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American Morning
Investors Watching Nervously to See Which Direction Markets Might Go
Aired July 22, 2002 - 08:32 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: Investors who are still waiting for their stomachs to settle down following Friday's plunge are watching very nervously indeed to see which direction the markets might go today, especially this morning, after WorldCom filed for the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history.
Michael Okwu standing by in New York City, Times Square, in front of the Nasdaq market site. And I know you've had a chance to catch up with folks.
Good morning. How you doing this morning, Michael?
MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm doing very well, Paula, a lot better than the markets have been doing over the course of the past week or so. I think it would be fair to say that there's a fair amount of nail biting going on in New York City, particularly here in times square. All morning, I've been talking to people, and I want to get to them right away.
This is Dominick (ph), who works in the area. You say that you watch the market as well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I do, every day.
OKWU: What's your feeling about what's going to happen today?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's going to be a lot more pain before anything gets better, but overall, it will be good for our kids.
OKWU: You say it's going to be good for our kids. What do you mean by that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're getting in at a low point. I think everybody is predicting the Dow about 7,500. Around that time is probably when I'll get in with their college funds and everything else. And hopefully, my retirement funds will go up from there.
OKWU: So you look at what's going on with the stock market right now as I time to invest with the market being low.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not exactly right now, but I'd say once it starts going down a little bit more and hopefully a little pop up, then I would go in full, you know, with both feet.
OKWU: Very quickly, have you taken a beating?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I have. Approximately about 30, 40 percent.
OKWU: And how much of that is your retirement savings?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd say about 20 percent is my retirement savings.
OKWU: Dominick, thank you, I wish you luck today.
Also I'm joined here by Llama (ph).
You're also going to be watching the stock market very closely.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I am.
OKWU: What are you hoping is going to happen? Obviously, you hope it's going to go up, but do you have a lot of money tied up in the stock market?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I do, especially my 401(k) at the time, and so everybody is worried, all of America is watching, and we hope that it may bounce back and something good happen, and we hang on in there for the long haul.
OKWU: How about spending money in general? Are you watching this market thinking in any way this might effect how you behave as a consumer?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, we are -- everybody is doing it, we're watching it, watching our jobs most importantly, because if you don't have a job, you can't spend. And you're going to maybe -- we are watching to see how much layoffs there are going to be, how much other job opportunities are out there, and all of that will factor into how we spend and what we do.
OKWU: Very quickly, President Bush came on the other day and spoke to the nation about corporate responsibility. Did that give you any confidence as an investor?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not until we see the reforms, I believe, and how far do they go with the reforms and the accounting principle. And I don't know if it's going to happen, because if it happens, as I see it, a lot of companies will have to go really low or bankrupt before the reforms come about. So until we see that, then I think everybody is just going to keep wondering is it going to be OK.
OKWU: Llama, thank you so much. I wish you luck as well today. Thanks for talking to us.
That's just the view of a couple of people here in Times Square. Generally, the feeling is we've got to watch the market, particularly because we've got a lot of our retirement savings tied up in it -- Paula.
ZAHN: You found two smart investors out there, Michael. Thank you. Appreciate it.
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