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CNN Live Saturday

Rough and Tumble Week on Wall Street

Aired May 11, 2002 - 22:34   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.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: It was another rough and tumble week on Wall Street. U.S. major markets shot up on Wednesday, only to retreat again on Friday. Both major U.S. markets closed down yesterday, scoring losses for the week, certainly a far cry from the bull market days of 1998. That's when tech was king and IPOs were common and CEOs held rock star status.

CNN'S Susan Lisovich has more for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN LISOVICH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Remember when Jack Nasser was going to remake Ford and Global Crossing's Gary Winnick was getting rich at the speed of light? Bernie Ebbers was the consummate dealmaker, but his career at Worldcom is now a done deal.

The economy tanked, the stock market swooned, and corporate leaders are taking the fall. And these are no faceless suits. The growth of the financial press and the celebrity-driven nature of the media elevated some CEOs to rock star status. That may be part of the problem.

ROBERT MITTELSTAEDT, VICE DEAN, WHARTON: You begin to believe your own press so much. As long as you deliver results, some people will tolerate a certain number of things. But eventually, you get to a point where all of a sudden everybody steps back from you like you're in a room, and you're the only one with body odor.

LISOVICH: And the stench isn't only coming from a sinking share price. Outrageous compensation, an enemy's list that would rival Richard Nixon's, and scandal on a grand scale are few of the things that have pushed some executives off their pedestals. A man who advises several dozen CEOs says it boils down to arrogance.

BOB DILENSCHNEIDER, DILENSCHNEIDER GROUP: There's a level of hubris today that didn't exist 10, 15, 20 years ago and definitely 50 years ago, that exists because of the money that's in the marketplace and the reward people can get, both in terms of financial remuneration, as well as celebrity.

LISOVICH (on camera): The bull market and the wealth effect created the celebrity CEO. The recession has created another category, the scapegoat celebrity CEO.

Susan Lisovich, CNN Financial News, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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