Marketplace 12/25/2000

It's Monday, the 25th of December.

Christmas Day is a holiday in most financial capitals, but they were hard at work in Tokyo with the benchmark stock index, the Nikkei rose 3 and three-quarter percent today, the sharpest increase in 21 months. There is optimism that the U.S. interest rates are going lower soon, which suggests a lower U.S. dollar, which makes Japanese goods cheaper to sell in the U.S. That put a 4 and one-half percent bounce in the share price of consumer electronics giant Sony, among others. Some of that Sony stuff might be getting cheaper in the U.S. for other reasons, meaning post-Christmas discounting. The real numbers for the holiday shopping season should start piling in on or about the 4th of January.

Christmas is also a make-or-break time for the finances of many churches. Marketplace's Steven Henn visits one in Washington, D.C., that depends on its Christmas masses to keep its doors open all year long...

Henn: "Across the country, church attendance more than doubles on a typical Christmas Eve, and while that may be a boom for many congregations' collection plates, for Monsignor Joseph Joshua Mandel and his Parishioners, it's their salvation."

Mandel: "I usually thank God we have a packed church."

Henn: "Monsignor Mandel has been the Pastor at the Church of the Immaculate Conception for 36 years, and under his watch, the church has proven to be the most resilient institution in a very rough neighborhood."

Mandel: "Two years after I got here, we had the riots everything on this block was destroyed except the church and the school and the rectories here. It was all burned down. We weren't touched, and it wasn't the good will of the church, it was the school."

Henn: "The elementary school is Mandel's prize and the goal of his ministry. But few of the school's 120 students can pay tuition and Mandel reckons he has to raise at least 100 thousand dollars a year to keep it going. And that's why Christmas Eve mass is so important. Over the years, Mandel has cultivated an enormous network of well-to-do friends like Marianna Grove and her family."

Grove: "It's just the most beautiful place in town to be on Christmas Eve, and I admire Josh Mandel. He's been a friend of mine."

Another Grove: "He married us. He married you."

Henn: "Like hundreds of others, the Groves come to Christmas Eve mass to support Mandel's church and his school. But Mandel says he invites them in part so they'll visit a neighborhood in downtown Washington they might otherwise never know was there. In Washington, I'm Steven Hen for Marketplace."

A little Harry Potter magic couldn't hurt the struggling British department store chain Marks and Spencer, which have gotten the rights to sell the Potter paraphernalia when the movie comes out in late 2001. In London, Marketplace's Steven Beard reports...

Beard: "The deal covers a wide range of products bearing the junior wizard's name: duvet covers, pillowcases, and children's clothing. There'll be Harry Potters t-shirts, baseball caps, socks, and swimming shorts. Marks and Spencer is hoping to cash in on the next great wave of Potter-mania. The eagerly awaited movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, is soon to be released next November. It's bound to be preceded by months of hype. Marks and Spencer is in urgent need of a bit of Potter magic. Commercial wizardry has been signally lacking at the chain in recent years. Last year profits harved, last month, the company unveiled a third set of dismal figures. Analysts believe the Potter deal can reverse that trend. Some forecast the total merchandise sales by all the companies that win Potter contracts will exceed the billion dollars earned by the Batman movies. Author J. K. Rolland, however, is known to be nervous about the quality of the products. She is not overjoyed, apparently, that an American candy company will be marketing a lollipop that will light up and play the Harry Potter movie theme. In London, this is Steven Beard for Marketplace."

And in lieu of the numbers this Christmas, we thought we would present the Marketplace Yule Log.

Engineer: "Dave, the Yule Logs don't work on the radio."

Brancaccio: "Alright, well, it's the thought that counts!"

Rundown
Nutcracker Town
If Scrooge had known how lucrative Christmas could be, he might not have been so grumpy about the season...in fact, in one part of Germany, it's absolutely critical to the area's economic survival. Terry Martin reports on one German town's economy of the nutcracker.


It's the Beverly Pawn Shop
Lalique, Tiffany, perhaps a bit of Orrefor's crystal? Nothing but the best is to be found at this pawn shop, where gifts of Christmases past are brought in when times get tough. Stephanie O'Neill has more.


Kiddie Accounts
When checks come for the kids instead of toys and clothes and other gifts, commentator David Owen tries setting up an account for monetary gifts from the family.


Frankincense and More
Tom Verde reports from Oman on the revival of this ancient essence brought by the three wisemen to the baby Jesus.


Christmas Reflections
Christmas is a time when families come together to celebrate, sing, eat a big dinner, and sometimes even argue. For commentator and author, Eric Nuzum, Christmas has become a time of reflection.


Look-Ahead
Coming up on 12/26/2000: Coming up on Marketplace, artists around the world are selling their wares on the internet. That, along with the latest in world business news.