It's been a week since our Money Face-Off posts ran here on BloggingStocks and less than a week since the Money Face-Offs were featured on the AOL welcome page, and the response has been terrific. Many of the face-off polls have more than 50,000 votes thus far, and some of the match-ups are very close.

The closest of all is the face-off of CNBC anchors Erin Burnett and Maria Bartiromo: 50/50 with more than 61,000 votes so far. And the post has garnered 39 comments so far. The commenters have strong opinions, whether defending Bartiromo or Burnett, wishing other anchors had been included, complaining about the photos, or even questioning the Money Face-Off feature itself. Be sure to check it out.

The face-off between the former and current New York City mayors, Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg, garnered more than 67,000 votes. While Bloomberg has his defenders, presidential candidate Giuliani currently has a small lead in this match-up, with a little over half the votes. Can he hold on to that lead, though?

The match-up of supermodels turned businesswomen, Tyra Banks vs. Heidi Klum, also has more than 50,000 votes so far. In this case, it's Klum in the lead with about 55 percent of the vote. Only one reader, a Tyra Banks fan, has commented so far. Feel free to add your thoughts about which former supermodel you think is more successful.

Continue reading Money Face-Off recap: The 'Money Honey' catfight, and Giuliani's slim lead here too

Money Face-Off recap: The 'Money Honey' catfight, and Giuliani's slim lead here too originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 23 Sep 2007 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of our Money Face-Offs feature. Let us know who you think comes out ahead in this head-to-head match-up, and check out our other Money Face-Off posts.

"I will take the Ring," he said, "though I do not know the way."
-- Frodo Baggins, The Fellowship of the Ring

"There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it."
-- Voldemort, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

In the late 1920s, J.R.R. Tolkien started writing a fantastical story about magical creatures known as hobbits, elves, and dwarves, in a made up world he called Middle Earth, for the benefit of his children. The work he completed, The Hobbit, became the prelude to one of the great literary masterpieces of all time -- The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Some 70 years later, J.K. Rowling started writing a fantastical story about a different set of magical creatures known as witches and wizards, in a not so made up world called England, for the benefit of her daughter. That book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone here in the States), and the six books that followed in the series, have made Rowling the wealthiest woman in the world.

The authors share many similarities. Both are British, use initials in place of their first names, are famous for one major literary contribution (although Rowling, having the benefit of still being alive, will have many years to change that), and have had cinematic empires based on their works.

Continue reading Money Face-Off: JRR Tolkien vs. JK Rowling

Money Face-Off: JRR Tolkien vs. JK Rowling originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 16 Sep 2007 13:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Maybe at 39, I am too old and cynical to fall under the spell of Harry Potter. Maybe my nine-month-old son will one day become a fan of the teenage wizard. Until then, I shall avoid all Potter books and movies even though I am one of the few people on the planet to do so.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the latest chapter in the J.K. Rowling franchise, grossed $44.8 million yesterday, the biggest Wednesday ever, according to Reuters. That's good news, of course, for Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX), the film's producer and distributor.

The movie even got a backhanded compliment from A.O. Scott of the New York Times who wrote; "Although Order of the Phoenix is not a great movie, it is a pretty good one, in part because it does not strain to overwhelm the audience with noise and sensation."

But investors shouldn't buy shares of the New York-based media company just because of one hit movie. Remember that blockbuster movies are extremely expensive to produce, though the power of Potter continues to amaze me.

Since 2001, the Potter saga movies have generated $3.5 billion in ticket sales. What they haven't done though, is reverse the decline in reading, the Times also notes.

There are some things beyond the powers of the greatest wizards.

Gallery: Everybody loves Harry Potter

Why I am not wasting a baby sitter on Harry Potter originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 12 Jul 2007 18:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Boy wizard to magically lift Scholastic shares again? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 22 Dec 2006 10:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.