Nightly Business Report (PBS) - 2006-11-24

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:04] It's called Black Friday, but it's

[0:06] really [music] all about the green. As

[0:08] early bird shoppers head to the nation's

[0:09] retailers in search of deals on the

[0:11] season's hottest items.

[0:13] >> While shoppers were busy buying,

[0:15] investors were busy selling as a slide

[0:17] in the dollar sent stocks lower. The Dow

[0:19] dropped 46 points. The Nasdaq lost five.

[0:22] >> Tonight's market monitor guest calls US

[0:25] financial markets the big easy. He's Al

[0:27] Goldman, [music] chief market strategist

[0:29] at AG Edwards.

[0:30] >> Then from roadways to ballparks, [music]

[0:33] cities and states across the country are

[0:35] weighing a new option when it comes to

[0:36] increasing revenues and cutting costs.

[0:38] We'll explain.

[0:40] >> I'm Paul Kangas.

[0:41] >> And I'm Jeff Yastine. Susie Garb is off

[0:44] tonight. This is Nightly Business

[0:45] [music] Report for Friday, November

[0:47] 24th.

[0:48] Nightly Business Report is [music] made

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[1:51] [music]

[1:54] >> Good evening everyone. The holiday

[1:56] shopping season kicked off in earnest

[1:58] today as Americans jam stores across the

[2:00] country eager to take advantage of

[2:02] holiday sales and special deals. The

[2:04] Friday after Thanksgiving is

[2:06] traditionally known as Black Friday when

[2:08] the nation's retailers go from having

[2:09] red ink on their balance sheets to being

[2:11] profitably in the black. Scott Gervy

[2:14] looks at today's big turnout and its

[2:16] implications for retailers.

[2:19] >> Shoppers looking for early bird bargains

[2:21] beat retail store employees to the door

[2:23] this morning at many locations from

[2:25] coast to coast.

[2:26] >> I've seen a large crowd outside uh

[2:28] heading towards down Third Avenue. It's

[2:30] about a city block long from where my my

[2:32] location is uh at. And uh just want to

[2:34] get people in, get them shopping, and

[2:36] have a safe environment. Have fun. Many

[2:38] stores heavily advertise specials good

[2:40] only for a limited time or in limited

[2:43] quantities. All in an effort to create a

[2:45] buzz of enthusiasm retailers hope will

[2:47] carry through the 31-day Christmas

[2:49] shopping season.

[2:54] >> Consumer electronics were in high demand

[2:56] as usual with flat screen TVs available

[2:58] at prices far below those of last year.

[3:01] Also popular accessories for Apple's

[3:03] bestselling iPod and of course the

[3:05] latest in video games and consoles. But

[3:08] it is not just about gadgets. Macy's

[3:10] opened stores early today offering

[3:12] discounts on everything from luggage to

[3:15] diamonds,

[3:15] >> jeans,

[3:16] >> t-shirts, jumpers,

[3:19] pajamas. We just basically got mad to be

[3:21] here. We're there at what time? events.

[3:23] >> 7:00 a.m.

[3:24] >> 7:00 a.m. We got up at 5:00 and we got

[3:26] here at 7:00 a.m.

[3:27] >> Just going to get some shoes and some

[3:28] jackets from any store I see that has an

[3:30] extra 25% off day. I bought a tight

[3:33] tailor.

[3:35] >> The day after Thanksgiving is no longer

[3:36] the biggest shopping day of the year.

[3:38] That honor now usually falls to the

[3:40] Saturday before Christmas. And Monday

[3:42] will be a big day for online holiday

[3:44] sales. But this day is still the kickoff

[3:46] and the experts say it sets the tone for

[3:49] the entire season. We estimate that

[3:51] total holiday sales this year will be up

[3:53] around 8% compared to around a 10% gain

[3:55] last year. We think consumers will spend

[3:58] more this year than what did they did

[3:59] last year. Frankly, just driven by

[4:02] what's been going on with the economy,

[4:03] the low unemployment and also the fact

[4:05] that energy prices are lower.

[4:07] >> It will take several days before the

[4:09] official numbers come in from across the

[4:11] nation. But if today's lines are any

[4:13] indication, the Christmas shopping

[4:14] season got off to a good start. Scott

[4:16] Gerby, Nightly Business Report, New

[4:18] York. And if you spent today at the

[4:20] stores, you may think you saved a lot,

[4:22] but Americans aren't saving these days,

[4:25] at least in real terms. The personal

[4:27] savings rate has been on the decline and

[4:29] is now at levels not seen since the

[4:31] Great Depression. And as Stephanie D

[4:33] reports, that has economists work.

[4:36] >> Ask Americans what they save and chances

[4:38] are you may get an answer like this.

[4:41] >> It was $25, but I got it for 17, so I

[4:43] really saved. And consumers have been

[4:46] trained to look at their receipts to

[4:48] figure out how much they saved.

[4:50] >> Ah, let's look.

[4:51] >> The message that you can save by

[4:53] spending is easy to find, and America's

[4:55] consumer culture may help explain why

[4:58] the personal savings rate is now in

[5:00] negative territory. Other explanations

[5:02] for the decline in personal savings are

[5:04] that people no longer have to save for a

[5:07] rainy day because they have insurance to

[5:09] bail them out. And recently, homeowners

[5:11] have let rising property values do their

[5:13] savings for them. But many economists

[5:16] worry the downward trend in savings will

[5:18] be a drag down the road.

[5:20] >> It means that we're not saving.

[5:22] Therefore, it's going to be more

[5:23] difficult for businesses to invest or at

[5:25] least more costly. Less investment means

[5:28] ultimately slower productivity growth

[5:29] and that's key to the growth in our

[5:31] living standards. So bottom line, uh

[5:34] less saving means slower growth and

[5:36] lower living standards. Consumers do

[5:38] boost the gross domestic product with

[5:40] their spending, but shopping till you

[5:42] drop isn't the best way to keep the

[5:44] economy humming.

[5:45] >> We train people that because households

[5:48] are 70% of spending that if they don't

[5:50] go out to the stores, the economy is

[5:52] going to collapse. It's really not true.

[5:54] If the households didn't do that

[5:56] spending, you could shift that spending

[5:58] to investment spending, which would

[6:00] build the capacity for the future, or we

[6:02] could shift it to exports and reverse

[6:04] some of our borrowing from abroad.

[6:05] Economists say it will take creative

[6:07] policy proposals beyond the current tax

[6:09] incentives to boost the personal savings

[6:11] rate. It will also mean thinking of

[6:13] holiday savings in different terms.

[6:15] Stephanie D, Nightly Business Report,

[6:17] Alexandria, Virginia.

[6:19] >> Wall Street opened with a sell-off

[6:21] triggered by a sharp [snorts] drop in

[6:22] the US dollar, which we'll detail

[6:24] shortly. The Dow fell 65 points at the

[6:26] outset of trading, while the Nasdaq lost

[6:28] 13 points. The market made a midsession

[6:31] rebound attempt which fell short partly

[6:33] because of extremely light volume ahead

[6:35] of the early closing at 100 p.m. As a

[6:38] result, the major averages ended

[6:39] moderately lower. The Dow Industrial

[6:41] Average lost 46.78 points, ending at

[6:44] 12,280.17.

[6:46] In this 4-day trading week, the Dow rose

[6:48] twice, fell twice at a net loss of 62.39

[6:51] points. The Nasdaq Composite closed down

[6:54] 5.72 at 2460.26

[6:57] today. It rose in three of this week's

[6:59] four sessions at an overall gain of

[7:01] 14.40 points. The standard and pores 500

[7:04] index fell 5.14 points to,400.95

[7:08] today. In the bond market, the 10-year

[7:10] note gained 232 to par in 1832, putting

[7:14] the yield at 4.55%.

[7:20] [music]

[7:28] >> [music]

[7:32] >> One holiday markdown Americans may not

[7:35] be too pleased about was the one in the

[7:37] value of the dollar today. The buying

[7:39] power of the greenback fell sharply to a

[7:41] 19-month low against the euro and a

[7:44] three-month low against the Japanese

[7:45] yen. The decline followed comments from

[7:47] the vice governor of the People's Bank

[7:49] of China, who said the reserves of East

[7:51] Asian nations are at risk from too much

[7:54] exposure to the falling dollar. China

[7:56] holds the world's largest foreign

[7:57] exchange reserves estimated at over1

[8:00] trillion dollars. The New Jersey

[8:02] Turnpike could become the next payforuse

[8:05] roadway to go private, leasing

[8:07] companies, leasing public structures to

[8:10] private companies as a way for cash

[8:11] strap states and municipalities to raise

[8:14] money. And as Diane Estherbrook reports,

[8:17] a privatization bonanza could soon be

[8:19] underway.

[8:21] >> For 50 years, Chicago Skyway generated

[8:24] millions of dollars in tolls annually

[8:26] for the city. But not anymore.

[8:29] Nearly 2 years ago, the city leased the

[8:31] Skyway to a private consortium of owners

[8:33] who now maintain the nearly 8 mile

[8:35] roadway and pocket all tolls. But in

[8:38] return for a 99-year lease, Chicago

[8:40] received a whopping $1.8 billion.

[8:43] Attorney John Schmidt negotiated the

[8:45] landmark deal for the city.

[8:47] >> In the case of the city, they were able

[8:49] to shore up the city's finances in a way

[8:51] that uh really has made Chicago probably

[8:54] financially the strongest major city in

[8:56] America.

[8:57] >> The Skyway has paved the way for more

[8:59] and even bigger privatization deals.

[9:02] Earlier this year, the state of Indiana

[9:04] signed a 75-year lease for its

[9:06] crossstate tollway. The price tag $3.8

[9:09] billion. At a time when federal funds

[9:12] are shrinking and the need to improve

[9:14] and expand infrastructure is increasing,

[9:16] many experts say privatization is the

[9:19] answer.

[9:20] >> If you're talking about the need to

[9:21] build significant new facilities, a new

[9:23] bridge, widen an interstate for 200

[9:26] miles, you're probably talking about

[9:28] billion dollar scale projects, and the

[9:30] gas tax just doesn't produce and deliver

[9:32] those sorts of sums for specific new

[9:34] projects. Australiabased Mcquaryy

[9:36] Holdings is a leie on both the Chicago

[9:38] Skyway and the Indiana Tollway. While

[9:41] placing public structures in private

[9:42] hands has been common in Europe and Asia

[9:45] for decades, it's still a novel concept

[9:47] in the US. Mcquaryy admits that is why

[9:50] the idea is still greeted with some

[9:52] suspicion.

[9:52] >> The concerns that people raise are

[9:55] what's going to happen to the tolls? We

[9:57] all understand that private companies

[9:58] are motivated by shareholder return. My

[10:01] gosh, they're just going to jack tolls

[10:02] up through the roof. and tolls are

[10:04] governed by the concession agreement. So

[10:06] the lease that we have with government

[10:08] restricts the degree to which we can

[10:11] raise tolls on that facility.

[10:13] >> Experts say Chicago has managed the

[10:15] money it received from the Skyway lease

[10:17] wisely, investing some of it, spending

[10:19] the rest on projects and services, but

[10:22] they question whether other local

[10:23] governments or states would act as

[10:25] conscientiously.

[10:27] >> You have to be extraordinarily careful

[10:29] not to squander all the money. And and

[10:31] my personal feeling is I think you ought

[10:34] to reserve that money for transportation

[10:36] infrastructure purposes, highway and

[10:38] transit.

[10:39] >> The Skyway lease has worked so well for

[10:41] Chicago, the city is now negotiating a

[10:43] lease on its parking garages, and even

[10:46] more deals are on the drawing board with

[10:48] the city looking to privatize its

[10:50] marinas and Midway Airport. Diane

[10:53] Estbrook Nightly Business Report,

[10:55] Chicago.

[10:57] [music]

[11:02] >> [music]

[11:19] [music]

[11:22] >> Now, let's take a look at some stocks in

[11:24] the news tonight.

[11:30] The most active big board issue wasn't

[11:32] so active. 5.9 million shares of Lucen

[11:34] Technologies traded and no change at

[11:37] $259.

[11:38] United Micro Electronics moved up 25

[11:41] cents, followed by Fizer with a 21cent

[11:43] loss. Taiwan Semiconductor moved up 17.

[11:46] AT&T no change. Not a lot of action on

[11:48] that board, was there? Pretty dull day.

[11:50] Time Warner 27 drop followed by Croup 46

[11:53] loss. Exon Mobile dropped 53 cents. GE

[11:56] down 30 cents. And then a gainer,

[11:58] Newmont Mining moving up 67. No gold

[12:01] trading in New York today, but the

[12:02] London afternoon fix was way up at

[12:04] $63,9.50

[12:06] the ounce and the whole gold sector was

[12:08] strong. Let's have some look look at

[12:10] some major gold stocks. Agnico Eagle

[12:13] Eagle and a Ashanti was doing well.

[12:16] Barrett Gold, Gold Corp, and Meridian

[12:18] Gold. All nice gains.

[12:21] Kamico up a $169. This is a uranium

[12:24] mining company. And after the close

[12:26] Wednesday, it said it's in a non-binding

[12:28] memorandum of understanding with a

[12:30] Russian nuclear company called 10X, and

[12:32] they will pursue joint ventures in

[12:34] uranium exploration, development, and

[12:36] production. Nice move in the stock there

[12:38] today. Systemax up $28. Second quarter

[12:42] earnings 19, almost quadr quintuple last

[12:45] year's 4 cents, and sales were up a

[12:47] respectable 8.1%.

[12:50] Advanced Semiconductor, these are the

[12:51] ADRs. It's a Taiwanese Taiwanese chip

[12:54] testing company. It's up on speculation.

[12:56] Carile Group might make a buyout bid for

[12:59] $5.94

[13:01] per ADR.

[13:03] Then another takeover speculation stock,

[13:05] Tech Techn, this is a French oil and gas

[13:08] engineering firm and the rumor has it

[13:10] that ENI Corp was going to make a

[13:12] takeover bid, but both firms denied that

[13:15] there was anything going on in the way

[13:16] of a merger. J Crew Group, specialty

[13:19] retailer of apparel, doing very well

[13:21] today, up 276. It was up 517 last

[13:24] Wednesday on a real turnaround in third

[13:26] quarter earnings of 40 cents versus a

[13:28] loss of a penny a year ago. Air France

[13:32] KLM down $2.51. First, the company

[13:34] reported a 26% rise in the latest

[13:36] quarterly earnings, but the stock down

[13:38] on the company's tentative talks about a

[13:40] business combination with the troubled

[13:42] carrier Alatalia that seems to have hurt

[13:44] the stock a bit. Millscorp up a$112.

[13:48] Colony Capital is going to take over the

[13:49] company's troubled New Jersey mall

[13:51] project.

[13:52] Volume leader on NASDAQ. Apple computer

[13:54] up a$132 at a new closing high on that's

[13:57] on optimism that iPod holiday sales will

[13:59] be strong. Google down $31. Microsoft

[14:02] 16-cent drop. Research and motion moved

[14:04] up $1.95. Intel fifth and dollar volume

[14:07] down 14. Dell was up 20. Cisco 7cent

[14:12] drop. Qualcomm 23 gainer. Yahoo down 46.

[14:16] 10th in volume was Rambus with a nice

[14:18] gain of $1.71. Pointer teleocation

[14:21] Limited. Look at that gain 89.5% up

[14:24] $7.16. That stock was up 210 on

[14:27] Wednesday on a turnaround. Third quarter

[14:28] earnings of 14 cents versus a loss of 14

[14:31] a year ago. It's an Israeli company that

[14:33] provides roadside towing and repair

[14:35] services. Huge move in the stock.

[14:38] Mother's Work, which sells maternity

[14:39] clothing down $3.75. The controlling

[14:42] Matias family sold 476,000 shares for

[14:46] estate planning purposes.

[14:49] And those are the stocks in the news

[14:51] tonight. Jeff.

[14:52] >> Well, Paul, the airline industry is

[14:54] booming in China with the country

[14:56] expected to order an estimated $280

[14:58] billion dollars in new planes over the

[15:00] next two decades. Now, while that's good

[15:02] news for Boeing and Airbus, the boom is

[15:04] driving a new industry, pilot training.

[15:07] As Nick Mackey reports, a business of

[15:09] training pilots is taking off faster

[15:11] than China can currently license pilots.

[15:14] China's airlines carried 138 million

[15:17] passengers in 2005, a number that's

[15:20] expected to double within 5 years. Over

[15:23] 17 billion is earmarked to build 42

[15:26] airports nationwide. And a carrier like

[15:28] Sichuan Airlines based here in Chungdu,

[15:31] Southwest China wants to increase its

[15:33] fleet by 80% to serve the rapidly

[15:35] expanding market.

[15:38] For each plane, Sichuan Airlines rotates

[15:40] five twoman crews. Each person earning

[15:43] between three and $4,000 per month. This

[15:46] small regional carrier must recruit

[15:48] hundreds of new fullyfledged pilots to

[15:50] meet its target.

[15:54] 10 pilots and 30 planes means we have

[15:57] 300 pilots. Now, to reach our goal,

[16:01] there's still some way to go. We want 55

[16:04] planes. So, we need 550 pilots.

[16:09] China's Civil Aviation Flight University

[16:11] here below may be the world's biggest

[16:13] pilot training institution with four

[16:15] campuses, five airfields, and over a 100

[16:18] aircraft, but it too is under pressure

[16:20] to expand. This academic year, it should

[16:23] graduate some 800 pilots, but an

[16:26] estimated 10% of China's pilots are

[16:28] close to the mandatory retirement age of

[16:31] 60. China has around 11,000 pilots to

[16:34] fly more than 800 aircraft currently

[16:37] operated with the country's major

[16:38] commercial airlines. But with the

[16:41] passenger and cargo market growing at an

[16:43] annual rate of 9%, the demand for pilots

[16:46] outstrips the capacity of the aviation

[16:49] colleges to supply

[16:52] these student pilots here strengthening

[16:54] their sense of balance are sponsored by

[16:56] China's carriers. The fees here are

[16:58] $100,000 per pilot. As a stop gap

[17:01] measure, some airlines are known to

[17:03] flout government policy and recruit

[17:05] qualified foreigners, while others hire

[17:08] ex-Chinese military. To help close the

[17:10] supply gap, this college intends to

[17:13] increase its capacity of trained flyers

[17:15] by 50%. And that means buying more land,

[17:18] technology, and hardware. It also wants

[17:21] to send students to an overseas partner

[17:23] college, possibly in Australia.

[17:27] For 1,200 students, we need more

[17:29] training facilities and a further one or

[17:31] two airfields. And we also need a

[17:33] cooperation with the university abroad,

[17:36] which has an airfield, so it can train

[17:38] 200 of these students per year.

[17:41] In the longer term, this will not be

[17:42] enough if Boeing's estimates prove

[17:44] correct, and China buys 2,900 new planes

[17:48] over the next 20 years. As well as

[17:50] further expansion of this college,

[17:52] smaller privately run facilities are

[17:55] expected to be licensed, plus more deals

[17:57] signed on overseas joint ventures. These

[18:00] are promising times for those in the

[18:02] broad-based business of flight training.

[18:04] Nick Mackey, Nightly Business Report,

[18:06] Changdu, Southwest China. Monday,

[18:09] shoppers head [music] to cyerspace. We

[18:11] check out the nation's retailers on

[18:13] their biggest selling day of the year.

[18:17] Heat. Heat.

[18:29] [music]

[18:34] [music]

[18:40] >> [music]

[18:47] [music]

[19:02] [music]

[19:03] >> Heat. Heat.

[19:07] >> [music]

[19:31] >> Heat. Heat.

[19:36] >> [music]

[19:46] [music]

[19:53] >> Well, here's a look at what's happening

[19:54] next week. Our Friday market monitor

[19:56] guest is John Murphy, chief technical

[19:58] analyst at stockcharts.com.

[20:01] And on the economic calendar, Tuesday,

[20:03] Fed Chairman Ben Bernani speaks in New

[20:05] York. We'll also see October durable

[20:06] goods and existing home sales.

[20:09] Wednesday, it's third quarter GDP, which

[20:11] comes out along with October new home

[20:13] sales and the government's weekly check

[20:15] on crude oil and gasoline inventories.

[20:18] Thursday, it's October personal income

[20:20] and spending and weekly jobless claims.

[20:22] And Friday, it's October construction

[20:24] spending.

[20:26] My guest market monitor this week is Al

[20:28] Goldman, chief market strategist for AG

[20:30] Edwards. And welcome back to Nightly

[20:32] Business Report. Al,

[20:33] >> thank you, Paul. Good to be with you.

[20:35] >> In your latest market commentary on the

[20:37] AG Edwards website, you call the US

[20:40] stock market the big easy. Explain,

[20:44] please.

[20:45] >> Yeah, I had a little fun being a

[20:46] two-lane university graduate from New

[20:48] Orleans. I was beginning to fear that

[20:50] people are thinking that the big easy

[20:52] has shifted from New Orleans to Wall

[20:54] Street and a lot of complacency has

[20:56] shown up in this market and

[20:58] understandably so. We've had a dramatic

[21:00] four-week rally, but uh it's never easy

[21:02] making money on Wall Street. If people

[21:04] start feeling that way, watch out below.

[21:07] >> Well, Wall Street showed very little

[21:08] reaction to the election results which

[21:10] gave the Democrats control of Congress.

[21:11] How do you explain that?

[21:14] >> Um that was very impressive. Uh I think

[21:16] everybody thought that the House would

[21:18] be lost but not the Senate uh to the

[21:20] Democratic party but both went and the

[21:22] market kind of shuttered for two days

[21:24] and went on up and I think investors

[21:26] showed that they realize that old

[21:28] expression it's the economy stupid and

[21:30] the outlook for the economy looks good.

[21:32] The outlook for interest rate looks

[21:33] positive and the market is selling at a

[21:36] reasonable price earnings multiple. So

[21:38] uh also the market likes gridlock. So

[21:40] you put it all together and a pleasant

[21:42] surprise and it shows that uh there's

[21:44] good momentum and a lot of money on the

[21:47] sidelines that want it in.

[21:48] >> But the situation in Iraq is one thing

[21:50] that can really throw the monkey wrench

[21:52] into the works, is it not?

[21:55] >> Well, uh remember we've been living with

[21:56] Iraq for 3 years now and it hasn't

[21:58] destru disrupted the market or the

[22:01] economy. So I think we can live with

[22:03] Iraq. It's a terrible situation as

[22:05] everybody knows, but as long as it

[22:07] doesn't impact the price of oil, which

[22:09] would impact the economy, I think Iraq

[22:12] will be kind of on the sideline. It's a

[22:14] mood deflator and probably takes a

[22:16] little bit of of some percentage away

[22:18] from the price earnings multiple, but I

[22:20] don't think it will destroy the market.

[22:22] >> I want to give you credit where credit

[22:24] is really due. When you were last with

[22:26] us, April 28th of this year, the Dow was

[22:28] at 11,300 and you predicted by late in

[22:31] the year it would hit 12,300. Well, it's

[22:34] right there today. That was a great

[22:36] call. Is there more left here on the Dow

[22:38] on the upside?

[22:40] >> Well, thank you. Sometimes we get lucky.

[22:42] Um, well, I think if we get a little

[22:44] pullback here after the sharp rally of

[22:46] the last four months, we'll have some

[22:48] fuel left for a good year-end rally. Uh

[22:51] typically the first part of December

[22:53] pulls back a little bit and gets you set

[22:55] up for a year-end rally and that's what

[22:57] I think would be the ideal

[22:58] [clears throat] situation. But if we

[23:00] don't and we just kind of go up for

[23:02] another week or two, I think that will

[23:03] be uh our year- end rally and it'll

[23:06] happen before year end.

[23:07] >> So what investment strategy Al makes

[23:09] sense in this kind of an environment?

[23:12] >> Well, I think we have to recognize that

[23:14] this market's been going up for 49

[23:16] months. The average bull market lasts 25

[23:18] months. the economy is in its six year

[23:20] of expansion. So you have to be a little

[23:22] bit more careful. I think you have to

[23:24] buy companies that uh uh are well

[23:27] positioned to grow their earnings in an

[23:28] aging economy uh and be very selective.

[23:31] Uh the blue chips have been leading the

[23:33] market up and I think it's going to be

[23:34] one interest in quality and two interest

[23:37] in those companies that will grow their

[23:38] earnings.

[23:39] >> What sectors of the market uh kind of

[23:42] fit this uh description that you're

[23:44] talking about?

[23:46] Well, I you know, I I like things such

[23:48] as particularly the banks, uh

[23:50] technology, alternative fuels, uh

[23:53] particularly with what's going on in the

[23:55] change in Washington, uh and uh some of

[23:58] the pharmaceuticals, particularly the

[24:00] the generic drug companies, uh look

[24:03] attractive to me. I'd stay away for the

[24:04] time being from the the big farmers

[24:06] because of the political mood in

[24:08] Washington right now. But you did last

[24:10] time like the financials and now they're

[24:12] just starting to show some attraction to

[24:14] buyers. Is that going to continue?

[24:17] >> Well, some of the financials have been

[24:18] doing quite well. I did include the

[24:20] banks in my favorite group and I would

[24:22] continue there. Nice uh steady Eddie

[24:25] type of uh earners and I think that's

[24:26] what we're going to look for next year.

[24:28] Uh particularly if the Fed takes our

[24:30] advice and uh lowers interest rates come

[24:33] next spring.

[24:34] >> Fair enough. It sounds like you're still

[24:36] relatively bullish on the outlook and

[24:38] we'll hope you're right.

[24:40] >> Al, we've run out of time.

[24:40] >> Let's hope so.

[24:41] >> We've run out of time, but I want to

[24:43] thank you once again for your keen

[24:44] insights.

[24:46] >> Well, my pleasure being with you.

[24:47] >> My guest, Al Goldman, chief market

[24:49] strategist at AG Edwards.

[24:52] >> And recapping today's market action,

[24:54] stocks slip as the dollar slides. The

[24:56] Dow dropped 46 [music] points and the

[24:58] Nasdaq fell five. To learn more about

[25:00] the stories in tonight's broadcast, go

[25:02] to nightly business report on pbs.org.

[25:06] And finally tonight, if you felt like

[25:08] you were the only one working today, a

[25:10] new study says that may be true. The

[25:12] outplacement firm Challenger Gray and

[25:14] Christmas says 70% of companies that

[25:16] surveyed plan to be closed on this day

[25:18] after Thanksgiving. Among the 30% of

[25:20] companies that plan to be open for

[25:22] business today, many firms said they

[25:24] would be short staffed or they would

[25:26] close early. And of course, uh, that

[25:28] included many of the nation's retailers

[25:29] since this is one of their busiest days

[25:31] of the year.

[25:32] >> Well, Jeff, you and I apparently are

[25:34] part of that hardworking 30%.

[25:36] >> Absolutely. We're taking it along,

[25:38] >> but we're not short staff.

[25:39] >> Not at all. That's Nightly Business

[25:42] Report for Friday, November 24th. I'm

[25:43] Jeff Yastine. Good night, everyone.

[25:45] Paul, you have a good weekend

[25:46] >> and the same [music] to you, Jeff. I'm

[25:48] Paul Kangas, wishing all of you the best

[25:50] of goodbyes.

[25:52] Nightly Business [music] Report is made

[25:54] possible by Franklin Templeton

[25:57] Investments. Our unique [music]

[25:59] perspective helps us see domestic and

[26:01] international markets in a different

[26:03] light.

[26:05] Franklin Templeton [music]

[26:06] Investments.

[26:08] Gain from our perspective.

[26:11] and by AG Edwards.