Marketplace: News Archives

Thursday, November 23, 2000
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It's November 23rd. Happy Thanksgiving. I'm David Brown sitting in for David Brancaccio.

It was a sleepy business day, what with markets closed in the U.S. and Japan…and most folks in both countries with the day off. Among those without the day off-quite a few lawyers in Tallahassee….As Vice President Al Gore and Texas Governor George Bush celebrated Thanksgiving with their families today, the legal maneuvering over the presidency continued….Marketplace's Stephen Henn reports.

Henn: "In Washington Dick Cheney celebrated Thanksgiving in the Hospital with his family, after suffering a mild heart attack yesterday. In Broward County, Florida, there was no rest for the weary, as the county's canvassing board worked through the holiday, Squinting at close to 2000 dimpled ballots that appear to be Vice President's Al Gore's last best hope for the presidency."

Canvassing Board: "We agree that For 1E, plus two Gore, plus one Bush, moving on to 6E…."

Henn: "Perhaps the only ones with much reason to be thankful this Thanksgiving are election lawyers. Business is booming. The Bush camp filed suit in Florida State Court today to force 13 counties to include all overseas military ballots. Gore's lawyers petitioned the Florida Supreme Court, hoping to force Miami-Dade county to resume counting, only to be denied. And the US Supreme Court could decide as soon as tomorrow whether to intervene in the case. While many legal scholars say that's unlikely, Viet Din, a conservative law professor at Georgetown University, disagrees."

Din: "Election law generally is an matter of state law. However this case presents an issue of strong national interest, which is the standard that the Supreme Court uses in deciding whether or not to grant review."

Henn: "Din believes that the longer the election fight drags on, the greater the chance the U.S. Supreme Court will get involved. In Washington, I'm Steven Henn for Marketplace."

What a difference a day makes…yesterday Quaker Oats, which had been dumped as a potential acquisition by Coca Cola, was being pursued by the Danone group-a French frim that happens to be the second biggest producer of bottled water. Quaker produces Gatorade, so you see the affinity. Well, today the Danone group backed off, saying that the financial deal would not be beneficial to its shareholders. The board at Coca-Cola nixed their initial offer just tow days ago, in part over concerns about the soft drink giant's ability to absorb Quaker's breakfast food operations. If you're keeping score, that leaves an offer from Pepsi Cola still on the table, which Quaker initially had rejected as too low.

Daimler-Chrysler says it will try to renegotiate workers contracts at the troubled U.S. Chrysler divisions…and cannot rule out job cuts. Yesterday, Daimler-Chrysler announced that three North American vehicle assembly plants will be idled next week to cut inventories. Chrysler's new head…Dieter Zetsche…sent an e-mail to Chrysler's 128 thousand employees worldwide earlier this week, warning that corrective economic measures would be "painful." -that last word is in quotation marks. The flip side of this coin-and it's not just Chrysler-It's a great time for car buyers to find amazing bargains. Manufacturers and dealers are offering low interest rates, rebates, and other specail incentives to lure shoppers. As you might imagine automakers are desperate to find a way to bring this party to an end. From the Marketplace transportation desk at Michigan Radio, Bill Poorman reports…

Poorman: "The strong U.S. Economy has made it a magnet for car companies around the world. Automakers sold a record 17 million cars here last year. But now sales are starting to slow down a bit, not a lot, but enough to create huge stackups of cars on dealer lots and outside of factories. So in recent months, car companies and dealers have offered up to 4,000 dollars back on some new models. That's great for car buyers, but automakers have lost gobs of money on these special incentives, so they're looking for ways to cut supply. GM & Daimler Chrysler, are idling some plans to lower the supply of new vehicles, and Auto Analyst David Cole with the Center for Automotive Research in Michigan, says car companies with start cutting back on financial incentives."

Cole: "I don't think their going to go away, but it's very clear now that selling high volumes at a loss is not a good way to sustain a company."

Poorman: "Daimler-Chrysler has learned that lesson. The company lost more than a half-billion dollars during the third quarter. The head of the company's Chrysler division lost his job because of the losses, the new chief Dieter Zetsche has already said he wants to cut back on incentives…but that kind of talk gets dealers nervous, they know they're the ones who have to unload lots full of cars on customers who are hooked on sweet deals. I'm Bill Poorman for Marketplace."

Once again, U.S. markets were closed for Turkey Day, we'll check out what transpired overseas in a few minutes.

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