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Which Industries are Hiring?; Unemployment Surges in November; Automakers Seek $34 Billion Loan

Aired December 05, 2008 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: You would have to turn the calendar back to 1974 to find a worse month for the American worker. Five hundred thirty-three thousand people lost their jobs in November, the 11th straight monthly decline. The government says the unemployment rate soared to 6.7 percent. So far this year, almost two million workers have joined the unemployment line.
President Bush reacting to the worse-than-expected November jobs report and other problems fueling the economic crisis. He spoke at the White House just a few minutes ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today's job data reflects the fact that our economy is in a recession. This is in large part because of severe problems in our housing, credit and financial markets which have resulted in significant job losses.

I'm concerned about our workers who have lost jobs during this downturn. As we work to address the problems of this economy, we've extended unemployment insurance benefits to those who have lost their jobs during this downturn. We are focusing on the root causes of the economic downturn in order to return our economy to health.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: President-elect Barack Obama also weighing in on the November jobs report. In a statement, Obama says, quoting now, "Each of those lost jobs represents a personal crisis for a family somewhere in America. Our economy has already lost nearly two million jobs during this recession, which is why we need an economic recovery plan that will save or create at least 2.5 million more jobs over two years."

Education and health care, the only sectors to add jobs last month. Is that where you should be looking?

Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis is in Yonkers, New York, taking the pulse at a Labor Department career counseling center.

And Gerri, what are you hearing from people there looking for help, maybe looking for new direction?

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, you know, Tony, it's really interesting, because we've talked to a lot of people here, and, in fact, they're working hard to find new jobs. A lot of them complaining you don't have those old unemployment offices anymore. There's no place to go. You have to call on the phone to get benefits.

Guess what? It's hard to get through.

I want to show you this job centers for just a second. Here's where the folks sign in. They actually write resumes right here at these computers, right here. This is how they get help, this is how they find things online.

And, of course, once they're done with that, they come over here and they talk to counselors. And the counselors really walk them through the whole process.

Now, I want you to meet a couple of folks here that we spoke to earlier, Monique, who's looking for a job right now, and Lilian, who's counseling her.

Monique, I want to start with you. You've been looking for a job for how long now?

MONIQUE MULDROW, JOB SEEKER: Since October.

WILLIS: And how's it going? Are you getting a lot of hooks? What's your sense of the market?

MULDROW: My sense of the market right now is very slow. I think with the economic effect, there is not much employment.

WILLIS: Not much employment here, and you've been working hard, you've been doing all kinds of thing. Getting your resume out?

MULDROW: Every week reporting in, and faxing my resume and getting online.

WILLIS: And still nothing.

Lilian, you've been helping with this. And you know what I found so interesting this week is that, you know, I'm standing here, and there are hedge fund managers coming in here, all kinds of folks. Tell me about that.

LILIAN MORALES, EMPLOYMENT SPECIALIST: We see the whole spectrum of the job market, the job searches this week. As a matter of fact, just now, recently, today I met with a hedge fund manager who really gave me -- expounded on all the difficulties in the job search in the financial services industry at this point, and he's certainly considering a job in Singapore. That's how unrealistic a search that would just be limited to New York City is at this point.

WILLIS: So you know, you're saying that not only are you hearing from people who may be at the front line, you're also hearing from people who are making six figures and higher?

MORALES: Certainly. I've seen $650,000 a year, which is for the first time. And I've been here nine years. And of course the entry level people are always here. Those are our bread and butter.

But this year specifically -- and I think it started maybe as early as maybe last September -- up to this point, we've seen repeatedly people who are in banking, financial services. You know, who are looking for the next emerging field.

WILLIS: All right.

Lilian, Monique, thank you so much for helping us out.

That's it, Tony. What we're seeing here are all kinds of folks continuing to look for jobs. And I want to tell you that the people who run this office, they are optimistic that they're going to get some more money in the new administration, hopeful that there may be a few more dollars coming their way as we start to see a turnover in the administration.

HARRIS: As we get that stimulus package in place.

Gerri, good to see you.

WILLIS: Exactly.

HARRIS: Thank you. Thanks, Gerri.

Almost three-quarters of the jobs lost in November were service jobs, like retail sales and hotel and restaurant positions. Let's look behind the numbers with CNN's Christine Romans and Ali Velshi, co-hosts of "YOUR $$$$$."

All right. And Christine, let me start with you. The president says the root of the jobs problem is a credit crisis.

And Ali, weigh in on this as well. Do you agree with that?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, this started more than a year ago. We've had 11 months now of job losses, and we had signs that the jobs that were being created even when we had jobs growth were in areas that don't necessarily signify economic strength like the government. So this is a slowing economy. It's a housing crisis. It's the credit crisis that really hit, what, in September and October?

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Right. Yes.

ROMANS: This was well under way before the worst of the...

VELSHI: The falling off a cliff on the jobs front, where we're losing 300,000, 400,000 jobs a month, 500,000 in November, that's the credit crisis. It is incorrect of the president to suggest that our one year of job losses are the credit crisis. So that's not correct.

But I should say, you know, in keeping with what we just heard from Gerri, if you are a banker and you lose your job, if you are a manufacturing worker in this country and you lose your job, the Internet, the research, the trends are your friend right now. Do not bother sitting around and waiting for that to come back anytime soon. Is not going to happen.

The $650,000 job is not coming back in August because things are better. The manufacturing job may not come back for five or 10 Augusts. Look for something else.

ROMANS: If you look in the financial sector -- if you're in the financial sector looking for a job, and there are -- so many jobs have been lost there -- there is a wringing out of retched excess in the financial services sector.

VELSHI: Right.

ROMANS: And there are people who are -- my sources are telling me -- and I'm sure they're telling you, Ali -- that we may never see the financial sector in this country ever, ever the way it was.

VELSHI: That robust, yes.

HARRIS: Well, we don't need the one that got us into this mess. We certainly don't need that one.

ROMANS: Exactly. A big bubble popped. A very big bubble popped.

VELSHI: You need to find a place where you're useful. And this is -- you know, people say there's nothing you can do about a recession. We constantly say do what you can do.

You can deal with your credit. You can deal with your spending.

HARRIS: Yes.

VELSHI: You can deal with your saving, you can deal with your investments. You can also deal with your career.

You can see the writing on the wall and say this is more serious. We've been talking about it being serious for a year.

ROMANS: Yes.

VELSHI: This is substantially more serious every month. So arm yourself for a career that will actually be here in a few years. And we can leave the bickering to the politicians about whether there should or shouldn't be those careers.

HARRIS: You know, we talk about the jobs report, and that's basically an unemployment report. But I'm wondering, if we talk about a true jobs report as being an employment, folks working, report, we're not even talking about the people who have jobs but certainly aren't making the money that they'd like to be making. We're talking about people who are working part-time who would like to be...

VELSHI: Who aren't getting the benefits that they need or don't have the job security. Absolutely right.

ROMANS: And these are the things, Tony, that when the president and this administration and a lot of people on Wall Street were saying this is fantastic, we have a strong economy -- through much of 2007 they were saying that -- those are the kinds of numbers that you're talking about that we kept saying, wait a second, there's something going on here. You know, people are dropping out of the labor market. People are underemployed.

VELSHI: The quality of jobs is not fantastic.

ROMANS: We're losing jobs that are able to support a middle- class family in manufacturing, and gaining jobs that are barely the poverty line. What kind of -- what kind of nation is this?

VELSHI: But you're right to go behind the numbers there. It's not just -- so we have a 6.7 percent unemployment rate. You will hear from people, that's not bad historically, that's not really -- look, there are some places in Europe that have beyond 10 percent. In the depression, we had 20 percent.

HARRIS: Right.

VELSHI: But think about all those people who don't have benefits. Think about all those people who are working at minimum wage. Think about all those people whose careers are still going to disappear. Think about the almost half a million people in November who went off the unemployment roll because they're either not looking or maybe they're going back to school.

ROMANS: Right.

HARRIS: This idea of capitulation, right?

VELSHI: Right, capitulation. I'm done, can't do it.

ROMANS: This is huge challenge for the new administration coming in. Clearly, they know all this stuff. But this is more than just right now a credit crisis hurting the labor market.

There are some big, long-term structural issues in the United States labor market in education, in outsourcing, in what kind of jobs we're going to have here, what's our industrial defense base going to be. We could go on forever. But that's what the new administration has to really attack.

HARRIS: Thank you. Thank you both so much. Appreciate it again, Christine and Ali from New York for us.

It is the return of the Big Three, part three. The CEOs of GM, Chrysler and Ford back on Capitol Hill, making their case for a $34 billion loan. Their appearance before the House Financial Services Committee. The committee chairman says let's get beyond pointing fingers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. BARNEY FRANK (D), FINANCIAL SERVICES CHAIRMAN: I think all of us remember in school the teachers we hated most were the teachers who said, if one person misbehaved the whole class would get extra homework. I don't want to give the whole country extra homework because automobile executives in the past misbehaved. We have to separate out unhappiness and anger over things not done in the past from the consequences now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The ranking Republican says let's not throw good money after bad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. SPENCER BACHUS (R), ALABAMA: Personally, the only course I could possibly endorse would be limited transitional assistance to allow the American domestic automobile industry to return to solvency and profitability, but then only if there's a reasonable expectation of success.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Our Dana Bash is watching the House hearing.

And Dana, how would you describe the tone of a questioning so far? I'm just curious, are we learning something new about these car companies, the practices of the management teams here, in this hearing?

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Not so much learning things new.

HARRIS: Yes.

BASH: I mean, some of these members are trying to get into the details. For example, there was a congresswoman from Florida trying to get into the details of what would happen to the retirement packages of many of these workers who are receiving pretty hefty pensions and retirement package, but it doesn't seem as though we're learning very much new. And there is frustration, palpable frustration, from some of these members because of that.

The hearing opened with some of them saying point blank, we appreciate you giving us these plans but it's not enough. We don't really have a good sense of how you're going to sell your cars, which is kind of important, because during the fact that we're talking about auto companies here. So they're definitely -- there have been some heated exchanges, some interesting exchanges, but I'm not sure that the American taxpayer has gotten a whole lot of new information on where their money and how their money could be spent, if it actually went to these automakers.

HARRIS: And very quickly, what are we up to now? We were initially at $25 billion. Now $34 billion, and there are some who suggest that the price tag ultimately is going to be much higher than that $34 billion number.

BASH: That's right. And that's another thing that has come up a couple of times in this hearing today, Tony. And that is the fact that there was an economist from Moody's who testified at yesterday's Senate hearing who said, look, I know that they're asking now for $34 billion in total in these loans.

He said, look, I think it could easily be $75 billion to $125 billion, to which many of those members of Congress in the Senate and today in the House said, wow, that's certainly not the end. And that is one of the concerns, that this is just the beginning, and that they have no assurances that these car companies are not just going to be coming back very shortly and asking for more.

One interesting note, Tony, in terms of the numbers, we said that and we have been saying that they're asking now for $34 billion, but there's another amount that they're already asking for, for something that most members of Congress want them to do, which is fuel-efficient cars, research for fuel-efficient cars. So, in addition to this $34 billion, they're also asking for $22 billion extra. So if you add all that up, it's actually $60 billion that they're asking for now.

HARRIS: You mentioned the economist that was on the panel yesterday, Mark Zandi from Moody's. And we will be talking to Mark in just a couple of minutes right here in the NEWSROOM.

Dana, good to see you. Thank you.

A live picture now. Let's take you to Las Vegas, where O.J. Simpson learns his fate today.

You'll recall it was October 3rd that a jury there in Las Vegas found Simpson and a co-defendant, a former golfing buddy, Clarence Stewart, guilty on all 12 charges they were facing at the time, including kidnapping, armed robbery and other felonies. Simpson and Stewart, to be sentenced today, face a mandatory prison time, at least six years, and possibly life.

Our Kara Finnstrom is in the courtroom and we'll continue to follow the developments throughout the day here. And you can go to CNN.com/life if would you like to follow the sentencing hearing live.

The people who build America's cars have a lot to say about the future of their industry. We will get a live update from the assembly line. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The nation's Big Three automakers seeking a $34 billion bridge loan. You know, bridging their current financial troubles. But Congress eager to make sure it is not a bridge loan to nowhere.

Alex Taylor, senior editor of "Fortune" magazine, joining us now.

Alex, good to see you. Thanks for your time, sir.

ALEX TAYLOR III, SR. EDITOR, "FORTUNE": Thank you, Tony.

HARRIS: Hey, I've got to ask you this -- again, it's a question that I get every day -- do you believe the auto industry needs a bailout to survive? To put a finer point on this, do you believe that if Chrysler and GM don't get the money that they're asking for by the end of the month, they collapse?

TAYLOR: They've convinced me. I mean, business has been terrible this year, and sales are down, and they're out of cash. So pay now, or you won't see the auto companies in 2009.

HARRIS: Can they survive, regardless of what we give them now?

TAYLOR: Well, it all depends on the level of auto sales going forward. If sales stay at $12 million a year, that's going to be very tough for them. If sales get back to their natural level, around $16 million, $17 million a year, they'll be doing fine.

HARRIS: Is there anything out there to suggest that those sales levels will return?

TAYLOR: The forecast we're hearing from the auto companies are pretty dismal. They look like pretty low sales through 2011 and 2012.

HARRIS: You know, I've got to ask you, for so many who are watching this -- and it's reflected in some of the questioning -- the idea is that this is good money chasing bad. What's your take on that?

TAYLOR: Well, that's a very reasonable question. I mean, GM has been behind the curve over the last 20 years. They've been slow to get into trucks 20 years ago. They're slow to get out of trucks five years ago. And they were caught really by surprise with this spike in oil and gasoline prices earlier in the year.

GM really needs to shake up and do things differently than they've been doing. They've got declining market share, they have too many brands. They really need a whole new cultural makeover.

HARRIS: Do you believe Rick Wagoner and the rest of the executive team there at GM, do you believe they get it, understand it, hear it?

TAYLOR: Rick is a very smart guy and a very hard worker and a very sincere guy, but he's had the job for eight years and GM's lost more than $70 billion as he's the CEO.

HARRIS: Does he need to go?

TAYLOR: I think it's time for some fresh thinking at the top of the company. They have a very good number two guy in the case of Fritz Henderson, who I think will make an excellent CEO. He moves a little faster than Rick does and he's got very sharp elbows.

HARRIS: We don't need the Big Three anymore, do we? Can we survive with -- would we be in better shape with the big two?

TAYLOR: Well, it's not a bad idea for two of the companies to merge. It would take a lot of excess capacity off the market. I mean, you could see GM and Chrysler getting together. You could see Ford and Chrysler getting together.

HARRIS: Does the government have an obligation? You told me that you believe they're in trouble, they convinced you. Does the government has an obligation to offer up and sign off on this bridge loan?

TAYLOR: They have an obligation if they want to step up to it, and if they understand the consequences. If they don't pay now, the auto companies will go down, the recession will deepen, and hundreds of thousands of people will be out of work.

HARRIS: You absolutely are convinced of that?

TAYLOR: Absolutely.

HARRIS: All right. Alex Taylor is a senior editor at "Fortune" magazine.

Alex, thanks for your time. We appreciate it.

TAYLOR: Thank you, Tony.

HARRIS: O.J. Simpson finds out his fate today. We are following developments from a Las Vegas courtroom.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: "The Juice" squeezed. A sentencing hearing is under way this hour for O.J. Simpson.

You will recall it was in October that a jury found Simpson and a former golfing buddy, Clarence Stewart, guilty on all the charges they were facing, including kidnapping, armed robbery and other felonies.

We will watch developments in the courtroom. Our Kara Finnstrom is there, and we will bring you additional information as we get it here in the NEWSROOM.

One of the big spenders in Formula One racing ditched the sport today. Honda says it can't afford to bankroll a Formula One team.

U.S. sales slumped to 32 percent last month, and sales in Japan fell to levels not seen since the 1970s. But analysts say the company is walking away from one of its biggest branding tools and risking damage to Honda's entire business model, while closer to home, the decelerating economy may put the brakes on NASCAR.

Rick Horrow is CNN's sports business analyst, and he is joining us from West Palm Beach.

Good to see you, Doctor. It has been moons since we talked.

RICK HORROW, CNN SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: I wish we could have reunited under better circumstances. HARRIS: Yes.

HORROW: Yes, it's kind of good to see you, Tony.

HARRIS: Yes. Well, here's my question for you, Rick. Would any of the Big Three consider such a move, and what would the fallout mean for NASCAR?

HORROW: Well, let's remember the Big Three are cutting their spending in NASCAR already. The Big Three and the auto industry generally spent over $1.1 billion in all of sports advertising last year. NASCAR was a big piece of it.

Eight NASCAR teams have been perilously close to folding. A lot of the auto industry has cut back a lot of other stuff. No Cadillac ads, no Super Bowl ad. Even Tiger's Buick deal is gone. Now, we don't have to hold a bake sale for Tiger, but the auto industry, quite clearly, is at a crossroads.

HARRIS: Well, you make an interesting point. This probably extends, when you talk about advertising from the Big Three, to all of the major sports. Doesn't it?

HORROW: Yes, absolutely. And the bottom line is, when I talk about that billion number, it ripples throughout that industry.

It is a $750 billion business, the sports and entertainment business worldwide. It is fueled by advertising.

A lot more people are watching TV. Why? Because they're not driving and they're not going anywhere.

HARRIS: Yes.

HORROW: But they're buying less because advertising isn't as great a return today. But if you make the commitment to spend the dollars, you realize that that's going to have to bear fruit somewhere. And those are big dollars.

HARRIS: Rick, that's all the time I have for you. I'll watch you tomorrow morning with T.J. and Betty. That's it. It's all I've got for you.

HORROW: Yes, we'll do a little more tomorrow. OK.

HARRIS: All right. Take care.

HORROW: All right.

HARRIS: Yesterday he told senators why the auto industry needs to be saved. Today he is in NEWSROOM to explain it to us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Two weeks ago they were asking for $25 billion. Today, auto company executives are back on Capitol Hill asking for $34 billion in loans. Some say even that won't be enough. Joining us to talk about the bailout loan for the industry, Mark Zandi, chief economist and co-founder of Moody's economy.com.

Mark, good to see you.

MARK ZANDI, CHIEF ECONOMIST, MOODY'S ECONOMY.COM: Good to be with you.

HARRIS: And thanks for your time.

Christine Romans, as you can see, joining me now from our CNN Money team.

ROMANS: Hi, Tony. Hi, Mark.

HARRIS: Mark, you sent a shock wave through the hearing yesterday, and you know you did, when you suggested that $34 billion being asked for this week wouldn't be enough to save the Detroit three, as they're now being referred to. Mark, why not?

ZANDI: Well, you know, they've already asked for more than that. It's the $34 billion in this plan and they've asked for money in the Troubled Asset Relief Program. And they also have a fund set up to help in making green investments. If you add all that up, the aid is already $50 billion, $60 billion. And I don't think that's enough. I think given the very weak vehicle market and the prospects for a very bad economy in 2009, 2010, they're going to need more money to avoid bankruptcy.

HARRIS: Well, this is a question that I, again, I get asked at least once a day. So I'm going to put it to you. You were there in the room yesterday. Do you believe that this industry needs some kind of bridge loan to survive? And then we can talk about what surviving means.

ZANDI: I think they should get some money right now because if they don't, they'll go into bankruptcy in the next few weeks. That will mean liquidation.

HARRIS: You believe that? You believe that's absolutely the case?

ZANDI: Yes, I do. And I think I also -- I also believe that it will mean hundreds of thousands if not a million or so lost jobs in the next few months. So I think it's vital to give them some money now so that they don't fall into bankruptcy in the next few months.

HARRIS: How would you roll it out? And the, Christine, jump in.

Mark, how would you roll it out?

ZANDI: I would -- they asked GM and Chrysler together, asked for about $17 billion to stay out of bankruptcy through the end of March. I'd give them that money. Ford doesn't need any money. They didn't ask for any. So I wouldn't give them any. And then I would establish a board or a trustee that would make sure that if we do give them more money, that they're going to execute on the plan that they put forward yesterday.

ROMANS: Mark, what would those job losses look like? I mean if you saw all those jobs lost right now hitting, when we're seeing the kinds of numbers we're seeing in this economy into next year, I mean, what would that do to these communities?

ZANDI: It would be devastating. I mean we lost half a million jobs in November. We've lost 2 million almost since the beginning of the year. Even if the automakers avoid bankruptcy, we're going to lose another couple million jobs. And if they go into bankruptcy, it will be several million jobs. So, you know, I think it's absolutely necessary to avoid that fate.

And, you know, I may be wrong. But, you know, I wouldn't take that risk at this point.

HARRIS: Let me ask one more and then, Christine, jump back in as well. Can I ask you, Mark, to take, because you looked at this overall. I mean we're in this bailout season right now. And are we fundamentally redefining the role and the function of government as this kind of interventionist arm of -- in the private sector? And without really having a wholesome (ph) debate about this and the ramifications? For example, no one's talking how we disengage from the insurance industry and if we move forward with some kind of a bridge loan from the automobile industry?

ZANDI: Yes. No, all very, you know, excellent points and good reasons to be concerned. But I don't think we're redefining the role of government. I mean the last time we needed government to step up was in the Great Depression. And when the government did finally step up, the Great Depression came to an end. And I think that's the lesson from that period.

And I think this period we're in is equally as serious. And we need government to step in aggressively. And they are.

Now, we're going to make mistakes because you have to act very quickly. And there are a lot of unanswered questions. But, at the moment, given the loss of jobs, given the risks to losing many more jobs, it's important for government to step in very aggressively.

ROMANS: We keep hearing about the automakers, that, you know, this credit crisis really was this blow to them this fall. But if there hadn't been the credit crisis, would they have been able to make it through with the restructurings as they have previously announced and they would have been able to return to profitability? I mean, can they blame -- how much of the credit crisis can they blame on where they are today?

ZANDI: You know, I think, Christine, if we didn't get into the very severe credit crisis, they would have made it through to the other side. They had been making steps to restructuring. Labor costs in the auto industry has come down since the beginning of the decade. You know, I think they would have made it. But with the credit crisis, the crunch, they have no chance without government help.

HARRIS: Christine, thank you for your help.

Mark, boy, you really did some work yesterday and helped people understand this issue a little better. Mark Zandi with us as well. Mark, appreciate it. Thank you.

ZANDI: Thank you.

HARRIS: Need to get to Las Vegas now. O.J. Simpson is addressing the court.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

O.J. SIMPSON, FMR. AMERICAN FOOTBALL PLAYER: ... My kids. I talked to my sisters. I called the Brown family and I told them I had a chance to get some of our property back. Property that over the years we've seen being sold on the Internet. We've seen pictures of ours that were stolen from our home going into the tabloids.

We've called the police and asked what to do. They've told us what to try to do. But you can never find out who was selling it. And this was the first time I had an opportunity to catch the guys red-handed who had been stealing from my family.

I knew these guys. I did think Mike Gilbert (ph) was -- would be there. And I know, as fate (ph) told me, the two guys there, that he was the one who did it. But I have no hatred for Mike Gilbert. In the past, as we know, you heard on the tape, Mike Gilbert tried to set me up in a porn video, trick me into a room with hidden cameras and they still wrote in the newspaper, in the tabloids, they still had (ph) had cover stories that O.J. did it, even though there was no porn video, even though I didn't participate in it.

I forgave Mike. I yelled at him. And I forgave him, just like I yelled at Bruce and Beardsley. And I've forgiven them. We've talked about it, Beardsley and I, the next day. And Bruce said I hugged and talked about it. His kids have called me since this. We've apologized to each other.

The only person I asked, I requested to help me here was Mr. Stewart. I did request him. I needed his car. I asked him if he had some guys to help me remove these things from the room. I didn't ask anybody to do anything but to stand behind me, allow me to yell at these guys, and then help me remove those things. And if they wouldn't let me remove them, we would call the cops on them because I felt that they were wrong. They had (INAUDIBLE) orders and they hadn't turned over some of these things that were both garnishable and things that were not garnishable.

I didn't want him to yell at them. I think Mr. (INAUDIBLE), in the previous trial, said that I didn't ask them to yell at anybody. Unfortunately, they did and I believe it was my fault because I brought them there. And I knew the character of a couple of the guys that were there. And it was my fault that they were there. But in no way did I mean to hurt anybody, to steal anything from anyone. I spoke to Bruce before I left the room. He told me what was his. And I called him (ph) when I got to the car and I said, exactly what do you have? I want to sent it back to you. I talked to the police officers. I volunteered immediately to come back. Show them what was taken and then tell them what took place before anybody talked to the police. I was the first guy that volunteered to do it and I heard on the tapes that they thought I was stupid for doing it.

But I didn't want to steal anything from anybody. I don't think anybody there said I wanted anybody else's stuff. Just my own. I wanted my daughter -- Ms. Brown gave her, her mother's wedding ring. Stolen. You know, my kids had pictures -- my oldest son has his own family now. He wanted the picture in the Oval Office with Gerald Ford when he was five-years-old. Stolen. All of these things are gone. My family knew what we were doing.

And I didn't want to hurt Bruce. I didn't want to hurt any of these guys. I know these guys. These guys have eaten in my home. I've done book reports with their kids. I've sung to their mothers when they were sick. And I wasn't there to hurt anybody. I just wanted my personal things. And I realize that I was stupid of me. I am sorry. I didn't mean to steal anything from anybody. And I didn't know I was doing anything illegal. I thought I was confronting friends and retrieving my property. So I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all of it.

But all the other guys, except Mr. Stewart, volunteered. They wanted to go. Mr. Stewart is the only person that I asked, would he come to help me. All the rest of them, when they found out, they volunteered. Come on, let's go. I didn't want it to be the security guy. Claimed he was a security guy. But I didn't mean to hurt anybody and I didn't mean to steal from anybody.

Thank you.

JUDGE JACKIE GLASS, RESIDING OVER SIMPSON TRIAL: Thank you.

OK. Mr. Brayson (ph), on behalf of Mr. Stewart, what would you like it say?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Again, we're going to split it. It's not going to take very long.

GLASS: That's fine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would like to start out and thank the court for dismissing the coercion counts. I think that is appropriate. And also that the state for stipulating to that.

I would join in the argument by Mr. Grasso (ph) regarding . . .

HARRIS: A pretty sad, pretty pathetic looking O.J. Simpson there in court. Pretty emotional. Close to breaking down. Being given a moment to address the court before sentencing and explaining his side of the story. As I recall, Simpson had that opportunity to take the stand during the trial in chief (ph) and did not testify under cross- examination at that time. Simpson trying to explain, you heard it there, why he took part in a botched attempt to recover sports mementos and personal items from two memorabilia dealers back in September of 2007.

O.J. Simpson saying, I'm sorry. That he didn't mean to hurt anyone. Over and over again, I'm sorry. If you'd like to continue to watch the sentencing hearing, you can just go to cnn.com/live, as O.J. Simpson just moments ago pleading for mercy from the court.

We are back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Recession-proof jobs. Do they really exist? Forbes.com has put together a list of the top 10 jobs. Veronica De La Cruz joins us now with that.

And, Veronica, people are looking for a match. I mean, I'm not going to build a bridge if I've been, you know, in the tech sector. So hopefully people will, who need a job, will look at this list and perhaps find a match.

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You know, Forbes is saying these jobs are out there. They're recommending jobs, like you just said, the tech sectors, education. Also health care.

So looking at the list now, Tony, starting with number 10. A sales executive position, they say, is recession-proof. A sales executive position. That's going to brings in about $80,000 a year on average. That's number 10.

Number nine, they're saying engineering. Specifically the job of a mechanical engineer. Number eight is from the health care sector. Nurses, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, nursing assistants. All those jobs in the nursing field are safe. We were just talking about the health care industry.

HARRIS: That's right.

DE LA CRUZ: And as you know, Tony, there's been a nursing shortage for quite some time. So a good field to get into.

Also, number seven, networking and system administrators. American companies are upgrading their networks to stay competitive with emerging markets, like China, India. That's why this is a good job to have, Tony.

Number six is administrative assistants. And then software design comes in at number five. And, you know, like you were just saying, the tech sector definitely seems to be an area that's doing well.

HARRIS: Yes.

DE LA CRUZ: Another field doing well is the field of education. Forbes is saying a job as a counselor, maybe a social worker, that would be recession-proof. That's number four. Number three would be accounting, which is a great job to have this time of year.

HARRIS: Ain't that the truth.

DE LA CRUZ: Tax consulting companies looking to beef up their staff before income tax filing season, right?

HARRIS: Yes. Yes.

DE LA CRUZ: And then number two would be account and customer support. And then finally the top recession proof job on this list, they're saying you are lucky if you have a job as a sales representative or in business development because, you know, companies say that a good sales force is definitely a necessity when it comes to pulling out of this recession. So important jobs to have.

HARRIS: There you go.

DE LA CRUZ: And we are discussing this online at Facebook. Go ahead and search Veronica De La Cruz in the CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris. You can follow me on Twitter at veronicadlcruz.

HARRIS: Awesome. Have a great weekend, lady. Thank you.

DE LA CRUZ: Have a great weekend.

HARRIS: See you Monday.

The promise of jobs with an American contractor in Iraq forces some into conditions that compare to slavery.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: In Beijing, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson wrapped up his final round of economic talks with Chinese leaders today. And can you bet energy was on the table. CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow has our "Energy Fix" from New York.

Good Friday to you, Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Hi there, Tony.

You know it's funny, we thinking of Hank Paulson as just having to deal with all the issues we have at home, but he also has to travel the world and deal with other countries as well. And what we know now is that the world's two biggest producers of greenhouse gases are pledging -- Tony, I'll throw it back to you quickly. I think we've got some news.

HARRIS: Yes, we do. We have some breaking news. We want to take you quickly to Las Vegas for the sentencing of O.J. Simpson.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

CLARENCE STEWART, CO-DEFENDANT: .. (INAUDIBLE) and to Mr. Formore (ph) and Mr. Beardsley. At no time on September 13, 2007, did I intend to participate in any conduct which would harm either of these gentlemen. I did not fully appreciate the fact and the circumstance surrounding the event of day that this issue transpired. I hold no ill towards anyone associated with this incident. As a matter of fact, I totally respect everyone and wish the best.

Many lives have been changed as a result of this event of September 13, 2007. My life has certainly been changed. I now stand before this court a convicted felon. Whether I agree or disagree with the jury, the verdict has no place inside the courtroom today. I pray that this court will sentence me with mercy. Other than the crime associated with this case, I have been convicted of -- I have not been convicted of any crimes and I have successfully raised four adult kids. None of the kids have been inside a jail cell to visit me.

I have attempt and instill in my children good values and avoid this type of lifestyle. I believe I have successfully done that -- a well job. One son is a minister and an engineer. The other son is in security. Another one -- two are in -- the second is an engineer and also . . .

HARRIS: All right. We're going to break away for just a moment from the sentencing hearing in Las Vegas and get back to our Poppy Harlow in New York. And, Poppy, I'm not quite sure where you left off, but I'm sure you do.

HARLOW: Let's just start over.

HARRIS: Let's start . . .

HARLOW: Always good to have a fresh start.

HARRIS: Let's do a reset. OK.

HARLOW: We're talking about the job that Hank Paulson is doing in China right now, wrapping up some talks there. And what we know now is the world's two biggest greenhouse gas producers are pledging more cooperation when it comes to energy and protecting the environment. That is China and the U.S. They have now signed seven eco-partnerships. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson says these agreements are key to tackling energy challenges in both countries.

One of the major initiatives teams up Ford Motor, that is in the news every day now, and a Chinese city, with the goal of building more plug-in hybrids in that country. Another initiative is tying up the Port of Seattle with a Chinese counterpart to develop more energy efficient ports. And China and the U.S., of course, are promising further cooperation in key areas like clean air and clean water.

But we should note, neither of these countries, Tony, has signed the Kyoto Treaty, which commits nations to reducing greenhouse gases. The U.S. and China have not signed that -- Tony.

HARRIS: Poppy, let's look forward just a bit here. President- elect Barack Obama has promised a bold new energy plan. The question is, can he deliver?

HARLOW: Right. He promised a lot on the campaign trail. New jobs in alternative energy. He wants to see 1 million plug-in cars on the road by the year 2015. More renewable energy and fewer greenhouse gas emissions as a result. The economic squeeze will make that incredibly hard, if not impossible to do. Take a listen here to what one energy executive told me just a few days ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID SOKOL, CHAIRMAN, MIDAMERICAN ENERGY HOLDINGS: I think he can get the policies done on both environmental and energy policy, but it may take a little more time to get them done to minimizes the damage that they essentially do to the economy in the short run.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Now that's a man that runs one of the biggest companies in this country. We know President-elect Barack Obama wants to create 5 million new jobs by investing $150 billion in clean energy over the next 10 years. But with the news today, Tony, that more than half a million Americans lost their job last month, the highest since 1974, we know we need those jobs. The question, though, can it still be done? But some movement in China -- between China and the U.S. today certainly -- Tony.

HARRIS: Appreciate it, Poppy. Appreciate it so much. Thank you. Have a great weekend.

Want to show you the live picture again from inside the courtroom. O.J. Simpson and his co-defendant, Clarence Stewart -- you heard him just moments ago -- found guilty of all charges they were facing back in October. Today is sentencing day. We will keep an eye on that hearing for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: All right. Let's take you back to Las Vegas now and Kyra Phillips joining me now.

And you heard just a moment ago O.J. Simpson, sad, beaten down, as you can see here in these pictures -- pretty pathetic, actually -- being give an moment . . .

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: You know what, I've got to tell what you, I have no mercy for him.

HARRIS: I know. I know.

PHILLIPS: No mercy at all.

HARRIS: I can't tell you -- look, it was just a couple of moments ago he was giving, you know, making a statement to the court asking, pleading for mercy. I can't tell you how many . . .

PHILLIPS: Sort of like when he was . . .

HARRIS: I know. I know we . . .

PHILLIPS: All right. All right. I got to say acquitted. I know I have to be correct in my terminology.

HARRIS: And I can't tell you how many e-mails the team received just moments ago from folks saying, wow, what a performance. Reminding us all that not only was he a terrific athlete back in the day, but he's been in I don't know how many movies.

PHILLIPS: He is the prime example of how ego completely changes the dynamic of a personality.

HARRIS: Yes.

PHILLIPS: You just -- you think you're a certain way. You think that you can get by with certain things and -- don't make me start going off about mental (ph) illness.

HARRIS: No, no, no. No. There is not a whole lot of sympathy out there for O.J. Simpson. I totally get that. The sentencing could happen at any moment.

And the NEWSROOM continues with this wonderful woman right here, Kyra Phillips.

Have a great show and great weekend.

PHILLIPS: Have a great weekend.

HARRIS: Yes, you too. Thanks.