August 2009

In a deal valued at $4 billion, Disney announced this morning that it is acquiring Marvel Entertainment.... a huge deal in the Glick household! If you don't know Marvel characters, come visit the Glick house. Between Spiderman, X-Men, Captain America, the Avengers, the list goes on and on.....there is nothing like Marvel! This morning, I spoke with Disney CEO Bob Iger about the deal. See why he ... read more

This is my favorite time of year! The U.S. Open tennis tournament begins today. I've been going ever since I was little. In fact, when I was at NBC, I covered it with the tennis greats on USA Network. That was a lot of fun. Two weeks at Flushing Meadow. Couldn't be cooler...and yet painfully hot at the same time :)! This morning the Bryan brothers, Mike and Bob, joined me to talk about their ... read more

Happy Monday! Wow it is cool out. Feels like Fall is here. Fall may be back-to-school season for the kids, but what will it be for Wall Street? Historically, the month of September is an ugly month for the markets. In this morning's roundtable, we talked about the bullish outlook for stocks and the bearish outlook for stocks. We also focused on a bigger more problematic issue for the ... read more

This morning, I spoke with Mike Leavitt, former Secretary of Health & Human Services and former Governor of Utah about health-care reform. He recently wrote an op-ed piece in the WSJ about why he's against the co-op option. He, like many other Republicans, believes it will become a public option. In addition to explaining why he's against the current plan, I asked him what he accomplished as ... read more

Every once, in a while you hear a remarkable story. This morning, I heard one. Beth Jacobson lost her husband to multiple myeloma, or cancer of the plasma cell, 13 years ago. For 2 and 1/2 years while her husband was being treated, she researched potential cures around the world, calling doctors and experts to find a medication to help her husband. By the time she was able to find a medication ... read more

This morning's roundtable focused on another stimulus program. Yes, it's true. First Help for Homeowners and 1st time home owner tax credit, then Cash for Clunkers and now.........."Dollars for Dishwashers" and "Rebates for Refrigerators." The names are made up but the programs are real! Starting this fall a $296 million rebate plan will go into effect that will allow consumers a $50-$200 ... read more

This morning, the FDIC released the Q2 Quarterly Banking Report. It's a report that industry insiders look at to measure the state and health of banking in the United States. The FDIC was created during the Great Depression to protect depositors. In it's 75-year history, not one depositor has lost a dime. That's the great news! The bad news is that the banking environment is exceptionally ... read more

Part of the reason I went down to DC last night was to interview Gary Gensler the CFTC Chairman. He was appointed to the position back in May after spending many years in the Treasury Department under President Clinton. He has his work cut out for him! We discovered while we were sitting there that we spent many years at Goldman Sachs at the same time. I was the young analyst out of college—and ... read more

One man who's pretty much firing on all cylinders in the most difficult of circumstances is Bob Diamond, president of Barclays PLC & chief executive of investment banking and investment management. Last year when Lehman Brothers collapsed Barclays took over Lehman's U.S. operations for approximately $1.4 billion. Some called it a steal. Diamond calls the deal "transformational." The synergies ... read more

Earlier this week on “Meet the Press,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen talked about the importance of an upcoming report on the state of the military operation in Afghanistan. General McChrystal, the commander on the ground, is set to release this report in the next couple of weeks with a list of recommendations on how to increase our presence and reduce the escalating ... read more