Nightly Business Report (PBS) - 2006-07-24

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:03] Investors kick start the week with a

[0:05] strong rally. Stocks head higher on

[0:07] better than expected earnings news and

[0:09] news of the biggest buyout deal ever.

[0:11] The Dow climbs 182 points. NASDAQ closed

[0:14] it up 41. We'll talk with a market

[0:16] strategist about the mood on Wall Street

[0:18] these days. In a merger mood, advanced

[0:21] micro devices. The chip maker is

[0:22] spending almost 5.5 billion dollars to

[0:25] expand its product line and gain some

[0:27] market share. The idea is to get a more

[0:29] competitive edge against rival Intel.

[0:32] >> At first glance, it's a pretty picture

[0:34] for Netflix. The online DVD rental

[0:36] service says second quarter profits

[0:38] nearly tripled. But after a second look,

[0:40] investors dump the stock. But we'll tell

[0:42] you why.

[0:43] >> Then billions of dollars flow into the

[0:45] Philippines every year. But this isn't

[0:47] money coming from foreign investors.

[0:49] This is money heading back home, quite

[0:51] literally.

[0:52] >> I'm Paul Kangas.

[0:54] >> And I'm Susie Gar. This is Nightly

[0:55] Business Report for Monday, July 24th.

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[1:06] >> Byebye. Thanks.

[1:07] >> Bye, Gar.

[1:10] >> Wow.

[1:18] >> Leaving one job for another.

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[2:04] Good evening everyone. A powerful rally

[2:06] on Wall Street today fueled by several

[2:09] high-profile acquisitions and

[2:11] encouraging earnings news. The Dow

[2:13] surged 182 points to close back above

[2:15] the 11,000 level and the Nasdaq climbed

[2:18] 41. The biggest deal of the day,

[2:20] hospital chain HCA is being bought by an

[2:23] investor group. The $ 33 billion deal

[2:26] ranks as the biggest leverage buyout

[2:28] ever. HCA owns and operates 176

[2:30] hospitals and 92 surgery centers in 21

[2:34] states and Europe, including this one in

[2:36] Aventura, Florida. But the fundamentals

[2:39] of the industry have been deteriorating

[2:40] due in large part to unpaid medical

[2:43] bills. The buyers include big names in

[2:45] private equity including Bane Capital,

[2:47] Colbert, Travis Roberts, and Meil Lynch.

[2:50] Analysts say even though the industry is

[2:52] struggling right now, there's still

[2:53] potential for growth.

[2:55] >> We have a neutral rating on the industry

[2:57] and the stock as well. Um, but you know,

[3:00] from our perspective, we think the

[3:01] buyers probably are looking at the aging

[3:04] of the population within the United

[3:05] States and think that's going to be a

[3:06] big driver of demand in the future.

[3:09] >> Under the terms of the deal, HCA

[3:11] shareholders will get $51 in cash for

[3:14] each company share. The stock got closer

[3:16] to that mark in today's trading, gaining

[3:18] $161 or 3% to $4948.

[3:22] The other big factor in today's big

[3:24] rally came from the big pharmaceutical

[3:26] stocks. Industry Bellweather's Merc and

[3:28] Shearing Plow both turned in strong

[3:30] second quarter earnings reports today

[3:32] thanks to sizzling sales of cholesterol

[3:34] fighting drugs. Suzanne Pratt takes a

[3:37] look at the numbers and the outlook for

[3:38] the drug giants.

[3:41] >> After a rough stretch, business is

[3:43] looking up at Merc. Excluding

[3:45] restructuring charges, the New

[3:47] Jerseybased Dow component earned 73

[3:50] cents a share in the second quarter

[3:52] compared to 62 cents a year ago. The

[3:54] number handily beat analyst estimates.

[3:57] Merc, which has been battling back after

[3:59] it recalled Vio in 2004 and is dealing

[4:03] with patent expirations, also raised its

[4:06] fullear 2006 earnings guidance. Its new

[4:09] forecast is 8 cents higher than Wall

[4:12] Street estimates. The company attributed

[4:14] the solid quarterly profits to increased

[4:16] sales of the asthma drug Singular and to

[4:19] revenue from a variety of alliances. In

[4:22] particular, sales surged for cholesterol

[4:24] fighters Zurin and Zetia, which mercs

[4:28] under a joint venture with Shearing

[4:30] Plow.

[4:31] >> Revenues were up 6% uh despite a 1%

[4:34] negative foreign exchange hit. So, we

[4:37] thought there was a pretty good quarter

[4:38] uh overall in terms of earnings.

[4:40] Shearing Plow also had a pretty good

[4:43] quarter. Excluding special charges,

[4:45] Shearing earned profits of 25 cents a

[4:47] share in the second quarter compared to

[4:50] 13 cents a year ago. Analysts were

[4:52] looking for 17 cents a share. Lehman

[4:55] analyst Tony Butler, who personally owns

[4:57] Shearing stock and whose firm regularly

[4:59] trades shearing shares, says the drug

[5:02] maker is mostly benefiting from the

[5:04] growth of a chronic health problem.

[5:06] cholesterol market is growing between 10

[5:10] and 13% in the United States and it

[5:13] continues to grow quarter after quarter.

[5:16] Shares of both Merc and Shearing surged

[5:18] on news of their surprisingly strong

[5:20] second quarter profit growth. Some

[5:22] analysts say big pharma stocks may

[5:25] regain their status as a safe haven

[5:27] investment as long as companies continue

[5:29] to deliver results even as patents on

[5:31] their hot selling drugs expire. If we

[5:34] are able to observe very good gross

[5:37] profit numbers in Q3 and Q4, that's when

[5:40] the story um I think really unfolds for

[5:42] the safe haven of pharmaceutical

[5:44] companies.

[5:45] >> Later this week, investors can look for

[5:47] earnings from other big pharmaceutical

[5:49] names. On Wednesday, Glaco Smith Klein

[5:52] is scheduled to report and on Thursday,

[5:54] Bristol Meyers Squib is on the calendar.

[5:57] Suzanne Pratt, Nightly Business Report,

[5:59] New York. Those solid earnings from Merc

[6:02] and Cheering Plow gave Wall Street a

[6:04] healthy boost this morning. The HCA

[6:06] buyout was another shot in the arm for

[6:08] the bulls as the Dow rose steadily to a

[6:11] 150 point gain by noon time when the

[6:13] Nasdaq soared 36 points. The market

[6:16] rallied right on to the final bell on

[6:18] good results from American Express and

[6:20] optimism Texas Instruments would report

[6:22] strong earnings after the close. So the

[6:24] Dow industrial average ended up 182.67

[6:27] points at 11,51.05.

[6:29] 05. The NASDAQ composite jumped 41.45 to

[6:33] 261.84.

[6:35] Standard and Board's 500 index rose

[6:37] 20.62 ending at 1260.91.

[6:41] Over in the bond market, the 10-year

[6:42] note held steady at par and 1932s

[6:45] putting the yield at 5.05%.

[6:58] Our

[7:05] guest tonight is bullish on stocks but

[7:06] still says the markets are in a quote

[7:08] decision box. Joining us now to explain,

[7:11] Rod Smith, chief investment strategist

[7:12] at Wakovia Securities. Hi Rod.

[7:16] >> Good evening.

[7:17] >> Let's begin by you explaining what do

[7:19] you mean by this decision box?

[7:23] Well, I think from time to time um

[7:26] markets are unsure about the future

[7:28] direction and they usually tell you that

[7:30] by trading within a range and the longer

[7:33] they trade in that range, the more

[7:34] significant both the upper end and the

[7:37] lower end become. So, uh we've seen this

[7:39] now for a couple of months. On the S&P,

[7:42] the upper end is 1290. For the Dow, it's

[7:44] about 11,300. On the low side, about

[7:47] 1,200 for the S&P and the Dow about

[7:50] 10,700. And you know, clearly uh the

[7:53] markets are trying to decide between a

[7:55] nice soft landing of the kind described

[7:57] by Ben Bernani last week or something

[7:59] worse, a landing where that's a little

[8:01] bit harder and has consequences for the

[8:03] economy and earnings.

[8:05] >> Well, we had a really good rally today

[8:07] on the markets. Are you saying that u

[8:09] it's unlikely to see a follow through on

[8:12] this rally?

[8:14] I think today's rally was very important

[8:17] for the bulls which as you said uh I am

[8:19] one because the first bounce that you

[8:23] get like we got last Wednesday you often

[8:25] get those moves but then what we often

[8:28] look for is is there a follow-through

[8:30] day do you within the next three or four

[8:32] days get another move in the same

[8:34] direction on good volume and we got that

[8:36] today I I don't think uh the bulls can

[8:39] claim victory till we break outside the

[8:41] up end of the decision talks. But I do

[8:44] think today was was a very positive day

[8:46] if if you're hoping that that's going to

[8:48] happen, and we are.

[8:50] >> What's on the worry list? Is it

[8:52] earnings? Although there were some good

[8:53] ones today, but is it earnings? Uh is it

[8:55] interest rates? Is it what's going on in

[8:57] the Middle East with all the

[8:58] hostilities, high oil prices? What is

[9:01] it?

[9:03] >> I think it's all of the above. But uh if

[9:05] if you step back from this a little bit,

[9:08] what really would be bad news for the

[9:11] stock market is if it could sense that

[9:14] sometime in the next year or 18 months

[9:17] uh the economy was going to go back into

[9:20] maybe not a recession but a significant

[9:22] slowdown or a recession. And all of

[9:24] these things play into that. High oil

[9:26] prices plays into that because it

[9:27] affects consumer. Geopolitics plays into

[9:30] that because it might affect business

[9:32] and consumer confidence. They all play

[9:34] into that and that's what the market's

[9:36] trying to decide. Our judgment is that

[9:38] you won't but that's clearly the fear.

[9:40] Inflation and interest rates also play

[9:42] into that decision.

[9:44] >> Let's talk a little bit about your

[9:45] investment strategy in this environment.

[9:47] You said in your latest report that you

[9:49] are investing in large cap highquality

[9:52] less cyclical stocks. Give us your

[9:55] analysis on why you're going that route.

[9:58] Yes, I think uh Susie what I would say

[10:00] is if you look at the outlook and you

[10:03] look at what the Fed is trying to

[10:04] achieve for the economy, it's going to

[10:07] be some kind of a landing. You know,

[10:09] either a soft landing, which is what

[10:11] everybody would like to see where growth

[10:13] cools off a little bit, allows inflation

[10:15] to cool off a little bit, or you know,

[10:18] they're going to overdo it and you'll

[10:20] get some kind of a harder landing. But

[10:22] either way, it's going to be some kind

[10:23] of a landing. In that environment, what

[10:26] we're looking at is a cyclical slowing

[10:28] of the economy. When you go into a

[10:30] cyclical slowing, you want to be less

[10:32] exposed to the kind of cyclical stocks

[10:35] whose earnings are currently have been

[10:36] doing very, very well, but who are

[10:38] vulnerable to a slowdown. And so, higher

[10:40] quality, larger cap, less cyclical is

[10:43] where you want to be. And you want to be

[10:45] getting out of or lightening up on small

[10:48] cap, lower quality, more cyclical names.

[10:50] >> All right. Well, we appreciate your

[10:52] thoughts. Thank you so much for coming

[10:53] on the program tonight.

[10:55] >> Oh, sure. My pleasure. Susie,

[10:57] >> we've been speaking with Rod Smith,

[10:58] chief investment strategist, Wakovia

[11:00] Securities.

[11:01] >> The World Trade Organization's latest

[11:03] global trade talks fell apart today

[11:06] after nearly 5 years of haggling. The

[11:08] suspension of what was called the DOHA

[11:10] round came after 15 hours of talks among

[11:13] the major powers yesterday and yielded

[11:16] no progress on reforming world farm

[11:18] trade. That was the key issue of this

[11:20] round of talks. The European Union and

[11:22] India are blaming the United States for

[11:24] the breakdown. The US says neither the

[11:26] EU nor India were willing to open their

[11:28] markets enough to make the talks

[11:30] worthwhile. Despite the collapse of the

[11:32] negotiations, all the major powers say

[11:34] they are still committed to eventually

[11:36] completing them. But experts say it

[11:38] could be months or years before that

[11:41] happens.

[11:42] >> Americans are feeling more pain at the

[11:44] pump. The average retail price of a

[11:46] gallon of gasoline is now at its second

[11:48] highest level ever. The government says

[11:51] regular unled gasoline is now selling

[11:53] for $3 a gallon. It's closing in on the

[11:55] all-time record of $3.7.

[11:58] Hit last September after Hurricane

[11:59] Katrina wre havoc with the nation's fuel

[12:02] supplies. And fuel prices may be heading

[12:04] higher still. In New York trading today,

[12:06] light sweet crude oil for September

[12:08] delivery closed up 62 to $755 a barrel.

[12:40] The skies are a little friendlier these

[12:42] days for United Airlines. The carrier

[12:43] said today it expects to post a profit

[12:45] in the second quarter, the first time

[12:47] that quarter has been in the black in

[12:49] the last 5 years. United says increasing

[12:51] revenues and decreasing costs will put

[12:54] it solidly in the black. It's now

[12:56] looking for earnings around 93 cents a

[12:58] share, including a one-time charge. That

[13:00] number is way above analyst estimates of

[13:03] 44 cents a share excluding the charge.

[13:05] United says it's expecting operating

[13:07] revenues of just over five billion

[13:09] dollars for the quarter, more than the

[13:11] total revenue for all of last year. And

[13:13] Paul, you'll you'll remember that United

[13:15] emerged from bankruptcy back in February

[13:17] after three years of restructuring.

[13:19] >> Well, it's stock prices you might

[13:21] expect, Susie took flight on the news,

[13:23] gaining$1.25 to close at $28.20.

[13:26] Now, let's look at the rest of our

[13:28] stocks in the news tonight.

[13:33] Big board volume leader on 25 million

[13:35] shares was Fizer, another big

[13:37] pharmaceutical, up 96 cents, bolstered

[13:39] obviously by the good earnings from Merc

[13:41] and Shearing Plow. Advanced Micro

[13:43] Devices fell 87 cents on news it's going

[13:45] to acquire ATI Techn Technologies for

[13:49] $5.4 billion in cash and stock. It's

[13:52] worth a little over $20 a share to ATI

[13:54] and we'll see it in the active list on

[13:56] NASDAQ in just a moment. Motorola was uh

[13:58] up 72 cents. company plans to buy back

[14:01] up to $4.5 billion dollars in its stock

[14:03] over the next three years. Hallebertton

[14:05] gained a$16 even though Meil Lynch today

[14:07] downgraded it from buy to neutral. Exxon

[14:09] Mobile rising a $143 that was fifth in

[14:12] big board volume. General Electric 37

[14:14] gain. Texas Instruments closed up 84

[14:17] cents. Then after the close, company in

[14:19] with second quarter results 47 cents up

[14:21] from 35 uh last year. That was about in

[14:24] line maybe a little better than

[14:25] expected. Revenues were up 25%. And

[14:27] after hours trading, Texas Instrument

[14:29] stock was about a dollar higher than the

[14:31] price you see here. Merk and Company on

[14:33] those good earnings up a $159. You saw

[14:35] that earlier. And the same with Shearing

[14:36] Plow, which gained a dollar10. AT&T 10th

[14:39] in volume, up 44 cents a share. American

[14:41] Express edged up just 4 cents. It did

[14:43] trade as high as $51.65 earlier today

[14:46] after reporting second quarter earnings

[14:48] of 76 cents, down from 81 cents, but its

[14:51] revenues were up 14%. And I think

[14:53] investors like that. Bell South an

[14:56] 80cent gain. second quarter earnings 60

[14:58] cents up from last year's 51 cents.

[14:59] Those results do include Singular and

[15:02] its activities. Polo Ralph Lauren up

[15:05] $7.5 a share. The company boosted its

[15:07] first quarter revenue growth estimate

[15:08] from the high teens to the mid20s.

[15:11] Company says there's strong worldwide

[15:12] demand for many of its products. Stock

[15:15] doing well. Xco Resources, an oil

[15:17] driller up $185. It will acquire

[15:19] Winchester Energy for $1.2 billion in

[15:22] cash. That'll give XCO uh a lot of

[15:25] drilling or undrilled locations for its

[15:28] multipleear drilling program. So, it'll

[15:30] keep busy with the acquisition. Hasbro

[15:33] Incorporated up a $166. Second quarter

[15:35] earnings dropped to 7 cents from 13

[15:37] cents last year, but that was in line

[15:38] with estimates and the company gave a

[15:40] rather upbeat outlook and that's what

[15:42] helped the stock. Tiffany & Company

[15:44] rising $169. JMP Securities upgraded it

[15:47] from market perform to outperform. And

[15:50] then prepaid legal services up $27. Good

[15:52] earnings second quarter 81 cents, almost

[15:55] double last year's 44 cents a share. And

[15:58] OM Group, this is a specialty chemical

[16:00] company, boosted its second quarter

[16:02] earnings estimates from right around a

[16:03] dollar to as high as a$19 all the way up

[16:06] to $180 a share. Quite a boost. Titanium

[16:09] Metals rose $1.95. Second quarter

[16:11] earnings 31 cents nicely above last

[16:13] year's 20 cents and sales jumped 64%.

[16:16] Google topped the active list closing

[16:18] with a gain of 79. The low of the day

[16:20] interestingly was 381.

[16:22] ATI technologies up $311 on the advanced

[16:26] micro device acquisition which has

[16:27] worked uh today about $20.30 a share.

[16:30] Apple computer up 70. Microsoft 13cent

[16:33] rise. Yahoo gained a$15 fifth in dollar

[16:36] volume. Intel 33 rise. Dell got an

[16:39] upgrade from City Corp 84 gain. Sysi

[16:42] Cisco Systems a 49 C gain. Oracle was

[16:45] down 14 cents but Amgen rose 72 cents

[16:48] 10th in volume. Silicon Laboratories up

[16:51] $620 second quarter earnings 37 about 4

[16:55] cents above the street estimate. Wed

[16:56] Bush Morgan issued a buy recommendation.

[16:58] The company going to buy back up to $100

[17:00] million of its own stock. Netflix up 71

[17:04] cents after the close second quarter

[17:05] earning 24 cents way up from 9 cents.

[17:07] But after hours, the stock plunged $5

[17:09] when the company failed to raise its

[17:11] outlook. Apparently, a lot of investors

[17:13] expecting that. Nova Gold on the

[17:15] American Exchange up 383. Bar Gold will

[17:17] buy all the shares it doesn't own for

[17:19] $14.50 each. Those are the stocks in the

[17:22] news tonight. Susie

[17:24] >> Paul, they're just about the Philippines

[17:26] most valuable export, its people. The

[17:28] Philippines high birth rate has

[17:30] contributed to persistently high

[17:32] unemployment. So today, some 8 million

[17:34] Filipinos work overseas, including here

[17:36] in the United States. Ryan Mzer reports

[17:39] from Manila on the benefits and costs of

[17:41] that exodus.

[17:43] People crowd in front of recruitment

[17:45] offices hoping to get work overseas as

[17:48] maids, nurses, laborers, seafarers,

[17:52] entertainers.

[17:54] Last year, overseas Filipino workers, as

[17:57] they're known, sent more than 11 billion

[18:00] dollars back to their impoverished

[18:02] homeland.

[18:03] >> This young woman's mother is a butician

[18:06] in Saudi Arabia.

[18:07] >> My mother,

[18:10] >> it's important, very important, because

[18:12] we use the money for our household

[18:14] expenses, for example, for education,

[18:17] for all our needs.

[18:20] The money workers send home also helps

[18:23] buy motor tricycles and taxis and set up

[18:26] small businesses, boosting the earning

[18:28] power of people with relatives overseas.

[18:32] Remittances also boost consumer

[18:34] spending, the main driving force of the

[18:36] Philippines economy these days. The

[18:39] remittances in uh dollar value are

[18:43] greater than the foreign direct

[18:44] investments, the portfolio investments

[18:47] in the stock market. our tourism

[18:49] receipts and our official development

[18:51] assistance that we receive from foreign

[18:53] governments combined.

[18:55] >> Close to 1 million Filipinos are now

[18:57] leaving the country each year to work

[18:59] overseas. Among them are thousands of

[19:02] nurses headed for the US. Filipinos make

[19:04] up the largest group of foreign nurses

[19:07] working in the American health system.

[19:10] >> Remittances rose some 17% last year in

[19:13] part due to a new and worrying trend.

[19:17] Today we're losing professionals uh in

[19:19] in highly skilled and and in demand uh

[19:22] professions uh including IT, healthcare,

[19:25] education for instance.

[19:27] >> We would like to see the day when every

[19:29] Filipino who wants to to work here at

[19:32] home will find work here at home.

[19:35] >> But until then, the government's goal is

[19:37] to try to ensure workers do eventually

[19:40] bring their skills and their savings

[19:42] home.

[19:43] >> Filipino workers.

[19:44] >> We have lots of programs now. uh we have

[19:47] uh livelihood training skills uh and uh

[19:51] we train them to become entrepreneurs.

[19:53] We also tell uh we also uh give them

[19:56] instructions on how to handle their

[19:58] finances.

[20:00] >> The exodus is clearly driven by economic

[20:03] desperation and has high social costs

[20:06] like children being separated from their

[20:08] parents for years on end. But it's also

[20:10] a sign of the Philippines strengths.

[20:13] It's a reflection of the quality of

[20:15] Filipino people. It means that millions

[20:19] of Filipinos have the skills, have the

[20:22] um education that makes them competitive

[20:25] in the international labor market.

[20:28] >> Still, the World Bank and others hope

[20:30] that the government will look at these

[20:31] remittances only as a means of buying

[20:34] time, not as a permanent fix for the

[20:37] country's dire economic problems. Ryan

[20:40] Meltzer, Nightly Business Report,

[20:42] Manila.

[20:43] >> Tomorrow, it's a 46 billion company that

[20:46] does business in more than 175

[20:48] countries. We talk with the head of Dowo

[20:51] Chemical.

[21:25] Heat. Heat.

[21:31] Heat. Heat. N.

[21:52] Heat. Heat.

[22:14] Here's

[22:30] a look at what's happening tomorrow.

[22:32] June existing home sales and July

[22:34] consumer confidence come out. Also

[22:36] tomorrow, earnings from Dow Components,

[22:38] 3M, Altria Group, AT&T, DuPont, and

[22:42] McDonald's. Tonight's commentator says

[22:44] it's going to take a delicate balance of

[22:46] factors to bring the slowing economy in

[22:48] for a soft landing. Here's Bernard Bal,

[22:51] director of the economic outlook group.

[22:54] By now, there is little doubt economic

[22:56] activity is moderating in the US. Such a

[23:00] slowdown is not unusual after five

[23:02] straight years of growth. As consumer

[23:04] spending and housing weakens in the

[23:06] months ahead, at least we can count on

[23:09] business investments and exports to keep

[23:11] the economy out of any serious trouble.

[23:13] Or so we hope. The concern is that as

[23:16] the economy shifts to a slower pace, it

[23:19] also becomes more susceptible to the ill

[23:21] effects of record oil prices, higher

[23:23] global interest rates, and a volatile

[23:26] Middle East. This raises an important

[23:28] question. Can a deteriorating

[23:30] geopolitical climate along with

[23:32] tightening credit conditions around the

[23:34] world turn a soft landing into a more

[23:37] severe downturn in the US, perhaps even

[23:39] a recession? The answer is yes, it very

[23:42] well could. However, to tilt this

[23:45] economy from a routine midcycle slowdown

[23:47] into an actual recession, three

[23:50] conditions are needed. First, all prices

[23:52] would have to surpass $85 a barrel and

[23:55] remain there for several months. Second,

[23:58] worried about the uncertain consequences

[24:00] of a deepening Middle East crisis,

[24:02] business leaders suddenly decide to

[24:04] scale back or postpone their spending

[24:06] plans. And third, the worldwide increase

[24:09] in interest rates dampens foreign growth

[24:11] to the point where it cuts into US

[24:13] exports. Now, so far these conditions

[24:15] have not been met, but the risks are

[24:17] real. Achieving a soft landing in this

[24:20] unstable international climate will not

[24:22] be easy. I am Bernard Bol. Recapping

[24:26] today's market action, investors surf a

[24:28] wave of good earnings. The Dow closes up

[24:30] 182 points, NASDAQ gained 41 points. To

[24:33] learn more about the stories in

[24:35] tonight's broadcast, go to nightly

[24:36] business report on pbs.org.

[24:39] >> And finally tonight, where there's

[24:41] smoke, there's the US Senate. New Jersey

[24:43] Democrat Frank Lenberg launched today a

[24:46] move to ban the sale of all tobacco

[24:48] products at Sunundry stores inside the

[24:50] Senate complex. Lenberg says selling

[24:53] tobacco is inconsistent with lawmakers

[24:55] commitment to protecting the public's

[24:57] health. Ironically, cigarettes sold

[24:59] inside the Senate complex are cheap

[25:01] because they aren't subject to state

[25:04] excise or sales tax. Lenberg says that

[25:06] encourages tourists and local residents

[25:08] to make the Senate a discount cigarette

[25:11] outlet. By the way, Paul, this isn't

[25:13] Lenberg's first anti-tobacco stance. He

[25:16] wrote the law banning smoking on

[25:18] commercial airlines.

[25:19] >> A great law. You obviously agree.

[25:22] There's nightly business report for

[25:24] Monday, July 24th. I'm Susie G. Good

[25:26] night, everyone. Good night to you,

[25:27] Paul.

[25:27] >> Good night, Susie. I'm Paul Kagas,

[25:29] wishing all of you the best of goodbyes.

[25:33] >> Nightly Business Report is made possible

[25:36] by

[25:37] >> Franklin Templeton Investments. Our

[25:40] unique perspective helps us see domestic

[25:42] and international markets in a different

[25:44] light.

[25:47] Franklin Templeton Investments.

[25:50] Gain from our perspective

[25:53] >> and by A.G. Edwards.

[25:57] >> This program was made possible by

[25:59] contributions to your PBS station from

[26:02] viewers like you. Thank you.

[26:28] For more information about investing,

[26:30] you may order nightly business reports

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