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CNN Live At Daybreak

Reactions to President Bush's Speech on Wall Street Yesterday

Aired July 10, 2002 - 06:16   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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush is calling for corporate integrity and stiffer prison terms for corporate fraud. He unveiled his plan during a speech on Wall Street yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: With strict enforcement and higher ethical standards, we must usher in a new era of integrity in corporate America.

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COSTELLO: The president's plan includes more prison time for fraud by corporate leaders, stronger penalties for mail fraud and document shredding, $20 million more and $100 million more next year for the SEC to help it investigate better and an independent board to police the accounting industry.

Mr. Bush's speech apparently did not do what he'd hoped it would do, restore investor confidence. In fact, the markets dropped after he announced his proposals.

Our Rusty Dornin has some reaction from investors in San Francisco.

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RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Since 1849, Tadich Grill has served the financial district crowd in downtown San Francisco. For some business people here, President Bush's speech to Wall Street may not dish out enough confidence to change the bottom line.

BRUCE COLLIN, INSURANCE EXECUTIVE: Will he stabilize the marketplace? Probably not. Did it need to be said? Yes, it did. Has -- will it restore confidence in the American public? Probably not at this point in time. It'll take time.

DORNIN: Restaurant owner John Buich says he's one of those wait and see investors. Now he's waiting to see what happens after the speech.

(on camera): So you're not investing actively now?

JOHN BUICH, TADICH GRILL: Not actively right now, no.

DORNIN: Will you think about doing it again after the speech?

BUICH: Well definitely. And I think most of America is trying to figure out what to do with their money right now because there's no good investments out there except real estate.

DORNIN: Do you think it will make people feel safer about investing in the markets?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That, or I think it might make the people who are the CEOs or you know, startup companies or what -- you know make them be more honest maybe, you know. I think it's a -- I think it's somewhere to start.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Delicious sun cress (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh yes.

DORNIN (voice-over): To shoppers down the street at the farmer's market the president's speech just seemed like a lot of words.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lip service without a lot of substance. You know it comes late on the heels of Enron.

DORNIN: A project manager for Charles Schwab, Gene Buckerfield says investors want to know that this time Washington means business.

GENE BUCKERFIELD, CHARLES SCHWAB: What will really bolster the confidence is he needs to or the government needs to hold these people personally responsible and recover the money that they've stolen. Until that happens, I don't think the individual investor will have confidence in the market.

DORNIN: And until then, some say, it's buyer beware.

Rusty Dornin, CNN, San Francisco.

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