Market briefing---Matt (slow)
Nasdaq---Julie (slow)
SEC---Bob (fast)
i’m matt nesto. let’s run you through the day that was on wall street today. the dow, s&p and nasdaq all finishing lower. five days in a row on the slide, the dow down .4%. the worst of the three. and the s&p down not quite .2% and the nasdaq, for a change, the least worst performer. the nasdaq lost .1% today after a volatile session. julie hyman has the wrap from the nasdaq marketsite in times square.
>> today we did approach having a loss on the year for the nasdaq. that is for 2004. that is not something that’s happened for the nasdaq thus far this year. if we finished at 2003 or below, we would have had a loss. but narrowly finishing above that and a gain of just .1% thus far in 2004. this important psychological level for some folks. many people are talking about moving averages in the nasdaq. we are approaching the 100 day moving average, which is 1985, on the nasdaq. people are concerned if we get to this level we could fall further so something driving a bit of the technical trade of late. talking about movers today, one of the biggest decliners today was qualcomm, helping pull the nasdaq 100 down after the stock gained 5% yesterday after raising its second-quarter sales and profit forecasts. another decliner today was nextel, helping pull the nasdaq 100 lower after comments by a morgan stanley analyst saying that the company is facing a slow-do you think in customers, higher marketing costs and the possibility it may have to expense stock options and that the shares could fall, reaching $19 by 2005. also, looking at synopsys and monolithic. synopsys is a software company announcing it would buy monolithic on a before-share basis 93% higher than monolithic shares closed on monday. synopsys hit by the fact that second-quarter sales and forecast will miss analysts’ forecasts. both of those elements hitting that stock today. having its biggest drop in four years’ time. back to you.
>> elsewhere on wall street today, the head of goldman sachs last year nearly doubled his pay package. chief executive henry paulson was paid $21.4 million last year. $600,000 was cash and the rest was restricted stock awards not to be drawn upon in three years, but he got no bonus. former president john thain who joined the nyse last month took home $20.2 million. goldman’s profit last year rose to $3 billion on trading of bonds, currencies and commodities. the securities and exchange% commission has proposed changes to the so-called trade-through rule which critics say delays the execution of stock trades and supports monopoly at the new york stock exchange. bob bowden joins me to explain the rule as well as the changes.
>> good afternoon. the s.e.c. calls the changes regulation n.m.s. and it’s not been enacted, but the s.e.c. has presented provisions and hearings today. as described, it would relax the so-called trade-through rule that forces electronic markets to make sure a better price isn’t available elsewhere. critics say the rule slows down trades and the time lost acquiring the big board quote can cost investors more than the few pennies a share that the quote from the nyse may bring. today, s.e.c. secretary donaldson emphasized transaction speed.
>> the critical issue is how to capture the benefits of speed and certainty of execution while maintaining the bedrosian rock principle of insuring that all investors, large or small, are protected so better-priced orders are executed.
>> criticisms of trade-through rule number one is speed and number two, critics argue that even if the nyse quotes a better price than other networks, that’s no guarantee it will trade at the better price. john bogle, founder of the vanguard group, made that point today on bloomberg television. regulation n.m.s. would relax the trade-through rule such that prices within one to five cents a share of the best prices could be executed. this is the proposal the s.e.c. put forth today and the s.e.c. said investors could opt out of the trade-through rule and consent could be given on an order-by-order basis if the investor says, i don’t care about the best price, i elect for the best speed. the regulation would also ban stock quotes in sub penny increments. there could be congressional action in the matter as representative richard baker held hearings on this last week and said if the s.e.c. does not go far enough in modernizes what what―modernizing what he called the ossified trade-through rule, he would seek further regulation.
>> roy disney and stanley gold ask a delaware court to unseal documents related to the compensation of c.e.o. michael eisner. the two dissident directors who resigned last year are pushing for eisner to step down and asked a judge to order disney to turn over materials listing shareholders and owners of retirement plans. in a letter to disney’s board, the two said disney delivered the documents to them, though some were designated “confidential.” president putin, vladimir putin, fired his government today. our next guest will tell us the effect that may have on russian stocks. john chisem with arcadian asset management is up next.
