June 2008

I was just about to post the blog below when my BlackBerry got flooded with news that Tiger Woods will sit out the rest of the year to have surgery on his knee. This came from my colleague and mutual Tiger fan Brad Gold. According to sources, Tiger Woods has made a decision to go ahead with season-ending knee surgery.   He experienced a small stress fracture in his left leg about two ... read more

As we all struggle with $4 gas, the president urged Congress to lift a ban on offshore oil and gas drilling that's been in place since 1981. The presidential candidates have been talking about how they plan to deal with record high oil prices and how to solve the energy crisis. This morning we took at look at the energy brains behind each camp. We chatted with Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a policy ... read more

Dear Tim, You may not remember me but we met several years ago on President Bush’s second Inauguration Day. I was working at the Today Show as a correspondent. I remember that day like it was yesterday. We stood in the Washington Bureau green room as some of the best and brightest pundits and politicians prepared to talk about the second term and what it might mean for this country. I ... read more

What started out as a SHOCKING development this morning about the announcement that Chief Financial Officer Erin Callan and President Chief Operating Officer Joseph Gregory were stepping down from their posts at Lehman Brothers after pre-announcing their first quarterly loss in 55 consecutive winning quarters this past Monday now makes sense. My sources within the firm tell me that Joseph ... read more

MAYBE I’m NOT CRAZY!!!!! Look at this e-mail. Tony Crescenzi, chief bond strategist of Miller Tabak just sent me this. Time stamped 12:06pm. Sent to his subscribers. "On Tuesday, the trade-weighted value of the dollar was at its highest level since February and its value has increased has increased over 1% from its low set last Tuesday when Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke defended the dollar.  The ... read more

We cannot pound the table enough on what is happening in the Midwest. Corn crops are getting destroyed with record levels of flooding. Catastrophic weather is reeking havoc on the industry and having a ripple effect on ethanol and oil prices. Midwest rainfall has been as much as four times the normal level over the past 60 days. The increase in rainfall is equal to the typical amount some fields ... read more

New headline coming across the tape on 30 year mortgage rates! 30 year mortgage rate at HIGHEST LEVEL in 8 months! "Freddie Mac said Thursday that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage average rose to a nearly eight month high of 6.32% with an average 0.7 point for the week ending June 12. Last week, the ... read more

We need to start highlighting the good news and focus less on the bad news. Look at the InBev's bid for Anheuser-Busch this morning. A rumored deal for weeks now. The bid $46.3 billion dollars. Who said deals aren't getting done? What about the global licensing industry? The Licensing Expo is wrapping up today. The industry is a $187 billion industry and sees no signs of weakening. This ... read more

I’ve read your comments and received many emails on my dollar-intervention blog and the consensus is that I’m wrong. I interviewed two guests yesterday who said “Alexis, it’s not going to happen.” What they did say is that the Fed and the U.S. Treasury Department are putting FX traders on notice that the dollar will have implicit verbal support. In essence, don’t get caught too short. ... read more

Angry about the escalating price of oil? Feel speculators are helping cause the spike? Are you looking for answers? The commissioner of the Commodity Future Trading Commission--CFTC-- Bart Chilton, which oversees and regulates trading in crude oil contracts joined me this morning on Money for Breakfast. I asked him if speculation was to blame for the run up and how he can tell. Listen to what ... read more