October 2009

This morning on The Opening Bell I spoke exclusively with Mark Frissora, Hertz's (HTZ) Chairman & CEO. My last interview with him was at the end of June. At that time the company had just raised estimates and guidance. They just did the same thing again for Q3. Here's a company doing well despite the weakness in the economy. Off camera, Mark gave me some very interesting statistics and updates ... read more

This morning on The Opening Bell I interviewed Ron Sloan of Invesco Aim, a senior portfolio manager. He had some very interesting thoughts on the "new normal" including a less levered U.S. consumer. He added exposure to emerging markets is crucial and that no country wants a strong currency. He said this may be a "revenueless recovery, not just a jobless recovery." Take a look. read more

This morning Southern Company's Chairman & CEO David Ratcliffe joined me exclusively to talk about the company's earning announcement and, more importantly, the future of climate trade. We covered a lot of ground from the health of the economy to the issues associated with cap-n-trade. With regard to the U.S. consumer, Mr. Ratcliffe said, "the consumer is very cautious. They're hunkering ... read more

This morning my good friend Ian Bremmer joined me on The Opening Bell. Ian is the president of Eurasia Group and travels all over the world. He just got back from a big trip to the Middle East. This morning we talked about Afghanistan, Iran, China, the U.K. and the role of the Fed going forward. We also touched on Glass-Steagall and financial reform. Should we reinstate Glass-Steagall? Take ... read more

This morning on The Opening Bell, I was joined by Ron Hermance, Hudson City Bancorp’s chairman & CEO. This is a company that is firing on all cylinders. It was the best-performing bank stock in the S&P 500 last year, up almost 8% and yesterday they reported another great quarter. The company has paid a dividend every quarter since the year it went public in 1999. This morning, I learned a ... read more

This morning, Dick Bove of Rochdale Securities joined me on The Opening Bell. Dick Bove is a banking analyst who made a very big call on Wells Fargo (WFC) yesterday in the last hour of trading. He downgraded the stock to a “sell.” It spooked the market. This morning, Dick joined me to talk about the downgrade and the reasons he thinks this company “will take a year to get back to where it ... read more

This morning, Robert Reynolds of Putnam Investments joined me exclusively on The Opening Bell. Robert Reynolds is the president and CEO of Putnam. He was hired several years ago after a lengthy career as vice chairman and chief operating officer of Fidelity, one of Putnam’s largest competitors. Since Mr. Reynolds arrived, he has slashed pricing on funds in some cases by as much as 30-35% to ... read more

This morning was a lot of fun! I joined Imus on his show. We talked about last night's Yankees game, Levon Helm (it's a long story but simply put it involves a picture of me and a "Midnight Ramble"). Then Wilbur Ross joined me for an exclusive interview. Wilbur Ross is a legend in the investing community. He's considered a contratrian investor because he buys when everyone else is selling. ... read more

This morning in an exclusive interview, I sat down with Micheal Martin, Ireland's Minister of Foreign Affairs. Just a couple of weeks ago, Irish citizens voted in favor of joining the Lisbon Treaty. This has been closely watched in Europe, as Ireland previously voted against the Lisbon Treaty. The Treaty calls for more unification among the 27-nation European Union, including the appointment ... read more

Here’s what we learned today on The Opening Bell: 1.    CEOs think oil prices are headed higher next year. Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly made that clear to me. 45% of Southwest’s fuel portfolio is hedged this year and 65% for next year. He said the average oil price ranges from low 70s to mid 80s. Oil just closed at a new high today and is up 60% on the year. 2.    Joshua Rosner ... read more