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Pressure on President Obama to Fix Economy; Stocks Bounce Back; Interview With Diana Nyad After Ending Cuba-to Florida Swim; Stocks on the Rebound from Plunge; Witnessing Desperation At Its Worst

Aired August 09, 2011 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Live from Studio 7, I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Want to get you up to speed for Tuesday, the 9th of August.

Wall Street's mojo is back, at least for the moment. Stocks bounced back in early trading today after Monday's 634-point plunge. Right now, Dow blue chips are up by 201 points. Investors are psyched over today's Fed meeting, and there's speculation it might announce a new stimulus to boost the economy.

Well, President Obama sits down with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. That's happening this afternoon. They're going to size out the new market turmoil that is feeding fear of a double-dip recession. The president is promising to help a special congressional commission find a long-term fix for the finances.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I intend to present my own recommendations over the coming weeks on how we should proceed. And that committee will have this administration's full cooperation. And I assure you, we will stay on it until we get the job done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So, Congress has to appoint the commission by next Tuesday. That is just a week from today. The six Democrats and six Republicans will have until November 23rd to come up with a plan.

Well, London will practically triple the number of police officers on the streets tonight to combat rioting. Violence spread to new neighborhoods today, even to other cities. It started Saturday after a police shooting.

Prime Minister David Cameron cut short his Italian vacation. He says that mob anger has transformed into criminality, pure and simple.

The bodies of 30 American troops killed in Afghanistan have arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. They died when the Taliban shot down their helicopter over the weekend. Eight Afghans killed in the fiery crash were flown to Dover, as well, so their remains can be identified.

NATO rained bombs on Libya's capital overnight, the heaviest attack in a month. Explosions lit up Tripoli's night sky for the better part of an hour. NATO's war jets appear to have hit a chemical plant which is burning east of the city.

Well, two brothers and their sister are on the run from the law today. The siblings are accused of taking shots at a Florida police officer during a high-speed chase. Five hours later, investigators say the trio robbed a Georgia bank. Their mother, who didn't want to be identified, pleaded for her children to give up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Only mom knows what good people you are inside. Please prove me right and everybody wrong by doing the right thing now and turning yourselves in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: In San Angelo, Texas, today, closing statements are scheduled in the penalty phase of Warren Jeffs' trial. Now, the jury is going to decide a sentence for the polygamist sect leader. He could go to prison for the rest of his life. Last week, jurors convicted Jeffs of sexually assaulting two children.

Well, swimmer Diana Nyad arrived in Key West, Florida, this morning, but not the way she had hoped. Nyad, at 61, tried to become the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage. But about halfway through the three-day swim, fighting strong currents, her body ran out of steam.

President Obama was supposed to be speaking in Virginia right now about fuel efficiency standards, but the White House canceled the event just a short time ago. Now, the president is under increasing pressure to come up with a plan to fix the country's finances.

White House Correspondent Brianna Keilar, she's joining us live.

Brianna, first of all, do we know why the president canceled his event?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: We don't know why, Suzanne. The White House isn't saying. There is speculation, not surprisingly, that the president may be going to Dover Air Force Base, where the remains of those 30 U.S. troops killed last week in Afghanistan will be coming in.

As you mentioned, he was supposed to be in Virginia, discussing new fuel efficiency standards for commercial vehicles, for trucks and buses. That was completely cleared off of his schedule a couple hours ago, and there -- as well as the briefing by White House Press Secretary Jay Carney -- but there hasn't been an update to explain why in

MALVEAUX: So, Brianna, we know that he does have on his schedule that he's going to be meeting with his treasury secretary, obviously looking at the economic situation. What are some of the specific proposals that he is going to be putting on the table to try to jump- start this economy?

KEILAR: You know, he's been talking about some of his proposals for a while, Suzanne. I think perhaps it's not reassuring to the markets.

These are proposals that take time. They certainly are more slower moving than the panic that we've seen on Wall Street. And the president has long said, the White House has long said that when it comes to ratings agencies and the markets, they can't really control those things and they want to focus on the things they can.

So, first off, on the topic of deficit reduction, this was a new thing we heard yesterday from the president, that he'll be making recommendations to that bipartisan congressional committee that's looking at deficit reduction. He'll be making recommendations on entitlement reform, and also tax reform which, of course, Democrats would hope would yield more in the way of taxes.

And then on the issue of jobs, Suzanne, his strategy for some time now has been pretty well known, taking a payroll tax holiday and extending that; unemployment benefits, extending those; the free trade deals that are before Congress, as well as infrastructure spending, which, as you can imagine, is something that there would be some difficulty with in Congress because there isn't an appetite for spending. Certainly, Republicans would push back on that, and have pushed back on that -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. Brianna Keilar, thank you very much.

Brianna, from the White House.

Well, stocks try to rebound from yesterday's nosedive. They're reacting to the credit downgrade. The Dow opened higher and is trading in positive territory. That is happening right now.

Alison Kosik, she's at the New York Stock Exchange.

Alison, tell us what's going on.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Suzanne, it's nice to see some green arrows for a change, but the volatility is still here. We are still in the green. The Dow, up 178 points. But we did see it go as high as 243. Still, once again, holding onto a good portion of those gains.

A good indicator of how investors are feeling is watching how they're trading. And we are seeing gold come off its intraday highs.

It's encouraging because gold is often seen as an investment of last resort, as a safe haven. So it looks like investors are kind of taking some of their money out of gold and putting it in other things like stocks.

One other indicator we're watching is the VIX. The VIX is sharply lower. That kind of gauges the fear and the volatility in the marketplace. Once again, that's sharply lower. It shows that things are much calmer than they were yesterday, to say the least -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: And Alison, there's a lot of volatility, as you mentioned, day to day, even hour to hour, when we watch this. Are traders expecting -- what do they think is going to happen over the long term?

KOSIK: You know, over the long term, traders are telling me that they expect to see, believe it or not, more selling, unfortunately, because they really want to see the economy improve. They want to see these indicators like GDP and manufacturing and housing and jobs improve to really get these gains to really stick. So don't be surprised if you see more selling in the long term, until we get some good news.

Now, one thing that Wall Street is definitely watching today is that Fed meeting coming up at 2:15. Wall Street is going to be watching and trying to listen to exactly what Fed chief Ben Bernanke says, what the Fed could do, possibly even put a new stimulus package in place to give a boost to the economy -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: We'll be watching very closely what the Fed does today.

All right. Alison Kosik, thank you very much.

When the market turns, it's easy to get caught up in all of these numbers, but today we want to hear from you. Your stocks, your credit cards, your mortgage, student loans, they could all be impacted by this downturn. So we want to help.

Send me your money questions at Facebook.com/SuzanneCNN, or Twitter, @SuzanneMalveaux. And we're going to go to the experts to get some answers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OMEKONGO DIBINGA, IREPORTER: At the end of the day, many Americans are too busy worrying about their own credit rating to care about the AAA credit rating downgrade for the United States. We wake up every single day, and our lives aren't seeming to change, except for many of us, our situation is getting worse as it relates to jobs, foreclosures, and the like. I think about it. We've had a AAA credit rating since 1917, yet we still had a great recession.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Here's your chance to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. Today's question: In politics, would term limits actually make a difference?

Carol Costello joins us from New York.

Hey, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Suzanne.

Term limits, oh, hot topic these days. Voters are so mad at politicians right now, they're saying throw the bums out.

In a "USA Today"/Gallup poll, only 24 percent say most members of Congress deserve re-election. That is the lowest percentage in 20 years.

But hang on. Fifty-six percent of those polled think they're own representative deserves another term. In other words, go ahead, throw all the bums out, except mine.

Well, that's exactly what they're trying to do in Wisconsin. In a recall election today, voters are deciding whether to kick out six Republican state lawmakers who supported Governor Scott Walker's anti- union legislation.

I know what you're thinking. If only we could recall the president, or the House Speaker, et cetera, et cetera. But we can't.

But what about term limits? For example, House members serve two years and can get re-elected forever. It means they're constantly campaigning, and maybe voting not for the good of the country, but to prolong their careers.

So why not limit the number of terms lawmakers serve? Of course that would be admitting that you as a voter made an unwise decision.

But I digress.

University of Virginia professor Larry Sabato actually thinks you need experienced people in Congress. They know how to work the system and -- don't laugh -- they know how to deal with those high-powered lobbyists.

Sabato says a good compromise might be to extend House members terms from two to three years and allow them to serve a maximum of 12 years.

So, the "Talk Back" question today: In the world of politics, would term limits make a difference?

Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your comments later this hour.

MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you, Carol.

Well, we are watching the markets as stocks rebound from yesterday's nosedive. The Dow has been in positive territory since the opening bell. Right now it is up by 128 points or so.

There are endless ways to interpret what is going on in the markets right now, but as an investor there really are only three things that you can do to react. Right? Buy, sell, or hold. When some folks see the markets tumble, they see it as a chance to pick up some good deals on the cheap. So they buy.

For others, a roller-coaster market, it's too unpredictable. They want out. So they sell.

And then there's the Zen masters, the folks who don't worry about downturns and upturns, but try to think about their investments in the long term. So they hold.

I'm joined now by Clyde Anderson, a financial expert and the author of "Change Your Mind, Change Your Life."

Clyde, you've got a lot to work with here, obviously.

CLYDE ANDERSON, FINANCIAL EXPERT: I love that Zen master though.

MALVEAUX: Zen master. If we could all just be the Zen master, right?

ANDERSON: That's what we need, yes.

MALVEAUX: Yes. But I guess it depends on how much you put in the market --

ANDERSON: Yes.

MALVEAUX: -- how old are you, how much time you have left investing.

ANDERSON: Exactly. Risk is different for everyone. Your risk may be different than mine. Someone else's risk may be different based on their age and when they want to retire.

MALVEAUX: I want to bring up some scenarios here, various ones so you can help our audience out here.

So this is Betty. She's in her 30s. She's starting a family, she's paying off some student loans, she's thinking about settling in her first house. What should her reaction be to the markets right now -- buy, sell, or hold?

ANDERSON: Well, I think she should be open to the market, but I think buying is a good idea right now. You know, we're taught to buy low, sell high. The market has been down right now. We're watching it turn around a little bit.

But this is the time to buy. If you're in this area, buy.

MALVEAUX: OK. Check out Sam. Sam is in his 40s. He's working, he's thinking about selling that starter home, buying something bigger, has a little bit of credit card debt, but he's still working it out.

Should he buy, sell, or hold?

ANDERSON: Sam should be in a position where he can buy, as well. But the thing with Sam, though, he needs to pay off some of that credit card debt, as well, to make sure he's not paying so much interest over there and earning it on the stock. Because it will cancel out. If you're paying 12 percent on a credit card, and you're only earning six percent on a stock, you need to get rid of that 12 percent that you're paying out. Compounding interest is working against you.

MALVEAUX: OK.

And Freddy. Here's Freddy. So, Freddie, he's baby boomer in his 50s. His kids are going to college, his parents are getting a little bit older, need more help. He's starting to feel locked in to his career at this point.

So what does he do? Does he buy, sell, or hold?

ANDERSON: I think he's in a hold position. He needs to hold, but also think about selling as well. So it's almost a combination.

So, sell with caution. So you want to make sure you know what you have, but also look at the big picture and diversify. Don't be too invested in bonds or too much invested in stocks, as well.

MALVEAUX: OK. Finally, we've got Joan. Joan is a little bit older.

ANDERSON: Yes.

MALVEAUX: She's in her 60s. She's thinking about retirement. We all kind of want to be thinking about our retirement at this point. But the kids, they're out on their own, she wants to downsize her house.

What does she do?

ANDERSON: Joan needs to make sure she has enough money to live off of for the rest of her life, and she has to make sure she decides is she really willing to take this risk, have sleepless nights of worrying what the market is doing? She may want to go into sell now and get some safer investments and things that are fixed assets that she can rely on, that aren't going to fluctuate so much.

MALVEAUX: So, she should buy, sell, or hold?

ANDERSON: She should sell.

MALVEAUX: She should sell.

ANDERSON: She should sell, look at it, make sure she has enough to outlive inflation, as well. The rate of inflation is 3.5 percent. You want to have investments that are at least out-earning that, or not going to lose all your money.

MALVEAUX: All right. Clyde, you've been great.

ANDERSON: My pleasure.

MALVEAUX: We're going to keep you around to answer some questions, as well. ANDERSON: All right.

MALVEAUX: A lot of folks have got questions about their own finances.

ANDERSON: All right. Good deal.

MALVEAUX: All right. Thanks, Clyde.

And remember, we are also going to answer your personal questions about the market, what it means for you. Send me your questions at Facebook.com/SuzanneCNN, or Twitter, and we're going to bring back Clyde for some of those answers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

MALVEAUX: A very special story here. Sixty-one-year-old Diana Nyad attempted to be the first person to swim from Cuba to Key West, Florida, without a shark cage. She was in the water for 29 hours.

She made it almost halfway, but had to abandon her efforts after experiencing some shoulder pains. She had some asthma problems. She had to abandon her journey, but she is with us live from Key West.

She has gotten in front of a camera there. And our Dr. Sanjay Gupta, he's on the phone from Kenya. He's been following this story, as well.

Diana, thank you so much for taking the time. I know you've been exhausted. This has been an exhaustive journey for you, but certainly a dream.

How are you doing? How are you feeling?

DIANA NYAD, ATTEMPTED CUBA-TO-FLORIDA SWIM: Hi, Suzanne. Thanks so much for having me.

I would be lying to say that I'm not deeply, deeply disappointed. This was a big dream not just over the last two years, but from some 30 years ago when I tried it.

And I've just had the vision of walking up on that Florida shore for so long. And that swim was in me, but the conditions that we met -- I suffered a bad, bad asthma bout for eleven hours. Never in my life had asthma in the water.

And yesterday I started doing 30, 40 strokes, and was so depleted of oxygen, I had to roll over on my back and gasp for oxygen for three or four minutes. So I was limping, and limping along.

And I thought, you know what? It's not going to be a pretty finish. I can't be the swimmer I am today because of what I'm going through.

But I'll tell you another thing. I was a person I can be proud of.

Our whole team, we dug down and found some courage. We tried every imaginable resource we could.

My doctor was in the water with me, giving me 40 to 50 puffs of an inhaler, using oxygen, trying different medicines to open up the lungs. I've never had a right shoulder problem in my life, strong as a bull. Yesterday, three hours into it, something impinged and I was in excruciating pain in the right shoulder.

The weather was supposed to be like a glass, and it wasn't. It whipped up, into two, three, four foot waves. So it wasn't the right day. But I'll tell you something, we were the best we could be.

MALVEAUX: Well, we are certainly very proud, and congratulations for making it as long as you did. At what point, Diana, did you know that you were going to have to give this up?

NYAD: It was about midnight last night. You know, they always use that phrase, Suzanne, mind over matter. And this sport proves it.

You push beyond what the human limit is, all the time. But last night at midnight, I was trembling, the eleven hours of asthma had taken so much from my body, that I was absolutely spent. And when I found out that it would be not only to swim at midnight through the rest of the night, through this entire day, through this entire night coming up, I just knew that it wasn't mind over matter anymore, I was absolutely spent.

MALVEAUX: And, Diana, how was it that you actually made it as far as you did? You spent 29 hours in the water.

NYAD: Well, as I say, I think it's a tribute to, you know, the courage it takes in this sport. You don't give up easily. I was doing the breast stroke. I've never breastroked anywhere at any time. I was desperately thinking, I'm going to finish this thing doing the dog paddle.

That's what's going to happen here, and I think if there had just been an hour to go, I might have desperately found that hour. But not 24 more hours. It's not possible.

MALVEAUX: Diana, I want to bring in my colleague, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who you know well, he's been traveling, he's been following your training throughout at least a year or so.

And Sanjay, I'm sure you have a few questions.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Yes. First of all, let me just echo your sentiments, Suzanne. I mean, just incredibly inspiring, what Diana has accomplished. And we spoke on the phone a little bit earlier, and I definitely just wanted to say that again. You know, how many people she inspired around the world, including myself.

One of the things, Diana, I wonder if you could just spend a minute talking about the preparation for this swim. And you mentioned the two years, and the planning.

But, you know, we had a chance, Suzanne, to follow Diana on a 24- hour training swim. This woman swims 24 hours for a training swim. Just think about that.

But also, just in all the conditions that need to be perfect in terms of weather, in terms of currents, in terms of the water temperature, everything for this to work, Diana.

NYAD: Well, Sanjay, you know, the training, I think it's incomparable.

I respect all sports. I've been a sports journalist for 30 years.

So we're talking about people climbing the biggest peaks, Everest, when you're talking about running across the Gobi Desert, all the endurance sports especially I have respect for. But I dare say that even those athletes would tell you that marathon swimming, there's nothing more grueling.

When you're going out for 12, 13, 14, swims, you mentioned the 24-hour swim last summer, it's a test of mind and body is just -- it's robust beyond belief. So to put in all that time, and not come up with the end prize, I have to say it's a bitter pill to swallow.

MALVEAUX: Diana --

GUPTA: And what about the --

MALVEAUX: Go ahead, Sanjay.

GUPTA: Go ahead, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: I just wanted to --

GUPTA: The conditions, Diana, that you mentioned, you need to have ideal weather conditions for it really to work. Can you just explain for one second what that means? Because it's not simply that the water has to be warm enough and it has to be a nice day outside. There are several things at play here, right?

NYAD: Oh, yes, many things at play. I mean, you don't beat Mother Nature.

It's like when you're at the penultimate stage of getting to the top of Everest, and big storms are coming in, you don't say, well, my schedule just doesn't match that, I'm just going to go anyway. You don't do it. And here, there's a condition down here in the Florida Straits between Cuba and Florida they call the doldrums. And that means that you have not a whisper of wind, and that's what I was looking for and waiting for.

And the prediction we had was not quite the doldrums but very, very light, under five knots, which is doable. And that just didn't happen. That prediction was wrong.

We were out there just slapping around, and with my shoulder issue, it just exacerbated it. It was a -- those 30 hours, I dare say, were tougher than had I done the swim entirely in 60 hours in perfect conditions.

MALVEAUX: Diana, this is Suzanne again. Just two quick questions for you.

First, will you try again? Do you think you have it in you to try one more time?

And secondly, what is the message to so many people who've been following your journey?

NYAD: You know, Suzanne, I think the message is, be your best self. I can look back at those 30 hours, of yesterday, and I can say I couldn't be my best swimmer -- the asthma, the shoulder, the weather conditions. I was just not grinding along the surface like I can do.

And that hurt me. That hurt my pride, and it hurt my distance made. But I was the best person I could be. I dug down. I dug deep. And I think that's the message.

You live your life with passion, you know. You know, you show your will, you feel proud of yourself when you go to bed at night. You don't have to do epic things. Just raise your children well. Whatever you're doing, do your job well.

And when you ask would I do it again, you know, I really think that this was my time. This was the fairy tale this year. All these people around the world virtually who dived into this with me, and to train again, try to bring in the people all again, I think I'm going to have to go to my grave without swimming from Cuba to Florida.

MALVEAUX: Diana, we're very proud of you. There are a lot of people following your journey and we thank you so much for that message of inspiration, and your journey, as well. Thank you very much, Diana.

We're going to have more --

NYAD: It's my pleasure. And I -- Suzanne, if I could say also while Sanjay is still with us, you know, CNN, both documentary film unit, and CNN Headline News side have been with us for two years now. And not just been covering our event, but incredibly helpful, producer Matt Sloane, producer Jennifer Hyde, just anything we need. They're really part of the team. Sanjay, as well. And I know when the swim started, Sanjay was very disappointed he couldn't be down here and be part of it. But look at the world news that he covers, and to bring an important event like the sorrow that's going on in Somalia right now, it doesn't compare.

So, we miss you, Sanjay, but you just keep doing your good work over there.

MALVEAUX: All right. Diana, thank you.

GUPTA: Diana, thanks so much. Feel the same way about you. Recover well, Diana. We'll talk soon.

NYAD: You got it, buddy.

Bye, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right, bye. Thank you very much.

Sanjay, as well. We're very proud of you, as well. Thank you, Sanjay.

We'll have more of Nyad's story on an upcoming CNN special. Watch "Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports: Diana Nyad, Extreme Dream," premiering Saturday, September 17th at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: We are watching the markets, as stocks rebound from yesterday's nose dive. The Dow has been in positive territory since the opening bell. Right now it is up, well, 180 points or so. So, we're keeping a close eye on that.

The same goes, of course, if you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen. Well, if you can't stand the volatility might want to stay out of the stock market. That's right.

CNN's Christine Romans joins us from New York with that part of the story.

And, Christine, if you can, help us put into perspective what we saw yesterday, in that huge plunge in the stock market.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I tell you, it felt pretty horrible, didn't it? It felt as though it was the worst day we've ever seen. Look, the Dow was down some 600 points. And we've been there before. And we'll be there again.

Investors lost $1 trillion in stocks. That's according to the Wilshire 5000. That's the broadest index of U.S. stocks.

Standard & Poor's downgrade of U.S. debt, the overall economic concern, Suzanne, worries about the debt crisis in Europe, they all had Wall Street in the vice grip yesterday. So, let's look at the Dow joins industrials, down 634 points yesterday. That's the sixth biggest point drop of all time, the sixth biggest of all time. And think, the Dow index has been around since 1896. But the number of points really isn't as important as the percentage drop. So, let's look at that.

The Dow lost 5.55 percent of its value yesterday. That's a lot, but it doesn't even rank in the top 20 worst days for percentage drops for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Look at all of them there.

Now, on Black Thursday in 1987, the Dow lost 22 percent in just one day. Still, all of the indexes took a beating yesterday. The S&P 500, that's the best indicator, Suzanne, for what's in your 401(k). That lost about 6.5 percent.

Every single stock on the S&P 500 ended lower. But financial stocks were among the worst hit. Bank of America dropped a staggering 20 percent. Citigroup, Morgan Stanley both dropped more than 15 percent -- 15 percent, 14 percent. Stocks are now down overall, Suzanne, 15 percent in just a few weeks.

But here's some more perspective, the S&P 500 down 15 percent but it's up 64 percent from the lows back in 2009. I know it's a lot of numbers, but it just puts it in perspective for you that it's been a big, fierce drop in a short period of time, but when you stretch it out, we've seen big moves like this before, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: So I think there's some good news in there somewhere I'm trying to get out of this. I know we all have lost money here. But I --

ROMANS: The good news is you've got to have perspective. Always have perspective, because you shouldn't be making move. Every financial expert says don't make moves after something like that has happened for crying out loud because you've missed the move.

You know, you need to be taking regular looks at your portfolio, once every quarter, rebalance your portfolio, and then you don't have to worry about stuff like that.

MALVEAUX: And, Christine, I know the Federal Reserve is meeting within a couple hours or so. Is there anything that they can do to calm investors?

ROMANS: It's going to be important what they say, Suzanne, whether they're willing to step in and give more stimulus, the way the Fed can staple late the economy. And what the Fed can really do. You know, they've kept interest rates at zero percent since 2008. That's basically free money out there trying to get the money going. They had a bond repurchase program. They did it twice. And that faded out in June.

What could they possibly say they're going to do extra? Markets want to see that the Fed is willing to step in if need be. We're in a rut here.

Will the rut become a recession? What is the Fed going to do about it if need be? That's what the market wants to see, Suzanne. MALVEAUX: OK, all right. Christine Romans, thank you so much. We'll be watching very closely this afternoon. Appreciate it.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

MALVEAUX: There is still time to get your money questions answered. We're going to tell you what the news on Wall Street means for you. If you have a question about your car payment, credit cards, student loan, send it to me at Facebook.com/SuzanneCNN or Twitter, and we'll go to the experts for sound, financial advice to see you through this downturn.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Well, all morning long, you've been sending us your questions about the market and what it means for you.

And, Clyde Anderson, he joins us again to give you some answers here.

So, Clyde, we spent the morning, our team, going out and getting some folks to come up with some questions about concerns that they have. And I want to go to the first person that we talked to.

ANDERSON: Yes. All right.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIANNE CORTEZ, TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA: My name is Julianne Cortez (ph). I'm from Tallahassee, Florida. This is my daughter Jody. She's 8 years old.

And our question is: what do we do about college savings accounts? Is it safe to go ahead start one of those accounts with the market in such volatile shape? Or do we wait?

So, that's basically my question. What do we do?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: All right, Clyde. What does she do?

ANDERSON: Great question. Julie has some time. So, invest in a 529 plan. You've got some time, go ahead and ride it out.

She's got some time before they start college. I think that's the best way to start saving right now for college.

MALVEAUX: So, how much time does she have, do you think?

ANDERSON: Well, she's got about 10 years. I think the girl is 8 years old. So, she's got about 10 years before she's ready to use that money.

I wouldn't say go into a guaranteed plan. But they have those options, as well. The rate of return is lower. But, you know, that's for someone that's maybe two years away from college.

Right now, you've got some time so just do a regular, traditional 529 plan.

MALVEAUX: All right. Let's go to the next question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEVANCE BIZER, ATLANTA, GEORGIA: My name is Devance Bizer (ph). I'm from Atlanta, Georgia. I do have a 401(k), and it has not been affected as of yet.

But being that the stock market has dropped so drastically, over 600 points, do you think that I should do something? Should I move it? Should I leave it there?

I don't want to be impulsive. I am an investor and I think it would just be better if I just leave it alone, but I do need some advice on which direction I should take.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: It's a great question. A lot of us are asking the question.

ANDERSON: It is. I think he answered his own question.

He's an investor. So, ride it out. Take some time.

Don't react to the market. Know what's in that 401(k), but don't react and say, I've got to sell everything because again it's buy low, sell high. And so, you don't want to go ahead and sell off everything, and knowing that the market's going to turn back around.

So, I would say wait it out a little while, you know? Don't want to be too risky. But, again, he looks like he's a pretty young guy. So, he got some time.

MALVEAUX: His instincts are good. OK, let's go to the next question.

ANDERSON: All right.

MALVEAUX: Oh, this one is from Facebook. Daniel asks, "What does this mean for college scholarships and government subsidized student loans? I'm having a hard enough time paying for my associates in art. How am I supposed to get my bachelors?"

ANDERSON: Hmm, that's a great question.

Well, the thing that's been affected with the debt deal that was worked out is only for grad students are really affected by the subsidized, unsubsidized part. They no longer have that subsidized loan, so they're going to be paying interest on those loans immediately. For undergrads, they're still protected. So I would tell him not to worry about that. The loans are still there. Again, some banks have tightened up a little bit, but the loans are still there, they're still offering some of those loans for college students. So I would tell him not to panic. Still go about the way that he was going to do it and make sure he starts earlier rather than later.

MALVEAUX: OK, do not panic.

ANDERSON: Do not panic.

MALVEAUX: I hear that as the main theme here.

ANDERSON: Exactly.

MALVEAUX: You're going to have to become my finance guy. I need you.

ANDERSON: I got you covered.

MALVEAUX: I started to panic a little bit.

ANDERSON: Don't panic, we got you.

MALVEAUX: Thank you, Clyde.

ANDERSON: My pleasure.

MALVEAUX: There's still time to get in your questions. Your money questions answered. We're going to tell you what the news on Wall Street means for you. Whether it's about your car payment, mortgage, student loans, send it to me at Twitter or Facebook.com/SuzanneCNN. We're going to bring Clyde back next hour to get the responses.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Starving people in the horn of Africa will be getting more help from Washington. The Obama administration has approved $105 million in new drought and famine aid for east Africa. That's in addition to more than half a billion dollars in aid the U.S. has already sent this year to Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya.

According to the U.N., more than 12 million people are in desperate immediate for food across the region. Somalis are hardest hit, they are arriving by the thousands every day at the Dadaab refugee camp across the border in Kenya, it is the largest refugee camp in the world.

Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: These children are so resilient, as well. But you know, the question remains, how do you take care of so many people in this large refugee camp? Hundreds of thousands of people in the middle of drought, in the middle of war, in the middle of just staggering poverty.

Let me give you a little bit of an idea through the story of a father's love for his boys.

(voice-over): What you're looking at may best be described as the most desperate place on earth. Vulnerable children, thick with misery.

(on camera): Another thing you can tell right away when you're seeing a little baby. If you take a look here, the baby's fontanel, it's so sunken in. This is what happens when a sensitive baby's had no food, no water; so dehydrated.

(voice-over): Basic, basic necessities so hard to come by. Dust and starvation nearly everywhere you look.

(on camera): This is also what happens when you're at the world's largest refugee camp. All these folks waiting to see one doctor over here.

(voice-over): As you look at these images, consider this simple fact. These are the lucky ones, lucky because they made it here at all.

This family of five made it out of Somalia just yesterday.

(on camera): Came out here to the middle of the desert to give you a real idea of what this family went through. They walked for 30 days and 30 nights, primarily walking at night because it was cooler, carrying those three kids. Sometimes carrying a kid, going back, getting another kid and then just doing this over and over again in the desert, 30 nights' worth.

They crossed the border and then they get robbed. Bandits take what little possessions they actually have.

(voice-over): But the bandits didn't take this father's dream, and his drive to keep his kids alive. It's not going to be easy.

(on camera): So this is another thing you see here quite a bit. This child obviously, now, Mohammed (ph), he's three months old, he's looking very, very listless, just not very active at all.

But look at the breathing specifically. He's breathing with his abdomen, not so much with his chest. This is something that's very tiring for a baby.

He also has whooping cough, pertussis. That's because the child was never vaccinated either.

(voice-over): He will need a hospital, oxygen, antibiotics and yes, food and water. All of it may come too late. So painful to realize that every single one of his ailments could have been prevented. Unfortunately, though, that hardly ever happens in the most desperate places on earth. (on camera): And I can tell you, 2,000 people a day still expected to be coming into these refugee camps. The numbers are just going to continue to increase.

Things are in some ways starting to improve. They are getting more supplies, they're getting more of a structure to these camps as well. But over the time to come, it's really going to be a question of taking some of these precious resources and moving them into Somalia so people don't have to make these unbelievably difficult treks.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Thank you.

Today's, "Talk Back" question: In politics, would term limits make a difference?

Michael says, "Absolutely. The bought off, out of touch old guard would be a thing of the past. Congress cannot progress into the future with dinosaurs running the train."

More of your responses up ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Here's a chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. Today, we're asking: In politics, would term limits make a difference?

Carol Costello, she's got your answers.

Hey, Carol.

COSTELLO: A very popular question today, Suzanne. I wonder why?

"Talk Back" question today: Would term limits make a difference?

This from Donna, "I say yes to term limits. Career politicians lose total touch with reality and the average person's day-to-day living struggles and get rid of party line voting, too."

From Carla, "I think it would be much more helpful to have campaign finance reform that has some teeth in it so that our leaders don't feel so beholden to a certain sector. That would be better than term limits, I think, but I'm still open to term limits."

This from Aaron, "I don't think so. It's up to the people to determine whether or not their representative or senator is whatever, is still doing a good job of representing them. Given the limited power of any single one of these people, term limits will cause more damage than good."

And this from Timothy, "Come 2012, there's going to be a whole bunch of terms becoming limited. Vote them all out. No incumbent 2012."

Keep the conversation going, Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll be back with you in about 15 minutes.

MALVEAUX: Lot of passion there, Carol. Lot of passion people bring to this, I think.

COSTELLO: People are angry at our lawmakers and angry at our president, too.

MALVEAUX: All right, Carol, thank you.

It is bigger, brighter, even now easier to find CNN's most compelling video. We invited you to check out the bold new look of CNN.com's groundbreaking new video experience. It is at CNN.com/video.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: He's a conservative governor from Texas and a favorite of the religious right. Sound familiar? Well, it would not be the first time that that combination launched a potential candidate into the White House.

Jim Acosta, part of "The Best Political Team on Television," live from the Political Desk in Washington.

So what do we think? Word on Rick Perry. Is he going to run?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It looks like he's going to run. It sounds a lot like George W. Bush the way you set this up, Suzanne. And the Texas governor, he is making some moves this week that are really leaving little doubt as to what his intentions are.

He is not going to the Ames straw poll in Iowa on Saturday, which might say to a lot of people, well, maybe he's not interested in running for president. No, no, hang on, Rick Perry has other plans. He's going to South Carolina, which is going to hold the first in the south primary next year.

He's going to the palmetto state this weekend for a political event being staged by RedState.com, that is a pretty influential conservative blog. And what has been said through various sources to CNN is that the Texas governor expects -- is expected to make a pretty serious announcement this weekend in South Carolina, if not officially throwing his hat into the ring, but he may just leave no doubt that he's running for president this weekend at that event in South Carolina. And then later in the day, on Saturday, he goes up to New Hampshire.

So all of these moves leaving little doubt as to what Governor Rick Perry is up to. And we'll be watching -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. I know you'll be following him. Thank you, Jim. For the latest political news, you know where to go, CNNPolitics.com.