Neil Cavuto was joined by Gregg Hymowitz, founder of Entrust Capital; Jim Rogers, president of JimRogers.com; Geraldine Ferraro, former V.P. candidate; Ben Stein, economist and former speech writer for President Richard Nixon; Randy Jones, editor-in-chief of Worth magazine and Greg Kuhn, founding partner of Thoroughbred Partners.
Merci Beaucoup?
Neil Cavuto: Are the French really hurting what "they're" doing? Far from stalling a coalition against Iraq, are the French actually helping the U.S. build one? And in the process are they helping our markets build a comeback as well?
Geraldine Ferraro: They have not helped us with a coalition. The truth is they've helped us lose Germany. If you look at where they're coming from, they've got issues with the United States dating back to 1956. And they’re policy on Iraq is based on their business interests in Iraq. Also, the French have a huge Algerian population, which is a hotbed for terrorism. This is like an insurance policy for France if they're with Germany and sort of looking a little more neutral for the Arab countries.
Jim Rogers: People like the Turks and the Pakistanis are a lot more important to us than the French. We need them more than we need the French. Unless the French can pull together nine members of the Security Council to go against us, they're irrelevant.
Gregg Hymowitz: Immediately after Sept. 11 the French ran a cover story on one of their newspapers saying, "We Are All Americans." So you have to wonder what has changed between that time just before Sept. 11 and now. I think the administration has done a very poor job of explaining this war to the French and why there are no other ways to deal with Saddam Hussein.
Ben Stein: Something interesting is happening in the United States. Americans are so angry at the French for thumbing their noses at us that they are beginning to support the Bush administration and this war. I don't think they have any effect on the markets, but they are helping Bush rally for this war.
Randy Jones: We've had a couple of good days in the market lately and I think this is from France standing in our way of going to war. Investors are saying maybe there won't be a war. The leading edge of the baby boom say they don't want a war. Tony Blair's people giving him only a 30 percent approval rating showing him they don't want a war. It seems to me the more France stands in our way, the more likely we are to see an improvement in our economy.
More For Your Money
Neil Cavuto: The No. 1fund in the past year is the Prudent Bear (BEARX), a fund that bets the market is going down by shorting stocks, but is it time to start betting on stocks to get more for your money?
Gregg Hymowitz: I think the market right now is cheap at 16 times next year's earnings on the S&P. I'm not in the bear camp. I think you need to be long on the market.
Ben Stein: The market is at 20 times current earnings and that's still pretty high.
Greg Kuhn: A trend that's in place tends to persist. I still think there’s too much optimism in the market. Wall Street Strategists are still overly bullish. In fact, they’re more bullish than they were at the height of the stock bubble. So, I think we have more downside to go.
Jim Rogers: I don't have any shorts. My view is the market is going to rally. As soon as there is a big rally, I plan on shorting Fannie Mae (FNM).
Gregg Hymowitz: Why would you want to sell Fannie Mae when It's trading at eight times earnings which is the lowest its been in valuation in the last ten years.
Jim Rogers: Like I said, I would sell it in a rally.
Gregg Hymowitz: As for what I’m doing In this market, I own and am buying MBNA Corp. (KRB). It's at eight times earnings and it's a quality company.
Ben Stein: I own and would buy the Dow Diamonds (DIA) for a long term investment and the Templeton Emerging Markets Fund (TEI) for an income generating investment.
Greg Kuhn: I am not long on any stock right now. I plan on selling Fair Isaac (FIC). It's boasting very strong revenue growth but it's all factitious. It's based on acquisition accounting and a high level of accruals.
Fox on the Spot
Greg Kuhn: Next employment report shows job losses, not gains.
Jim Rogers: New Treasury Secretary, John Snow, fails to attract money to U.S at this week’s G-7 meeting.
Ben Stein: War will be quicker & Iraqis will be happier than expected!
Randy Jones: Bush follows Reagan's lead, stops "Axis of Evil" talk.
Gregg Hymowitz: U.N. resolution on Iraq war will pass when France abstains.
Neil Cavuto: France will abstain and the rest of the world will go along with the U.S. if it comes to a second U.N. vote, but I still think there'll be no war anyway, because Saddam Hussein will step down and everyone will look smart in the end.
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