TERRY KEENAN, CNN ANCHOR: We`ve all had this debate: You want to buy something on credit, but which card do you use? MasterCard or Visa? Now the government is asking if there really is a difference between the two cards. We`ll tell you why.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The death of Syrian President Hafez al- Assad, prospects for the future and peace in the Middle East.

BILL TUCKER, CNN ANCHOR: Are you gambling with your investments? stocks, bonds, T-bill, money market accounts, there are lots of choices.

We`ll show you how to measure the odds and assess the risk of your portfolio.

PHILLIPS: And another high-profile legal fight: The defense begins its case in the landmark Florida tobacco trial. We`ll have a live report from Miami.

ANNOUNCER: From CNN and CNNfn, this is IN THE MONEY with Terry Keenan, Bill Tucker and Daryn Kagan.

KEENAN: And good morning, everyone, and welcome to IN THE MONEY.

Our top story this morning; One week after Uncle Sam moved to break- up Microsoft, today the government is taking its case against the nation`s two biggest credit card issuers to court.

TUCKER: More on that in just a minute. And a bit later in the show, we`re going to introduce you to a Web site that will give you a reading on just how risky your stocks really are, and we will also talk to a college student who took on a lot of risks this semester but reaped the rewards as well. He turned $21,000 into $120,000. And the best part here, Terry, is we`re going to show you how he it.

KEENAN: Yes, and in just one semester those kinds of return.

But first, let`s take a look at the early returns on Wall Street this morning. There you see little movement for the Dow industrial. We are up 12 points. Financial stocks are helping the Dow higher. JP Morgan is up two. Exxon also strong. Oil above $31 a barrel for the first time since March.

We are seeing some selling in some of the retailers, Home Depot is down $2, Hewlett-Packard down three.

Over in the Nasdaq, a darker picture. The Nasdaq currently trading down 59 points. Among the losers there, the dot.coms: Amazon is down better than two; and AOL, which trades on the Big Board, but I will tell you about it anyway, down $2 a share.

TUCKER: All right, we begin this morning with a charge against credit cards. Visa and MasterCard accused of limiting your choices and driving up costs. In a New York courtroom, the government is making a case for more competition. The lawsuit contends Visa and MasterCard aren`t competitors, but work together to freeze out other credit card companies.

Susan Lisovicz is outside the courtroom here in Manhattan with the latest.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... the completion of a 10-minute recess, and we are expecting to hear any moment from Visa`s lead attorney. What we have heard from -- who we have heard from this morning in U.S. District Court behind me is the lead lawyer for the government, U.S. attorney Melvin Schwartz, who said that Visa and MasterCard, through their duopoloy, have not bothered to innovate, that they have slowed innovation and continued to do so, that they have engaged in anti-competitive behavior, which is a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

And that specifically one of the real key parts of their case is that with the smartcard specifically, that MasterCard refused to go forward with the smartcard because of Visa`s refusal to do so. And that the result is it took nearly 15 years for the smartcard to be introduced to the public and that it was American Express that did so; that that hurt consumers.

MasterCard responded with its attorney, Ken Gallow (ph), says that the government is trying to tilt the playing field; that the government is engaged in an effort to create a misimpression of what the Dais Day Bank Card Association (ph) is, and that Visa and MasterCard want to continue to make life miserable for American Express, which, as a distant number three, would certainly be one of the beneficiaries if the government wins this case.

Back to you, Bill.

TUCKER: All right, Susan, thank you very much.

Now, antitrust is a word that we`re all familiar with because of the Microsoft case.

So, what`s different and what`s the same and what does the credit card antitrust case mean to consumers?

Joining us to explain all this is Nicholas Economides . He is a professor of economic at Stern School, business school here in New York University. I will get all of that right in a minute.

Professor Economides , thank you very much for being here.

NICHOLAS ECONOMIDES , STERN SCHOOL, NYU: Hello.

TUCKER: What difference does it make? I can`t see any net gain out of this. I don`t think I`m going to pay any less in interest rates as a result of it. The card companies are already fairly competitive on the issue of annual fees, I mean what`s this case get us?

ECONOMIDES : Well, I`m not so sure they are so competitive. They have similar price, but their prices are way above, the interest rates that you have to pay on credit cards are way above the interest rates that exist in the rest of the economy. So it`s possible that more competition among banks, and among credit card networks would diminish interest rates.

But see how I`m saying it, I think more of the competition is needed among the banks rather than among the networks. To some extent, consumers are going to be helped by more competition among credit card networks. But also, there will be much more help, in my opinion, if there is more competition among banks in setting up terms.

TUCKER: Then is the government misdirected in its focus? Should it actually be taking a look at the banks that issue the credit cards and not the credit card companies themselves?

ECONOMIDES : I think so.

TUCKER: All right, that does it for me. And thank you, Professor Economides . Appreciate you for being our guest on IN THE MONEY.

ECONOMIDES : Thank you very much.

KEENAN: Well, tobacco CEOs are in Florida today trying to convince a jury not to award punitive damages to 500,000 smokers in a class-action lawsuit. The six-member jury has already awarded nearly $13 million to three plaintiffs. Some think punitive damages could be in excess of $150 billion.

The chief executive of Philip Morris` U.S. unit is scheduled to be the first to testify. In a deposition last week, he denied targeting kids in advertising. But also last week, the company announced a plan to pull ads from magazines with high readership. We will have a live report from the trial a bit later in the show.

TUCKER: Energy Department Secretary Bill Richardson tells CNN`s "LATE EDITION" that while gas prices are rising nationwide, prices in the Midwest are unacceptably high. And he is in a meeting right now with oil industry representatives to find out why that is, despite no critical supply problems.

According to a national survey of 10,000 service stations, the average cost of a gallon of gas: $1.67. That`s close to a nine-cent hike in the last three weeks. Some of the increases in gas prices come from new requirements to reduce nitrous oxide emissions. And as we said, the real concern is in the Midwest. In Chicago, prices have hit $2.13, the highest in the country; Milwaukee, $2.04 a gallon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL RICHARDSON, ENERGY SECRETARY: In most of the country, prices are relatively stable, except for the Midwest. We`re very concerned with some states in the Midwest like Wisconsin, Illinois and others, reformulated gasoline, its introduction into the market, tight demand. We`re asking some questions, and the questions are: Is it a supply problem? Has there been some price gouging, or is it the market? And we`re going to get some answers to those questions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUCKER: But there is hope. Richardson says he expects the national average price to be down to the $1.45 level by the end of summer.

KEENAN: Sounds a bit better.

Well, as we`ve been telling you, oil stocks are among the standouts today on Wall Street; utilities also a bright spot.

Let`s bring in Christine Romans. She is watching today`s trading from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

And good morning, Chris.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Terry.

Well, indeed we`ve got the Dow up slightly, Dow Jones transportation index up, as is the Dow Jones utilities index up.

One of the Dow components we`re watching here today, McDonald`s, MCD. They call it "Burgers" on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, and today they`re selling Burgers here again for a second day in a row.

The stock trading down slightly here. Remember, it had same-store ales that were a disappointment to the Street on Friday. You`re seeing more selling here again today, and a couple of brokerage houses coming out and shaving their estimates for earnings for this company. So you`re seeing some weakness there.

Also watching Corning. This is the opposite story. This one doing well here, trading higher, some good volume there as well, the company saying that its second-quarter earnings will easily beat Wall Street estimates, and putting out an upbeat forecast for the rest of the year on some good demand for GLW, Corning. It`s a fiberoptics maker -- from kitchenware to fiberoptics. So it`s sort of interesting story there.

And Celera Genomics, CRA -- this is one of those big biotech companies. Investors have had a good appetite for these kind of firms in the genomics sector in particular lately. The company announcing that it will collaborate with Geron Corp. to combine Geron`s expertise in stem cell biology with Celera`s sequencing information and gene discovery capabilities. So that stock is trading higher. Celera, CRA, is up more than 4.

It`s interesting, that genomics department. Wow, there are a lot of journalists and a lot of investors our there who are definitely using their high school and college chemistry these days to make these sort of investing decisions.

And MCD, McDonald`s, as we said, it is now down about 1 5/8. It is a Dow component.

Back to you, Terry.

KEENAN: OK, thanks a lot, Christine.

And those genomics stocks were on fire Friday, and a lot of followthrough again today.

TUCKER: A lot of followthrough again today. Go figure: They`re selling the Burgers and they`re buying the biotech research.

Still to come: Syrians mourn this weekend`s death of their longtime leader.

KEENAN: We will go live to Damascus for more on the plans for the president`s funeral and what lies ahead for Syria.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEENAN: Our "Wake-up Call" this morning goes out to fans of the fiddle. A $100,000 violin was stolen during a concert at the Good Shepherd Faith Church. The violin belonged to a John Gandelsman, a 22-year-old from Israel who had borrowed the 250-year-old instrument from a dealer in Brussels. The violin has traveled far to be played and heard, not to be taken. Gandelsman has offered a $5,000 reward for its return.

TUCKER: I don`t know, 5,000 against 100,000 makes it tough.

Well, technology stocks are out of favor with investors this morning, that`s putting it mildly. The advance-decline ratio a little overwhelming in favor of those stocks headed downhill.

And Charles, Citrix Systems would appear to be the accident du jour at the Nasdaq. What can you tell us?

CHARLES MOLINEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh yes, crash, boom, and down it goes. We`ve got about 43 million shares of Citrix traded and it`s off by 44 percent, down $18 at 23 1/16. This after a report that it was not going to meet the market`s expectations by a wide margin for the current quarter.

Another story that`s a little happier is Caldera, which is now up by four bucks, or 37 percent at 16 a share. IBM is now planning to sell some of its popular ThinkPad laptops, using the Linux operating system. They`re going to run on Caldera`s Open Links 2.4. They`re going to be available sometime in the third quarter.

Microstrategy is off as well, down $10 or 17 percent on the day today. After a dramatic run-up, Microstrategy`s getting doused with a cold shower of skeptical comments from Merrill Lynch. The stock blasted off from only $28 a share last Tuesday, to $62 a share on Friday, amidst rumors it`s getting $100 million in capital through a private placement deal.

Now Merrill Lynch says it sees no change in the company`s fundamentals or its financing situation. Merrill says some customers seem to be even holding off purchases until some accounting questions are cleared up, although it is still up 75 percent, up from where it started last week. And the Nasdaq composite is now down by 68 points -- Bill.

TUCKER: All right, Charles, thank you very much.

And you know, Terry, the drop in Citrix hurts us because it is one of the stocks in our IN THE MONEY portfolio.

KEENAN: And interesting, you know, it was selling off last week, and thought there were some concerns about Microsoft and that was the reason the stock was down. It turns out, maybe somebody knew a little bit of something about this warning.

TUCKER: A little bit of something about a warning coming, exactly.

KEENAN: OK, time now to check some other headlines making news this morning. And for that, we go to Kyra Phillips in Atlanta with the latest -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Terry and Bill.

Well, in the news this hour, funeral services will be held tomorrow for Syrian President Hafez al-Assad. The influential Mideast leader died Saturday, ending three decades of iron-fisted rule. Assad`s son is expected to succeed him and has been tightening his grip on power since his father`s death.

Details now from CNN`s Mike Hanna, he is in the Syrian capital of Damascus -- Mike.

MIKE HANNA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, dignitaries have begun arriving for the funeral of President al-Assad Tuesday. Representatives of more than 50 nations are expected to attend the funeral and the procession that takes place through the streets of Damascus.

Throughout the day and indeed, yesterday, thousands of Syrians have taken to the streets in a mass display of public grief. And on this particular day the numbers appear to swell as people came in from the provinces to join the residents of the capital.

Certainly there was much grief. There were tears in the streets, but also there was an appearance of, while Syrians are remembering the past, they look into the future. In many of the processions there were posters of President Assad`s son Bashar, who`s expected to succeed his father within the coming weeks,

The ruling Baath Party here has said that it wants Bashar as the president. Indeed too, the parliament is likely to rubber stamp that particular decision. After that, it goes to a public referendum to give the people the opportunity to decide on the choice.

But, for the moment, what is being remembered is 30 years of rule by President Assad. And those attending the funeral Tuesday include the Iranian leader, Mohammad Khatami, a great supporter of President Assad, and as well, the chairman of the PLO, Yasser Arafat, who was deeply hostile to President Assad for many years. But perhaps a greatest tribute to President Assad is that after 30 years both friends and enemies will gather in Damascus to remember him.

Mike Hanna, CNN, reporting live in Damascus.

PHILLIPS: Thousands of Cuban children spent part of the morning marching through Havana, protesting the fact that Elian Gonzalez is still in the U.S. Cuban government officials estimate more than 160,000 people marched down Havana`s Seaside Boulevard. The children went past the U.S. Interest Section chanting: "Down with abuse, Liberate Elian." The boy has been in the United States since Thanksgiving Day, when he was found floating in an inner tube off the coast of Florida.

Four passengers and two crew members walked off an Alaska Airlines jet Sunday in Seattle, after concerns about the plane`s safety were raised in a local newspaper article. The "Seattle Times" cites an internal memo by a veteran Alaska pilot, sent to the airline`s chief of operations. In it, the captain says he was troubled by repair delays to the MD-80, as noted in the plane`s maintenance log. Alaska has been under federal review for its maintenance procedures since the deadly crash last April of one of its jets off the California coast.

Northwest Airlines plans to offer a discount on future travel should your luggage fail to arrive at your destination when you do. The compensation will be on a sliding scale, beginning at $25, depending on the cost of your ticket. It applies to bags that are lost, delayed by a missed connection, or misplaced temporarily.

That`s the news for now. We`re going to go back to Terry and Bill in New York.

TUCKER: All right, Kyra.

But you know, you cannot put a price on the aggravation caused by a lost bag.

KEENAN: No.

TUCKER: I`m sitting there listening to that story, thinking...

PHILLIPS: Oh, we`ve all been there.

TUCKER: It`s nice that they try, but it just doesn`t quite work.

Thanks, Kyra.

KEENAN: Thanks, Kyra.

Well, what is the best way to earn an "A" in economics? Coming up, we`ll talk with one student who put his market sense to the test.

TUCKER: Also, now that the government is investigating the credit card industry, we thought it might be time to take a look at some of the other credit cards in your wallet. After the break, American Express is our "Stock of the Day."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

1120

TUCKER: All right, there you have it, shot of the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. A bit of back and forth there, Dow not a lot of enthusiasm. Got some pain in the form of Home Depot and JP Morgan holding the Dow back at the moment. Nasdaq, tech sector, a little out of favor, at the moment, it is down 71 points.

KEENAN: When it comes to our "Stock of the Day"`s chief product, chances are you probably wouldn`t leave home without it, especially if you are going on a business trip. And with all the trouble Visa and MasterCard are having, we decided it was time to take a closer look at American Express. Sure, its little green card is welcomed almost everywhere, but would you want American Express stock in your portfolio?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): A blue chip banker with a 150-year-old pedigree, American Express has built a powerful brand into a globe-trotting financial services firm. At the core of the company: a powerful piece of plastic.

The American Express card ranks third behind credit card market leader Visa and number-two MasterCard, claiming just $14 out of every $100 charged.

But instead of being divided among thousands of issuers, as Visa and MasterCard`s business is, American Express`s transactions and commissions are all handled by the company.

Last year, American Express generated revenue of more than $21 billion, but more than two-thirds of that revenue came from the company`s travel related services division, which includes the card.

Along with the rest of the Dow industrials, shares of American Express took a beating early in the year. But heavy card usage, especially by corporate accounts, pushed fee income beyond the expectations of Wall Street analysts. The company now trades near a 52-week high of $57 a share.

Buying and holding on to American Express through the bad times made sense to at least one prominent investor: Warren Buffett. His legendary long-term investment company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns about 11 percent of American Express.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEENAN: And it has been a good investment for Buffett and other American Express shareholders; the stock up seven-sixteenths right now, trading just a couple of dollars off a new high.

Our next guest is charged up about prospects for American Express, but she warns that the company`s share price is fully valued, so upside may be limited. The stock split three-for-one about a month ago.

The antitrust action against Amex`s competitors is a near-term positive for the financial services bellwether, and it could help Amex to sustain its 10-15 percent annual growth rate.

Our guest is Jennifer Scutti and she joins me now from Prudential Securities here in New York.

And Jennifer, welcome.

JENNIFER SCUTTI, PRUDENTIAL SECURITIES: Welcome, thank you.

KEENAN: Bottom line, if Visa and MasterCard lose this antitrust case, what will it mean for American Express?

SCUTTI: Well, I think for American Express, the biggest thing is going to be the psychological win. This has been a hot button for the company for a number of years. It has been to the courts three times that I know of offhand, and I think that it is more of a psychologically charged issue right now than almost a tangible one. But we do think that there could be some long-term revenue implications and account growth that may ultimately be because of the win, or if there is a win.

KEENAN: Card usage has been red hot for American Express, up 20 percent year over year, can that continue, if indeed the economy slows a little here?

SCUTTI: Well, the interesting thing with American Express is that their business is largely charge card driven, which means that it is transaction driven, not as much revolving. As we`re saying new forms of payment alternatives, the Internet is a primary example, as people are using their credit cards more and more often, they are accepted in more place, I do think that transaction volume is going to continue to grow and that certainly will help American Express and help sustain the kind of growth rate that we`ve seen in the last few years.

KEENAN: And does that make American Express less vulnerable to a downturn and problems with credit quality that might affect the other card companies?

I think ultimately, yes, it does. The company does have a good chunk of their business, as I mentioned, in the transaction side of the operation versus the revolving side. But also the global penetration of American Express helps, as the company has been very well diversified in both the domestic market and across the world.

KEENAN: All right, thanks, Jennifer.

SCUTTI: Thank you.

KEENAN: Jennifer Scutti of Prudential Securities.

TUCKER: All right, now that you`ve heard everything about American Express, go to the bottom of our CNNfn Web page and vote.

And you told us what you thought about MP3.com, the music Web site, our "Stock of the Day" on Friday. About 57 percent of you said, no. Only 43 percent of you, in fact, liked this and thought there might be enough reward to balance out the rest. So it gets a red light, does not go into our portfolio.

KEENAN: That stock`s trading down rather sharply today, down about $2 a share at 17.

TUCKER: Yes, pretty interesting decision, and good one.

Oh, you know one good piece of good news for the portfolio, by the way, is Qualcomm. It`s up $2 a share today.

Coming up, the family of a woman killed in the Olympic Park bombing four years ago goes before the Georgia Supreme Court today claiming the games should be held liable for the death.

KEENAN: And the Internet has become fertile ground for breaking news, and a variety of news Web sites have sprung up. But has the weeding out begun? Coming up on IN THE MONEY, we`ll talk about the fate of Internet news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEENAN: You`re watching IN THE MONEY. It`s half past the hour. Welcome back, everyone. I`m Terry Keenan.

TUCKER: And welcome back from me as well. I`m Bill Tucker.

Let`s take a quick check on the markets. We have the week starting out on a split-decision kind of fashion, the Dow industrials up 15 points, 10629 the level there. Pain being felt by Home Depot today and J.P. Morgan. However, Exxon is looking very good. We have oil prices above $31 a barrel today. Tech sector also feeling some hurt today. Nice runup last week. We`ve got the Nasdaq currently trading down 65 points.

KEENAN: Tiffany`s also a big loser today, that stock down about 5.

Well, tobacco CEOs are in Florida today trying to convince a jury not to award punitive damages to some 500,000 smokers in a class action lawsuit. The trial has just gotten under way, as you can see there. You`re looking at live pictures of it now.

TUCKER: A six-member jury has already awarded $13 million to three plaintiffs. Some think punitive damages could be in excess of $150 billion.

KEENAN: And the high price of gasoline is on the agenda as Energy Secretary Bill Richardson meets with oil executives this morning. The big issues: prices in the Midwest where the per-gallon cost to fill up the tank has climbed past the $2 mark in some cities. That is well above the national average of $1.67 a gallon. And a CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll found that the high prices are affecting summer driving plans. Almost half of those surveyed said that they have changed their itineraries because of prices at the pump.

Louise Schiavone is in Washington now with more on the meeting between the energy secretary and the oil executives.

And, Louise, what`s on the agenda?

LOUISE SCHIAVONE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this meeting, Terry, comes amid howls of protests from drivers of all kinds and the politician who represent them. So the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency have called in refiners, oil company executives and petroleum marketers agencies, especially those from the Midwest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL RICHARDSON, ENERGY SECRETARY: The questions are: Is it a function of the market? is it glitches with a new, clean, reformulated gasoline, or is it collusion or is it price-gouging? We need answers to those questions. Prices of gasoline in the Midwest are unacceptably high.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHIAVONE: The energy industry is set to argue that there is no price-gouging or collusion but that this is a problem long in the making. The Petroleum Industry Research Foundation in New York City says that a constellation of factors have created this price spiral. This includes OPEC`s decision to cut production; EPA requirements that gasoline be cleaner or reformulated, that makes gasoline more expensive; and the fact that refiners are discouraged from producing in some cases because several of them could face paying millions in patent infringement damages to the Unocal oil company. The cost to refiners connected to this suit are expected to be as much as roughly six cents a gallon due Unocal, due to that suit.

The energy producing industry says that there`s nothing mysterious about these high energy prices with low inventory and high refining costs, but everyone concedes that the results at the pump are painful -- Terry.

KEENAN: OK, they certainly are. Thank you very much, Louise, Louise Schiavone.

TUCKER: Government antitrust lawyers want to perform some plastic surgery on Visa and MasterCard. In a trial that began this morning, Department of Justice attorneys are making their case against the credit card companies. They claim that Visa and MasterCard, which together control about 75 percent of the market, are stifling competition and hurting consumers. The credit card companies deny the charges and say competition continues to flourish in their industry.

KEENAN: And Corning says, it expects second-quarter profits to top estimates. The company says it will earn about 79 cents a share, that is 10 cents better than the analysts were expecting. Corning`s CEO attributes the rise to very strong growth in its fiber-optics business, and that has lit a fire under Corning`s shares. The stock is currently trading up $14.

And another stock that we are watching this morning with very different consequences is Citrix Systems. We have our market reporters in place. Christine Romans is at the New York Stock Exchange. Charles Molineaux is at the Nasdaq with the bad news on that stock.

So Charles, let`s get it out of the way. Let`s start with you.

MOLINEAUX: Ouch, yes, this one was painful. Citrix Systems is now down 42 percent or $17 a share, $23.75. It says its second quarter profits will come in between nine and 11 cents a share. That is well below the market`s projections of 21 cents a share. The stock had been weak at the end of last week after its CFO did not show up for a tech conference. That set-off rumors that perhaps there was something amiss with its finance. And what do you know?

Amgen, meanwhile, is also down by about one percent, or nine- sixteenths, after a loss in court. Amgen has been suing Transkaryotic, accusing Transkaryotic of violating an Amgen patent with its anemia treatment. After the market closed on Friday, a federal judge dismissed several of Amgen`s claims. Transkaryotic, the first part, is actually down $8, or 20 percent, however it was up 35 percent on Friday ahead of the news.

While the Nasdaq has meandered around, it is now down close to its session lows, sitting here at 3808.

Let`s head over to Christine Romans and see how things are going at the NYSE, a little bit more positive there -- Christine.

ROMANS: A little more positive, indeed, Charles. But you used the best verb to describe it all today and that is "meander." It is the Monday morning meander, it is turning into midday, and things are still pretty quiet. We have very light volume here, 298 million shares changing hands, advancers and decliners pretty much right about in line -- in lock step here today.

We`ve got utilities and transports, both of them slightly higher, but the Dow Jones industrial average is not really galloping on the upside, at all. Traders say that the tone this week might have to be set by data, and that doesn`t start until tomorrow.

Among the big gainers in the Dow, we have J.P. Morgan, that one is doing pretty well. We are also seeing some gains in Eastman Kodak. Stocks like G.M. is doing well as well, but you are seeing Hewlett-Packard trading on the downside. ExxonMobil actually is up 2 3/8, that is helping things out here. But for the most part, with less than 300 million shares changing hands by this time of the day, it is a very light meandering Monday.

Back to you guys in the studio.

KEENAN: OK, thanks, Chris, Christine Romans.

TUCKER: We meander on into this story. Federal Express trading 12 1/2 cents a share higher today after announcing that it plans to start a service this summer that will customers and companies to build an on-line store through the express delivery company. FedEx hopes the move will strengthen its ties with small and medium sized companies.

FedEx competitor UPS is reportedly in talks to buy a pair of logistics companies in Asia and Latin America. "The Wall Street Journal" reports that UPS will use some of its $5.5 billion it`s raised in its IPO to fund the purchases.

KEENAN: Motorola says, IBM and Toshiba will work with it to offer Bluetooth Technology across parts of their personal computer lines. Bluetooth is a high-capacity, short-wave radio link that enables electronic devices, such as cell phones and computers, to hook up remotely.

TUCKER: In addition to Bluetooth Technology -- Bluetooth Technology is not an easy thing to say -- IBM is also taking part in Linux technology. Big Blue says it will offer upstart operating system Linux on some of its popular ThinkPad and laptop computers. Those computers will become available in the third quarter.

KEENAN: Because of computers and the information age, there are a lot of choices. A new survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press has uncovered some telling trends: 17 percent of those under the age of 30 watch the nightly network news on a regular basis, compared that with 50 percent of those age 65; 56 percent of Americans surveyed said that they watch local news regularly, compared with 77 percent back in 1993; and 27 percent of those questioned go on-line to get their news every day, and that is three times the number who used the Web in 1995.

TUCKER: The dot.com shakeup of the past few weeks is beginning to show its signs in Silicon Alley here in New York. The recent casualties are Internet news companies that are running out of cash and laying off staff.

KEENAN: Deborah Feyerick has the story of APBnews.com, it is a popular news site that is logging off the net.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At APBnews.com, they`re packing up boxes, pulling up stakes, and saying goodbye. After 18 months establishing themselves as part of an award-winning crime and justice Web site, 140 APBnews staff writers, editors, and business people are looking for work.

JOE KRAKOVIAK, APBNEWS.COM: We ran out of money. We have no money to pay our employees or to pay any severance.

FEYERICK: A number of journalism Web sites are in the same boat. Salon.com recently laid off workers, as did the CBS Internet group. And though APBnews initially raised $27 million, now spent, the money needed to keep going has dried up.

BERNHARD WARNER, "INDUSTRY STANDARD" MAGAZINE: They`re going back to the same group of institutional investors and some of them are turning their backs because their portfolio is already hurting.

FEYERICK: Internet analysts say, part of the problem is that investors look at journalism the same way they look at e-commerce or Web shopping. That is, a way to earn some fast money.

SREENATH SREENIVASAN, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: Journalism requires the kind of commitment that most investors, most venture capitalists don`t have. It takes a long time to produce a quality product.

SYDNEY SCHANBERG, APBNEWS JOURNALIST: They`re bottom line people, and you know, you can`t blame them. It`s what they do, and this is what I do. And maybe it`s not a fit.

FEYERICK: Web sites make money either through subscriptions or through advertisers who tend to favor companies like CNN or ABC News, with a built-in audience.

MICHAEL O`DONNELL, SALON.COM: Clearly, they are competition because they have such a big brand presence. They leverage their TV assets or their radio assets. But I think, on the Web, people are looking for fresh, original content, and that is what we have.

FEYERICK (on camera): Media insiders say Internet journalism is here to stay. But they say, news sites need to be realistic, start small, build carefully and develop a loyal following.

(voice-over): Proving they can one-day turn a profit so investors will commit for the long run.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TUCKER: And it is very interesting, and we should add this little addendum to the APBnews.com story in that the staff there has decided to stay on, Terry, and continue to work even though they won`t be paid.

KEENAN: Hopefully, they will find a buyer, that might be part of the strategy behind that.

We`ve got word this morning another dot.com is calling it quits, Reel.com.

TUCKER: Yes, that is the e-commerce division of the second largest video store chain in the country: Hollywood Entertainment. And the company announced today that it will closing that Web site down.

KEENAN: And that Web site was dedicated to movies and video rentals. It was losing, according to industry estimates, some $5 million a month.

That`s not easy to do.

TUCKER: No, that`s not -- that`s a lot of money.

Coming up: tobacco company CEOs themselves in court.

KEENAN; Also, to some, these days investing feels too much like gambling. Why not hedge your bets with a new tool that will help you decide the risk in your portfolio?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TUCKER: All right, now, the Nasdaq has been negative all session long and is at its lows of the session, as a matter of fact. Now the Dow has turned to the south. It is down almost 3 points, 10610.

Terry, interestingly enough, Dow utilities index, up better than a percent again today, is doing what it seems to be doing a lot of, and that`s being sort of a shelter in these rocky markets.

KEENAN: Yes, Dow having a tough day again after a tough week last week.

OK, time now to check some other stories making news today. And for that, we go back to Kyra Phillips for the latest -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Hi, guys.

Tobacco industry executives take the hot seat in the Florida tobacco trial. They will strive to save their companies some money -- make that a lot of money.

CNN`s Susan Candiotti is in Miami with the details.

Hi, Susan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The chief executive officer of the largest tobacco company, Philip Morris, will deliver this message to a Florida jury. In the words of his attorney:

DAN WEBB, PHILIP MORRIS ATTORNEY: These tobacco companies have changed.

CANDIOTTI: It`s a message those bringing the lawsuit dismiss outright.

So far, jurors have already awarded nearly $13 million in compensatory damages against five tobacco companies in this the first class-action suit of its kind to go to trial.

Now, as the defense begins its arguments in the punitive damages stage, Philip Morris` CEO will begin by arguing tobacco has learned its lesson; for one thing, by paying 46 states, including Florida, $255 billion in compensation for health costs associated with smoking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, PHILIP MORRIS AD)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sometimes it`s what you don`t do that makes you who you are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Philip Morris has already been airing TV commercials warning young people about smoking.

WEBB: When the jury hears that, they find out about the change, at least we`re convinced the jury will exercise the discretion they have to award zero in punitive damages.

CANDIOTTI: Not if the plaintiffs` lawyers can help it.

STANLEY ROSENBLATT, PLAINTIFFS` ATTORNEY: The evidence will show that they have not done that at all, nor have they changed their ways in any meaningful, substantive fashion.

CANDIOTTI: Last month, the plaintiffs` attorneys showed jurors several cigarette ads in magazines that attract a youthful clientele. That same month, Philip Morris announced it was suspending ads in "Rolling Stone" and "Sports Illustrated."

This month, Philip Morris announced it will yank ads from up to 50 magazines with at least 15 percent of its readers under the age of 18.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: And at this hour, the chief executive officer of Philip Morris, Michael Szymanczyk, is on the stand. This is the first time he has ever testified in one of these cases. Attorneys say he will try to convince the jury the industry has changed its ways.

However, it appears Szymanczyk may not be able to show TV commercials that tout so-called "goodwill campaign" of Philip Morris, including ads that discourage young people from smoking. The judge has ruled out the ads as "old hat," saying that the jury has already heard that information in an earlier phase of the trial.

Now, so far, plaintiff`s witnesses in this case have testified that the tobacco industry would be able to raise $150 billion to $157 billion. We have no idea how much, if any punitive damage, will be awarded. However, that would be a record amount. So far, reportedly, the record punitive damage award in a national case similar to this would be $5 billion.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, reporting live in Miami.

PHILLIPS: The Georgia Supreme Court today began hearing the only lawsuit stemming from the Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta. Alice Hawthorne was the only person killed in the bombing nearly four years ago. One-hundred other people, including Hawthorne`s teenage daughter, were injured in the explosion. The Hawthorne family`s lawsuit contends the Atlanta Olympic Committee should be held liable for not providing adequate security.

A study of executions in the U.S. finds two-thirds of death penalty cases over a period of 22 years were reversed by courts because of errors. The report by a Columbia Law School professor claims the death penalty system is collapsing under the weight of its own mistakes. One academic who supports the death penalty is critical of the study, saying it was issued to influence lawmakers looking at changes to the system.

Texas Governor George W. Bush strongly disagrees with a newspaper report that found problems with executions in his state. The Sunday "Chicago Tribune" reported dozens of Texas inmates were executed even though their cases had unreliable evidence, questionable testimony, or they were represented by lawyers who had been disbarred or suspended.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GEORGE W. BUSH (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know there`s some in the country that don`t care for the death penalty. But as I`ve said once, I`ve said a lot, that I believe every case has been -- we`ve adequately answered innocence and guilt and everybody`s had full access to the courts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The Republican presidential candidate pointed out he granted a 30-day reprieve to allow DNA testing on a man sentenced to die for the rape and murder of his 12-year-old stepdaughter.

That`s the news for now. We`ll now go back to Bill and Terry.

TUCKER: All right, Kyra. Thank you.

KEENAN: Well, during the market`s recent volatility, some investors may have learned the hard way that they were overexposed to technology stocks or sitting on a high-risk collection of mutual funds.

TUCKER: But according to RiskGrades.com, it`s never too late to analyze a portfolio`s risk. Now here to tell us how to do that is Ethan Berman. He`s CEO of RiskMetrics Group.

And, Ethan, welcome.

ETHAN BERMAN, CEO, RISKMETRICS GROUP: Good morning.

TUCKER: And I should say to viewers out there: Don`t be intimidated. They should go to your Web site. It sounds like a really frightening concept, but it`s simple, actually, when you sit down to take a look at it. How did you get into evaluating risk in stock?

BERMAN: Well, actually, our firm, RiskMetrics, has been evaluating risk for 10 years for institutions. So over 5,000 institutions around the world, including over half of the central banks, use our technology to measure the risk of their firms. And RiskGrades was an idea of taking that technology and making it available to individual investors.

KEENAN: What`s the difference between risk and volatility?

BERMAN: Not a lot. Clearly risk is the movement, or the expected movement, of different assets. And we think in terms of risk as loss. So volatility obviously has upside. Your risk is your concern about your downside.

KEENAN: We have a chart, I think, of some stocks with your grades, if we could pull that up so we can show the viewers what you mean. And, for example, a company such as Microsoft has a rating of 303.

BERMAN: Right.

KEENAN: Explain what that means.

BERMAN: Well, we take a scale of zero to over 1,000 with 100 being the average risk of all international equities. So Microsoft at 303 is three times riskier than the global equity markets.

TUCKER: Is anywhere in here the concept of time? Like, does it make any difference if I`m 26 or if I`m 46 or -- I mean, is that concept in the risk metrics?

BERMAN: Absolutely. And within RiskGrades.com, you actually have a test where you can go in and it personalizes your own particular risk profile based on things like age, time horizon, et cetera.

KEENAN: You also look at mutual funds, which is very helpful because a lot of people think that mutual funds take out a lot of the risk in the market. But that, indeed, isn`t the case. You`ve found that the risk/reward ratios varied quite differently among firms.

BERMAN: That`s right, though you will find that mutual funds have, because they`re a portfolio, diversified some of your risk, and so you can get a high-technology fund that is less risky than any individual high-technology stock.

TUCKER: All right, terrific, Ethan. Thank you very much. And we should add before you get out of here: It`s free.

BERMAN: That`s right, individuals can go to Riskgrades.com, and enter in their whole financial holdings.

KEENAN: No risk there. Thanks, thanks Ethan. Ethan Berman.

BERMAN: Thank you.

TUCKER: All right, never underestimate the power of a good education.

KEENAN: Coming up next, we`re going to talk to one college student that has been testing economic theories on Wall Street and he`s made a killing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEENAN: Karl Abele is a very good student, indeed. His class project netted him an "A," and a $120,000 profit. While his classmates at Massachusetts Maritime Academy were learning about trading stock in economics class, he put his money and his faith in the market, and with incredible results.

And he joins me now on the phone from Plymouth, Massachusetts.

And, Karl, welcome. Good to have you with us.

KARL ABELE, STUDENT INVESTOR: Thank you.

KEENAN: How did you do it, you turned about $20,000 in $120,000?

ABELE: Yes, I used a lot of technical and fundamental analysis and just try and be careful.

KEENAN: Did you do a lot of trading?

ABELE: I did, I did, I traded about once or twice a day, but I looked for about, you know, five to 30 percent swings in stocks and hold them for anywhere for, you know, a day to a week.

KEENAN: Wow. Anything you learned in your economics class that helped you?

ABELE: Yes, you know, all the stuff that he taught me. I mean, making a plan was what really helped me out. You know, the plan, having a plan is key.

KEENAN: How did you weather the recent downturn in a lot of those Nasdaq stocks? I assume they were some of the ones in your portfolio.

ABELE: Yes, I got hit pretty hard at a thermodynamics quiz, I was down $60,000 when I came back, but, made it all back. So I`m doing OK. TUCKER: Karl, this is Bill Tucker, I`m wondering, is fishing ahead in your future, or are you considering a career on Wall Street, here?

ABELE: Yes is it. Yes, no, fishing is one of my other passions and I`ve got to get the boat ready, but I love it.

TUCKER: So it`s a bit of a hedge against stormy seas.

ABELE: Yes, you could say that.

KEENAN: What are you buying right now?

ABELE: Right now I`m looking at Cistechnologies and Preview Systems.

KEENAN: And you`ll keep on trading even when you leave school?

ABELE: That`s the plan.

KEENAN: OK, well, it sounds like a good one.

ABELE: Yes.

KEENAN: Five hundred percent return in one semester, congratulations. ABELE: Thank you very much.

KEENAN: Thanks, Karl, Karl Abele.

TUCKER: And finally, a story near and dear to my heart and my name. The famed Tucker Torpedo is coming back. Fifty-one originals were made in 1948 by Preston Tucker, before the company went bust. Now back by popular demand, Fifty-one new ones will soon be rolled out. You`re looking at a picture of an original Tucker Torpedo there.

The new Tuckers will have resin bodies molded from the original design. They will be outfitted with rear-mounted Cadillac engines and a price tag that could make this grown man cry. The replicas will sell for $150,000. And I guess that means I won`t be getting...

KEENAN: Now I know what to get you for your birthday, because it is coming up, right?

TUCKER: It is, indeed. That would be nice, thanks.

KEENAN: Who`s going to make them, General Motors?

TUCKER: No, no, and investor out in New Jersey, actually, a guy named Robert Idow (ph) is going to be doing it. And at $150,000 a car I think he thinks can make a little money on the side.

KEENAN: Cool car, I would like one in pink.

TUCKER: Well, we could do that.

KEENAN: Next year`s birthday.

OK, well, don`t forget to join us tomorrow, as on every Tuesday, we`ll have some wise advice from the Motley Fools.

We`re also going to be looking at some ideas about what you can do with the money that you used to spend on some foolish habits.

And before we leave you, let`s give you a quick update on the markets right now, because we are underwater for both the Dow and the Nasdaq. The Nasdaq at its lows of the day. There you see the Dow, down about 20. Financial stocks holding up rather well, but we`re seeing some slowing in the retail issues.

TUCKER: Yes, the utilities up 3 1/2. That`s does it for today`s edition of IN THE MONEY. I`m Bill Tucker, right here in New York.

KEENAN: And I`m Terry Keenan, we`ll see you back here in New York, tomorrow.

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