Market Briefing---Bob (fast)
>> welcome back. the “world financial report”. since oracle’s c.e.o. larry ellison has his sights on peoplesoft, peoplesoft is all the more interested in completing the deal. peoplesoft says buying j.d. edwards will save between $150 and $200 million in 2004 by eliminating redundant workers, functions and facilities, while making consulting and sales operations more efficient. by throwing cash into the j.d. edwards offer, analysts say the deal is more likely.
>> i think it is a way to make sure that the trade goes through, make sure they’re able to make the margeer happen. our view is, if it were a 75% chance the merger were going to go through, the odds are now 85%. sweetening it with cash, it reduces the risk oracle was talking about.
>> to explain the reason for throwing cash into the deal, peoplesoft the new arrangement -- larry ellison said oracle will stop selling peoplesoft programs if he acquires the company, prompting a lawsuit from peoplesoft, claiming oracle is attempting to hurt people soft’s business with clients. richard davis of needham puts the odds of oracle buying peoplesoft at one in 10. investors have rewarded larry ellison’s initiative for the last five sessions. oracle shares rose today 1.25%. the biggest rally around today on this news was in shares of j.d. edwards, up over 5.5% in this session. manufacturing in new york state rose more than expected. the empire manufacturing index rose to its highest level since the survey began in july 2001. the index climbed to 26.8, more than 16 points above what was expected. it was up from the 10.6 in may. economists said the report may indicate strengthening of manufacturing across the country. it was the new york manufacturing report that helped jumpstart today’s stock market rally as market watchers took heart that an economic recovery is taking hold.
>> most have looked for that to contract from 10 to 6 or 8. the philly fed and new york state empire survey are good barometers of future expectations. when you look at the fundamentals in place, whether fiscal policy, monetary policy, what they’ve done with the tax cuts, the $4000 billion deficit, 40-year interest rate lows, the stimulus is in place to crank out the economy.
>> the dow jones industrial average up over 200 points. advancers beating decliners by a hefty margin there. looking at wilshire 5000, the broadest look at the u.s. markets, up 2.1%, to 9653 on the day. u.s. treasuries fell after a report showed that new york-area manufacturing, what we were talking about, expanding more than forecast. the five-year note with its biggest decline in three weeks. leading today’s markets were many manufacturing names after that empire manufacturing report came out. deborah kostroun has more.
