Marketplace: News Archives

Monday, December 4, 2000

Cuba, MO, Feature Index

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It's Monday, December 4, 2000. I'm David Brancaccio.

All this week, Marketplace is on the road. We're broadcasting from the statistical center of the country, in terms of population. It happens to be a town called Cuba, Missouri, on Interstate 44 and old Route 66. Our aim here is to get a different perspective on the so-called global economy - so we'll think global, but report local. Our coverage begins in a moment, but first, a look at the news from Marketplace's Sarah Gardner in Los Angeles…

It hasn't been Al Gore's day. This afternoon, a Florida county court judge rejected Gore's challenge of the presidential vote certification in Florida, and dismissed his bid for a recount of thousands of dispute ballots. Gore will appeal that decision, but he's having trouble on other legal fronts as well. This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court sent a vote recount case back to the Florida Supreme Court. Some folks on Wall Street said that ruling affected the markets today. They called it a "Bush Bounce." Whatever it was, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 187 points higher. Although the Nasdaq composite fell moderately. Marty Goldensohn reports on today's market reaction…

Goldensohn: "The news of the day makes waves on Wall Street, but seldom changes the direction of the tide - which has been going out lately. Still, the news that the courts might be edging the country toward settling on a president had a settling effect on Wall Street. The Nasdaq rose nearly 40 points when the Supreme Court's remand first hit, but it shorlty faded after traders had a chance to hear about the legal ambiguity behind the headlines.

A couple of stocks that might benefit from a Bush presidency went up: Merck and Phillip Morris. Even David Blizter, Chief Investment Strategist for Standard and Poors - who's a Gore man - was cheered that at least somebody might live in the White House, and give the slowing economy a boost..."

Blitzer: "Bush comes in ...likely to put big tax cuts in right away..to extent eco slowing more than like...that's the right policy."

Goldensohn: "Blitzer thinks it's ironic that the markets are so worrried about the frozen election and the prospect of a stalemated Congress..."

Blitzer: "Right before the election, everyone wanted do nothing governmental. No major legislation from Clinton, and the economy did fine. The moral: be careful what you wish for!"

Goldensohn: "Most analysts we talked with today agreed there were too many forces on the markets to know how the breezes from Florida were bending it. The problem, says.Burt Eeley, financial public policy advisor in Alexandria, Virginia, is with the press. They have no humility."

Eeley: "It's difficult for commentators to say, 'I don't know what happened.'"

Goldensohn: "At the humble New York desk, I'm Marty Goldensohn for Marketplace. "

Dimsdale: "The disputes are the same as before the election. Democrats want more money for education, an increase in the minimum wage, and new ergonomic standards for workers. Republicans are still pressing for tax cuts, for payments to hospitals and HMOs for Medicare procedures, and for tighter bankruptcy rules. Facing gridlock, one option would be to extend the delay and let the next Congress and next president deal with the budget. But the current president is still calling the tune, according to Fleishman-Hillard budget expert Stanley Collender."

Collender: "It's unlikely that Bill Clinton, in his last six or seven weeks of being President, is gonna wanna hand over a bunch of issues to the next Congress and next President when he can still make an impact. As soon as he hands over the reins, and says let's let the next Congress and President deal with it, he will firmly and finally become the lame duck a lot of people have been trying to tag him with."

Dimsdale: "Collender says we'd better get used to political stalemates in Washington. Next year, the Republicans will lose their majority in the Senate and have a slimmer lead in the House. Neither side has a mandate for major policy shifts for the next couple years. In Washington, I'm John Dimsdale for Marketplace."

Penkava: "Delta was forced to scuttle 295 flights this weekend - and more today - because many Delta pilots are refusing to work overtime. Delta says about 5 percent of its flights rely on pilots working extra hours. The pilots' refusal to do that comes as the airline and the pilots union are at loggerheads over a contract.

Tens of thousands of passengers have been affected by the flight cancellations. Delta says it wasn't hard to rebook them on other airlines, because the first weekend of December is traditionally a slow time for airlines.

But the Christmas travel season can mean twice as many passengers as this past weekend. So, what happens if the pilots keep declining the overtime? Jackie Pate is a Delta spokeswoman."

Pate: "We're monitoring on daily basis. We're trying to minimize disruption to customer and reviewing our options. Delta is prepared to take legal action."

Penkava: "Delta is not the only airline seeing its labor issues spill over on to the runways this holiday season. United last week cancelled 100 flights in two days because of what it sees as an illegal work stoppage by mechanics. Northwest Airlines is in court charging that its mechanics are slowing down even more as the holidays approach.

In Atlanta, I'm MP for Marketplace."