Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
America Recovers: Economic Volatility
Aired September 25, 2001 - 07:07 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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, economic reports come out this morning but they mostly reflect the state of the economy before the suicide hijacked attacks on New York and Washington. The reports deal with retail sales in August and with consumer confidence. Most of the consumer confidence interviews were done before the September 11 attacks.
The economy was weakening before then and the retail sales numbers may reflect just that. A report on economic indicators shows seven of the 10 components dropped in August.
More on the economy and the financial markets now from Bill Hemmer, who joins us from Times Square at the site of the Nasdaq market -- good morning, Bill. How are you this morning?
BILL HEMMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Paula, good morning to you. Doing just fine.
The bulls came back yesterday, but only after a horrendous week last week. Overall the Nasdaq losing more than 15 percent of its value. Again, it bounced back yesterday, but some are wondering whether or not that bounce back will remain the same today and throughout the week.
Every time we hear the mayor of this city come to the microphone, he implores Americans across the country to go out and spend money. It's the American consumer given credit for helping to drive the U.S. economy.
But what's the consumer thinking and feeling at this critical time? For a look at that, CNN's Brooks Jackson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKS JACKSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Is America's economic mood recovering? Monday's news was mostly positive. The stock market surged, regaining nearly 30 percent of what it lost last week. Hundreds of billions of dollars in wealth rematerialized, at least on paper.
Crude oil prices plunged to their lowest in nearly two years, bad for oil producers but good for consumers and industry. Gasoline prices have edged out a couple of cents at the pump too. People aren't driving as much. Even New York's theater district was showing signs of recovery, according to the mayor.
MAYOR RUDOLPH GIULIANI, NEW YORK: Over the weekend, the Broadway plays started doing better. Some of them that we thought were in trouble did a lot better.
JACKSON: Economists remain nervous. Most now expect a full- blown recession, but in reality, the numbers they usually rely on are not yet able to measure life after September 11.
GAIL FOSLER, ECONOMIST: Frankly, we don't have any hard data. I don't think that we'll really have any information of any consequence until the end of October.
JACKSON: Layoff announcements are real enough. Airlines are suffering, hotels and resorts, too. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, in a phone hookup to hundreds of chambers of commerce, said the attacks have set the U.S. economy back perhaps six months.
PAUL O'NEILL, TREASURY SECRETARY: I would say there's a pretty broad consensus among economists that what's happened to us is going to delay the recovery, as I said, by a quarter or maybe two.
JACKSON: But how much the rest of the economy weakens depends largely on the unknowable. What's in the minds of consumers? Will there be buyers for big-ticket items?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have to be more conscious about our spending habits right about now, because you never know where the next dollar is going to come from.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If there's as many layoffs as they're talking about, everybody is getting spooked.
MARTIN REGALIA, U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: The money is still out there. The income generating potential in our economy is still there. The production capacity, the ability to move goods, all unchanged by this event. But what's really changed is the consumer psyche and that's a very, very difficult thing for economists to gauge.
JACKSON: Even the monthly survey of consumer confidence, out Tuesday, won't be of much use. Most of the consumers were questioned before September 11.
(on camera): In the days to come, there will be plenty of anecdotes in bits and pieces, good days and bad days. But it may be Thanksgiving before economists can really tell how badly the economy has been hit.
Brooks Jackson, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Good days and bad days, indeed, and in the informal survey we've taken this morning talking with a dozen or so people, nearly everyone gave us somewhat of a pessimistic response about how they feel about the U.S. economy right now. However, we found an exception. Stuart Roth is here. He's a New Yorker. He works with Citigroup. You are optimistic about this time. Tell us why.
STUART ROTH, CITIGROUP: Well, we're, I think, you know, we took a bad blow to us but America, Americans, we're a pretty resilient lot. I have no reason to think that the economy is not going to come back really strong. People are out again. Yesterday when I commuted back from work I saw tourists again. My wife and I personally went out on Saturday out in the suburbs. We went shopping. We really didn't need to buy a lot of stuff, but we felt we had to make a statement, go out and spend some money.
We've ordered some tickets online for the Broadway shows in Thanksgiving when our kids come back from college. My daughter is flying back for the Jewish holidays tomorrow from Emery in Atlanta. She's going on an airplane.
I just think, you know, they really underestimate the spirit of the American people. We're going to come back. We're going to come back strong. And I have no doubt we're going to be stronger than ever.
This was really terrible but we're going to go out and we're going to spend money because that's what we like to do and I have no reason to think that we're not going to, you know, get this economy back rolling.
HEMMER: Stuart, you're doing everything the politicians are telling Americans to do.
ROTH: Absolutely. You know, I couldn't, you know, be more proud of the governor, the mayor, the president. We're, we, we're just, I'm really proud to be an American and I'm going to do whatever it takes to get the city, the country back on the right track.
HEMMER: Stuart Roth, appreciate your time this morning. We'll see the markets open again in about two hours and 15 minutes from now and we'll watch it then.
ROTH: Great.
HEMMER: Stuart, thanks again.
ROTH: You're welcome.
HEMMER: Back to Paula now -- Paula.
ZAHN: Thanks so much, Bill. See you a little bit later on this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
