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American Morning

Michael Jackson to Preside Over Opening of Trading on Nasdaq

Aired August 30, 2001 - 09:18   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.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: You wouldn't think of stocks and pops and Michael Jackson, but the King of pop is going to be popping up in an unusual place today. Michael Jackson is going to will preside over the opening of trading on the Nasdaq this hour. Now his appearance kicks off a celebration marking his 30th anniversary as a solo performer.

Think about that. That shows you how long he's been out there.

CNN's Bill Tush is standing by live in New York. We go to him now for more.

Hey, Bill.

BILL TUSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Leon, how are you today?

You know, normally, you walk past the Nasdaq television studio here on 43rd and Broadway, and see maybe three or four people standing outside. Today, there giving MTV a few blocks away a run for their money, and the reason why is Michael Jackson. He has a huge concert coming to Madison Square Garden next Friday, and again on Monday. It's Michael Jackson, the Jackson 5 and a whole cast of celebrities and singers will be performing with him. And it's must anticipated, so the week before, they're bringing him here to the Nasdaq to turn things on this morning at 9:30, just a few minutes from now. The reason why Nasdaq tied into this is they're hosting the after-concert party Friday night.

What gets me is, how do people hear about this?

TUSH: I have no clue. The crowd started out with about 25 people this morning. Now it's about 300-400, because of the side of the Nasdaq building, which is huge television monitor, has a welcome Michael Jackson sign. I'm sure that brought the crowd in.

But these ladies came all the way from Berlin, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

TUSH: That's Mandy and Caroline.

Now, you are going to the show next week, right.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Of course. TUSH: But you came a week early for this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, definitely.

TUSH: All right, well have a good time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, Daryn, Leon, back to you.

HARRIS: Yes, sounds like noisy activity is picking up a bit. Bill, you'll have to find out for us later if those young ladies even know what Nasdaq is. We'll be checking back with you later on, Bill.

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