Post on 12-Apr-2015
description
<Show: NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT>
<Date: March 25, 2013>
<Time: 18:30:00>
<Tran: 032501cb.118>
<Type: SHOW>
<Head: NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT for March 25, 2013, PBS>
<Sect: News; International>
<Byline: Susie Gharib, Tyler Mathisen, Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, Bertha Coombs, Scott Cohn,
Diana Olick>
<Guest: Doug Sandler, Jeff Brennan>
<Spec: Cyprus; Economy; Europe; Stock Markets; World Affairs; Business; Pharmaceuticals;
Policies; Education; Financial Services; Lawsuits>
<Time: 18:30:00>
ANNOUNCER: This is NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT with Tyler Mathisen and
Susie Gharib.
TYLER MATHISEN, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT ANCHOR: Bailout bummer.
Initial enthusiasm over a deal in Cyprus quickly turns sour as investors
ponder the precedent it sets.
SUSIE GHARIB, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT ANCHOR: Pay for delay. Why
deals between big pharma companies and generic drug makers have ended up in
the Supreme Court. And what it might mean for the price of your
prescriptions.
MATHISEN: And loan lawsuits. Graduates are struggling to pay off
their loans and now, they find themselves being sued. But where the
lawsuits coming from may surprise you.
All this and more coming up, right now.
Good evening, everyone, and welcome.
Susie, the stocks had an early sprint out of the starting gate, but
then it was a day of reversal.
GHARIB: We can call it a day of being whipsawed, right, Tyler?
A eurozone bailout deal for Cyprus sent S&P to near all time high
territory at the starting session, but then stocks turned sharply lower
after comments from the Dutch finance minister that the Cyprus deal which
puts the brunt of the bailout cost on bank bondholders, stockholders and
wealthy depositors could be seen as a template for other troubled banks in
the region. He later backed off that statement, saying that the problems
in Cyprus are unique and not a model with failing banks in other nations.
Well, that helped the markets come off the lows of the session. In
the end, the Dow was down 64 points on the day, closing at 14,447. The
NASDAQ lowered by nearly 10. The S&P 500 off by five points.
MATHISEN: More now on that bailout for Cyprus -- the country finally
reaching a deal with other European nations. But it is a painful one and
it has broader implications for investors.
Michelle Caruso-Cabrera is in Cyprus.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHELLE CARUSO-CABRERA, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT
CORRESPONDENT:
Cyprus asked the other European countries for financial help to bailout its
two big sick banks. But Europe is tired of bailouts. Cyprus is the fifth
country to ask for money.
So, this time, the Europeans said, before we give you any help, you`ll
have to downsize those banks dramatically.
Well, to the people of Cyprus, that doesn`t sound like a solution at
all.
(CHANTING)
CARUSO-CABRERA: Thousands of bank employees took to the streets this
weekend as news spread that the bailout plan could mean that thousands of
them lose their jobs.
MAGDA KYRIACOU, BANK OF CYPRUS EMPLOYEE: I`m going to lose my profit
and as well my money.
CARUSO-CABRERA: Your pension fund.
KYRIACOU: My pension fund, my money. They were taking, deducting
them from my salary every month and I`m going to lose every penny. No job,
no pension, no money, nothing.
CARUSO-CABRERA: The painful deal comes more than a week after Cyprus
shut down the entire banking system because its two biggest banks were on
the verge of collapse. With only the ATMs working, lines could be seen day
after day. But until the withdrawal limit was steadily lowered. First to
260 euros, and now only 100 euros. At Laiki, the country`s weakest bank,
now set to be eliminated.
Supermarkets were packed all weekend long for fear of shortages. With
the banks closed, businesses can`t pay suppliers and restock their shelves.
Olga Kandinsky buying so much, she brought her two teenage sons to
help.
OLGA KANDINSKY, CITIZEN: We are concerned that there will be
shortages of food, so we definitely want to make sure we have -- I have a
family. I have to feed my family.
CARUSO-CABRERA: With this deal, investors are also on notice.
European taxpayers will not necessarily protect you as they have in the
past.
With each subsequent bailout, the Europeans have gotten tougher and
tougher. At first, senior bond holders and banks could be sure they would
be protected. But they weren`t protected in Cyprus. That`s a message for
the future.
For NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, Cyprus.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GHARIB: Despite that news of the Cyprus bailout today, it was still a
nerve wracking day for investors.
And joining us now with more analysis on what`s next for the market is
Doug Sandler. He`s chief equity strategist at Riverfront Investment Group.
Doug, I want to pick up on these comments that really spooked out
investors today from that Dutch finance minister, first saying that this
bank bailout in Cyprus could be a template for future bank bailouts and
that, you know, banks could look to their own customers to help in a
bailout. How should we factor this into our thinking as American
investors?
DOUG SANDLER, RIVERFRONT INVESTMENT GROUP CHIEF EQUITY
STRATEGIST:
Well, I think the bank`s solution in the end wasn`t all too surprising. In
the end, the good news is the insured depositors, you know, the E.U. (ph)
stuck to the contract they have with those depositors. So that`s good
news.
I think what it means to the U.S. is, you know, you`re likely to get
some black clouds appearing on the horizon, but in the end, I think it`s
wrong to believe that the safe place to sit in this market is on the
sidelines. You know, the 30,000-foot view I think investors have to take
is, there`s a lot of debt and it`s currently in the public sector. And
that public sector debt is ultimately getting transferred to taxpayers, as
it always does.
So in the end, you`re going to see taxes rise, you`re going to see
lower interest rates, you know, zero interest rate policies, and you`re
going to see quantitative easing. And the investors on the sidelines are
going to see, one, no return on their money, and, two, they`re going to see
the value of their money eroded underneath them.
MATHISEN: Doug, I`m going to figure that Cyprus is going to recede as
a tension point over the next couple of months. But my question for you
is, do you think that U.S. equities have had their gains for 2013?
SANDLER: I think we`re -- you know, we made a quick leap into the
year, so I`d say on the valuation standpoint, they may have. So, when you
look at U.S. equities, you really get -- you know, your prices go up for
two reasons. One is the earnings go up, and two is the valuation multiple
assigned to those earnings goes up.
So year-to-date, we`ve seen about a 10 percent increase in the S&P.
That`s mostly due to valuations going up. I think that gain is probably in
the later innings. But I think there`s plenty of room for earnings to
grow, and earnings grow as a result of people having more jobs and buying
more things, result of the housing crisis being behind us and all of a
sudden, people feel more confident and their house price goes up and they
put into their home and other things.
I think there`s plenty of potential for earnings to grow. And, you
know, there`s a lot of good news going on in the U.S. You have the
manufacturing renaissance. You have really an energy bonanza. And a lot
of these things are going to equate to higher earnings. So I think the
market can go higher. I think there`s a real risk of having too much money
in nonproductive assets on the sidelines.
GHARIB: You know, Doug, for a long time, individual investors were
fearful of the markets and saying they were too scared to get into the
markets. And now, they`re so scared that they`ve missed this rally.
What do you say to your clients when they bring up this question to
you? Is it too late to buy in now?
SANDLER: Well -- so, I think a lot of people look at the last couple
of times the market was at these levels. So, in the year 2000, year 2007
and now again, today. The S&P was at about 1,550.
What I would point out is those were different valuations. In 2000,
the market was trading nearly 30 times earnings. In 2007, it was about 16
or 17 times earnings. And today, it`s about 14 times earnings.
So the stocks, even though they`re at the same price, there`s much
more earnings underlying them providing a foundation for valuations.
So I believe, one, is valuations are fair, and then we see central
banks around the world have kept interest rates low and our quantitative
easing or printing money. In the end, those dollars will flow into stocks
and make them go higher.
MATHISEN: Doug, I want to come back to earnings, which you think are
going to go higher. But I`ve been reading estimates that the first quarter
earnings aren`t going to be particularly positive compared with a year ago.
Are you expecting the second half of the second three quarters of this
year to be better than the first quarter of this year in terms of earnings
flow? Quickly.
SANDLER: Yes. I mean, Tyler, that`s probably the best news I`ve
heard all l day, which is that expectations are low. You know, in the
stock market, there`s this thing I call the phenomenon or the report cards
phenomenon.
And that is, if you`re expecting D`s from companies and they come with
C`s, it`s a positive surprise. And that`s what happened in the first
quarter. I think it`s going to happen again in the second quarter, that
expectations are still pretty low.
Remember, we`re just coming off the fiscal cliff and the sequestration
process. So estimates are pretty low. In the end, I think companies will
beat them and I think the market will respond positively to that.
GHARIB: All right. Thank you, so much, Doug.
Doug Sandler --
SANDLER: Thank you.
GHARIB: -- chief equity strategist at Riverfront Investment Group.
MATHISEN: And to our "Market Focus" now.
And we begin with Dollar General (NYSE:DG). The company`s earnings
did come in well above expectations and the retailer says its strategy of
selling more food and other basics will help drive gains. The company with
more than 10,000 stores in 39 states is a barometer for low end retailers.
Shares gained during the day, ending up over 2 percent.
Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) has two alternate buyout proposals to consider now.
The company announcing that Carl Icahn has offered $15 this year for 58
percent of the company. And the private equity giant Blackstone has
offered more than $14.25 a share. Both offers are better than founder
Michael Dell`s deal on the table at $13.65 a share.
And the shares have traded above that price since Dell (NASDAQ:DELL)
made his offer. And they were up more than 2.5 percent today, closing at
$14.51.
Well, investors seemed to like Best Buy`s announcement that founder
Richard Schulze will return as chairman emeritus and add two of his former
colleagues to the board, including a former CEO. The move was seen as
positive for the troubled chain because Schulze won`t sell his 20 percent
stake in the company. Shares almost 2 percent higher today.
GHARIB: Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) says it`s bought WiFiSlam. This is a
startup that lets consumers be tracked wherever they are by using Wi-Fi hot
spots on their phones. This service will help shoppers for example find
merchandise in retail stores, or find a restaurant in an airport.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) reportedly paid $20 million for the company.
Shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) rose almost $2, closing at $463.58.
Apollo Group (NASDAQ:APOL) which operates the University Phoenix and
other for-profit education institutions out with its earnings today. The
company reported a 79 percent drop in quarterly profits due to lower
enrollment. But the result beat analysts` estimates, and the stock was the
biggest gainer in the S&P today, up more than 7 percent.
And coming up a little later in the program, we`ll look at why some
college graduates are having trouble with education debt and what some
schools are doing about it.
MATHISEN: And also, still ahead, the Supreme Court hears a case that
touches the wallets and the medicine cabinets of most Americans.
But, first, take a look at how the international markets finished the
day.
(MUSIC)
MATHISEN: Some good news about prices at the pump to tell you about.
Average gasoline prices fell a little more than 3 cents a gallon over the
past two weeks, to $3.71 nationwide. That according to the Lundberg Survey
of fuel cost.
The city with the highest average price in the lower 48 states? See
if you can guess. Chicago, $4.10. Lowest average price just $3.33 a
gallon is in Billings, Montana.
GHARIB: Just days after the Senate passed its first budget in four
years, Bill Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, told
the New York Economic Club that the fiscal drama in Washington is a drag on
the economy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL DUDLEY, FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF NEW YORK PRESIDENT: The
fundamentals underpinning the U.S. economy are improving and that monetary
policy is gaining traction. But this may not be -- this may not
immediately lead to stronger growth because of the recent increase in
fiscal restraint.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GHARIB: Also in Washington today, the Supreme Court hearing arguments
in the so-called paid to delay policy by some pharmaceutical giants, which
cut deals with generic drug companies to keep their cheaper versions of
brand name medicines off the market. Critics say it`s anti-competitive and
ends up costing consumers more money.
Bertha Coombs has more on today`s hearing and the controversy behind
it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BERTHA COOMBS, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT (voice-
over):
Americans have overwhelmingly embraced generics over brand name drugs,
accounting for nearly 85 percent of all prescriptions in 2012, at a big
cost-savings.
(on camera): Drug prices declined about 90 percent once there`s full
generic competition in the market. So brands are basically obliterated.
(voice-over): But the government is asking the Supreme Court to
consider whether consumers have been cheated out of even more savings, by
so-called pay for delay drug patent deals that keep generics from coming to
market sooner.
The case involved the testosterone replacement drug AndroGel. With
$400 million in annual sales, the drug`s distributor Solvay struck a patent
settlement with generic maker Watson Pharmaceutical in 2006, which keeps
the generic off shelves until 2015 in exchange for a fee.
The company has argued 2015 is five years earlier than the actual
patent expiration. The industry contends in reaching such settlements for
drugs like the blockbuster Lipitor to treat cholesterol which won a patent
last year, consumers have benefited.
RALPH NEAS, GENERIC PHARMACEUTICAL ASSN. PRES. & CEO: Lipitor is
coming to the market five years before the expiration of the patent, saving
$4.5 billion per year. This is one of many patent settlements that
involved some kind of consideration that saved consumers and the federal
government billions of dollars.
COOMBS: AARP and the AMA argue settlements allowing big pharma
companies to pay generic companies to wait undermine competition and
doctors` ability to provide cost-effective options for patients. Over the
last decade, more than 60 percent of drug patent cases were settled. Of
the cases that went to trial, analysts from Deerfield Institute found
generics lost 52 percent of them.
Pharmaceutical analyst Barbara Ryan says patent timeline stretched,
without deals.
BARBARA RYAN, FTIO CONUSULTING MANAGING DIRECTOR: These deals
have
been structured such that generics will get on the market before the patent
expires that the brand name company is protecting and I think that is the
integrity of these deals.
COOMBS (on camera): The justices had tough questions for both sides
during today`s hearing. A decision is expected by late June.
I`m Bertha Combs for NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MATHISEN: And here with his thoughts on what`s at stake, Jeff
Brennan. He`s the former health care services chief at the Federal Trade
Commission, currently a partner at McDermott Will & Emery.
Welcome, Jeff.
You know, this is a complicated somewhat, gnarly set of rules that
pertain in these cases. The simple question, I guess is, who`s winning and
who`s losing here? Are consumers losing? Are drug companies winning? Or
is it just not that simple?
JEFF BRENNAN, FORMER FTC HEALTH CARE SERVICES DIV. CHIEF: It`s
really
not that simple. It really depends on your view about this paradigm which
the FTC is challenging. The FTC would say and its supporters would say
that in a settlement agreement in which the brand company, the innovator
company, pays money to the generic, that that has the effect of delaying
generic competition, generics enter the market at a lower price, and so,
the longer that takes, consumers are worse off because they don`t have an
option for a lower priced alternative until a later time in the future.
The opposite response to that by the parties who enter into these
agreements is that the brand has a patent protecting some aspect of its
drug product. In fact, these are patent infringement litigations that are
getting settled. And patents convey a right to exclude competition
lawfully. It`s a fundamental aspect of our economy and it helps support
why innovator drug companies invest the R&D monies over a long period of
time to develop new drugs. And that so long as the patent settlement
agreement provides for generic competition before that patent expires,
consumers are better off because they`re getting competition sooner than
they would if the patent run its course.
GHARIB: Well, what happens, Jeff, if the FTC wins this case and
everything has to go back to court, all the parties have to pay enormous
costs, a lot of time to work through their differences. In the end,
doesn`t the consumer end up paying more money? Doesn`t that increase the
cost anyway?
BRENNAN: Well, that could happen if drug companies need to spend more
time in the courtroom paying people like me attorneys, to litigate their
cases. That raises their costs certainly, cost as we all know, in a market
economy. Ultimately, at some point, at some level gets passed along to
consumers. So from that perspective, certainly, the drug companies would
point out, as you mention, that a rule that had a tendency to extend
litigation rather than help terminate litigation and move on have caused
for consumers that need to be taken into account.
MATHISEN: So the FCC basically says, if these lawsuits proceeded --
in other words, the generic company that`s suing, to overturn a patent, if
they proceeded, then the consumer might get those generics sooner than they
otherwise would. The brand drug people say, well, we`re doing a deal where
we`re going to bring generics or allow generics, in return for a fee, to
come to the market sooner than our patent would allow if we were to prevail
on the patent case.
I guess what stands out to consumers would be the idea that there`s
something that sounds vaguely anti-competitive about one company paying
another company a fee, quote, "not to compete." Have I got that right?
BRENNAN: You`ve described that quite well, the situation. I mean, I
think one thing that`s worth keeping in mind. These are not, as one of my
former colleagues once said, it`s not a bag of cash that`s being handed
surreptitiously from the brand to the generic.
These are in connection with ancillary agreements in the settlement
agreement that have their own, stand on their own two legs, if you will, a
co-promotion agreement with the generic drug company to promote the
product. In this case, urologists, joint development agreement, a joint
venture to develop a new innovative product, the supply agreement, things
of that nature.
So, this isn`t just cold cash going from one side to the other, but
it`s in conjunction with other arms length transaction.
MATHISEN: Very quickly, decision on this expected when, June, end of
the term?
BRENNAN: Most likely end of the term. You know, we could be
surprised, but I think most people are thinking about June.
MATHISEN: Jeff Brennan, former head of the FTC`s Health Care Services
Division, thanks for being with us.
BRENNAN: Thank you.
GHARIB: Americans owe roughly $1 trillion on student loans, more than
they owe on credit cards. If that`s not enough, college graduates are
increasingly being sued by universities they attended to pay back the money
they borrowed.
Tonight, we begin a three-part series, "Hitting the Books".
Scott Cohn reports on how scholarly efforts are turning into degrees
of debt.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCOTT COHN, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over):
Aaron
Graph (ph) is 30 years old and just getting by.
AARON GRAPH (ph), 30 YEARS OLD: Maybe I have $100 spending money a
week and spending money means gas, means food. I don`t go out to eat.
COHN: He teaches high school equivalency courses and does some
remodeling on the side, all to pay around $600 a month on his $60,000 in
student loans.
GRAPH: I`m basically paying rent twice.
COHN: And now, he has a court judgment against him. George
Washington University where Graph earned a degree in 2010 sued him last
year for nonpayment of a $4,000 federal Perkins loan for low-income
students. Graph, who previously spoke to "Bloomberg News", says he is
paying his other student loans but something had to give.
GRAPH: I guess I could get another job where I`m working 17, 18 hours
a day.
COHN: The university wouldn`t talk about Graph`s case, but says, in
general, litigation is "a last resort," a view shared by administrators
across the country.
JUSTIN DRAEGER, NATL. ASSOC. OF STUDENT FINANCIAL AID
ADMINISTRATORS:
By and large, I think most institutions are trying to work with their
students.
COHN: The problem is that delinquent student loans are growing,
passing late credit card payments for the first time. And federal law
requires schools to collect and sometimes sue.
(on camera): Unlike most forms of debt, you can`t get out of a
student loan, not even by declaring bankruptcy. But with delinquencies
rising and budget shrinking, lenders and colleges are getting more
aggressive about collecting, including taking their alumni to court.
(voice-over): We found cases filed by Yale, Temple, and the
University of Pennsylvania, which filed some two dozens suits just last
year for bad loans and unpaid tuition, a 35 percent jump from the year
before. The university has declined to comment.
Graph hopes his case starts a dialogue.
GRAPH: Let`s start to talk about why is college so expensive. What
is it that we are getting for our money when we put our money into these
institutions?
COHN: It`s a conversation colleges are willing to have, bud they also
want their money.
Scott Cohn for NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, Philadelphia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GHARIB: Such a tough situation. First of all, a lot of these
graduates, they have all this loan or debt, and they don`t have a job.
MATHISEN: They can`t find a job.
GHARIB: They can`t find a job. And even if they find a job, it`s
going to take a long time to pay or $60,000, $100,000 or more.
MATHISEN: This is why so many of the schools are going to lower price
online courses as a way to reduce, actually to reach a broader audience.
But also to reduce the amount of money that is required from the student to
get in there.
GHARIB: Nothing beats (ph) that classroom teacher.
MATHISEN: Ooh.
Of course, money management is the lesson we all need and that
tomorrow, in part two of our series, Sharon Epperson is going to report on
the growing demand to make financial literacy a core requirement in high
schools across the country.
GHARIB: Coming up a little later on the program, too young to retire
but not too young to buy a retirement home. We`ll look at new wave of
buyers snapping up real estate in some unlikely places.
But, first, here`s how treasuries, currencies, and commodities closed
out the day.
(MUSIC)
GHARIB: Let`s take a look now with what we`re watching for you for
tomorrow. We`ll get a report on durable goods, which measures, among other
things, the appliances going into new homes.
Speaking of homes, S&P eases the Case-Shiller home price index for
January and Robert Shiller will be our guest on NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT.
We`ll also get the latest numbers on new home sales for February.
MATHISEN: And speaking of housing, house prices are generally moving
up these days, but considering how far they fell in some states, including
Florida, bargain hunters, some of the most unlikely shoppers, are still
finding lots of values.
Diana Olick has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIANA OLICK, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over):
At
Century Village Retirement Community in Boca Raton, senior citizens get in
early for yoga.
But not Charlie Rocque.
CHARLIE ROCQUE, NON-RETIRED HOME BUYER: No, this is my little getaway
place.
OLICK: At 56, he is neither a citizen, nor a retiree. What he is, is
an astute buyer.
ROCQUE: I bought an apartment that was valued at $75,000 and I picked
it up for $25,000. So, the value, it comes in the surroundings, it comes
with the club house, it comes with a peace of mind that I am -- I have some
place. I know that if I need to go there, I can go there.
OLICK: From the height of the housing boom in 2006 to the bottom in
2011, home prices in Boca Raton fell 53 percent, according to Zillow.com.
Now, they`re heading up again and that has created a great opportunity for
home buyers of any age.
(on camera): While the median age here at Century Village maybe
coming down, you still have to be 55 years old to live here. But that
hasn`t stopped younger investors from jumping right in, taking advantage of
the low prices and waiting it out until retirement.
BEN SCHACHTER, CENTURY VILLAGE REAL ESTATE INC. PRESIDENT: We
see a
significant uptick in property values increasing and inventory drastically
decreasing. So they have elected to buy now.
OLICK: Schachter estimates that now 10 percent of Century Village
residents work either full or part-time. The vacancy rate for the
community is around 2 percent, because low prices are luring buyers.
As for his older neighbors, Charlie Rocque has nothing but respect.
But he doesn`t know many of them because he`s usually out at work.
For NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, I`m Diana Olick in Boca Raton, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GHARIB: Well, this is obviously a very interesting angle in investing
in real estate, but I`m hearing more and more people saying that I wish I
had bought some properties during the downturn because they feel --
MATHISEN: Absolutely.
GHARIB: -- there`s more of an upside than investing in stocks.
MATHISEN: Oh, absolutely. Some of those prices came down so far, but
it took a brave human being to go in there at the depth of the housing
crash in those cities like Miami, Las Vegas - -
GHARIB: Las Vegas, right.
MATHISEN: -- Riverside County in California. Really take some nerve
to do it.
I didn`t do it, I can tell you that.
GHARIB: I didn`t either.
Well, that`s it for us on NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT for tonight. I`m
Susie Gharib. Thanks so much for watching.
MATHISEN: And I`m Tyler Mathisen. Have a great evening. We`ll see
you back here tomorrow night.
END
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