February 2009

It’s done. It’s finished. It’s now time to put all of the speculation to rest. The government and Citi (C) have sealed a deal. How does it work? The $25 billion dollars in preferred shares that the government initially invested will be converted into common equity shares assuming they get an equal number of private investors to do the same. Why? 1. Preferred shares normally receive ... read more

So rarely do we hear about a company or an industry that is doing well. Yesterday I had the chance to speak with two different CEOs of two very different companies that are each doing very well, given the current economic climate. First up, David Brain, CEO of Entertainment Properties Trust, a REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust). The company owns movie theaters and other entertainment ... read more

This morning on a First on FOX Business Ron Gettelfinger the UAW President joined me to discuss the late breaking news yesterday about a deal between the UAW and Ford on the VEBA (Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association). Apparently, the UAW has conceded that they will accept 50% of the $13.6 billion in VEBA benefits in stock. read more

In the wake of the news this weekend that the U.S. government may take a larger stake in Citigroup (C), I talked to officials from two different countries whose financial institutions have either undergone nationalization and risen above it or have escaped nationalization because the regulatory system prevented excessive leverage. Let me start with Leif Pagrotsky, a member of parliament and ... read more

What a day! Between Hasbro, Lego, Starbucks and my following guest, yesterday's guest list was about as good as it could get. Dr. Irwin Jacobs is the co-founder and chairman of Qualcomm, a legend in the technology world. He created Qualcomm and has more patents in CDMA technology than others care to admit. He single handedly created the architecture and eventual commercialization of CDMA mobile ... read more

Yesterday I had the opportunity to sit down with the man behind Starbucks (SBUX), Howard Schultz. His relationship with the company dates back to 1983. The brand and the image of the once small coffee company from Seattle took the country by storm until things started to come undone when the distribution plan started to fail. With over 11,000 stores worldwide, Starbucks was a massive success in a ... read more

What could be cooler than talking about toys? Today I spoke to two gentlemen whose products dominate my household. With three boys -- ages 7, 5 and 2 -- I can think of no greater barometer for our household discretionary expenses than the performance of Hasbro (HAS) and LEGO. Two terrific companies who are doing very well in a difficult climate. How refreshing! First on FOX Business, I talked ... read more

I don't know about you, but I am becoming outraged about the daily barrage of Cabinet appointees who owe taxes for one reason or another. I'm outraged because we have a tax code that is outdated and pathetic. How far are we going to take this? I understand we want to hold Cabinet appointees to the highest standards, but come on... how many of you have made mistakes on your taxes? Probably ... read more

It's not every day that you meet a kid who is so disgusted with the job market that he decides to pack up and pursue 50 different jobs in 50 different states. This morning, I talked to a remarkable young man named Daniel Seddiqui, a professional job hopper, who graduated from USC and got rejected from over 40 job interviews.  Daniel set out on a journey to explore the country and explore any ... read more

This morning on The Opening Bell (my program from 9-10 a.m. ET), I interviewed the CEO of BMC Software. BMC is an enterprise software company. What's enterprise software? It's software that offers businesses a suite of products aimed at creating more productivity and efficiency. The company's software is typically used by corporations' IT (Information Technology) departments and works especially ... read more