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Aired December 10, 2001 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LOU DOBBS, ANCHOR: Good evening, everyone. Tonight, the search for Osama bin Laden intensifies. We'll have the very latest information on efforts to find the world's most wanted man, blast him out of his hiding place, and bring him to justice. We'll be joined by Christiane Amanpour from Afghanistan, where U.S. forces are involved in heavy fighting near the caves of Tora Bora. Osama bin Laden thought to be hiding in that area.
Military analyst General Donald Shepherd joins us to assess the difficult task of tracking Osama bin Laden down, and flushing him out. We'll also have a live report for you from the White House where an intense debate today about whether to release a videotape of Osama bin Laden, a tape that reportedly shows him bragging about the September 11 attacks. Tonight, we'll have that decision for you from the White House.
There's also a hot debate over college football bowl games. It's a lot of money, and it is a controversy surrounding Nebraska's selection to appear in the Rose Bowl.
On Wall Street, stock prices fall as investors await the outcome of tomorrow's Fed decision on interest rates.
Tonight in Afghanistan, anti-Taliban forces say they've surrounded some of Osama bin Laden's loyal forces in the mountainous Tora Bora region. And they say they've confiscated some of their weapons and some of their ammunitions. Meanwhile, the Pentagon says a U.S. cargo plane dropped a 15,000 pound Daisy-Cutter bomb like this one, on a cave complex in Tora Bora over the weekend.
The daisy-cutter parachutes to the ground and fills the air with fuel, sets off a gargantuan explosion that is similar to a nuclear bomb in power. CNN has learned that the White House will likely release a videotape that reportedly shows bin Laden bragging about the terrorist attacks of September 11, the release expected Wednesday.
The White House had been concerned about balancing the sharing of information with the need to protect intelligence sources. The Pentagon says bin Laden is clearly running out of options.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL WOLFOWITZ, DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE: This is a man on the run, a man with a big price on his head, a man who has to wake up every day and decide, do I keep all this security around me, which I need to make sure that some Afghan bounty hunters don't turn me in, but which help to give a lot of reports about my whereabouts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOBBS: U.S. troops gave the "all-clear" signal after inspecting the grounds of the former U.S. embassy in Kabul. This, the first time U.S. troops have entered the embassy since Soviet troops left Afghanistan in 1989.
Tonight, Christiane Amanpour is in Afghanistan. Heavy fighting near the caves of Tora Bora, Osama bin Laden's suspected hiding place. And claims by anti-Taliban forces that bin Laden may be hiding within a 1.5 square mile area at the top of the White Mountains there.
Christiane, what's the very latest?
CHRISTIAN AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, indeed this is what's been going on for the last several days here in the Jalalabad area, the White Mountain area east of here. That's the so-called Eastern Alliance who controls that part of the place, have been mounting what they call a serious assault to try to flush out Osama bin Laden, who, they say they believe is taking refuge in those caves at the base of that mountain, along with one of his top deputies, the Egyptian, Aiman al-Zawahiri (ph).
They do say they believe they have them encircled in about a four kilometer square area or, as you said, a 1.5 mile square area. And they have been trying to pummel that area as well as the United States. The ground forces of the Eastern Alliance have been trying to pummel the area with whatever artillery they have. But in the last couple of days, they have come under resistance from what they say are the al Qaeda forces there, resistance they say by tank fire and by mortar fire.
So, that's been going on for several days now, and as we know, the United States has stepped up its air raids on that area for several weeks now, trying to flush out either Osama bin Laden or any of the al Qaeda operatives who me be in there with him. And that is the main focus now, of the U.S. military effort.
In Kabul, a slightly more benign U.S. military effort. As you mentioned, U.S. Marines went into the Kabul embassy of the United States, which has not been occupied since 1989. And if you remember, just at the beginning of this crisis, before the air war began, the Taliban in Kabul organized a demonstration outside the U.S. embassy, and indeed some armed Taliban men have been seen climbing up onto the walls.
There was some cars in the compound set on fire and the seal of the United States embassy had been removed. This comes at a time when many diplomatic missions are slowly beginning to go back into Kabul and set up their diplomatic missions and embassies there ahead of the broad-based alliance that should take shape on December 22. Here in Kandahar we have seen evidence of U.S. special force as they are in town here guarding the new political leaders here, situation in Kandahar is calm -- Lou.
DOBBS: Christiane Amanpour, thank you very much. From Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Finding Osama bin Laden and bringing him to justice are of course, difficult tasks. Here to assess the difficulty and the progress, is CNN contributor and military analyst General Don Shepperd.
General, good to have you with us.
MAJ. GENERAL DONALD SHEPPERD (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Lou.
DOBBS: The situation first in Kandahar, where U.S. Marines are moving into the city, taking positions apparently attempting to block further retreat of the al Qaeda and Taliban, but this seems a late stage of which to be doing it since the opposition forces have been ostensibly in control there for the better part of week?
SHEPPERD: Not at all, Lou. The soldiers say a war is easy compared to peace, and that of course is humor out there among the troops, but on the other hand it is really true. Taking the city, which has been under siege by the Taliban for a long time, and basically reestablishing law and order, is very difficult, especially when rival tribal chiefs are in there.
The city surrendered two and by Nokabulah (ph), now the old governor taking over Gul Agha (ph) taking over, Hamid Karzai basically having negotiated all of this, so it is a chaotic situation. It is going to take some time to bring order, and at the same time you have got escaping Taliban, escaping Taliban leaders and perhaps remaining al Qaeda in there as well as the search for Mullah Omar. So, it is going to take some while to sort this out and there are lots of places to look, and lots of places to hide.
DOBBS: All right, General, perhaps I was not clear. What I referring to was the setting up of a perimeter around Kandahar to stop the Taliban, the armed Taliban exiting the city. That's what I was referring to. It seems a little late in the developments to be doing that. What's your take?
SHEPPERD: Remember, 1,200 Marines doesn't really go a long way. There's lots of roads out of Kandahar. Think of Kandahar as a city about the size of New Orleans, and lots of places to go in the way of roads. So you have to be very careful. The 1,200 Marines not only have to go in the missions to block the various roads that go out and interdict, but they also have to protect their base.
So, it's going to take a while to shut down all of these, and our course, they're getting a lot of help from the troops that are now taking over from the Taliban, so it's just not the Marines doing this, and it's a real difficult job.
DOBBS: Do you think they should have additional help?
SHEPPERD: They are going to get additional help. There's no question about that. But you have to be very careful about when you introduce that help. You have to again be able to protect them, you have to be able to feed them and resupply them, and of course, reinforce them and get them out if they come under attack. So you have to be very, very careful about this, and General Franks is going about this very methodically and I think very wisely.
DOBBS: Do you believe that a deal was struck between the opposition forces and the Taliban in Kandahar to permit the exit of Mullah Mohammed Omar?
SHEPPERD: I have no idea about that. Of course it's been denied and of course, the rhetoric has changed from day to day. First of all, we heard that he was given amnesty, then no amnesty. Now they are on the search for him. So I don't think anyone knows, and also deals are made and deals change there. The key is, we want Mullah Omar, we want al Qaeda and we want the senior Taliban leadership and we will be exerting extreme pressure and out influence there is enormous and perhaps getting bigger every day.
DOBBS: How confident would you be in the intelligence suggesting that bin Laden is within a one and a half square mile area?
SHEPPERD: I'm very confident. And the reason I am confident is not that I really know anything that anyone else doesn't. But we're really focusing a lot of air power in there. The remaining air power, if you will, in that particular area.
Also, the reports by the Eastern Alliance, they're sure he's there. It seems reasonable to me, it's a great hiding place, it is the only place left that he could be and still be in Afghanistan within reason. I suppose the Maruf (ph) area you could a argue, but Tora Bora is likely where he is, and also, it is very easy for him to get across that porous border if he decides to get out and leave the rest of the al Qaeda there.
So, I think he's there, Lou, and I think the activity confirms it.
DOBBS: The dropping of that 15,000-pound Daisy Cutter bomb, are we looking at the change in type of ordnance being used here? That's the largest explosive in our conventional ordnance is it?
SHEPPERD: I'm really glad you asked that because there is a lot of misinformation. This is not a fuel (UNINTELLIGIBLE) explosive. It is a concussion bomb designed to clear large areas, helicopter landing pads, in Vietnam. I watched some of them being dropped in Vietnam.
What it is, is it is dropped in an area where there are normally troop concentrations. It will not suck air out the caves, although it will rattle the heck out of the inside of a cave if dropped near the entrance, but it is likely that we dropped those to get the Taliban fighters, the al Qaeda fighters that are out there surrounding the area and kill them, quite frankly, at these cave entrances. It is not meant to collapse the caves. It basically won't do that, but it will sure get your attention; 15,000 pounds explosive, that's the biggest we have that's not nuclear.
DOBBS: General, as you were saying, it would not suck the air out, and of course, we're rolling the video of that, and there is nothing at all funny about ordnance, but to watch that explosion, as you were explaining, that it wasn't sucking the air out is a remarkable thing.
SHEPPERD: I've been around bombs when they went off, and you get concussion from every explosion, but fuel-air explosives are not being dropped. They were dropped some in the Gulf War, and they have not been dropped in this war. If we drop them they do suck air out and they do incinerate inside caves. It remains to be seen if we use them.
DOBBS: OK. General, thank you very much. General Don Shepperd.
Wednesday, America may have a chance to see a videotape of Osama bin Laden, a tape on which he reportedly brags about the September 11 attacks. The decision to release the tape on Wednesday followed a day of intense debate within the White House. Kelly Wallace, our White House correspondent is there, and joins us now.
Kelly, is this a firm decision, and what can you tell us about the contents of the tape?
KELLY WALLACE: Well, Lou, we can tell you not a complete total firm decision. We can say it's all but certain that the Bush Administration will be releasing the tape. U.S. officials though saying that translators still going over the tape. They're also having translators outside the U.S. government go over the tape and translate it as well.
It is in Arabic. This to protect the administration when it and if it releases the tape from any criticisms that it's own translation is twisting the words of Osama bin Laden. So barring any glitch or unforeseen development, we understand the tape is likely to be released. The target date, as you noted, Wednesday, President Bush aids say he very much wants to get the tape out to the public as long as it doesn't compromise any intelligence gathering capabilities.
And Lou, just a short time ago, the president at an event marking this, the second night of Chahuka, was asked just what the public would learn if it did see the tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In order to make sure peace and likeness exists in the future we must bring him to justice and we will. For those who see the tape they'll realize that not only is he guilty of incredible murder, he has no conscious and no soul. That he represents the worst of civilization.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALLACE: And Lou, U.S. officials say one of the biggest arguments in releasing the tape is to put to rest any doubts that might exist in the Arab and Muslim world about bin Laden's culpability in these attacks, because U.S. officials who have seen the tape say that bin Laden definitely show advance knowledge of the attacks, that he indicates he was listening to the radio in advance of the attacks, waiting for coverage, that he was very much surprised at the damage, the total collapse of the World Trade Center, that it was much more than he anticipated.
Also, Lou, U.S. officials say that bin Laden appears to be greatly amused by the fact he indicates that some of the hijackers didn't know in the end that they were going to be taking part in a suicide mission. As for the reasons not to release the tapes, securities concerns. Also U.S. officials, Lou, didn't necessarily want to give bin Laden air time.
But again, it does appear the administration wanting to get the information out to the public. Ari Fleischer, the president's spokesman, saying that the tape will speak for itself. And again, we are looking like the tape will be released as early as Wednesday -- Lou.
DOBBS: Any indication, Kelly, as to whether or not we will also be told how we got our hands in the videotape?
WALLACE: Absolutely. That is another question that U.S. officials say they want to go over. The know when the tape is released. Reporters will have questions about the chain of custody. How U.S. officials got their hand on the tape, right now, all U.S. officials will say is that the tape was found in a private home in Jalalabad. But they're sayings the discovery and the way it got into the hands of U.S. officials much more complicated. But that is a question U.S. officials want to have the answers to when the tape is released -- Lou.
DOBBS: Kelly, thanks. Kelly Wallace from the White House.
Pentagon officials say that anti-Taliban forces have captured the man who served as the Taliban's army chief of staff. Jamie McIntyre is at the Pentagon and has the story for us -- Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE: Lou, Pentagon sources sat that among the small number of captured Taliban senior leaders was a man who served as the army chief of staff for the Taliban, a man identified by Pentagon sources as Mohammed Fazel (ph). A second official says another Taliban leader, identified as simply, Mullah Delldullla (ph) , was also captured and in the hands of Taliban forces.
But today deputy defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz indicated in his words, quote, "it ain't over." He said there are still a large number of al Qaeda and Taliban people on the loose in Afghanistan and said capturing them was going to be a long and difficult job to carry that out. Of course the U.S. is continuing to bomb near the Tora Bora area where it's believed that Osama bin Laden is hiding. It's also believed that Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader, has slipped out of Kandahar. But sources at the Pentagon say U.S. intelligence indicates that he hasn't gone very far.
And also one sign of the changing nature of combat, the U.S. aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk, which has been serving as a floating base for special operations troops has been removed from the area. It is heading back to its home base, and some of those troops have come back to the United States -- Lou.
DOBBS: In time for the Christmas holidays. Jamie, General Shepperd said that he believed that we would see more troops being moved to Afghanistan. Is there any official indication there at the Pentagon that will take place?
MCINTYRE: There's no indication of that at this time. There are about 1,400 Marines at the base southwest of Kandahar. There are several hundred special operations forces. Of course they have moved forces in to secure airfields for humanitarian relief. It is possible we'll see a small number of troops increase, but at this point we have no indication of any large plus-up of troops on the ground.
DOBBS: Jamie, thank you. Jamie McIntyre, CNN military affairs correspondent from the Pentagon.
Coming up next, we'll have the very latest on the efforts to track down Osama bin Laden, and to eliminate the leadership of the al Qaeda and the Taliban. The anthrax in the letters sent to Senators Leahy and Daschle is the same. We'll tell you what else investigators have uncovered.
And, is there a corporate naming curse? Enron spent millions to put its name on a new Houston stadium. Now it's bankrupt. But Enron's story is certainly not unique. We'll have that story for you and a lot more still ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Tonight, the United States is stepping up its efforts to find Osama bin Laden, and to bring the most wanted man in the world to justice. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): U.S. and opposition forces have attacked targets in the White Mountains of eastern Afghanistan. Pentagon officials say they believe bin Laden remains hidden in that area.
PAUL WOLFOWITZ, DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE: We don't have any credible evidence of him being in other parts of Afghanistan or outside of Afghanistan.
DOBBS: An American aircraft dropped a 15,000 Daisy Cutter bomb yesterday on a cave believed to house al Qaeda forces. REAR ADM. JOHN STUFFLEBEEM, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: Sometimes you get a report where someone says he might have seen bin Laden or associates that are known to be close around him. And when that's done and the soft forces are acting to request of hitting a particular area because someone believes that's where that leadership may be.
DOBBS: A key commander of anti-Taliban forces at Tora Bora says his forces have pushed al Qaeda fighters in the White Mountains into a 1 and 1/2 square mile area. Eastern alliance commander, Hazroth Ali (ph) tells CNN he's convinced bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al- Zawarhi, are in that area.
Ali said, quote, "We had information from the local population as well as our intelligence sources that he remains there. He was seen yesterday and people who were with him today were overheard speaking to him over their wireless", end quote.
Ali's report cannot be independently confirmed. Tonight, there are several Afghan opposition forces arrayed along with hundreds of U.S. special operation forces pursuing Osama bin Laden.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Turning now to the latest developments in the anthrax investigations: Tests on the letter sent to Senator Patrick Leahy confirms the anthrax does match the grade contained in the letter that was sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.
For the details, we're joined by Eileen O'Connor -- Eileen.
EILEEN O'CONNOR, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, these are secondary tests. You know, already preliminary tests had confirmed anthrax was in that letter. But now they confirm that this anthrax is as potent as that sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.
Sources tell CNN there also is silica was added to make the deadly spores of the anthrax dryer. And that allows them to float somewhat in the air. Now that means greater probability of someone actually inhaling the spores and becoming infected, showing the intent was in fact to kill, say investigators. The letter, as we saw last week, is a photocopy, just like that sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.
Now that and the envelope to Senator Patrick Leahy have been sent to the lab at FBI headquarters. They put out some photos of their work on these pieces of paper. You can see them there. They have been decontaminated, the pieces of paper. They are now being treated by certain chemicals. They're going to be analyzed for things like latent fingerprints and trace amounts of fiber or anything else that might help them pin down a suspect or eventually help them build a case against whoever is sending these deadly letters.
Now they're also doing some DNA tests, Lou, but they doubt that they are going to yield very much. The envelopes were brought pre- stamped. They were also taped. Again, showing the sophistication of the person sending these letters -- Lou. DOBBS: Eileen, thank you very much. Eileen O'Connor from Washington.
Coming up next, we'll have the latest developments on the war against terrorism in Afghanistan. Anti-Taliban troops saying they have made major progress in Tora Bora.
And the stadium jinx: We'll tell you about the bad things that can happen to companies that put their names on major sport arenas.
Also, a Wall Street veteran weighs in on the markets, the economy, public policy, next.
ANNOUNCER: Coming up, Lou is joined by Donald Marron, chairman of UBS America.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Now for the very latest in the war against terrorism. A key commander of anti-Taliban troops says his forces have pushed al Qaeda fighters into a small area of Tora Bora and tonight has them surrounded. The commander says also he believes Osama bin Laden and his deputy are within a one-and-a-half square mile area.
A senior White House officials tells CNN that a videotape that shows Osama bin Laden had advanced knowledge of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon will likely be released Wednesday. The official says the White House wants to have an outside, non- government translator view the tape.
CNN has learned that aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk has left the waters off the coast of Pakistan, as Jamie McIntyre has just reported. The Kitty Hawk serving as a floating base for special operations. The USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS Carl Vinson remain on station engaged in the war against terrorism.
Attorney General John Ashcroft this week announced the breakup of an illegal immigrant smuggling case. The 39-case indictment against Los Angeles-based Golden State Transportation is believed to be largest ever brought against an American transportation carrier. Twenty employees, including the company's CEO, were arrested. Those employees spread out over seven Western states.
American hero Johnny Michael Spann today was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. The 32-year-old CIA officer was the first American to die in combat in Afghanistan. He was killed while interviewing Taliban prisoners, including John Walker, an American Taliban -- that when a prison uprising began in Mazar-e Sharif.
Fort Campbell Kentucky -- more than 300 people gathered to pay tribute to three special forces soldiers killed in Afghanistan last week. They were killed when a U.S. bomb missed its target. Nineteen other servicemen were also injured.
One thing this country does better than any other is rally around its own. Case in point, New York City. A new poll finds 13 percent of all American adults would like to visit New York City above any other city, but followed by San Francisco and Las Vegas. Nearly 70 percent say they would like to visit New York in the next year if they could afford it and if they had the time. More than 20 percent of Americans say they plan to visit New York within the next year. And the majority of Americans have a better impression of New Yorkers since September 11 with mayor Rudolph Giuliani receiving especially high marks in the wake of those terrorist attacks.
Well, my next guest spent decades at the helm of one of the country's largest brokerages: PaineWebber. He also successfully coordinated the company's sale to UBS Warburg last -- UBS last year. UBS chairman Donald Marron was a guest on MONEYLINE just a few months back. And at that time, he was pretty optimistic about the economy, the markets in general. And he is with us tonight. We're going to find out just how optimistic you are. How optimistic are you?
DONALD MARRON, CHAIRMAN, UBS AMERICA: Lou, it's nice to be here.
I'm always optimistic, although I think we're going through a hard time now. I think American business and the American government are both doing the right thing. American business is making themselves more efficient, more effective. The government, led by President Bush, is putting in place the kind of things we need now: a safety net for people, unemployment and health care, more money in their pocketbooks and stimulus that will allow us to see the end of this decline.
DOBBS: You said the word stimulus and on Capitol Hill, it's apparently a dirty word. We're three months, almost tomorrow, since those attacks and we still don't have a package. What do you think is going on?
MARRON: Well, first of all, I think we need the package now. We don't want the package after the recovery begins. I think now, unfortunately, I think it's back to politics as usual.
I think the president has a very good program. It's crucial that consumers have their confidence. And people have to understand that there is protection for them and there's opportunity.
DOBBS: Protection, opportunity, we at this point -- when I said you were optimistic, I have to say I was optimistic as well.
MARRON: I remember...
DOBBS: I remain optimistic. I may moving to that one hand, other hand, sort of cautiously optimistic. But with a delayed fiscal stimulus, but we still have 10 interest rate cuts, do you think we'll have an 11th tomorrow?
MARRON: I think we will have one, yes, although I'm not sure that the cost of money is going to be the driving force in bringing the economy back.
DOBBS: Well, how about the markets themselves? These markets have shot back from their lows after September 11. What should we expect?
MARRON: Well, I think part of what is going on -- and this is the first post-401(k) market -- large number of people now have their futures in tax-deferred accounts. So they treat that much longer term, so the avalanche of selling you may have seen in the past hasn't been there, much there is somewhat of a longer term approach.
The second thing is, well reported by you and others, is there's lot of liquidity in the system. And as interest rates go down, clearly the desire of keeping it there arose. So you have built-up pressure coming and you have a more thoughtful portfolios in the hands of people, more thoughtful, thinking about those portfolios.
DOBBS: More thoughtful, but also, at the same time, we've seen this market just roar back. Has it overdone it?
MARRON: I think you can't say overdone it or not because the climate is so uncertain. What you can say is this comeback, very, very quickly and in heavy volume. And it's a thoughtful market. The stocks that are coming back, by and large, are the stocks that you think ought to come on, strong ones, real earnings, good opportunities.
DOBBS: Like UBS?
(LAUGHTER)
MARRON: Like UBS for sure. I heard that earlier on. I'm very glad to see that.
DOBBS: Now there's also some talk about -- I know you're working on your own private equity. How's that going?
MARRON: It's going extremely well, the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) fund. We're seeing a lot of opportunities. It's a time to be cautious, but on the other hand, constructive. So our optimism is being borne out by the opportunities that we see right now.
DOBBS: Fully engaged as always.
MARRON: Fully engaged, no question about that.
DOBBS: Now what about the talk that you would take a position with the Bush administration?
MARRON: You know, I've seen that talk, obviously. Part of my job as chairman of UBS America is to meet with public officials on a variety of topics. That topic has never come up. It's unfounded speculation. I think Paul O'Neill is doing a good job. Just look at all the work that's been done on the terror money, closing that down.
DOBBS: And so you have no interest, whatsoever, in a job down south?
MARRON: I'm having so much fun in my new business and keeping my hand in and UBS, that that combination fully ties me up now and in my thinking about the future.
DOBBS: Terrific. Let me ask you just a final question. Next year, recovery, when next year?
MARRON: I think there's going to be a recovery in the second quarter next year. The question is going to be how fast a recovery? That, it seems to me, is partly a function of our ability to come back and raise productivity through investment and technology and ideas. It means the speed of recovery might be slower for a couple more quarters.
DOBBS: OK, Don Marron. Great to see you.
MARRON: It's nice to see you, Lou.
DOBBS: Thanks.
Well, the collapse of Enron contains a number of cautionary lessons for just about everyone, but it also adds to a growing legend in corporate America. Call it the curse of the stadium sponsor.
Peter Viles has our story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Enron Field in Houston, the name cost Enron $100 million. Now Enron is in bankruptcy, the latest victim of the ballpark jinx. Enron shares down 98 percent since it bought the naming rights. Also jinxed, Pro Player, a Fruit of the Loom division that put its name on a Miami stadium, also in bankruptcy, its stock down 99 percent. Cursed in Baltimore, PSINet, down 99 percent since buying the rights to the city's NFL stadium. CMGI down 96 percent since naming the new football stadium outside Boston. The naming game has been a $4 billion business. Sports marketers insist it is alive an safe.
RICH HORROW, SPORTS LAW EXPERT: Corporations do this for exposure, premium brand awareness and brand value. And that doesn't change.
VILES: But these big deals sometimes bring big headaches. And San Francisco fans protested when 3Com put its name on good old Candlestick Park.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) buying, but I love Candlestick Park.
VILES: In St. Louis, Transworld was a terrific name for this dome, until TWA went out of business.
PETER STERN, PRESIDENT, STRATEGIC SPORTS GROUP: Clearly, the naming rights market is similar to the ad market in that, you know, it's gone soft.
VILES: One result, stadium names are still for sale. With enough money, your name could be on the Superdome, Pro Player Stadium, the ballpark in Arlington, Texas, or Comisky Park in Chicago. Solider Field in Chicago was available, but no longer. The city, after September 11, wisely decided not to rename a monument to local veterans.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(on camera): A good test of this market going forward is the Superdome in New Orleans. The name of that stadium has been up for bid for months now. And it's the biggest sporting event on the planet. The upcoming Superbowl there can't help sell it, it is tempting to say, nothing can -- Lou.
DOBBS: Well, even a couple of months anyway.
VILES: They sure do.
DOBBS: And good for Chicago, not...
VILES: Yes, the right thing.
DOBBS: Not selling out the name of Soldiers Field. That's an institution, as well as in the right spirit.
VILES: Veterans in Chicago are very happy with that decision.
DOBBS: Absolutely. Pete, thanks a lot.
Well, a remake of an old '60s Rat Pack movie called "Oceans 11" took the top spot at the box office over the weekend. The film and its all-star cast, led by George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, a big hit with audiences taking in $38 million. "Oceans 11," which follows the daring plan of 11 thieves to rob three Las Vegas casinos, broke the record for the best film opening in December.
After three weeks in the top spot, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" slipped to second place with weekend ticket sales totaling close to $15 million. "Harry Potter," along with "Oceans 11," both produced by Warner Brothers. "Harry Potter now earned nearly -- has earned almost $240 million, after just 24 days in theaters.
Fox's "Behind Enemy Lines" fell to third place, followed by "Monster's, Inc." and "Spy Game." The top 12 films grossed $82 million over the weekend, up 1.5 percent compared to a year ago.
Coming next, investors once hung on his every word. Now Henry Blodget is under investigation by the New York State Attorney. We will have that story for you. The Dow Jones industrials dropped back below 10,000, closing lower for the third session in a row. We head to Wall Street for the very latest. And despite a slowdown in travel, hotel and car rental owner Cendant predicting a solid quarter and very nice 2002.
ANNOUNCER: After the break, Lou speaks with the chairman and CEO of Cendant, Henry Silverman.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Prosecutors and plaintiffs, who lost billions of dollars, are looking now at undisclosed conflict of interests among some Wall Street analysts.
Allan Dodds Frank has the report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN DODDS FRANK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The New York Attorney General is investigating Henry Blodget and other analysts, once celebrities for the high-flying stock picks.
PETER BESHAR, GIBSON, DUNN & CRUTCHER: It may well be an appropriate place in the Attorney General's judgment to allocate resources. But at the end of the day, I don't think that that investigation is going to result in a specific complaint being charged against Mr. Blodget, or anybody else for that matter.
FRANK: The investigation into possible civil or criminal charges has been spurred by investors stung by analysts with undisclosed conflicts of interest. Attorney Jacob Zamansky (ph) won a settlement of more than $400,000 in an arbitration brought against Blodget's employer, Merrill Lynch, on behalf of a client who lost betting on a Blodget stock pick, Infospace, Inc.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's analysts across the board. It's not just one individual. This was a course of conduct, and in my view, a fraud perpetrated on the public, this tech bubble of year 2000.
FRANK: Also targeted by Zamansky (ph) and other lawyers, Morgan Stanley's Mary Meeker and Salomon Smith Barney's telecommunication guru, Jack Grubman. But one recent civil suit against Meeker was summarily dismissed in federal court.
JOHN COFFEE, HARVARD LAW SCHOOL, VISITING PROFESSOR: The lower court does not reach all conflicts of interest that are undisclosed. If we said that, it would make it impossible for securities analysts to perform their job.
FRANK: The Securities and Exchange Commission, under new chairman Harvey Pitt, has not launched an investigation, urging Wall Street instead to police itself by setting clearer standards for disclosing possible conflicts of interest.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Since the New York Attorney General's investigation began last June, several Wall Street firms, including Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley, have put in new rules restricting stock ownership by analysts in sectors they cover -- Lou.
DOBBS: And I don't believe investors are buying quite as quickly on an analyst's recommendation as they once did?
FRANK: That's for sure.
DOBBS: Allan, thank you. Allan Dodds Frank.
Well, the markets falling ahead of the FOMC meeting tomorrow. It's expected, the Fed is, to deliver the 11th interest rate cut this year. More than $186 billion of market value today erased while waiting for the Fed decision. The Dow down 128 points, back below 10,000. The Nasdaq fell 29 points. The S&P 500 losing 18 points.
We turn now to Christine Romans at the New York Stock Exchange, Greg Clarkin at the Nasdaq marketsite to bring us to up-to-date -- Christine.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They took the Dow 10,000 hats off today, put them back in the drawer, in fact. But they're not going to put them too far away because they think the market might go up once we get past this Fed meeting. At least for now, take a look at the big movers that we had today.
Compaq Computer down sharply down here. It's planned merger with Hewlett-Packard hitting a roadblock late Friday. Investors reacting today. Meanwhile, Enron moving higher. UBS Warburg, the investment banking arm of that Swiss Bank UBS, preparing a bid for Enron's trading operations. And J.P. Morgan Chase, Citigroup may also make offers.
Halliburton, meanwhile, rebounding nicely, up 17 percent. Most active stock here on the big board, reassuring Wall Street it does not expect asbestos injury claims to have a big impact on its bottom line. Meanwhile, AT&T falling 78 cents. It's not decided what to do yet with its cable TV business. Discussions with its broadband suitors still continuing.
And Viacom, a shake-up there. It's going to merge its UPN network with its CBS Television unit beginning in January. Also, management changes there as well, Lou. But that stock down on worries also about asbestos potential exposure. So interesting there -- Lou.
DOBBS: Interesting, the media sector itself getting hammered. So CBS Viacom participating in that as well.
ROMANS: Absolutely. AOL down today as well, Lou. The parent of this network.
DOBBS: You got it. Christine, thanks.
Turning now to the Nasdaq. That means Greg Clarkin -- Greg.
GREG CLARKIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Lou, I tell you, today was one of those days. A real defensive field in the market. People just kind of locking in some of the big gains we've had in tech shares.
I want to focus on the networkers. They were really, as a group, one of the biggest percentage losers on the day, down about three percent. So one of the reasons why, JDS Uniphase. It came out and it cuts it outlook for its sales. JDS Uniphase, which has run up nicely recently, giving back today. That dragged Cisco lower as well, some of the other networking stock. Big caps, for the most part, they were all on the downside as well. All in all, the Nasdaq gives up 29 points, back below the 2000 level. Again, a lot of folks just want to get past the Fed meeting, see what the Fed has to say about the economy tomorrow -- Lou.
DOBBS: Greg, thanks.
We're going to turn now to a company whose stock has just about doubled this year. Good news from travel and real estate firm Cendant. Despite owning several companies that have some connection to travel, the business today raising its earnings expectation for the quarter. Cendant also raising its projections for 2002. Shares of Cendant fell dramatically around September 11. Since that time, the stock has recovered, closing today at just above $18. Joining me now, the chairman, CEO of Cendant, Henry Silverman.
Henry, good to have you here.
HENRY SILVERMAN, CHMN., CEO, Cendant: Thank you, Lou.
DOBBS: It's counterintuitive, all that has happened in the travel area, the car rental business, lodging. And you're raising earnings estimates. What's going on?
SILVERMAN: Well, we built our business model to sustain most kinds of economic scenarios. We have about half of our business exposed to travel, but we really provide services to people in the travel business. We don't actually operate most of those businesses.
For example, we provide services to airlines. We don't own an airline. We provide services to hotel owners. We don't own the hotels. The other half of our business is really interest rate related. Our real estate businesses, our mortgage businesses, which are doing extremely well.
So typically, if interest rates go up in a strong economy, the travel businesses will do very well. In a weaker economy, as we're now seeing, when interest rates are declining, those interest rate- spread businesses are just knocking the doors off.
DOBBS: And projecting ahead to 2002, you've raised your estimates for this quarter by a penny?
SILVERMAN: Yes, by about 5 percent.
DOBBS: The -- next year, what does that mean you're looking for, because that's fairly strong?
SILVERMAN: Yes, we expect to grow earnings by at least 20 percent next year. Our macro assumption is that we'll have a modest recovery in the back half of the year. We think that interest rates, if you look at the yield curve, will start going up somewhere around the middle of the second quarter. And we'll up by perhaps 100 to 150 basis points by the fourth quarter. That implies some type of economic recovery, which should mean that you'll have stunning comparisons in our travel businesses from the third and fourth quarters of this year, which were severely depressed to where it will be next year.
DOBBS: You just sold over a billion in convertibles. What are you going to do with the money?
SILVERMAN: I believe in raising capital when you don't need it. When you do need it, for example, after September 11, the capital markets shut down. And had we needed to raise capital, then we wouldn't have been able to.
We are still building our business out. We have two very large platforms in travel and residential real estate. That's about $5 trillion a year of annual global revenues. So there are enormous opportunities for to us, externally as well as the internal opportunities, to continue our organic growth.
DOBBS: Any particular strategic direction that you'd like to share with us in terms of acquisitions?
SILVERMAN: Well, one thing we won't do is we won't name a stadium. So I can assure you of that.
[laughter]
DOBBS: Isn't that remarkable, I mean, what's happened to those companies?
SILVERMAN: Lou, it used to be that, when I was in the investment business, when companies bought corporate jets, the automatic rule was you shorted their stock. And I think now the rule is, when companies name stadiums, that's what you do.
But back to your question, strategically, we're going to continue to focus on residential real estate and travel. They're the two biggest pieces of the service sector. Collectively, it's about 20 percent of the United States gross domestic product. So we'll focus on those areas, where we have real core competencies and some true comparative advantages.
DOBBS: Yes, true market opportunity.
SILVERMAN: I think so.
DOBBS: All right, Henry Silverman, as always, good to have you here.
SILVERMAN: Thank you very much.
DOBBS: Thanks.
Just ahead, it is one of the most controversial topics in sports today in particular, deciding the top college football teams, not with the performance on the field, but with a calculator, a computer and some politics. And it's all about big, big business. That controversy will be explored here next. Please stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Lower prices at the gasoline pumps. Gasoline prices falling, in fact, to the lowest level in 2.5 years, thanks to weak demand for oil and high gasoline supplies. According to the Lundberg Survey, the average price of gasoline falling more than 8 cents a gallon over the past eight weeks, to a national average of $1.12. That's a drop of more than 40 cents per gallon since the 11th of September.
The economy continues to take a toll on the workforce. Delphi Automotive Systems slashing another 1,400 workers. Delphi citing an expected slowdown in vehicle sales next year. Those layoffs follow a restructuring plan announced back in March, that included cutting more than 11,000 jobs.
A federal hearing today on Microsoft's proposed settlement of an anti-trust lawsuit. Microsoft had offered to give computers and software to disadvantaged schools around the country. A judge questioned Apple Computer's claims that the settlement would give Microsoft yet another market advantage. Microsoft offered to make some concessions.
And Morgan Stanley has become the latest firm to limit its analyst ownership, amid the controversy of Wall Street research. Morgan Stanley barring its analysts from buying shares of companies in sectors they follow.
Four years ago, college football threw out decades of tradition. Instead of using polls of writers and coaches to determine a national champion, colleges started using computers and a point system, and of course, bringing in a lot of money to do so. Since then, the selection process for the bowl championship series has generated a great deal of controversy, as well as a lot of money.
Casey Wian reports from Los Angeles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's clear how the Oregon Ducks feel about being left out of college football's national title game, despite being ranked as the second-best team in the country by both major polls.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got shafted and we can't do anything about it.
WIAN: That's because the bowl championship series, or BCS, ranks Nebraska number two, even though Nebraska failed to win its conference championship, and was blown out by third-ranked Colorado in its last game. Now number one Miami will play Nebraska, not Colorado or Oregon in the Rose Bowl.
MIKE BELLOTTI, COACH, UNIV. OF OREGON: I would say that's a travesty. I liken the BCS to a bad disease, like cancer. WIAN: College football contracted the BCS in 1998, when major conferences in the bowl games signed a half-billion dollar, eight-year deal with ABC.
MITCH DORGER, CEO, TOURNAMENT OF ROSES: There was a substantial increase in the revenues that were contributed to the game. And that's enabled the BCS, all of the BCS bowls to up the payout to the conferences involved.
WIAN: The BCS/ABC deal and more money from corporate sponsors have pushed the total payout for this season's 25 bowl games to $167 million. 10 years ago, there were only 18 games, with a little more than a third of the money at stake.
While the BCS was designed to identify a clear-cut national champion, this is the second straight year it's produced confusion. Last year, Miami was passed over for the National title game by Florida State, a team Miami had defeated. That prompted the BCS to tweak its selection process this year. And now it's likely the BCS will change its computer formulas again. While cries for a true playoff grow louder, college football traditionalists continue to favor the bowl system. Even the coach of BCS snubbed Colorado.
GARY BARNETT, COACH, UNIV. OF COLORADO: No, I'm not for a playoff system. I'm just for a little more maybe integrity in the system we have now.
WIAN (on camera): There is still a chance the winner of the Oregon-Colorado Fiesta Bowl could claim a share of the National championship, if Nebraska upsets Miami in the Rose Bowl. But college football officials say there's no chance of scrapping the BCS until after its contract expires in 2006.
Casey Wian, CNN Financial News, Los Angeles.
(PREVIEW "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS")
DOBBS: Looking forward to it Wolf. Thanks.
And coming up next here, we'll take a look at your thoughts, and we'll have a preview of the Fed's final interest rate meeting of this year.
ANNOUNCER: Tomorrow on Lou Dobb's MONEYLINE, the Federal Reserve delivers its latest decision on interest rates. With the country in a recession and layoffs mounting, will another rate cut be enough to jump-start this slumping economy? Tomorrow on Lou Dobb's MONEYLINE.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Tomorrow, the Fed's policymakers meet in Washington to determine the interest rate policy. Economists are expecting a 25 basis point cut, a quarter percent cut, which would be the eleventh so far this year, if it were to happen, and a record for most the cuts in any single year. The "World Will Always Remember September Eleventh" event takes place tomorrow at the White House. President Bush has asked countries worldwide to play their national anthems at 8:46 Eastern tomorrow morning, the moment the first plane hit the World Trade Center three months ago.
Now let's take a look at your thoughts. Jose Martin in Key Biscayne, Florida writes in to say, "What a difference in the way and the speed the Senate acts. It has been three months since 9/11, and they have not been able to pass a stimulus package yet, but their salary increase," Jose says, "in just one day they had it worked out."
Actually, it took just about five minutes, Jose. He's referring to the passage of a 3.5 percent pay increase for members of Congress. That increase will be the third congressional pay increase. By the way, over the past four years.
Ahead of tomorrow's Fed meeting on interest rates, Lorenzo Moreno writes in to say, "If we are in a recession and unemployment is rising, why are interest rates climbing again?"
Well, the Federal controls short-term interest rates, currently at a 40-year low, but the market determines longer term rates, which affect mortgage payments. Those interest rates are rising because the market is looking forward to a recovery early next year.
Onto Microsoft's efforts to settle anti-trust lawsuits. Dallas Blair in Union, Washington writes in to say that he wants the lawyers to stop meddling in business. Writing to say, "I wonder what would have happened to the colonel at Kentucky Fried Chicken if he was forced to give up his franchise for making chicken."
Well, finally a message not about monopoly, the markets or the economy, but more in keeping with the spirit of the season. I. Brooks in Knoxville, Tennessee writes in to say, "I love that tree at the White House." So do we.
Share your thoughts with us anytime. Moneyline@cnn.com. And for tonight, that is MONEYLINE. Thanks for joining us. I'm Lou Dobbs. Good night from New York City.
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