Steve Rattner -- a major Democratic party fundraiser who heads the investment firm Quadrangle Group is the leading candidate for a position that does not formally -- and should never in my view -- exist. That is, Rattner for Car Czar. The Car Czar's job -- if Congress creates it -- will fix the U.S. automobile industry by using the threat of throwing the companies into bankruptcy to force economic "haircuts" on labor unions, dealers, bondholders and others.

I worked with Rattner in the Kerry presidential campaign and hold him in high regard. He worked to raise money for Hillary Clinton and when she did not win the nomination Rattner raised $100,000 for Barack Obama. And Rattner does not just serve Democrats -- reportedly he is managing independent New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's $13 billion fortune. I find that feat to be a remarkable testimony to Rattner's investment acumen.

Nevertheless, I think it would be better to find a different way to use Rattner's talents. If the Car Czar position does get created, it should go to an individual with demonstrated experience turning around large organizations in deep trouble. The person who comes to mind is Louis Gerstner who fixed International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM). Gerstner is not a car guy but he knows how to fix a big organization and could bring in automotive expertise as needed.

Rattner would be an asset to Obama's administration, but if there must be a Car Czar -- find a better fit.

Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College. His eighth book is You Can't Order Change: Lessons from Jim McNerney's Turnaround at Boeing. He has no financial interest in IBM securities.

Rattner for Car Czar? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 09 Jan 2009 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of our feature on Money Winners of 2008. See them all.

In Michael Bloomberg, you're dealing not just with a person, but with a brand.

Bloomberg, of course, in 1982 founded what is now Bloomberg LLP, the firm that runs Bloomberg News, a financial news service that competes with Reuters, Dow Jones, and News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) to provide breaking news, features, data, and analytics, among other products, to financial players worldwide.

Bloomberg ingeniously developed a product that essentially aggregated, summarized, and presented financial market data at a time when financial institutions -- particularly bond market participants -- were ripe for such a product, and along with editor and former Wall Street Journal reporter Matt Winkler, built a financial news empire known for its speed, accuracy, and comprehensive coverage of the markets.

Bloomberg's reward for the above, in monetary terms? About $20 billion in estimated net worth, good for eighth place on Forbes magazine's 400 Richest Americans list.

Continue reading Money winners of 2008: Michael Bloomberg, the man and the brand

Money winners of 2008: Michael Bloomberg, the man and the brand originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Since early May, the share price of Merrill Lynch & Co. (NYSE: MER) has plunged, going from $52 to $31.12. Basically, various Wall Street analysts have turned negative on the company as there may be a need to seek more capital to deal with write-downs.

Of course, a strategy to deal with this is to unload some key assets. In fact, according to a piece in the New York Times, it looks like Merrill is trying to sell off its 20% stake in Bloomberg LP.

It was in the early 1980s that Merrill Lynch invested $30 million in Bloomberg. And since then, Bloomberg has become a global powerhouse in financial analytics. Currently, its community comprises about 250,000 subscribers.

As for Merrill Lynch, it looks like its negotiations are in the first stages -- such as with putting out feelers and sending out pitch books.

Yet, it's never easy to sell a minority position. After all, such a stake provides little control. Moreover, it's tough to resell the position. Keep in mind that Michael Bloomberg still owns 72% of the firm.

Plus, he has a right of first refusal on any purchase. This is a powerful tool and is likely to diminish the ultimate valuation of a possible deal. In other words, the logical buyer for the 20% stake is likely to be Michael Bloomberg himself.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

Is Merrill shopping its Bloomberg stake? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 05 Jul 2008 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Whatever your political ideology happens to be, I think we can all agree on one thing: Given the complex economic issues currently facing our country -- many of which will continue to be important for the foreseeable future -- our next president must be someone who understand economics.

To that end, the latest issue of Barron's looks at the backgrounds of each candidate (subscription required), showing something troubling: McCain's financial expertise is pretty much limited to having married a rich woman. That's a good strategy to be sure, but not necessarily the best background for someone charged with dealing with the current mess. Advising struggling homeowners to scan the obituaries in search of newly widowed socialites might not go over well.

Then there's Barack Obama whose experience in the market is, according to Barron's, pretty much limited to having once lost $13 thousand on stocks acquired through a blind trust. Barron's writes that "Small wonder he's giddy to raise taxes on interest and dividends. Obama has little skin in the game ... He's as insulated from his own dividend and capital gains proposals as a penguin is from the cold."

Hillary Clinton's net worth is very high, but she owns little stock. Her experience on the board of directors at Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) is intriguing but, looking at the available information, one thing is clear: None of these candidates can be considered an economics expert, something that we badly need, although George W. Bush's MBA from Harvard did little to avert the current mess.

Perhaps we'll get our economics expert from the other half of the presidential ticket. Private equity titan Mitt Romney is rumored to be a possible pick for John McCain, and there is some speculation that Barack Obama could pair up with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Which presidential candidate understands economics best? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Media World: Merrill likely to sell Bloomberg stake to Mayor Mike

Media World: Merrill likely to sell Bloomberg stake to Mayor Mike originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 26 Oct 2007 12:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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.