Want a Bush Ad? Here's One
Reported by Melanie - August 23, 2004 -
I'm going to make my comments about this post (from the August 23, 2004 edition of Your World w/Neil Cavuto) right here, instead of at the end. This is a long post but chopping it up wouldn't do it justice. Bear in mind that this is from Fox News' premiere business show, one allegedly peopled by "journalists" who report the facts and let the viewer decide. Imagine frightened, broke, confused Americans watching this, trying to decide who to vote for in November. I can only imagine what they think, not only today, but day after day after day after day, for months on end. This isn't "news." This isn't "business news." This isn't journalism. These aren't facts. This is one long George W. Bush political advertisement.
Participants in this discussion were host Neil Cavuto, Terry Keenan, Fox's "Senior Business Correspondent," Fox employee Brenda Buttner, Tom Atkins of "Remax Services" and Jonathan Hoenig of CapitalistPig Investments.
Cavuto introduced the segment by explaining how "nasty" things are in Najaf, explaining that US aircraft have stepped up attacks, that though we don't know who's responsible, the Imam ali shrine (which, for the second time since Thursday he referred to as a "temple") has been damaged. Cavuto said this "raises the question right now: al Sadr captured or killed?" And, would "that be the signal for stocks to take off?" Then to Buttner.
Buttner: "I think it would be very good for stocks, for the stock market." Buttner said she thought it important to have peace in Iraq but, "I think the President - the Commander in Chief - looks weak here, and that is hurting him in the election battle and I think Wall Street does not want want John Kerry to win." Buttner continued, saying that part of the problem with stocks right how is that they (Wall Street) "view that he might [win]" so "getting rid of this man" (al Sadr) or capturing or killing him, would be "the best thing for the markets."
Cavuto turned to Hoenig saying that some argue that seeing this guy "out of the way" would help the markets but that it could also cause complications for coalition forces which could in turn be a problem for Wall Street.
Hoenig said "there's a lot that could be problematic for the markets" and that yes, the market is watching the al Sadr situation but that they are watching Wal-Mart, Cisco and Hewlett Packard more closely.
Cavuto asked Hoenig what he thought would happen if "he's killed...if he's taken out," then what?
Hoenig said that was anyone's guess; maybe the market would "pop" on the news but it won't matter until the fundamantals change.
Keenan was next. She said "dead or alive is the issue" and, "I think dead is certainly what Wall Street " and "the rest of us would like to see." She said "we saw what happened with Saddam and a lot of people" thought why didn't we just "knock him off in that hole." She lamented that we had to go through that "whole trial thing." She said "so many people are negative" but that "the market would pop" or have a "short covering rally" but it (killing al Sadr) probably wouldn't be a long term fix.
Then it was on to Atkins. He said he thought killing al Sadr might make for a two or three day pop of maybe a couple hundred points, but for him, the "bigger picture" is that "investors right now, big and small, are scared to death of a John Kerry victory." He said, "if John Kerry wins, this market is going into the toilet and everybody knows it."
Back to Buttner who said she thought killing al Sadr would make for "more than a pop" because the markets are concerned about oil right now and Iraq "cuts its exports in half just with a threat of violence" from the Shia that they'll take out a pipeline, and that's really troubling the markets so "taking him, or killing him, would help."
Cavuto: "[Inaudible], blaming John Kerry for this."
To Atkins who said he still didn't think there'd be a big rally if al Sadr were killed.
To Cavuto, wondering if the market "is factoring [in] a Kerry victory," with losses of some of the "favorable tax treatments" like capital gains and asking if we'd have "marginal interest rates."
Hoenig said he thought "a John Kerry victory, no question, will be a problem," not only for the markets but the economy. He said he thinks "John Kerry is at heart a socialist" and that "capitalism cannot thrive in that environment." Asked whether he'd have felt the same in l992 about a Clinton presidency he said not as much; that "Kerry really takes it to a new extreme" by "claiming that health care is a right." He said people are sitting on the sidelines and who wants to commit money to a market when everything's "up for grabs."
Back to Keenan who said "There's no doubt about it, this market's scared of a John Kerry victory." She explained that the market peaked on February 11, right when John Kerry started to win primaries.
Cavuto interrupted and asked whether a Kerry win in November would make that the time to buy (stocks). Keenan explained that we should look at what happened in l992 - it wasn't until Clinton got elected that stocks "started to falter," particularly the drug stocks, and that a year later they were down 25%.
Buttner was next: "There's a big difference" between Bill Clinton and John Kerry. Kerry's "the most liberal senator" and Clinton "made his mark" moderating the party.
Hoenig finished the discussion saying that the environment is "choppy" and the market has basically "flatlined."
