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American Morning
Minding Your Business: Gas Pains
Aired December 26, 2002 - 07:46 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to talk a little bit more business now and bring Susan Lisovicz in. Andy Serwer is off.
Susan, I guess Jack Welch wasn't in to talk about the divorce.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS: Oh, it's not surprising.
KAGAN: Just a personal situation, yes. I guess that would be for another time.
Let's talk about the markets. Right after the day after Christmas, they're open for a full day.
LISOVICZ: Open for a full day, but you probably won't know it from the volume. Not surprisingly, a lot of investors just take the rest of the week off. And in terms of what the markets have been doing to this point, it's been another dismal year. And Christmas Eve, which was a shortened trading day, continued on that selling note. The Dow ended down about half a percent. The Nasdaq closing down three-quarters of a percent. The S&P closing up a few points.
We're not expecting any sort of earnings news today. Retail, of course, will be in the spotlight after the big Christmas shopping season.
KAGAN: In fact, did they have to give you the keys to open the door down there, Susan? You're all alone.
LISOVICZ: I'm feeling like that Maytag salesman. I'm very lonely here.
KAGAN: I'm sorry. Well, we'll keep you company.
Let's talk about some of the folks who are -- they're on the road. They're going to be heading home. What about gas prices? Higher or lower?
LISOVICZ: That's one thing where we are seeing some moves, and they are higher unfortunately. Right now, the national average is $1.40 a tank (sic). That's about 4 cents higher in the past week alone, 33 cents higher from a year ago. The biggest increases are in the Midwest, 10 cents in Chicago in just the past week.
Venezuela is one of the big reasons. There is a workers' strike there. They're putting out just a fraction of what the country normally produces, and 12 percent of American imports come from Venezuela. So, you're seeing the prices move a little bit higher here.
KAGAN: All right, Susan Lisovicz, we're going to check back in with you, because I'm a little worried.
LISOVICZ: Please do.
KAGAN: You're just kind of rattling around in that big building. Don't go far.
LISOVICZ: I won't.
KAGAN: All right.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired December 26, 2002 - 07:46 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to talk a little bit more business now and bring Susan Lisovicz in. Andy Serwer is off.
Susan, I guess Jack Welch wasn't in to talk about the divorce.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS: Oh, it's not surprising.
KAGAN: Just a personal situation, yes. I guess that would be for another time.
Let's talk about the markets. Right after the day after Christmas, they're open for a full day.
LISOVICZ: Open for a full day, but you probably won't know it from the volume. Not surprisingly, a lot of investors just take the rest of the week off. And in terms of what the markets have been doing to this point, it's been another dismal year. And Christmas Eve, which was a shortened trading day, continued on that selling note. The Dow ended down about half a percent. The Nasdaq closing down three-quarters of a percent. The S&P closing up a few points.
We're not expecting any sort of earnings news today. Retail, of course, will be in the spotlight after the big Christmas shopping season.
KAGAN: In fact, did they have to give you the keys to open the door down there, Susan? You're all alone.
LISOVICZ: I'm feeling like that Maytag salesman. I'm very lonely here.
KAGAN: I'm sorry. Well, we'll keep you company.
Let's talk about some of the folks who are -- they're on the road. They're going to be heading home. What about gas prices? Higher or lower?
LISOVICZ: That's one thing where we are seeing some moves, and they are higher unfortunately. Right now, the national average is $1.40 a tank (sic). That's about 4 cents higher in the past week alone, 33 cents higher from a year ago. The biggest increases are in the Midwest, 10 cents in Chicago in just the past week.
Venezuela is one of the big reasons. There is a workers' strike there. They're putting out just a fraction of what the country normally produces, and 12 percent of American imports come from Venezuela. So, you're seeing the prices move a little bit higher here.
KAGAN: All right, Susan Lisovicz, we're going to check back in with you, because I'm a little worried.
LISOVICZ: Please do.
KAGAN: You're just kind of rattling around in that big building. Don't go far.
LISOVICZ: I won't.
KAGAN: All right.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
