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<generator>Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/</generator><item><title><![CDATA[Wall Street's moving to Washington]]></title><link>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/02/23/wall-streets-moving-to-washington/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/02/23/wall-streets-moving-to-washington/</guid><comments>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/02/23/wall-streets-moving-to-washington/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/gs/" rel="tag">Goldman Sachs Group (GS)</a></p><p><img alt="" hspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.bloggingstocks.com/media/2008/09/capitol.jpg" align="right" vspace="4" border="1" />A few weeks ago I <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1021743438&amp;play=1">appeared</a> on CNBC's Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo to discuss executive pay. One interesting point in the interview was when Ms. Bartiromo argued that it would be difficult to get good people to run big banks if their pay was limited because Wall Streeters are motivated primarily by money. I suggested that if that were true, then you would never see a former CEO of <a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/the-goldman-sachs-group-inc/gs/nys">Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.</a> (NYSE: <a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/the-goldman-sachs-group-inc/gs/nys">GS</a>) take the enormous pay cut required to become Treasury Secretary.</p>
<p>I am not sure what motivates Wall Streeters to take those pay cuts. But today, another prominent one -- <a href="http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/23/rattner-to-serve-as-lead-adviser-on-auto-bailout/?ref=business">Steve Rattner</a> with whom I worked in the 2004 presidential campaign -- announced he is leaving his private equity firm, Quadrangle Group, and shipping off to Washington to work as Counselor to the Secretary (of the Treasury). </p><p><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/02/23/wall-streets-moving-to-washington/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Wall Street's moving to Washington</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/02/23/wall-streets-moving-to-washington/">Wall Street's moving to Washington</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com">BloggingStocks</a> on Mon, 23 Feb 2009 18:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/02/23/wall-streets-moving-to-washington/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/forward/1469167/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/02/23/wall-streets-moving-to-washington/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>car czar</category><category>CarCzar</category><category>maria bartiromo</category><category>MariaBartiromo</category><category>Quadranglegroup</category><category>steve rattner</category><category>SteveRattner</category><category>timothy geithner</category><category>TimothyGeithner</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Peter Cohan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 23 Feb 2009 18:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Our tax dollars buy Citi a $50 million French jet ]]></title><link>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/01/26/our-tax-dollars-buy-citi-a-50-million-french-jet/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/01/26/our-tax-dollars-buy-citi-a-50-million-french-jet/</guid><comments>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/01/26/our-tax-dollars-buy-citi-a-50-million-french-jet/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/c/" rel="tag">Citigroup Inc. (C)</a></p><p><img alt="" hspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.bloggingstocks.com/media/2007/03/maria_bartiromo_evanagostini_getty_160.jpg" align="right" vspace="4" border="1" />I am reaching the limits of my ability to stand more waste of our money. Today, I learned that <strong><a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/citigroup-incorporated/c/nys">Citigroup</a></strong> (NYSE: <a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/citigroup-incorporated/c/nys">C</a>) is taking delivery of a <a href="http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/26/citigroup-likely-to-face-criticism-over-jet/?hp">$50 million</a> corporate jet from French manufacturer, Dassault. (For that kind of money, it could have at least bought from an American manufacturer). </p>
<p>I know the U.S. invested $45 billion worth of taxpayer money with no strings attached -- but is it really possible that Citi does not get that buying a corporate jet with that money is blazingly stupid?</p>
<p>There is some irony on this front. This evening Maria Bartiromo conducted an interview with John Thain who was deposed last week for <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/01/26/john-thain-to-repay-1-2-million-for-87-783-rug-and-other-offic/">various sins</a>. Bartiromo was in Davos, but Thain was not -- although one of his sins was that he had accepted an invitation to attend Davos. But back in 2007 -- almost exactly two years ago -- it was <a href="http://ge.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/24/todd-and-maria-gate-memo-butch-thomson-and-the-sundance-kid/">Bartiromo</a> who got in some hot water for taking Citi's corporate jet with then Citi-executive Todd Thomson.</p><p><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/01/26/our-tax-dollars-buy-citi-a-50-million-french-jet/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Our tax dollars buy Citi a $50 million French jet </em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/01/26/our-tax-dollars-buy-citi-a-50-million-french-jet/">Our tax dollars buy Citi a $50 million French jet </a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com">BloggingStocks</a> on Mon, 26 Jan 2009 19:48:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/01/26/our-tax-dollars-buy-citi-a-50-million-french-jet/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/forward/1441520/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/01/26/our-tax-dollars-buy-citi-a-50-million-french-jet/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>c</category><category>citigroup</category><category>dassault</category><category>davos</category><category>davos world economic forum</category><category>DavosWorldEconomicForum</category><category>john thain</category><category>JohnThain</category><category>maria bartiromo</category><category>MariaBartiromo</category><category>vikram pandit</category><category>VikramPandit</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Peter Cohan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 26 Jan 2009 19:48:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Should McCain let Palin go?]]></title><link>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/09/01/should-mccain-let-palin-go/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/09/01/should-mccain-let-palin-go/</guid><comments>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/09/01/should-mccain-let-palin-go/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/interviews/" rel="tag">Interviews</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/politics/" rel="tag">Politics</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/presidential-elections/" rel="tag">Presidential Elections</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/headline-news/" rel="tag">Headline News</a></p><p><a href="http://www.aol.com/redir.adp?_e_t=ap&amp;_a_v=2.0&amp;_a_i=100214839x1208605257x1200462349&amp;_url=http%3a%2f%2fnews%2eaol%2ecom%2felections%2fconventions%2frepublicans%2farticle%2fmccain%2ddecides%2don%2drunning%2dmate%2f9187%3ficid%3d100214839x1208605257x1200462349"><img title="John McCain hugs Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin" height="150" alt="John McCain hugs Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin" src="http://www.aolcdn.com/aolportal/palin-ws-200hr0829080" width="200" align="right" border="0" /></a>Since Friday's surprise announcement that John McCain picked Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his VP, numerous unpleasant facts have emerged which may make McCain regret his hasty choice. And since she has not been officially nominated by the Republican convention, it's not too late for McCain to pick <a href="http://news.aol.com/political-machine/2008/09/01/blumenthal-rove-mccain-clashed-over-pick/">Karl Rove</a> favorite Mitt Romney instead.</p>
<p>Here are some of the reasons that McCain should reconsider his decision:</p>
<ul>
    <li>
    <div><strong>Hearbeat away.</strong> She has had very little experience governing and none with foreign policy. This would be fine if McCain was in robust good health. Unfortunately, that is not the case. She could actually become President and it is far from obvious that she has the most executive experience among all the potential VP candidates that might need to step in if McCain could no longer do the President's job. </div>
    </li>
    <li>
    <div><strong>No longer a shoe-in for Evangelical vote.</strong> She was strongly supported by the Evangelical wing of the Republican party due to her religious beliefs and her decision to keep her fifth child after she learned it would have Down syndrome. But with her <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&amp;sid=aZkwfacPqMhs&amp;refer=home">17-year old daughter</a> having a child, some might question how strongly Palin believes in abstention until marriage. </div>
    </li>
    <li>
    <div><strong>Corruption concerns.</strong> It is not clear whether McCain knew that Palin was under investigation for <a href="http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h7VIY5GfDmjy-A5HsGLuHvA0SHtgD92U6DS00">firing a public safety commissioner</a> who refused to fire her brother-in-law. And did he know that she denied involvement with lobbyists in an interview with <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/aug2008/db20080829_272692.htm">Maria Bartiromo</a>, even though <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/08/30/palin-and-mccain-share-a-love-of-lobbyists/">a TransCanada lobbyist</a> played a central role in getting a $500 million subsidy for that Canadian company to build a gas pipeline she was pushing?</div>
    </li>
</ul><p><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/09/01/should-mccain-let-palin-go/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Should McCain let Palin go?</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/09/01/should-mccain-let-palin-go/">Should McCain let Palin go?</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com">BloggingStocks</a> on Mon, 01 Sep 2008 19:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/09/01/should-mccain-let-palin-go/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/forward/1301302/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/09/01/should-mccain-let-palin-go/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>john mccain</category><category>JohnMccain</category><category>maria bartiromo</category><category>MariaBartiromo</category><category>sarah palin</category><category>SarahPalin</category><category>transcanada</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Peter Cohan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 01 Sep 2008 19:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Money Honeys: Why business TV is sexy]]></title><link>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/03/26/money-honeys-why-business-tv-is-sexy/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/03/26/money-honeys-why-business-tv-is-sexy/</guid><comments>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/03/26/money-honeys-why-business-tv-is-sexy/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/television/" rel="tag">Television</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/rants-and-raves/" rel="tag">Rants and Raves</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/competitive-strategy/" rel="tag">Competitive Strategy</a></p><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="0" align="right" alt="maria bartiromo" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.bloggingstocks.com/media/2008/03/maria_bartiromo_matszwajkos_20080326_240.jpg" />CNBC star Maria Bartiromo and I share a birthday, and I love a good scandal, so I follow her religiously. Maria is fun because she's both gorgeous and cute, smart and sexy. And then there's the <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/11/05/marias-up-chuck-prince-is-out-and-todd-thomson-must-be-kickin/">strange case of Todd Thomson</a> (the Citigroup exec who fell so in love with Maria that he flagrantly violated ethics, and common sense, just to spend time with her). She's also fun because her nickname is "Money Honey," and what's more: she's <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/29/maria-bartiromo-money-honey-now-for-kids/">applied for a trademark for the phrase</a>! Delicious.<br /><br />Well, she might have to move fast to use the phrase before she loses the IP to a <a href="http://www.bestlifeonline.com/cms/publish/finance/Invasion_of_the_Money_Honeys.shtml">new generation of money honeys</a> (money honeyettes?). <a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/news-corporation/nws/nys">News Corp.</a> (NYSE: <a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/news-corporation/nws/nys">NWS</a>)'s Fox Business News has a bevy of beauties dishing up the news on the stock market and the economy: Liz Claman, Dagen McDowell, Jenna Lee, Alexis Glick. Ben Stein wants to know, <em>where did they all come from?</em> His analysis, that finance is both boring and inscrutable, and that men would rather get this boring, inscrutable and (largely) completely irrelevant news from beautiful women, is certainly sensible.<br /><br /><div class="postgallery"><p><strong>Gallery: <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/photos/money-honeys/">Money Honeys</a></strong></p><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/photos/money-honeys/721387/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.bloggingstocks.com/media/2008/03/erinburnett_alexwong_20080326_thumbnail.jpg" alt="Erin Burnett on 'Meet the Press'" title="Erin Burnett on 'Meet the Press'" /></a><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/photos/money-honeys/721388/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.bloggingstocks.com/media/2008/03/maria_bartiromo_matszwajkos_20080326_gall_thumbnail.jpg" alt="Maria Bartiromo, the original Money Honey" title="Maria Bartiromo, the original Money Honey" /></a><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/photos/money-honeys/721386/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.bloggingstocks.com/media/2008/03/jennalee_alexisglick_fox_20080326_gall_thumbnail.jpg" alt="Jenna Lee and Alexis Glick at Fox Business News premiere" title="Jenna Lee and Alexis Glick at Fox Business News premiere" /></a><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/photos/money-honeys/721385/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.bloggingstocks.com/media/2008/03/maria_bartiromo_alexwong_20080326_gall_thumbnail.jpg" alt="Maria Bartiromo on 'Meet the Press'" title="Maria Bartiromo on 'Meet the Press'" /></a></div><br /><br />But there's an undercurrent in his story that has me troubled, and though I think that he's right in many aspects of his analysis (it's certainly true that more men watch financial news than women), I'm peeved that he never wonders whether the financial world has just been extremely sexist and is only just now starting to let loose. I also find it odd that he doesn't wonder if there were financially savvy women being <em>excluded</em> from business journalism until now. (His "where did they all come from" question makes it seem as if they sprung from the head of Lou Dobbs like Athena.)<br /><br />Whither Money Honeys? Here's my thought:<p><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/03/26/money-honeys-why-business-tv-is-sexy/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Money Honeys: Why business TV is sexy</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/03/26/money-honeys-why-business-tv-is-sexy/">Money Honeys: Why business TV is sexy</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com">BloggingStocks</a> on Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:21:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.bestlifeonline.com/cms/publish/finance/Invasion_of_the_Money_Honeys.shtml>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/03/26/money-honeys-why-business-tv-is-sexy/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/forward/1149976/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/03/26/money-honeys-why-business-tv-is-sexy/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>alexis glick</category><category>AlexisGlick</category><category>expire-images:2009-3-26</category><category>fox</category><category>fox business network</category><category>FoxBusinessNetwork</category><category>honey</category><category>maria bartiromo</category><category>MariaBartiromo</category><category>money</category><category>money honey</category><category>nws</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Sarah Gilbert]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:21:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Hillary Clinton vs. Maria Bartiromo on CNBC!]]></title><link>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/12/06/hillary-clinton-vs-maria-bartiromo-on-msnbc/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/12/06/hillary-clinton-vs-maria-bartiromo-on-msnbc/</guid><comments>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/12/06/hillary-clinton-vs-maria-bartiromo-on-msnbc/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/television/" rel="tag">Television</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/media-world/" rel="tag">Media World</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/politics/" rel="tag">Politics</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/presidential-elections/" rel="tag">Presidential Elections</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/housing/" rel="tag">Housing</a></p><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="0" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.bloggingstocks.com/media/2007/03/maria_bartiromo_evanagostini_getty_160.jpg" alt="" />Yesterday afternoon, Hillary Clinton was on CNBC with Maria Bartiromo, discussing her plan for protecting some homeowners who are in danger of losing their houses due to resetting subprime mortgages. It was supposed to be an interview, but it was more of a spat, and showed the deep pro-Wall Street bias that is typical of much of the financial media.<br /><br />Clinton claimed that Wall Street played a major role in creating the subprime mess and was looking for support from the Street for the plan to freeze mortgage rates for some borrowers. Bartiromo couldn't hide her strong disagreement with this argument. Her basic point was: What about personal responsibility? Why are people who entered into contracts being bailed out? And she all but shouted, You liberal! Violating the sanctity of contracts! Interfering with the blessed Free Market!<p><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/12/06/hillary-clinton-vs-maria-bartiromo-on-msnbc/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Hillary Clinton vs. Maria Bartiromo on CNBC!</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/12/06/hillary-clinton-vs-maria-bartiromo-on-msnbc/">Hillary Clinton vs. Maria Bartiromo on CNBC!</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com">BloggingStocks</a> on Thu, 06 Dec 2007 14:28:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/12/06/hillary-clinton-vs-maria-bartiromo-on-msnbc/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/forward/1056362/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/12/06/hillary-clinton-vs-maria-bartiromo-on-msnbc/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>Hillary Clinton</category><category>HillaryClinton</category><category>housing</category><category>inthenews</category><category>Maria Bartiromo</category><category>MariaBartiromo</category><category>media</category><category>media bias</category><category>MediaBias</category><category>MSNBC</category><category>politics</category><category>subprime mortgage</category><category>SubprimeMortgage</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Michael Rainey]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 06 Dec 2007 14:28:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Best &amp; Worst of 2007: Most annoying money personality]]></title><link>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/12/02/best-and-worst-of-2007-most-annoying-money-personality/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/12/02/best-and-worst-of-2007-most-annoying-money-personality/</guid><comments>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/12/02/best-and-worst-of-2007-most-annoying-money-personality/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/scandals/" rel="tag">Scandals</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/entrepreneurs/" rel="tag">Entrepreneurs</a></p><p><em><iframe align="left" src="http://webcenter.polls.aol.com/modular.jsp?template=1512&amp;view=127261&amp;pollId=127361&amp;channel=aol_us_personalfinance&amp;popup=yes" frameborder="0" width="229" scrolling="no" height="190"></iframe>This post was part of AOL Money &amp; Finance's <a href="http://money.aol.com/special/best-and-worst-2007"><strong>Best &amp; Worst of 2007</strong></a>. Voting has now closed and readers have chosen <strong><a href="http://money.aol.com/special/best-and-worst-2007/winners?photo=15">Martha Stewart</a></strong> as the most annoying money personality of the year. Let us know in the comments if you are pleased with this result.</em></p>
<p><img alt="" hspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.bloggingstocks.com/media/2007/12/most-annoying.jpg" align="right" vspace="4" border="1" />In last year's Best &amp; Worst in Money awards, Donald Trump was the easy victor in the <a href="http://money.aol.com/best-and-worst-in-money-2006/most-annoying-money-expert">Most Annoying Money Expert</a> category, securing 44% of the votes, more than twice as much as Suze Orman, Jim Cramer, or Mark Cuban. Trump won by such a landslide that this year we decided to take him out of the running, giving some new personalities a shot at the prize. </p>
<p>So, let's take a look at the contestants for this year's Donald Trump Honorary Most Annoying Money Personality contest:</p>
<p><strong>Maria Bartiromo</strong>, CNBC's famed "Money Honey," isn't looking so sweet and spunky these days. She now seems a touch vampish as the apparent centerpiece in a Citigroup scandal that <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/11/05/marias-up-chuck-prince-is-out-and-todd-thomson-must-be-kickin/">led to the ouster of exec Todd Thomson</a>. Thomson might have earned the CEO spot recently vacated by Chuck Prince if he hadn't offered Bartiromo a spot on a Citi jet to fly to Asia to speak to customers. </p>
<p>Maria's journalistic ethics were called into question for accepting the junket, but CNBC, which nets plenty of advertising from Citi, glossed over the scandal. Criticism of Maria, however, helped raise the profile of CNBC's new sweetheart, Erin Burnett. In September, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/15/money-face-off-maria-bartiromo-versus-erin-burnett/">AOL's Money Face-Off</a> found them virtually neck-and-neck among voters.</p><p><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/12/02/best-and-worst-of-2007-most-annoying-money-personality/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Best &amp; Worst of 2007: Most annoying money personality</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/12/02/best-and-worst-of-2007-most-annoying-money-personality/">Best &amp; Worst of 2007: Most annoying money personality</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com">BloggingStocks</a> on Sun, 02 Dec 2007 23:30:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/12/02/best-and-worst-of-2007-most-annoying-money-personality/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/forward/1048319/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/12/02/best-and-worst-of-2007-most-annoying-money-personality/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>Best and Worst of 2007</category><category>Maria Bartiromo</category><category>Mark Cuban</category><category>Martha Stewart</category><category>Robert Kiyosaki</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Amey Stone]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 02 Dec 2007 23:30:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Ex Citigroup exec Todd Thomson talks back]]></title><link>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/11/07/ex-citigroup-exec-todd-thomson-talks-back/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/11/07/ex-citigroup-exec-todd-thomson-talks-back/</guid><comments>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/11/07/ex-citigroup-exec-todd-thomson-talks-back/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/ge/" rel="tag">General Electric (GE)</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/scandals/" rel="tag">Scandals</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/c/" rel="tag">Citigroup Inc. (C)</a></p><p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/Finance07/idUSN0642528320071106">Reuters</a> reports that former<strong><a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/citigroup-incorporated/c/nys"> Citigroup Inc.</a></strong> (NYSE: <a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/citigroup-incorporated/c/nys">C</a>) executives Todd Thomson -- <a href="http://ge.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/24/todd-and-maria-gate-memo-butch-thomson-and-the-sundance-kid/">who lost his job in January</a> -- is talking back now that his nemesis, Chuck Prince, has been deposed.</p>
<p>Thomson, who headed up wealth management for Citigroup, got tossed in February. He thinks Prince smeared him -- citing his expensive office, which featured a fishbowl, and his reported flight of <strong><a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/general-electric-company/ge/nys?tabs=quotesandnews">General Electric Co.</a></strong> (NYSE: <a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/general-electric-company/ge/nys?tabs=quotesandnews">GE</a>) CNBC's Maria Bartiromo on Citigroup's corporate jet from Asia to New York. Here are two highlights:</p>
<ul>
    <li><strong>Maria-gate.</strong> Media reported that in November 2006 when Thomson flew with a group of Citigroup employees to China on a business trip, he flew back with Bartiromo, leaving the Citi employees to find their way home on their own. When asked about his relationship with Bartiromo, Thomson was adamant: "It's an inappropriate question. I've never been accused of having anything other than an appropriate relationship with Maria Bartiromo. And I do have an appropriate relationship with Maria Bartiromo." </li>
</ul>
<p> </p><p><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/11/07/ex-citigroup-exec-todd-thomson-talks-back/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Ex Citigroup exec Todd Thomson talks back</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/11/07/ex-citigroup-exec-todd-thomson-talks-back/">Ex Citigroup exec Todd Thomson talks back</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com">BloggingStocks</a> on Wed, 07 Nov 2007 14:24:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.reuters.com/article/Finance07/idUSN0642528320071106>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/11/07/ex-citigroup-exec-todd-thomson-talks-back/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/forward/1032929/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/11/07/ex-citigroup-exec-todd-thomson-talks-back/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>c</category><category>chuck prince</category><category>ChuckPrince</category><category>citigroup</category><category>inthenews</category><category>Maria Bartiromo</category><category>MariaBartiromo</category><category>Todd Thomson</category><category>ToddThomson</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Peter Cohan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 07 Nov 2007 14:24:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Maria's up, Chuck Prince is out, and Todd Thomson must be kicking himself]]></title><link>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/11/05/marias-up-chuck-prince-is-out-and-todd-thomson-must-be-kickin/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/11/05/marias-up-chuck-prince-is-out-and-todd-thomson-must-be-kickin/</guid><comments>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/11/05/marias-up-chuck-prince-is-out-and-todd-thomson-must-be-kickin/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/television/" rel="tag">Television</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/ge/" rel="tag">General Electric (GE)</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/scandals/" rel="tag">Scandals</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/c/" rel="tag">Citigroup Inc. (C)</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/mer/" rel="tag">Merrill Lynch (MER)</a></p><p><em><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/05/business/media/05bartiromo.html?_r=1&amp;pagewanted=all">The New York Times</a></em> has written a heartfelt love letter to Maria Bartiromo of <strong><a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/general-electric-company/ge/nys?tabs=quotesandnews">General Electric</a></strong> (NYSE: <a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/general-electric-company/ge/nys?tabs=quotesandnews">GE</a>)'s CNBC. The most interesting part to me is that Maria feels that Chuck Prince was using her "relationship" with former <strong><a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/citigroup-incorporated/c/nys">Citigroup</a></strong> (NYSE: <a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/citigroup-incorporated/c/nys">C</a>) executive Todd Thomson -- about which I <a href="http://c.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/23/citigroups-thompson-out-is-maria-bartiromo-to-blame/">posted</a> earlier this year -- to divert attention from his mismanagement of the bank. With <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/11/04/citigroup-to-take-11-billion-write-off-as-rubin-steps-up-and-pr/">Prince out</a>, Maria's riding high. But Todd must be kicking himself -- if he hadn't gotten into the Maria mess, he might be in a position to take over from Prince.</p>
<p>Since I have had the privilege of being interviewed by Maria Bartiromo -- here's a <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=457161244&amp;play=1">link</a> from August -- and was called a couple of times last week to discuss the situation at <strong><a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/merrill-lynch-and-co-inc/mer/nys?tabs=quotesandnews">Merrill Lynch</a></strong> (NYSE: <a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/merrill-lynch-and-co-inc/mer/nys?tabs=quotesandnews">MER</a>), her status at CNBC is of more than academic interest to me. I have never met her in person, but her interviews have always been sharp and professional.</p>
<p>But the Todd Thomson incident raised questions which the article did not completely squelch. As a reminder, in January unidentified executives at Citigroup, which is both a CNBC advertiser and a frequent subject of its coverage, told several publications that among the reasons Thomson was fired was his decision to invite Maria to speak to a group of Citigroup clients in Asia and to fly her to that event in the company jet.</p><p><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/11/05/marias-up-chuck-prince-is-out-and-todd-thomson-must-be-kickin/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Maria's up, Chuck Prince is out, and Todd Thomson must be kicking himself</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/11/05/marias-up-chuck-prince-is-out-and-todd-thomson-must-be-kickin/">Maria's up, Chuck Prince is out, and Todd Thomson must be kicking himself</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com">BloggingStocks</a> on Mon, 05 Nov 2007 11:50:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/11/05/marias-up-chuck-prince-is-out-and-todd-thomson-must-be-kickin/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/forward/1030298/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/11/05/marias-up-chuck-prince-is-out-and-todd-thomson-must-be-kickin/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>Chuck Prince</category><category>ChuckPrince</category><category>Citi</category><category>Citigroup</category><category>CNBC</category><category>Maria Bartiromo</category><category>MariaBartiromo</category><category>Money Honey</category><category>MoneyHoney</category><category>NYSE:C</category><category>Todd Thomson</category><category>ToddThomson</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Peter Cohan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 05 Nov 2007 11:50:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Money Face-Off Big Winners: Oprah, Tiger Woods, Ivanka Trump, Erin Burnett]]></title><link>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/10/06/money-face-off-big-winners-oprah-tiger-woods-ivanka-trump-er/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/10/06/money-face-off-big-winners-oprah-tiger-woods-ivanka-trump-er/</guid><comments>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/10/06/money-face-off-big-winners-oprah-tiger-woods-ivanka-trump-er/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/blogs/" rel="tag">Blogs</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/competitive-strategy/" rel="tag">Competitive Strategy</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/entrepreneurs/" rel="tag">Entrepreneurs</a></p><p>It's been three weeks since our <a href="http://money.aol.com/investing/money-face-off-business-superstars"><strong>Money Face-Off</strong></a> feature ran here at BloggingStocks and on AOL, offering you the opportunity to share who you though had the financial edge in a series of twenty head-to-head match-ups. So I thought I'd take another look and see how things have worked out. </p>
<p>It's hard to pick just one big winner. In terms of the largest lead over a rival, <strong><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/15/money-face-off-ivanka-trump-vs-paris-hilton/">Ivanka Trump</a></strong> easily beats Paris Hilton with 89% of the vote. Others holding big leads over their opponents include <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/15/money-face-off-tiger-woods-vs-david-beckham/"><strong>Tiger Woods</strong></a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/16/money-face-off-warren-buffett-vs-eddie-lampert/"><strong>Warren Buffett</strong></a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/15/money-face-off-george-lucas-vs-steven-spielberg/"><strong>Steven Spielberg</strong></a>, and <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/15/money-face-off-rupert-murdoch-vs-sumner-redstone/"><strong>Rupert Murdoch</strong></a>. </p>
<p>In terms of receiving the most votes, the clear leader is the <strong><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/15/money-face-off-oprah-winfrey-vs-martha-stewart/">Oprah Winfrey vs. Martha Stewart</a></strong> match-up, with just short of 150,000 votes. Other big vote getters were <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/15/money-face-off-tiger-woods-vs-david-beckham/"><strong>Tiger Woods vs. David Beckham</strong></a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/16/money-face-off-rudy-giuliani-vs-mike-bloomberg/"><strong>Rudy Giuliani vs. Michael Bloomberg</strong></a>, and <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/15/money-face-off-steve-jobs-vs-bill-gates/"><strong>Bill Gates vs. Steve Jobs</strong></a>. In terms of the liveliest discussions in the comments, the winners are <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/15/money-face-off-oprah-winfrey-vs-martha-stewart/"><strong>Oprah Winfrey vs. Martha Stewart</strong></a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/15/money-face-off-maria-bartiromo-versus-erin-burnett/"><strong>Erin Burnett vs. Maria Bartiromo</strong></a>, and <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/16/money-face-off-bono-vs-angelina-jolie/"><strong>Bono vs. Angelina Jolie</strong></a>. Also check out the comments for the <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/16/money-face-off-jrr-tolkien-vs-jk-rowling/"><strong>J.K. Rowling vs. J.R.R Tolkien</strong></a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/15/money-face-off-tiger-woods-vs-david-beckham/"><strong>Tiger Woods vs. David Beckham</strong></a>, and <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/15/money-face-off-ivanka-trump-vs-paris-hilton/"><strong>Ivanka Trump vs. Paris Hilton</strong></a> posts. </p>
<p>As for the face-off posts here that got the most attention, the clear winner is <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/15/money-face-off-maria-bartiromo-versus-erin-burnett/"><strong>Erin Burnett vs. Maria Bartiromo</strong></a>, with more than 13,000 hits. <strong><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/15/money-face-off-britney-spears-vs-lindsay-lohan/">Lindsay Lohan vs. Britney Spears</a></strong> and <strong><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/15/money-face-off-oprah-winfrey-vs-martha-stewart/">Oprah Winfrey vs. Martha Stewart</a></strong> also attracted lots of readers.</p>
<p>Results for all the face-offs follow below, but keep in mind that the voting is still open. It's not too late to add your vote or let us know what you think.</p><p><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/10/06/money-face-off-big-winners-oprah-tiger-woods-ivanka-trump-er/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Money Face-Off Big Winners: Oprah, Tiger Woods, Ivanka Trump, Erin Burnett</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/10/06/money-face-off-big-winners-oprah-tiger-woods-ivanka-trump-er/">Money Face-Off Big Winners: Oprah, Tiger Woods, Ivanka Trump, Erin Burnett</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com">BloggingStocks</a> on Sat, 06 Oct 2007 12:40:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/10/06/money-face-off-big-winners-oprah-tiger-woods-ivanka-trump-er/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/forward/1006754/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/10/06/money-face-off-big-winners-oprah-tiger-woods-ivanka-trump-er/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>Alan Greenspan</category><category>Angelina Jolie</category><category>Ben Bernanke</category><category>Bill Gates</category><category>Bono</category><category>Britney Spears</category><category>Carl Icahn</category><category>David Beckham</category><category>Diddy</category><category>Eddie Lampert</category><category>Erin Burnett</category><category>George Lucas</category><category>George Steinbrenner</category><category>Heidi Klum</category><category>Henry Kravis</category><category>Ivanka Trump</category><category>J.K. Rowling</category><category>J.R.R. Tolkien</category><category>Jay-Z</category><category>Jim Cramer</category><category>John Bogle</category><category>Kirk Kerkorian</category><category>Lindsay Lohan</category><category>Maria Bartiromo</category><category>Mark Cuban</category><category>Martha Stewart</category><category>Mike Bloomberg</category><category>Money Face-Offs</category><category>Oprah Winfrey</category><category>Paris Hilton</category><category>Peter Lynch</category><category>Rudy Giuliani</category><category>Rupert Murdoch</category><category>Steve Jobs</category><category>Steve Schwarzman</category><category>Steven Spielberg</category><category>Sumner Redstone</category><category>Suze Orman</category><category>Tiger Woods</category><category>Tyra Banks</category><category>Warren Buffett</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Trey Thoelcke]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 06 Oct 2007 12:40:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Money Face-Off recap: The 'Money Honey' catfight, and Giuliani's slim lead here too]]></title><link>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/23/money-face-off-recap-the-money-honey-catfight-and-giulianis/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/23/money-face-off-recap-the-money-honey-catfight-and-giulianis/</guid><comments>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/23/money-face-off-recap-the-money-honey-catfight-and-giulianis/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/consumer-experience/" rel="tag">Consumer Experience</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/rants-and-raves/" rel="tag">Rants and Raves</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/entrepreneurs/" rel="tag">Entrepreneurs</a></p><p>It's been a week since our <strong>Money Face-Off</strong> posts ran here on BloggingStocks and less than a week since the <a href="http://money.aol.com/investing/money-face-off-business-superstars">Money Face-Offs</a> 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.</p>
<p>The closest of all is the face-off of CNBC anchors <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/15/money-face-off-maria-bartiromo-versus-erin-burnett/">Erin Burnett and Maria Bartiromo</a>: 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.</p>
<p>The face-off between the former and current New York City mayors, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/16/money-face-off-rudy-giuliani-vs-mike-bloomberg/">Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg</a>, 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?</p>
<p>The match-up of supermodels turned businesswomen, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/16/money-face-off-tyra-banks-vs-heidi-klum/">Tyra Banks vs. Heidi Klum</a>, 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.</p><p><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/23/money-face-off-recap-the-money-honey-catfight-and-giulianis/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Money Face-Off recap: The 'Money Honey' catfight, and Giuliani's slim lead here too</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/23/money-face-off-recap-the-money-honey-catfight-and-giulianis/">Money Face-Off recap: The 'Money Honey' catfight, and Giuliani's slim lead here too</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com">BloggingStocks</a> on Sun, 23 Sep 2007 09:40:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/23/money-face-off-recap-the-money-honey-catfight-and-giulianis/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/forward/995967/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/23/money-face-off-recap-the-money-honey-catfight-and-giulianis/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>Carl Icahn</category><category>CNBC</category><category>Diddy</category><category>Erin Burnett</category><category>Heidi Klum</category><category>Henry Kravis</category><category>Jay-Z</category><category>JK Rowling</category><category>John Bogle</category><category>Kirk Kerkorian</category><category>Maria Bartiromo</category><category>Michael Bloomberg</category><category>Money Face-Off</category><category>Peter Lynch</category><category>Rudy Giuliani</category><category>Steve Schwarzman</category><category>Tolkien</category><category>Tyra Banks</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Trey Thoelcke]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 23 Sep 2007 09:40:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Money Face-Off: Maria Bartiromo versus Erin Burnett]]></title><link>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/15/money-face-off-maria-bartiromo-versus-erin-burnett/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/15/money-face-off-maria-bartiromo-versus-erin-burnett/</guid><comments>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/15/money-face-off-maria-bartiromo-versus-erin-burnett/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/television/" rel="tag">Television</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/ge/" rel="tag">General Electric (GE)</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/marketing-and-advertising/" rel="tag">Marketing and Advertising</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/employees/" rel="tag">Employees</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/nws/" rel="tag">News Corp'B' (NWS)</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/media-world/" rel="tag">Media World</a></p><p><em>This post is part of our <strong><a href="http://money.aol.com/investing/money-face-off-business-superstars">Money Face-Offs</a></strong> 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.</em></p>
<p><img alt="" hspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.bloggingstocks.com/media/2007/09/burnett-bartiromo-240a-0915.jpg" align="right" vspace="4" border="0" />Who needs to worry about the subprime mortgage meltdown or the Iraq War when we can debate whether CNBC's Maria Bartiromo still is the "Money Honey" or if her crown has been taken by upstart Erin "Street Sweetie" Burnett.</p>
<p>Bartiromo's image has been tarnished by the <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/23/citigroups-thompson-out-is-maria-bartiromo-to-blame/">Todd Thomson fiasco</a>, the <a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/cnbc/bartiromo_trademarks_money_honey_51906.asp">trademarking of "Money Honey,"</a> and her countless appearances at corporate events, while Burnett's star is on the rise thanks in part to hugely flattering articles by the likes of Howard Kurtz of the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/26/AR2007082601347.html"><em>Washington Post</em></a>. He recently wrote of Burnett<em>, "</em>Under the lights, in a smoky blue dress that matches her eyes as well as her shoes, her flowing dark hair perfectly teased, she is not exactly hard on the eyes." No word on whether he feels the same way about Mark Haines.</p>
<p>Yes, television is a superficial medium. Yes, discussions of the attractiveness of Bartiromo and Burnett are sexist, to say the least. I personally couldn't care less whether the anchors are best of friends or are constantly trying to stab each other in the back, as has been reported by the tabloids.</p><p><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/15/money-face-off-maria-bartiromo-versus-erin-burnett/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Money Face-Off: Maria Bartiromo versus Erin Burnett</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/15/money-face-off-maria-bartiromo-versus-erin-burnett/">Money Face-Off: Maria Bartiromo versus Erin Burnett</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com">BloggingStocks</a> on Sat, 15 Sep 2007 15:10:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/15/money-face-off-maria-bartiromo-versus-erin-burnett/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/forward/983796/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/15/money-face-off-maria-bartiromo-versus-erin-burnett/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>cable television news</category><category>CNBC</category><category>Dylan Ratigan</category><category>Erin Burnett</category><category>expire-images:2008-9-14</category><category>Fox Business News</category><category>GE</category><category>Jon Fiedman</category><category>Maria Bartiromo</category><category>mark haines</category><category>media</category><category>NBC</category><category>rupert murdoch</category><category>Television news</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jonathan Berr]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 15 Sep 2007 15:10:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Money Honey in trouble with PETA]]></title><link>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/08/09/money-honey-in-trouble-with-peta/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/08/09/money-honey-in-trouble-with-peta/</guid><comments>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/08/09/money-honey-in-trouble-with-peta/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/ge/" rel="tag">General Electric (GE)</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/nws/" rel="tag">News Corp'B' (NWS)</a></p><p><em><a href="http://wallstfolly.typepad.com/wallstfolly/2007/08/maria-bartiromo.html"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.bloggingstocks.com/media/2007/08/maria-b.jpg" alt="" />Wall $treet Folly</a></em> reports that <strong><a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/general-electric-company/ge/nys">General Electric Company's</a></strong> (NYSE: <a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/general-electric-company/ge/nys">GE</a>) CNBC's Maria Bartiromo, who interviewed me <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=457161244&amp;play=1">earlier this week</a>, is in trouble with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).</p>
<p>What popped PETA's top? In <em>More</em> magazine's September feature on fashionable female movers and shakers over 40, CNBC's "Money Honey" is seen smiling seductively in a skin-tight Celine matte jersey dress and the Kors coat. She raves: "Chic, sexy clothes are the real me . . . The coat is spectacular; the fur cuffs give it just the right amount of glamour." </p>
<p>PETA's Michael McGraw commented: "There's nothing glamorous about animal electrocution, which is one of the most common methods used to kill foxes for their pelts. She looks morally bankrupt in that fur."</p>
<p>It's important to put this story in a business context. <strong><a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/news-corporation/nws/nys">News Corp.</a></strong> (NYSE: <a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/news-corporation/nws/nys">NWS</a>) owns the <em>New York Post</em> where McGraw vented. News Corp is also launching Fox Business News (FBN) in October to compete with CNBC. So there's a chance that whatever hurts Maria and CNBC, helps FBN.</p>
<p><em>Peter Cohan is President of</em> <a href="http://petercohan.com/"><em>Peter S. Cohan &amp; Associates</em></a><em>, a management consulting and venture capital firm. He also </em><a href="http://www3.babson.edu/Academics/Divisions/management/facultyprofile.cfm?pageid=391236"><em>teaches management at Babson College</em></a><em> and edits </em><a href="http://petercohan.blogspot.com/2007/01/cohan-letter-up-15-in-2006.html"><em>The Cohan Letter</em></a><em>. He owns GE shares.</em></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/08/09/money-honey-in-trouble-with-peta/">Money Honey in trouble with PETA</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com">BloggingStocks</a> on Thu, 09 Aug 2007 16:30:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/08/09/money-honey-in-trouble-with-peta/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/forward/961891/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/08/09/money-honey-in-trouble-with-peta/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>inthenews</category><category>Maria Bartiromo</category><category>MariaBartiromo</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Peter Cohan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 09 Aug 2007 16:30:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Media World: Rupert Murdoch will win the Bartiromo-Burnett battle]]></title><link>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/07/27/media-world-rupert-murdoch-will-win-the-bartiromo-burnett-batt/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/07/27/media-world-rupert-murdoch-will-win-the-bartiromo-burnett-batt/</guid><comments>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/07/27/media-world-rupert-murdoch-will-win-the-bartiromo-burnett-batt/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/management/" rel="tag">Management</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/ge/" rel="tag">General Electric (GE)</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/marketing-and-advertising/" rel="tag">Marketing and Advertising</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/employees/" rel="tag">Employees</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/c/" rel="tag">Citigroup Inc. (C)</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/nws/" rel="tag">News Corp'B' (NWS)</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/dj/" rel="tag">Dow Jones and Co (DJ)</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/media-world/" rel="tag">Media World</a></p><p>The reported tiff between CNBC's Money Honey Maria Bartiromo and upstart Erin Burnett, whom the <em><a href="http://www.nypost.com/seven/07272007/gossip/pagesix/pagesix.htm">New York Post</a></em> dubbed the "Street Sweetie,'' is mana from heaven for <a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/news-corporation/nws/nys">News Corp.</a> (NYSE: <a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/news-corporation/nws/nys">NWS</a>) Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch.</p>
<p><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.bloggingstocks.com/media/2007/03/maria_bartiromo_evanagostini_getty_160.jpg" alt="" />His <em>Post</em> gets a juicy chick fight to write about -- although the <a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/general-electric-company/ge/nys">General Electric Co</a>. (NYSE: <a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/general-electric-company/ge/nys">GE</a>) cable channel denies there is a fight -- and it makes a rival to his yet-to-be launched Fox Business Channel look foolish as a bonus. Plus, it gives Fox a good excuse to try and lure either one of them away from CNBC. Interesting how corporate synergies work in today's media world. </p>
<p>Mind you, I have no idea whether Bartiromo and Burnett hate each other or not. Usually, Page Six is pretty truthy in the Stephen Colbert sense of the word. You have to think that someone close to Bartiromo or Burnett -- perhaps the person who looks back at them in the mirror -- is spilling their guts to the <em>Post.</em> Yes, the media world is just like high school.</p>
<p>Bartiromo has long been a subject of the gossip pages. I urged CNBC <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/26/cnbc-should-fire-bartiromo/">to fire Bartiromo </a>earlier this year after her relationship with ousted <a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/citigroup-incorporated/c/nys">Citigroup Inc.</a> (NYSE: <a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/citigroup-incorporated/c/nys">C</a>) executive Todd Thompson brought derision on the network. Since then, she's indicated that she's more interested in being a TV star than a journalist. Burnett, whose path I crossed when I was at Bloomberg News, is gaining the good kind of publicity. In fact, <em><a href="http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6448641.html">Broadcasting and Cable</a></em> called her CNBC's "secret weapon."</p>
<p>But there's an extra dimension to this tabloid battle that's worth considering.</p>
<p>There are many media conspiracy theorists who argue that Rupert Murdoch will tabloid up the <em>Wall Street Journal</em> once he gets a hold of <a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/dow-jones-and-company-inc/dj/nys">Dow Jones &amp; Co</a>. (NYSE: <a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/dow-jones-and-company-inc/dj/nys">DJ</a>). I think that these fears are overblown. Murdoch won't use the <em>Journal</em> to settle scores with his enemies and heap praise on his friends. Why should he when the <em>Post </em>does that so well?</p>
<p> </p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/07/27/media-world-rupert-murdoch-will-win-the-bartiromo-burnett-batt/">Media World: Rupert Murdoch will win the Bartiromo-Burnett battle</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com">BloggingStocks</a> on Fri, 27 Jul 2007 16:00:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.nypost.com/seven/07272007/gossip/pagesix/pagesix.htm>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/07/27/media-world-rupert-murdoch-will-win-the-bartiromo-burnett-batt/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/forward/952037/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/07/27/media-world-rupert-murdoch-will-win-the-bartiromo-burnett-batt/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>business news</category><category>BusinessNews</category><category>cable tv</category><category>CableTv</category><category>cnbc</category><category>erin burnett</category><category>ErinBurnett</category><category>ge</category><category>jonathan berr</category><category>JonathanBerr</category><category>maria bartiromo</category><category>MariaBartiromo</category><category>media</category><category>nws</category><category>rupert murdoch</category><category>RupertMurdoch</category><category>tv news</category><category>TvNews</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jonathan Berr]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 27 Jul 2007 16:00:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Bambi Francisco leaves MarketWatch under a cloud]]></title><link>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/04/07/bambi-francisco-leaves-marketwatch-under-a-cloud/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/04/07/bambi-francisco-leaves-marketwatch-under-a-cloud/</guid><comments>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/04/07/bambi-francisco-leaves-marketwatch-under-a-cloud/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/management/" rel="tag">Management</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/marketing-and-advertising/" rel="tag">Marketing and Advertising</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/employees/" rel="tag">Employees</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/columns/" rel="tag">Columns</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/dj/" rel="tag">Dow Jones and Co (DJ)</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/media-world/" rel="tag">Media World</a></p><p>MarketWatch's tech diva Bambi Francisco left the <a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/dow-jones-and-company-inc/dj/nys">Dow Jones &amp; Co.</a> (NYSE: <a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/dow-jones-and-company-inc/dj/nys">DJ</a>) Web site late Friday after questions were raised about her financial interest in Vator.TV, a web site that features video interviews with technology executives.</p>
<p>Stories in <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/why-started-vatortv-why-im/story.aspx?guid=%7BCC31F569%2D9BAA%2D4CD5%2D903C%2D17279B37E946%7D">CNET</a> and <em>The Wall Street Journal</em> pointed out that Francisco regularly wrote about companies that appeared on Vator.TV or had dealings with backer Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal who is now a venture capitalist. Most news organizations forbid journalists from writing about companies in which they have a financial interest. </p>
<p>MarketWatch made an exception for Francisco, who is well-known in Silicon Valley. David Calloway, the editor-in-chief of the site, told CNET that he told Francisco to avoid writing about Vator.TV and the companies that use the service. </p>
<p>That agreement that was doomed to fail since Vator.TV interviewed tech executives and Francisco did the same thing for MarketWatch. Her bosses should have realized that arrangement wasn't working before other news agencies pointed that out to them.</p>
<p>Even though several hours before filing her final column, Francisco told the tech news service that she did nothing wrong, her departure was unavoidable. Advertisers won't pay top rates to advertise with news organizations whose credibility is in question.</p>
<p>Dow Jones deserves some credit for not sweeping this matter under the rug the way that CNBC did with the Maria Bartiromo episode.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p><p><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/04/07/bambi-francisco-leaves-marketwatch-under-a-cloud/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Bambi Francisco leaves MarketWatch under a cloud</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/04/07/bambi-francisco-leaves-marketwatch-under-a-cloud/">Bambi Francisco leaves MarketWatch under a cloud</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com">BloggingStocks</a> on Sat, 07 Apr 2007 08:10:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://news.com.com/MarketWatchs+Bambi+Francisco+resigns/2100-1030_3-6174226.html>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/04/07/bambi-francisco-leaves-marketwatch-under-a-cloud/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/forward/869231/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/04/07/bambi-francisco-leaves-marketwatch-under-a-cloud/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>bambi francisco</category><category>BambiFrancisco</category><category>conflict of interest</category><category>David Calloway</category><category>DJ</category><category>Dow Jones</category><category>DowJones</category><category>john thiel</category><category>JohnThiel</category><category>Maria Bartiromo</category><category>marketwatch</category><category>Peter Thiel</category><category>silicon valley</category><category>SiliconValley</category><category>vator.tv</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jonathan Berr]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 07 Apr 2007 08:10:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Maria-gate: The Schwarzman bash]]></title><link>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/02/14/maria-gate-the-schwarzman-bash/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/02/14/maria-gate-the-schwarzman-bash/</guid><comments>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/02/14/maria-gate-the-schwarzman-bash/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/television/" rel="tag">Television</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/ge/" rel="tag">General Electric (GE)</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/c/" rel="tag">Citigroup Inc. (C)</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/dj/" rel="tag">Dow Jones and Co (DJ)</a></p><p><em><img alt="" hspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.bloggingstocks.com/media/2007/02/bartiromo190.jpg" align="right" vspace="4" border="1" />The New York Times's</em> <a href="http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/02/14/inside-stephen-schwarzmans-birthday-bash/">DealBook </a>has a breathless report -- replete with photos -- of Blackstone Group CEO's Stephen Schwarzman's 60th birthday party at the Seventh Regiment Armory on New York's Park Avenue.</p>
<p>General Electric's (NYSE: GE) CNBC reporter Maria Bartiromo was there along with her husband, Jonathan Steinberg. This is an important development since it was not clear where things stood between her and Citigroup's (NYSE: C) former executive Todd Thomson and whether that would affect her marriage. </p>
<p>The Schwarzman bash may also have subtly influenced Dow Jones &amp; Company's (NYSE: DJ) <em>Wall Street Journal</em> (a.k.a. <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/02/the-wall-street-towel/">The Towel</a>). On Monday I got a call from the Towel's Alan Murray who told me he was writing an article on whether private equity was peaking. Murray had <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=180536101&amp;play=1">seen me on CNBC</a> and interviewed me in detail -- requesting a copy of my <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/02/12/is-private-equity-peaking/">post </a>on the topic. Today his <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117141575581507898-search.html?KEYWORDS=murray&amp;COLLECTION=wsjie/6month">article</a> [subscription required] came out -- gushing about Schwarzman's party and the prospects for the private equity business.</p>
<p>Make no mistake -- I would love to have attended this party. But as a news consumer, I wonder whether the opportunity to be counted among<a href="http://www.nypost.com/seven/02142007/gossip/pagesix/pagesix.htm"> the New York glitterati</a> has any affect on the objectivity of reporting on the industry.</p>
<p><em>Peter Cohan is President of</em> <a href="http://petercohan.com/"><em>Peter S. Cohan &amp; Associates</em></a><em>, a management consulting and venture capital firm, He also </em><a href="http://www3.babson.edu/Academics/Divisions/management/facultyprofile.cfm?pageid=391236"><em>teaches management at Babson College</em></a><em> and edits </em><a href="http://petercohan.blogspot.com/2007/01/cohan-letter-up-15-in-2006.html"><em>The Cohan Letter</em></a><em>. He owns Citigroup and GE shares and has no financial interest in Dow Jones.</em></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/02/14/maria-gate-the-schwarzman-bash/">Maria-gate: The Schwarzman bash</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com">BloggingStocks</a> on Wed, 14 Feb 2007 11:55:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/02/14/maria-gate-the-schwarzman-bash/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/forward/753893/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/02/14/maria-gate-the-schwarzman-bash/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>C</category><category>DJ</category><category>GE</category><category>Maria Bartiromo</category><category>MariaBartiromo</category><category>Todd Thomson</category><category>ToddThomson</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Peter Cohan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 14 Feb 2007 11:55:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Maria-gate: Did she squelch the news?]]></title><link>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/02/12/todd-and-maria-gate-memo-maria-squelches-the-news/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/02/12/todd-and-maria-gate-memo-maria-squelches-the-news/</guid><comments>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/02/12/todd-and-maria-gate-memo-maria-squelches-the-news/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/television/" rel="tag">Television</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/ge/" rel="tag">General Electric (GE)</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/scandals/" rel="tag">Scandals</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/c/" rel="tag">Citigroup Inc. (C)</a></p><p><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="right" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.bloggingstocks.com/media/2007/02/maria-b.jpg" />This morning's <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/12/business/media/12bartiromo.html"><em>New York Times</em></a> reports that The General Electric Company's (NYSE: GE) CNBC reporter Maria Bartiromo helped squelch a story by her colleague Charles Gasparino. The story involved the resignation of Todd Thomson from Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C).</p>
<p>I've been wondering whether this story had gone dark. But it looks like it just went into the in-depth reporting phase. Now the <em>New York Times</em> has arrived with this bombshell.</p>
<p>What happened is that CNBC's head of news programming, Jonathan Wald, asked Gasparino to investigate Bartiromo's trip on Citigroup's corporate jet with Thomson. Gasparino did so. But when Bartiromo got wind of it -- and specifically the notion that Thomson's job status was threatened -- she complained to Wald. And for some reason, Gasparino did not discuss his reporting on the air. Moreover, some in the network complain that Bartiromo's complaint was the culprit. Wald suggested that the sourcing for the story was not strong enough to air it.</p>
<p>Now the media is starting to analyze her on-air interviews. Some of them, such as the one with former Home Depot (NYSE: HD) CEO Bob Nardelli, were tough. Since she had no business tie to HD, she felt free to "pepper him with sharp questions relating to his conduct and governance." But, as I <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/26/todd-and-maria-gate-memo-do-cnbc-advertisers-buy-favorable-covera/">posted </a>a few weeks ago, her business tie to Citigroup probably led to a much friendlier style when it came to interviewing Thomson in August 2005.</p>
<p>Here's an idea: Why not hold CNBC reporters to the same disclosure standards to which it holds its on-air guests?</p>
<p><em>Peter Cohan is President of</em> <a href="http://petercohan.com/"><em>Peter S. Cohan &amp; Associates</em></a><em>, a management consulting and venture capital firm, He also </em><a href="http://www3.babson.edu/Academics/Divisions/management/facultyprofile.cfm?pageid=391236"><em>teaches management at Babson College</em></a><em> and edits </em><a href="http://petercohan.blogspot.com/2007/01/cohan-letter-up-15-in-2006.html"><em>The Cohan Letter</em></a><em>. He owns shares of Citigroup and GE and has no financial interest in Home Depot or The New York Times.</em></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/02/12/todd-and-maria-gate-memo-maria-squelches-the-news/">Maria-gate: Did she squelch the news?</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com">BloggingStocks</a> on Mon, 12 Feb 2007 11:35:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/12/business/media/12bartiromo.html?_r=1&amp;oref=slogin>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/02/12/todd-and-maria-gate-memo-maria-squelches-the-news/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/forward/752368/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/02/12/todd-and-maria-gate-memo-maria-squelches-the-news/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>Bob Nardelli</category><category>BobNardelli</category><category>C</category><category>Charles Gasparino</category><category>CharlesGasparino</category><category>Citigroup</category><category>CNBC</category><category>GE</category><category>HD</category><category>Maria Bartiromo</category><category>MariaBartiromo</category><category>Todd Thomson</category><category>ToddThomson</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Peter Cohan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 12 Feb 2007 11:35:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Maria Bartiromo, Money Honey -- now for kids?]]></title><link>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/29/maria-bartiromo-money-honey-now-for-kids/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/29/maria-bartiromo-money-honey-now-for-kids/</guid><comments>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/29/maria-bartiromo-money-honey-now-for-kids/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/rumors/" rel="tag">Rumors</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/law/" rel="tag">Law</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/television/" rel="tag">Television</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/scandals/" rel="tag">Scandals</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/c/" rel="tag">Citigroup Inc. (C)</a></p><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="0" align="right" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.bloggingstocks.com/media/2007/01/maria_bartiromo_evanagostini_getty_160.jpg" />My children, it must be admitted, love television. As I'm a financial type who works from home, they're often subjected to my TV choices; so they know Maria Bartiromo and Rachael Ray well, much like faraway telegenic aunts.<br /><br />If a recent trademark filing is any indication, they soon may get to know Maria even better, not as a CNBC reporter (nor as the center of a <a style="" href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/search/?q=bartiromo">scandal involving special treatment by Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) bigwig Todd Thomson</a>) but as the cartoon "Money Honey."<br /><br /><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="0" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.bloggingstocks.com/media/2007/01/maria_bartiromo_trademark_240.jpg" alt="" />No, really! <a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/cnbc/bartiromo_trademarks_money_honey_51906.asp">TVNewser was tipped off</a> on <a href="http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&amp;entry=77084008">the filing</a>, in the name of Bartiromo, Maria for Money Honey to be used for "Entertainment services, namely, an ongoing children's television series; motion picture films; theatrical programs; fan club services; online entertainment services, namely information, interactive games ..." and, of course, more. It's<em> just </em>been filed, on January 16th. I've filed many a trademark application, and in my opinion, this looks as if it was done up in 30 minutes. I'm sure the attorneys at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein &amp; Selz billed a whole hour for it though... No word on whether the resulting show might be live-action or animated.<br /><br />While I love the concept (it's far prettier than <a href="http://www.aoltv.com/2006/02/09/hey-kids-its-warren-buffett/">Warren Buffett's animated series</a>, though a little less fun), the timing leaves something to wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder... did Maria file in anticipation of a brou-ha-ha resulting in <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/26/cnbc-should-fire-bartiromo/">calls for CNBC to fire her</a>? Had she just discovered that her <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/24/todd-and-maria-gate-memo-butch-thomson-and-the-sundance-kid/">biggest fan's Sundance deal</a> was going to fall through, and this was the next-best thing? Is it just a complete coincidence? <br /><br />Like they say on <em>Psych</em>, there's no such thing as coincidence.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/29/maria-bartiromo-money-honey-now-for-kids/">Maria Bartiromo, Money Honey -- now for kids?</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com">BloggingStocks</a> on Mon, 29 Jan 2007 19:50:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/29/maria-bartiromo-money-honey-now-for-kids/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/forward/744733/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/29/maria-bartiromo-money-honey-now-for-kids/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>bartiromo</category><category>buffett</category><category>c</category><category>children's television</category><category>Children'sTelevision</category><category>citigroup</category><category>honey</category><category>kids</category><category>kids tv</category><category>KidsTv</category><category>maria</category><category>maria bartiromo</category><category>MariaBartiromo</category><category>money</category><category>money honey</category><category>MoneyHoney</category><category>television</category><category>tv</category><category>tv newswer</category><category>tvnewser</category><category>TvNewswer</category><category>warren buffett</category><category>WarrenBuffett</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Sarah Gilbert]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 29 Jan 2007 19:50:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Todd &amp; Maria-gate Memo: Do CNBC advertisers buy favorable coverage?]]></title><link>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/26/todd-and-maria-gate-memo-do-cnbc-advertisers-buy-favorable-covera/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/26/todd-and-maria-gate-memo-do-cnbc-advertisers-buy-favorable-covera/</guid><comments>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/26/todd-and-maria-gate-memo-do-cnbc-advertisers-buy-favorable-covera/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/rumors/" rel="tag">Rumors</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/television/" rel="tag">Television</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/ge/" rel="tag">General Electric (GE)</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/scandals/" rel="tag">Scandals</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/c/" rel="tag">Citigroup Inc. (C)</a></p><p><em><img alt="" hspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.bloggingstocks.com/media/2007/01/maria-b.jpg" align="right" vspace="4" border="1" />January 23rd's </em><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/23/citigroups-thompson-out-is-maria-bartiromo-to-blame/"><em>departure</em></a><em> of Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) executive Todd Thomson may have been helped along by his use of Citigroup's corporate jet to fly General Electric Company's (NYSE: GE) CNBC reporter, Maria Bartiromo from Asia. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Todd &amp; Maria-gate Memo will follow the ongoing saga.</em></p>
<p>The New York Times Company's (NYSE: NYT) <em><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/26/business/media/26maria.html?_r=1&amp;adxnnl=1&amp;oref=slogin&amp;ref=business&amp;adxnnlx=1169813369-oJtByfPb6HQiZcQDVg5A0A">New York Times</a></em> [subscription required] reports this morning that Maria Bartiromo has repeatedly appeared at events sponsored by CNBC advertisers. Are CNBC advertisers, in effect, paying for good press? Bartiromo's August 2005 interview with Thomson makes me wonder.</p>
<p>Bartiromo's attended alot of corporate events -- some for companies on which she's reported. For example, in 2006, she appeared at 46 events three of which were on behalf of Citigroup. She also appeared at events for Google, Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG), Charles Schwab Company, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCHW) and Dow Jones Company (NYSE: DJ), which publishes the <em>Wall Street Journal</em>.</p>
<p>As noted earlier, Bartiromo -- who is married to Jonathan Steinberg, son of financier Saul Steinberg -- flew back from Asia on Citigroup's corporate jet. She also flew back from Davos last year on Citigroup's jet and appeared at a Citigroup-sponsored awards event in London in 2005, as co-host of the event with another CNBC anchor, Simon Hobbs.</p><p><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/26/todd-and-maria-gate-memo-do-cnbc-advertisers-buy-favorable-covera/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Todd &amp; Maria-gate Memo: Do CNBC advertisers buy favorable coverage?</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/26/todd-and-maria-gate-memo-do-cnbc-advertisers-buy-favorable-covera/">Todd &amp; Maria-gate Memo: Do CNBC advertisers buy favorable coverage?</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com">BloggingStocks</a> on Fri, 26 Jan 2007 11:15:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/26/todd-and-maria-gate-memo-do-cnbc-advertisers-buy-favorable-covera/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/forward/742922/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/26/todd-and-maria-gate-memo-do-cnbc-advertisers-buy-favorable-covera/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>Citigroup</category><category>CNBC</category><category>Maria Bartiromo</category><category>MariaBartiromo</category><category>Todd Thomson</category><category>ToddThomson</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Peter Cohan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 26 Jan 2007 11:15:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[CNBC should fire Bartiromo]]></title><link>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/26/cnbc-should-fire-bartiromo/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/26/cnbc-should-fire-bartiromo/</guid><comments>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/26/cnbc-should-fire-bartiromo/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/rumors/" rel="tag">Rumors</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/management/" rel="tag">Management</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/television/" rel="tag">Television</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/ge/" rel="tag">General Electric (GE)</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/employees/" rel="tag">Employees</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/scandals/" rel="tag">Scandals</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/columns/" rel="tag">Columns</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/c/" rel="tag">Citigroup Inc. (C)</a></p><p>Maria Bartiromo, who rose to fame as CNBC's Money Honey during the bull market of the 90s, should be fired for showing incredible lapses in judgment regarding her relationship with ousted Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:<a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/citigroup-inc/c/nys/charts?timeframe=0&amp;freq=1&amp;state=1&amp;te=mountain&amp;vs1=on&amp;dv1=off&amp;dr=999&amp;hs1=on&amp;ss=on&amp;ss1=on&amp;vs=on&amp;settings=1&amp;tabs=charts&amp;scs=0&amp;vl=on&amp;daysb4=0&amp;hs=on&amp;vl1=on&amp;se=default">C)</a> executive Todd Thomson.</p>
<p>One of the cardinal rules of journalism is that you aren't supposed to write about or show favor toward your friends. <em><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116978688800288808.html?mod=home_whats_news_us">The Wall Street Journal's</a></em> (subscription required) expose of Bartiromo's relationship with Thomson shows that they were at a minimum buddies. </p>
<p>What's more disturbing, however, is CNBC's reluctance to look into the matter further. I'd like to know if CNBC ever reimbursed Citigroup for Bartiromo's air travel. Moreover, doesn't the channel's corporate owner General Electric Co. (NYSE:<a href="http://finance.aol.com/quotes/general-electric-company/ge/nys/charts?dr=999">GE</a>) have an ethics rule or two about employes accepting gratuities from clients? Citigroup, after all, after all does by advertising on CNBC.</p>
<p>But I guess CNBC like most media organization has a thin skin. It is eager to expose faults in others but when it comes to its own problems forget it.</p>
<p><em>Jonathan Berr is the editor of </em><a href="http://www.desperateinvestors.com"><em>http://www.desperateinvestors.com</em></a></p>
<p> </p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/26/cnbc-should-fire-bartiromo/">CNBC should fire Bartiromo</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com">BloggingStocks</a> on Fri, 26 Jan 2007 08:15:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116978688800288808-search.html?KEYWORDS=bartiromo&amp;COLLECTION=wsjie/6month>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/26/cnbc-should-fire-bartiromo/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/forward/742942/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/26/cnbc-should-fire-bartiromo/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>citigroup</category><category>cnbc</category><category>cnvc</category><category>maria bartiromo</category><category>MariaBartiromo</category><category>money honey</category><category>MoneyHoney</category><category>tv</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jonathan Berr]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 26 Jan 2007 08:15:00 EST</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Todd &amp; Maria-gate Memo: Butch Thomson and the Sundance Kid]]></title><link>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/24/todd-and-maria-gate-memo-butch-thomson-and-the-sundance-kid/</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/24/todd-and-maria-gate-memo-butch-thomson-and-the-sundance-kid/</guid><comments>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/24/todd-and-maria-gate-memo-butch-thomson-and-the-sundance-kid/#comments</comments><description><![CDATA[<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/management/" rel="tag">Management</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/television/" rel="tag">Television</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/ge/" rel="tag">General Electric (GE)</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/scandals/" rel="tag">Scandals</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/columns/" rel="tag">Columns</a>, <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/category/c/" rel="tag">Citigroup Inc. (C)</a></p><p><em><img alt="" hspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.bloggingstocks.com/media/2007/01/maria-b.jpg" align="right" vspace="4" border="0" />Yesterday's <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/23/citigroups-thompson-out-is-maria-bartiromo-to-blame/">departure</a> of Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) executive Todd Thomson may have been helped along by his use of Citigroup's corporate jet to fly General Electric Company's (NYSE: GE) CNBC reporter, Maria Bartiromo from Asia. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Todd &amp; Maria-gate Memo will follow the ongoing saga.</em></p>
<p>This morning's <em><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116960799115885885.html?mod=hps_us_pageone">Wall Street Journal</a></em> [subscription required] reports that Todd Thomson used $5 million of his Citigroup marketing budget to finance a Sundance Channel program which was slated to be hosted by Robert Redford and Maria Bartiromo. [Bartiromo is no longer slated to host this program].</p>
<p>But wait, there's more. In 2005, current Chief Operating Officer Bob Druskin spotted Thomson having dinner with Bartiromo at the ritzy Daniel restaurant while Druskin was hosting a holiday dinner there for his investment banking management team.</p>
<p>Last November, Thomson flew Bartiromo to speak to Citigroup's private-banking clients at luncheons in Hong Kong and Shanghai. He flew with a group of Citigroup employees to Asia, but flew back to the U.S. on the corporate jet with Bartiromo. </p>
<p>After this November incident, Citigroup CEO, Chuck Prince, asked Thomson to stop spending Citigroup money on Bartiromo. Six weeks later, Thomson surprised Prince with The Sundance sponsorship announcement. This prompted Thomson's departure.</p>
<p>This saga raises questions of interest to Citigroup and GE investors, including:</p>
<ul>
    <li>After all of Prince's blunders, are Citigroup directors debating his fate? </li>
    <li>Was GE CEO, Jeff Immelt, involved in approving Bartiromo's <a href="http://www.nypost.com/seven/01242007/business/one_weet_ride_business_roddy_boyd.htm">$48,000</a> flight from Asia on Citigroup's jet? </li>
    <li>Will GE require CNBC anchors to disclose their business relationships with the companies they cover? </li>
</ul>
<p><em>Peter Cohan is President of</em> <a href="http://petercohan.com/"><em>Peter S. Cohan &amp; Associates</em></a><em>, a management consulting and venture capital firm, a </em><a href="http://www3.babson.edu/Academics/Divisions/management/facultyprofile.cfm?pageid=391236"><em>Professor of Management at Babson College</em></a><em>, and editor of <a href="http://petercohan.blogspot.com/2007/01/cohan-letter-up-15-in-2006.html">The Cohan Letter</a>. He has appeared as a guest on CNBC and owns Citigroup and GE stock.</em></p>
<p> </p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/24/todd-and-maria-gate-memo-butch-thomson-and-the-sundance-kid/">Todd &amp; Maria-gate Memo: Butch Thomson and the Sundance Kid</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com">BloggingStocks</a> on Wed, 24 Jan 2007 10:21:00 EST.  Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116960799115885885.html?mod=hps_us_pageone>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/24/todd-and-maria-gate-memo-butch-thomson-and-the-sundance-kid/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/forward/741551/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/01/24/todd-and-maria-gate-memo-butch-thomson-and-the-sundance-kid/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>]]></description><category>Bob Druskin</category><category>BobDruskin</category><category>c</category><category>Chuck Prince</category><category>ChuckPrince</category><category>citigroup</category><category>cnbc</category><category>corporate jet</category><category>CorporateJet</category><category>ge</category><category>general electric</category><category>GeneralElectric</category><category>Jeff Immelt</category><category>JeffImmelt</category><category>Maria Bartiromo</category><category>MariaBartiromo</category><category>Robert Redford</category><category>RobertRedford</category><category>sundance</category><category>Todd Thomson</category><category>ToddThomson</category><dc:creator><![CDATA[Peter Cohan]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 24 Jan 2007 10:21:00 EST</pubDate></item></channel></rss>
