October 15, 2008 11:09PM
A Year to Remember
By Alexis Glick
One year ago today, we launched the Fox Business Network. It’s hard to believe it’s been a year already. What a year! In a note sent to us this afternoon by Roger Ailes, the head of the Fox Business Network and Fox News, he describes some of the biggest milestones in the past year.
“No one could have predicted at the time we would see the largest one day point loss and largest one day point gain of the Dow, the bursting of the housing bubble throwing tens of thousands of American homeowners into foreclosure, the demise of iconic names like Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, deep trouble at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Merrill Lynch being swallowed whole by Bank of America or the complete seizing up of the worldwide credit system.”
It’s hard to sum up a year — and yet, what Roger said in that note will no doubt wind up in the history books that my children will read someday.
To think, when we first launched a year ago, that we were on the heels of one of the greatest bull markets in U.S. history with the Dow Industrials Average approaching 14,200 and one year later closing just above 8,500. No one could have predicted this.
While the second half of our first full year on television has been mired with earnings disappointments, record writedowns, record high energy prices, an unimaginary amount of firsts and history making events, there have been plenty of euphoric moments. We have been a part of and witnessed one of the greatest races in American history. We watched a Republican senator with 26 years in the Senate come back from nowhere to claim the Republican Party’s nomination, despite the pundits who said he was dead in the water a year ago. We saw a Republican female governor selected as vice presidential candidate — the first female VP candidate since former Rep. Geraldine Ferraro ran with Walter Mondale on the Democratic ticket in 1984. We witnessed the finest Democratic primary and caucus on record with the narrowest of margin victory for Senator Barack Obama, the first African-American to become nominee for the Democratic Party. Record voter turnout. Use of the web in a way that no one knew was possible, creating perhaps the greatest seat change in history for political fundraising dollars. Unprecedented grassroots participation among the youngest demographic of voters.
We saw one of the most respected and admired American companies in history, Anheuser-Busch, get purchased by Belgium brewer InBev in one the biggest cross-border transactions in history. We witnessed record attendance, ratings and dollars made for this year’s Superbowl between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots. Arguably one of the best sporting events in history! Michael Phelps took home the most gold medals in Olympic history for the United States.
On a personal note I have traveled to Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum; to Phoenix, Ariz. for the Super Bowl; to McDonald’s headquarters in Chicago, Ill. where I got to go behind the scenes with my favorite fast food chain; to Washington, D.C. to meet with politicians and business leaders; to St. Louis, Mo. where I got another behind-the-scenes tour at Anheuser-Busch on the anniversary of prohibition and the Clydesdale horses before InBev initiated a merger; to New Orleans, La. for Hurricane Gustav as well as the National Cable Television Association’s annual meeting, where I met and interviewed the top executives at News Corp, Showtime, HBO and AMC and also spent time with Tom Benson and his New Orleans Saints; to Pittsburgh, Penn. where I interviewed the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. It takes my breath away.
I have interviewed people that I have watched from afar, read about or dreamt of meeting. From Senator Barack Obama, to Tiger Woods, to Bob Kraft (CEO of New England Patriots), to football great Michael Strahan, to Steve Tisch (co-owner of the New York Giants and Hollywood movie producer), to Jerry Bruckheimer, to Wes Edens (Fortress CEO), to Archie Manning, to Andrea Jung (Avon), to Cathie Black, to Jim Kelly, to LaDanian Tomlinson, to Alonzo Mourning, to Kobe Bryant, to Don King, to Oscar De La Hoya, to A.G. Lafley (Procter & Gamble), to Gary Garrabrant (Equity International), to Alan Hassenfeld (Hasbro), to Bobby Kotick (Activision Blizzard), to Tony Snow (former White House press secretary), to Henry Cisneros (former HUD secretary), to Senator Hillary Clinton, to Senator John McCain, to Mike Krzyzewski (Duke Blue Devils and U.S. Olympic Gold-Winning Men’s Basketball coach), to T. Boone Pickens, to Wilbur Ross, to Muhtar Kent (Coca-Cola), to Indra Nooyi (Pepsi), to Jamie Dimon (JP Morgan), to Queen Rania of Jordan, to Ken Chenault (American Express), to Mark Cuban (Dallas Mavericks), to Jim Skinner (McDonald’s), to Tommy Lasorda, to Larry Page, and Sergey Brin (Google), to Bono, to Rupert and Wendi Murdoch, to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, to New York Governor David Patterson, to Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, to New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, to Craig Barrett (Intel)………my heart skips a beat just looking at this list.
There are too many names to mention and one just as memorable as the other. I have learned so much, achieved two MBAs in one year and have had the opportunity to meet and work with some of the best people in the world.
I will not forget the man who wrote a book about how Starbucks saved his life, the Naked Cowboy, the head of the Port of New Orleans who told me personal stories about what it was like growing up in the Gulf of Mexico during hurricane season, to the head of the Army Corp of Engineers who looked after me and my crew while we reported during Hurricane Gustav, to the chefs at McDonald’s headquarters who let me experiment on my egg-white wrap sandwich, to the lovely man in Davos who gave Jill, Lorie and I a home when we thought we were going to be homeless at the World Economic Forum. So many wonderful memories to cherish!
One of the things that I don’t talk enough about is the people who make all of this possible. I work with some of the most extraordinary and dedicated people who work tirelessly to book the guests, get the show on the air every day and make sure that the cameras turn on and the satellites don’t fail. Yvette, with whom I couldn’t live without; Brian, my other half; Pippa, Lindsay and Karen, my Charlie’s Angels; Andy ,who reads my mind; Lisa, who rocks my world; Frangie, Hirst and Gold who make me look good every day by feeding me every wire as news breaks throughout the morning; Michael, who never says no when I ask for the impossible; Saralyn, who never forgets that Diet Coke, tea and mini muffins are the key to my heart; Lauren, Kathryn and Ray whom I drive nuts with this blog; and Melissa, who sits next to me day in and day out when I think I’m about to lose my marbles and without whom my life would have no order.
The list goes on and on……from Nat, the floor director in studio with me every day; to Frank, Jack and Bookman who make me smile while looking in the camera; to Chris and Bizmark who take me from 4 a.m. bedhead sessions to glamazon; to Jenna, Charles, Peter, Robert, Connell, Lieberman, Ashley and the members of the FBN team who make going to work each and every day a joy and a privilege. Nothing is possible without the entire FBN team. Nor is it possible to remain as connected and in the know without the countless resources, friends, colleagues and repeat guests who help make each and every one of us smarter every day by sharing their thoughts, research and analysis.
I know we only have one year under our belts, that the competition is stiff and that we have a lot of room for improvement; but if the next year or next decade is just as fun and groundbreaking as the first one, it will be the journey of a lifetime.
Thank YOU for watching us and thank YOU for reading this blog. Nothing makes me happier than hearing from YOU. Please continue to email us, comment on this blog and give us the advice and guidance that will help us address the issues that concern you each day. Together we will get smarter, ask tougher questions, demand answers and test the boundaries.
Comment by Agustus_WW
Oct 16th, 2008 at 5:57 am
Alexis
I suggest you explore this:
All the people who went long on oil futures ?
at $75 ?
1/2 ?
How much of this do you think is bring in margin calls to leave people selling off to cover their bad hedges on oil being - oh ? say above $115 even.
A safe bet I’m SURE some people made - wiping their brow now going - oh my god - I owe - I owe !
Now, I am no futures expert, those plays people make ? I am learning they only come in ? what ? every 3 months ? I don’t know.
BUT - either way, would NOT someone who went long on oil - WAY above $75 ? be NOW planning by selling off ? so when they ARE called on oil ? they have something ?
I imagine that plays PART in what’s driving the markets down.
Yes, that’s right, oil, AGAIN !
think about it.
I am certainly not always right, but I intuit SOME people had to have played oil the wrong way, and are selling off to either prepare or cover for Oct. 1 ? I don’t know.
Hey, beats the political interjections you have in Money for Breakfast, I am SURE FBN is scrambling to find a way to cover SOMETHING on this - very interesting transition.
I already found my red flag, it’s not ECB - YET - but - Bretton Woods III is being put on the table as of today.
Comment by Agustus_WW
Oct 16th, 2008 at 6:14 am
your undeniable Charles - spoke GREAT wisdom a moment ago.
I feel this strongly, although A. I’m broke, B. own no capital/stock - BUT C. See things as anyone can, and he’s correct to drill on this message.
Johnson & Johnson, there is NO reason for them to be down.
Furthering this very healthy offering I observe from Charles ? He goes on to say -
If you make 30k ? dump 500 in, if you can, another 500.
Very wise - long.
I agree.
Not a LOT of good news out there, but so many have lost touch with the concept of ‘investing’ - and going long.
Hope you or someone else promotes this point further.
Now, two days ago I thought to myself, wow - the lower class can NOW get in - I think I was waking up and say GM at $4.xx
I thought - wow - IF I had money ? gee, cars aren’t going away - maybe they’ll take some time to move to electric, but GM ? even with the merger with Ford ? And that new Volt ? oh well.
Somewhere out there going long, even IF - and we will take a good solid dive I think until 2009 - THAT is when I WILL spend my money to buy - myself, but right now ? it’s not a losers market to buy long.
er, It’s a winners market.
But I DO think 2009 - Q3 MAYBE Q4 will be a better time to get in after some real crunches - we have far more to see coming in on stink bombs - and Paulson keeps throwing out smoke bombs.
My best idea as of late - in this sector is to suggest - with knowledge of minimum requirement to create a bank ? People form VERY local community bank’s / LLC’d pretty much at face and hey - according to federal law ? on that new deal ? guess what ?
YOU and your NEIGHBOR can now take out 250k loans - at decent rates if need be, and worst case ? you’re covered if things go bad too.
THIS is MY way of shoving it BACK to Paulson, apparently his LEGAL STAFF didn’t BLOCK this loophole.
I hope 20,000 new smaller banks show up ALL signing up for a direct pipeline to the Treasury - so citizen’s can LOAN the money to themselves via LOCAL community banks, I’m talking 16 million base to not necessarily much higher, that’s the bottom line requirement, I say - meet that neighborhoods who get organized ? and SIGN UP for the pipeline window access…
We don’t need some yayhoo banker to loan us the money, we can do it ourselves !
Credit Union ! No Teller services ! SO many ways, in fact ?
I’m tellin’ ya
After studying the 90,000+ branches out there ? and the 7,000 banking institutions ?
The 7k side does branch site analysis ?
and all in all - the legal work is CUT AND PASTE.
Comment by chuck
Oct 16th, 2008 at 9:24 am
Alexis this has been an interesting news year.
For one thing I haven’t been watching political news that much in the morning. I’ve been Fox Business,CNBC and Bloomberg Television more often. U know your network and Bloomberg are the only ones that aired programming on the weekend? CNBC still airs informercials. But I’ve been watching CNBCWorld too to see how international markets been reacting to the dow. But it’s nice to have a third business network. I’ll make this prediction I bet in the next few years a fourth biz network will debute.
I find the global economic crisis which affects both streets: Wall Street and Mainstreet to be the most compelling story of the year. Becouse it has thrown the presidenta election in flux. By the way thanks your blog venue here where I can’t comment I enjoy filing business news story from my beat here in the Southeast. Right now I’ve been watching the local paper to see if this global rescession is going to close more retail businesses here. I can tell you some locals I know have told me they’re wondering how come the old Pemberton Mall hasn’t been closed. I can tell you that CBL Associates which owns this old mall hasn’t provided a followup. I did hear some positive news about a cinema. The old Kroger in Pemberton Plaza could become the new cinema. With the constant change in economic conditions going on CBL is going to have a hard time finding a cinema operator to fill that venue. I kid you not. I heard this last weekend in fact. Thus far R.W. whose the mall propertier hasn’t made any significant announcements on new cinemas nor new businesses. I believe reality has set in becouse the higher end cinemas like National Amusements,AMC,Regel Entertainment,Malco and Cinemark look at population numbers to see if towns could sustain thier stadium cinemas. That’s a reality which I believe that some community leaders can’t accept but they must becouse business is a constant flux. Still the local cinema market travels to Madison,Flowood,Ridgeland and Pearl to go the movies. I can tell u down in Natchez that they trying to save one of their historic downtown cinemas. Just had to file this followup for u.
Comment by Vann Schaffner
Oct 16th, 2008 at 9:24 am
You are doing an awesome job. Keep it up!
Comment by Jeffrey Few
Oct 16th, 2008 at 10:31 am
You go girl
great job.
big fan
Comment by Roger Behm
Oct 16th, 2008 at 11:46 am
Neil has always said the price of oil is determined about market circumstances. Now that the spot price of crude is down, will the federal government bail out the oil companies like they had bailed out the banking industries. Neil seems to be the only comentator who know about the economy. Please inform O’Reily. Technology teacher.
Comment by chuck
Oct 16th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
U know what anchors u should steal from CNBC?
Becky Quick of Squawk Box
Michelle Caruso Cabera,a sharp general assignment reporter,I sent her an email and she was kind enough to reply. I would suggest her own show on fox business. And I’ve been enjoying SkyNews FoxBusiness.
Comment by Joel
Oct 16th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Alexis,
Enjoy the show! I wish I didn’t have to wake up so darn early up here in Alaska to watch it though!
Comment by chuck
Oct 17th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
If your courious Alexis I’m still a member of CinemaTreasures.org and I have been now for two years. How did I join the site? Actually by accident. When the old Pembertom Mall Cinema 4 closed I joined this site to get the word on how and why it closed. Of course along the way I learned a lot more about the film/cinema business. When the Pemberton 4 cinema closed it ment the end era. The end of the traditional mall cinemas. U may have seen them outside Manhattan,like in a mall in Long Island,Brooklyn; Albany,New York and of course in Westchester. I ended up learning what was really going on cinema treasures.org. What the members,which I’m a member of,they want preserve the historic cinemas if they can. A few months ago I linked in the story from the Natchez Democrat that they’re revising thier old downtown cinema.
I just check out the cinema treasures site a few seconds ago. All sorts of stories from local papers have popped up from delay cinema openings to a series on Cinererma,a film process used back in the late 60s. I was a kid then LOL believe that?
With the constant changes going in technology,digital cinemas,internet etc,why not tale a look at the state of the film/cinema industry. Especially from where cinemas get closed and opened. Explore those reasons why small and medium town are losing them and how the changed Business parameters like population size have left some towns out of the box office matrixes. Now I can tell you the movie box office use to gross billions on a film. Now it’s dropped to a million on a weekend opening. Explore how a recession effects a chains like AMC,Regel Entertainment,Malco,AMC,National Amusements,Cinemark and others. Why some cinema chains go bankrupt. Just a news idea. I encourage u to chech out Cinema Treasures.org.
Comment by Sammy, MIami,FL
Oct 19th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
What do you think about the left wing conspiracy to create the economy October surprise by BimBama/BimBiden affiliated hedge funds from harvard and other universities?
if you have this kind of surprises why not to ask who benefited from it?
There is increase in initial cash requirements for margin accounts, but no maximum restrictions on margin accounts for daytrading marginability(at least 4 time equity).
Comment by Sammy, MIami,FL
Oct 19th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
It seems that regulators believed that small daytraders could manipuate market, but it more likely that huge unregulated highly leveraged hedge doing thia all the time.
Unless regulaters are in the pockets of those hedge funds.