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Show Business Editor: Carolyn Losee Phone: 626-7624 L waiu game W 4 si I no re s Cd & w if By Carolyn Losee business editor The Signpost While fans across the nation tune into the next round of "American Idol," other performers sharing the stage are war and the economy. It's showdown time and "Operation Iraqi Freedom" is launched fullforce in the Middle East. Before President Bush announced the 48 hour evacuation of Hussein's regime, timid Wall Street continued its bleak economic news. Now with talk of a swift victory on the Middle East front, investors are rallying to push their cash into stocks, before the opportunity passes by. "While we will likely get some sort of euphoric reaction to military victory, after that we'll get back to the fundamentals of economy, which are not strong," said Paul Kasriel, chief U.S. economist at Northern Trust. Kasriel said people are experiencing the worst decline in their net worth since the Great Depression. Locally, many agree the economy still has a struggle ahead of it. "People aren't willing to risk right now," said Trent Christofferson, stockbroker at Edward Jones in Ogden, Utah. "The risk for investors is something might happen they can't It's your I fjjfc5( Spencer Hilton $Z ' correspondent I'd like to address an important question I believe has been on many of our minds for the past few years: Who would win in a fight between Lou Dobbs and Neil Cavuto? For those of you who are now asking, "Who is Lou Dobbs?" or "Didn't I used to drive a Chevy Cavuto?" you obviously are reading this column for my charm, because you don't know a thing about business. Now before you get offended and call The Signpost to complain, take this business quiz: A. When I say the words "financial management," do you feel a pain in your GPA? B. Have you recently stood staring at the television in the Wattis Business Building shaking your head reprovingly at the numbers flashing across the screen? C. Have you ever feared for your life when your cell phone went off in Professor Richard M. Alston's economics class at WSU? If you couldn't answer "yes" to each of the above questions, the rest of us will now roll our eyes as we waste precious picas (that could have otherwise gone to more lame humor) to explain who Lou Dobbs and Neil Cavuto are. Lou Dobbs hosts CNN's "People aren't willing to risk right now. The risk for investors is something might happen they can't foresee. A lot of companies have value, but the New York Stock Market is a reflection of people guessing uncertainty into numbers' Trent Christofferson stock broker for Edward Jones foresee. A lot of companies have value, but the New York Stock Market is a reflection of people guessing uncertainty into numbers." Short-term investment has no power in the economy, Christofferson said. There are two variables needed for investing, guaranteed income and believing the future looks good. "For example, if someone wants to sell the four-plex they bought last year they will take a bath in losses," he said. "The key is longterm investments, ten years or more and waiting out the storm." Although there is a brief rally on Wall Street, consumers have a big job of repairing balance sheets and rebuilding savings toward strong economic growth. "Popping out of this war is teeter-tottering consumer habits," said Ron world, Moneyline It could get nasty. Dobbs' "Moneyline" has long been recognized as the prestigious leader in business news, but the past year "Your World" surpassed "Moneyline viewership. financial show, "Moneyline." A founding member of the Cable News Network in 1980, Dobbs is the anchor and managing editor of Moneyline. He has won nearly every major award for television journalism. Dobbs also oversaw the launch and served as president of CNNfn and CNNfn.com. He also launched the first multimedia company dedicated to space and space-related content, SPACE.com. Neil Cavuto hosts the Fox News Channel's financial program, "Your World with Neil Cavuto" and is also the anchor and managing editor of business news for Fox News. He has not won nearly every major award for television journalism, but then again he has not been around as long as Dobbs. Cavuto was, however, recognized by the Wall Street Journal as the best interviewer in business news. He's been nominated for five Cable ACE awards. Possibly more importantly, he has been voted the best business TV interviewer for four vcars Kusina, Weber County Economic Development director. "People are experiencing a real discomfort. Major purchasing is down, auto sales are in a slump and manufacturing is way under performance." The country experienced 10 or 12 years of unprecedented economic growth, Kusina said. Now companies are forced to be more efficient with their money. "We've had a triple blow and people start pulling in their pocket books," Kusina said. "Starting with the recession that hit us in July of 2001 , Sept. 1 1 and now war looking over our shoulders." The Conference Board, a business research group based in New York, said it watched the index for consumer confidence drop to 64, revised from 78.8 in January. The expected reading was 77, according to Briefing.com. in running. Back to the question at hand. I believe I'm not the only one who would like to see these two put on the gloves and get in the ring (with their shirts on, of course). Cavuto does have a few years on Dobbs. However, his unusually big head, as reflected in his viewer mail, may be a disadvantage. It could get nasty. Dobbs' "Moneyline" has long been recognized as the prestigious leader in business news, but this past year "Your World" surpassed "Moneyline" in viewership. From August 2001 to August 2002, "Your World" recorded a 140 percent increase. "Your World" averaged 598,00 viewers, while "Moneyline" averaged 484,000. Who would win the fight? I guess we'll never know. That is, until Fox creates a new reality show called: Who Wants the Bachelorctte to Marry the Survivor of "When Business Idol's Attack?" After all this rhetoric there is one thing we do know: Cavuto and Dobbs together in a class, with a ringing cell phone, wouldn't stand a chance against Alston. Consumer Confidence Indices February 2002-2003 120 110 100 90 80 70 60 i , T , , , r- , . . 9 CM CM CN Csl CM CM i CM CM SiJ CM CO CO 999c?99c?c?9?999 -S M ft. X 3 3 " 041 SlO Conference Board, a business research group based in New York, said the consumer confidence dropped to 64 from 78.8 in January. This reading marks the lowest since Oct. 1993. It is the fifth-largest one-month drop on record and the biggest one-month drop since the 17-point drop after Sept. 11. America Online has postponed breaking ground this spring on a new facility in South Ogden. AOL operates a customer support center in Ogden, and cites economic conditions as the reason for their postponement. Smart decision makers tend to pause during talk of war and troubled times, said Cody Craynor, WSU communication graduate. America Internet for news Knight Ridder Tribune Americans are turning to the Internet in record numbers for news and opinion, underscoring in new ways the Web's powerful, global reach as the United States goes to . war. By the millions, they are going online to get up-to-the-minute news, read reports in the foreign and alternative press and check out so-called "warblogs," electronic diaries pushing myriad views on the conflict with Iraq. With the Internet, "the town square is global, the bullhorn is loud and it's not very expensive," said Dave Winer, Silicon Valley technologist and blogging pioneer. The U.S. audience for online news has grown substantially in the past year alone. Visitors to news sites jumped from 67.5 million in Jan. 2002 to 82 million last month, drawing nearly two of three Internet users, says Internet measurement firm Nielsen NetRatings. "What technology has done is to take away some advantage and control from traditional news sources and give more power to citizens," said Jeffrey Cole, UCLA Center for Communication Policy director "This is a continuation of what we saw after Sept. 1 1 ." Global news sites arc now in easy reach of Americans. Monthly visitors are up nearly 400,000 in four months, Nielsen said, to 1 .4 million. -Consumer Confidence Index (1985 - 100) Consumer Sentiment Index (1966 - 100) When it comes to parting with their money people need a positive economic environment. With nothing looking good for long, the facts are setting the stage as the United States walks the razor's edge by initiating war, thus the U.S. economy is becoming a tightrope walk. "It is a helpless feeling to watch and wait," Kusina said. "I cannot position a company for growth when the economy is unpredictable. That's the frustrating part." You can reach reporter Carolyn Losee by calling 626-7624. "What technology has done is to take away some advantage and control from traditional news sources and give more power to citizens. " Jeffrey Cole director, UCLA Center for Communication Page views for the Web site operated by Aljazeera, the Oman-based Arabic language network that in 2001 aired the first broadcast statement by Osama bin Laden, reportedly have grown from about 700,000 a day to 3 million since the Sept. 1 1 terrorist attacks. More than 40 percent of visitors are from the United States, and the network plans to launch an English-language Web site this year. Steering one's way through the thicket of online news and opinion, however, can be time-consuming and confusing. "I'm too busy to read a lot of stuff that I can't trust on face value," said Rob Molinar, director of the San Jose Peace Center. "That's the problem with the Web. It's like having a conversation with someone you don't know much about." See News pdge f |