we`ll be in a better situation than today.
DHUE: Ethics expert Lori Tansey Martens says Internet companies
need to be specific about how they will handle human rights
issues.
LORI TANSEY MARTENS: These are not situations that companies
could not have anticipated. They should have realized things
were happening and developed careful thoughtful analysis how
they were going to respond.
DHUE: Experts say since Internet companies have not banded
together to come up with standard policies for doing business
in China, they may be stuck with having lawmakers do it for
them. Stephanie Dhue, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Washington.
Nightly
Business Report transcripts are available on-line post broadcast.
The program is transcribed by Voxant, Inc. 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) 2006 Community Television Foundation
of South Florida, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms of use.
02/14/06: The Reel Deal-The
Business of Bass Fishing
SUSIE GHARIB:It`s one of the most popular amateur sports
in the country with more than 40 million participants. It`s
a fast-growing professional sport, too. And we`re not talking
golf or tennis, but bass fishing - that`s right, bass fishing.
Tonight, as we begin our special series called "The Reel
Deal," Jeff Yastine looks at how a long-time leisure
sport is morphing into a spectator sport attracting big crowds
and big money.
JEFF YASTINE, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: It`s
part NASCAR, part Madison Avenue and for these professional
anglers, a full-time addiction. Welcome to the world of professional
bass fishing, unpredictable and hard to catch. Going after
these freshwater rod benders is a hugely popular sport for
millions of Americans. Those enthusiasts spend, by some estimates,
more than $30 billion a year in gear, boats, fishing licenses
and other costs to prowl the country`s interior lakes, ponds
and rivers. Those sportsmen and women are a big reason behind
the growth of professional circuits like this one. Newcomers
may ask what`s the sport in bass fishing? It`s all about luck.
DAVE LEFEBRE, PRO ANGLER: There`s one. It`s a good one, too.
It`s a big one. YASTINE: But don`t try saying that to a full-time
professional bass angler like Dave Lefebvre, who has won more
than $400,000 over the past three years.
LEFEBRE: Obviously, there`s a little luck involved, especially
in this particular tournament, because we`re all locked into
a specific area. Guys are going to get a big bite every once
in a while. But if you look over the years and you just keep
an eye on the top 10 and the high-ranking finishers in every
tournament you`re going to see that it`s not luck. There a
lot of skill involved.
YASTINE: Scott Martin has racked up more than $600,000 in
his pro career.
SCOTT MARTIN: It`s about the challenge of figuring out how
to catch these fish, because like I said, it`s a science project
every day. They`re living creatures. They have a mind, and
it`s a pretty tough one to crack sometimes.
YASTINE: Financier Irwin Jacobs gave pro bass fishing a big
boost in 1996 when he bought a tournament organizing company,
renamed it FLW Outdoors and brought in Wal-Mart as the chief
sponsor. At the time, he was looking for a way to help his
company, Genmar Holdings, sell more boats, but he had tapped
into something bigger.
IRWIN JACOBS, CHAIRMAN, FLW OUTDOORS: We`ve touched mainstream
America. This isn`t just those elitists, you know, that oh,
my God, they get $8 million to play football or whatever.
This is where everybody has a chance. This isn`t like the
lottery. I mean we have 93,000 fishing spots in the United
States. That`s a lot of room for a lot of people.
YASTINE: For spectators, the drama builds as they gather
at what`s called the weigh-in, at the end of each day of these
four-day-long tournaments. Back on the lake, the pros dash
in at 70 miles per hour after a full day of fishing, trying
to make the deadline back at the dock. From there, they put
their day`s catch -- limited to a maximum of five fish, all
still alive -- in bags to be weighed. A few have trophy fish,
sometimes called lunkers. Others, after a day on the water,
have only clunkers. Either way, it`s a game of ounces, with
a big payoff.
With paydays like that, professional bass angling is coming
of age, setting the hook for more popularity y to come and
perhaps even persuading some to make a career change. Then
again, maybe not. On Lake Okeechobee, Jeff Yastine, NIGHTLY
BUSINESS REPORT.
Nightly
Business Report transcripts are available on-line post broadcast.
The program is transcribed by Voxant, Inc. 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) 2006 Community Television Foundation
of South Florida, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms of use.
02/14/06: Commentary-Far From
All Good
SUSIE GHARIB: Tonight`s commentator says he sees some good
signs about the economy and some bad signs as well. Here`s
Charles Schultze, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
CHARLES SCHULTZE, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: GDP is rising strongly
this quarter. Initial claims for unemployment insurance have
recently fallen to levels not seen since the boom of the late
1990s. And auto sales, after dipping sharply in the fourth
quarter, are now rising again, while other consumer spending
is growing nicely. Defense spending also fell late last year,
but should quickly rebound, since the president is proposing
a large increase in military funds for the war in Iraq. Business
investment, while rising somewhat slower than it did earlier
last year, continues to expand. All in all, GDP growth should
improve sharply this quarter to something like 4 percent or
even better. And if we avoid any large rise in interest rates,
growth could be sustained thereafter at a lower, but still
healthy pace. For some time now, low interest rates fostered
by a large inflow of foreign saving into American securities,
have supported economic growth through increases in housing
construction and consumption. A continuation of America`s
huge trade deficit, however, could cause foreign investors
to start pulling in their horns. With the flow of foreign
saving into the U.S. shrinking, interest rates would then
rise, depressing housing and slowing consumption growth. But
this is a risk, not a certainty since no one can confidently
predict whether, when and by how much foreign savings into
the United States will shrink. I`m Charles Schultze.
Nightly
Business Report transcripts are available on-line post broadcast.
The program is transcribed by Voxant, Inc. 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) 2006 Community Television Foundation
of South Florida, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms of use.
02/14/06: Last
Word-Olympic Valentine's Day
SUSIE GHARIB: And finally tonight, just because you`re an
Olympic athlete competing at the winter games in Italy, doesn`t
mean you can get away with ignoring Valentine`s Day. In fact,
business was brisk today at the flower shop at the Olympic
village. The last minute burst of activity was no surprise
to the people who work in the shop. But some buyers were surprised
by the prices they had to pay for procrastinating. And one
of those, American athlete Joey Cheek, who won the gold medal
last night in the 500 meter speed skating. He sped into the
shop, said he needed flowers ASAP and then sped out with them.
And Paul, someone got a very nice Valentine`s Day gift from
him. He spent $140 bucks on those blooms.
PAUL KANGAS: The florists are flourishing, no question.
Nightly
Business Report transcripts are available on-line post broadcast.
The program is transcribed by Voxant, Inc. 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) 2006 Community Television Foundation
of South Florida, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms of use.
02/14/06: Paul Kangas' Stocks
In The News
PAUL KANGAS: That dip in oil prices and those better than
expected January retail sales triggered a strong rally on
Wall Street. At noon, the Dow had already surged 122 points
and the NASDAQ Composite was up 17. That pushed the Dow above
11,000 level, inspiring bullish confidence and scaring the
bears into heavy short covering. That was a combination that
kept the rally alive this afternoon. So the Dow Industrial
Average closed up 136 points at 11,028.39. The NASDAQ Composite
up 22 1/3 points, ending at 2262.17. Standard & Poor`s
500 was up 12 2/3 points to 1275.53. Over in the bond market,
the 10-year note lost 8/32 to 99 3/32. That put the yield
at 4.61 percent.
Now, let`s take a look at our stocks in the news tonight.
Familiar name at the top of the active board and that`s Pfizer
(PFE),
20.2 million shares traded today, stock down $0.08.
Then General Electric (GE) up $0.21.
Lucent Technology (LU) $0.06 gain there.
Time Warner (TWX) dropped a dime.
Then a big loser, Transocean Inc (RIG) off $6.49. The company
did have fourth quarter earnings of $0.45 versus a loss of
$0.23 a share last year. But that $0.03 below the Wall Street
earnings estimate and the company sees flat first quarter
and second quarter results compared to the fourth quarter
level, so not a good outlook there.
AT&T (T) moved up $0.64.
Followed by Motorola (MOT) with a $0.58 gain.
ExxonMobil (XOM) in the weak oil group down a nickel.
Bank of America (BAC) up $0.46.
And then Cendant (CD) losing $1.12. The company had a fourth
quarter loss of $0.04 a share versus earnings of $0.23 last
year. Cendant cited the slowdown on the residential real estate
market and has a very cautious outlook. So the stock very
weak today.
3M Company (MMM), a Dow stock, up $0.79. The company`s boosting
its quarterly dividend 9 1/2 percent. It`ll go from $0.42
to $0.46 a share quarterly and the company also plans to buy
back up to $2 billion of its stock.
Now let`s have the four best point gainers in the Dow in alphabetical
order, Alcoa (AA), Altria Group (MO), Caterpillar (CAT) and
Home Depot (HD) all better than $1 gainers today.
Deere & Company (DE) up $.87. First quarter earnings $0.99,
$0.10 more than last year and $0.16 better than the Wall Street
consensus.
The airlines as you might imagine strong on that sharp drop
in oil prices. Continental Airlines (CAL) rising $1.54, the
whole group very firm indeed.
Then we see Marsh & McLennan (MMC), the reinsurance company,
down $1.51. Fourth quarter earnings excluding one time items
$0.28 a share, $0.03 below the Street consensus. Revenues
actually dropped by 2 percent over last year.
Then Genesee & Wyoming (GWR), this is a regional short
line railroad with operations in the United States, Canada,
Australia and Mexico, had good earnings, fourth quarter $0.39,
up from $0.26 a year ago and revenues up a very respectable
29 percent.
Jarden Corporation (JAH) up $3.22. This company makes food
sealing products for the home and things like that. Fourth
quarter earnings of $0.04 versus a loss of $0.08 a share last
year. Better than expected cash flow, up $250 million in the
period.
Then Mueller Industries (MLI), which makes copper tubes and
fittings, fourth quarter earnings $0.97 up from $0.42 a year
ago. Sales jumped 47 percent.
On the downside, Suntech Power Holdings (STP), this is the
Chinese solar panel manufacturer, fourth quarter earnings
$0.09, down from $0.12 a year ago. That company just went
public incidental last December at $15 a share and way up
here, a little room for profit taking.
Holly Corp. (HOC), an oil refiner, down $4.50. Fourth quarter
earnings $1.31, but that was $0.07 below the Street estimate
and today CS First Boston downgraded it from "neutral"
to "under perform."
NASDAQ`s most active, Google (GOOG) not participating in the
rally, down $2.38.
But Apple Computer did (AAPL) with a gain of $2.94. Apple
will begin shipping its new line of portable computers this
week. These are the ones that carry the new Intel chip.
Microsoft (MSFT) $0.26 gain.
Intel (INTC) itself up $0.24.
Broadcom (BCOM) fell $1.78. That was fifth in volume.
Cisco Systems (CSCO) a $0.15 gain.
Amgen (AMGN) $0.79 rise there.
And Dell (DELL) edged up $0.43 a share.
Yahoo! a $0.68 gain.
Tenth in dollar volume on NASDAQ was Qualcomm (QCOM) with
a nice move up of $1.65.
Then we see Kendle International (KNDL) up $4.74. This company`s
involved in clinical research. Fourth quarter earnings came
in at $0.31 a share, $0.05 above the Street estimate. The
company sees 2006 earnings around $1.40 to $1.50 a share and
that`s well above the Wall Street estimate of $124, so good
strength in that stock.
On the downside, Rimage Corporation (RIMG) tumbling $5.91.
This company is a CD and DVD publishing company, most technical
information and the company cut its fourth quarter earnings
guidance from the range of $0.27 to $0.32 a share all the
way down to $0.22 a share, hence the weakness in the stock.
And those are the stocks in the news tonight
Nightly Business Report
transcripts are available on-line post broadcast. The program
is transcribed by Voxant, Inc. 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) 2006 Community Television Foundation of South
Florida, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Terms of use.
02/14/06:
Market Stats
NET PERCENT
CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE
DOW CLOSE 11028.39 +136.07 + 1.3
HIGH 11047.68
LOW 10890.72
NASDAQ COMP. 2262.17 +22.36 +1.0
HIGH 2266.82
LOW 2237.47
VOLUME 1,814.9
PREVIOUS 1,367.0
UP VOLUME 1,301.3
DOWN VOLUME 479.0
DOW TRANSPORTS 4407.78 +109.45 + 2.6
DOW UTILITIES 403.19 -.78 - .2
CLOSING TICK +842
S&P 500 1275.53 +12.67 + 1.0
S&P 100 580.26 +5.40 + .9
MIDCAP 400 765.51 +5.99 + .8
REUTERS/CRB 325.05 -2.52 - .8
NYSE COMPOSITE 8021.57 +73.77 + .9
VALUE LINE 431.41 +4.45 + 1.0
RUSSELL 2000 719.70 +9.17 + 1.3
DJW 5000 12836.79 +121.90 + 1.0
U.S. TREASURIES
5-YEAR NOTE 4.25%
Jan. 15,2011 98 16/32 -3/32 4.60
10-YEAR NOTE 4.50%
Nov. 15,2015 99 3/32 -8/32 4.61
30-YEAR NOTE 5.375%
Feb. 15, 2031 98 17/32 -17/32 4.59
LEHMAN BROS.
LONG BOND INDEX 1742.04 -3.52
DOW CLOSE 11028.39 +136.07 + 1.3
ADVANCES 2266
DECLINES 1071
NEW HIGHS 123
NEW LOWS 40
NET PERCENT
NYSE MOST ACTIVES 4PM CLOSE CHANGE CHANGE
PFE Pfizer 25.50 -.08 -.3
GE General Electric 33.46 +.21 +.6
LU Lucent Tech 2.83 +.06 +2.2
TWX Time Warner 18.17 -.10 -.6
RIG Transocean 72.10 -6.49 -8.3
T AT&T 28.29 +.64 +2.3
MOT Motorola 22.22 +.58 +2.7
XOM Exxon Mobil 59.55 -.05 -.1
BAC Bank Of America 44.16 +.46 +1.1
CD Cendant 15.70 -1.12 -6.7
NASDAQ CLOSE 2262.17 + 22.36 + 1.0
VOLUME 1,884.9
PREVIOUS 1,705.4
ADVANCES 1990
DECLINES 1040
NASDAQ ACTIVES
GOOG Google 343.32 -2.38 -.7
AAPL Apple Computer 67.65 +2.94 +4.5
MSFT Microsoft 26.65 +.26 +1.0
INTC Intel 21.37 +.24 +1.1
BRCM Broadcom 66.79 -1.78 -2.6
CSCO Cisco Systems 19.70 +.15 +.8
AMGN Amgen 71.93 +.79 +1.1
DELL Dell 32.00 +.43 +1.4
YHOO Yahoo! 32.72 +.68 +2.1
QCOM Qualcomm 47.60 +1.65 +3.6
AMEX CLOSE 1793.73 + 3.87 + .2
INDEX SHARES
DIA DIAMONDS TRUST 110.40 +1.35 +1.2
QQQ NASDAQ 100 40.90 +.41 +1.0
SPY S&P DEP.RECEIPTS 127.75 +1.34 +1.1
STOCKS IN THE NEWS
MMM 3M Company 73.70 +.79 +1.1
AA Alcoa 31.37 +1.13 +3.7
MO Altria Group 72.59 +1.34 +1.9
CAT Caterpillar 70.22 +1.60 +2.3
HD Home Depot 41.13 +1.43 +3.6
DE Deere & Co 74.67 +.87 +1.2
CAL Continental Air 23.19 +1.54 +7.1
MMC Marsh & McLennan 29.71 -1.51 -4.8
GWR Genesee & Wyoming 43.16 +4.42 +11.4
JAH Jarden Corp 27.99 +3.22 +13.0
MLI Mueller Inds 29.90 +2.60 +9.5
STP Suntech Power 34.40 -4.00 -10.4
HOC Holly 56.75 -4.50 -7.4
KNDL Kendle Intl 29.14 +4.74 +19.4
RIMG Rimage Corp 22.40 -5.91 -20.8
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