A Visit to Fox Business News
The kind folks at Fox Business invited me to join their conversation about Nasdaq’s response to its trading blackout and the performance of CEO Bob Greifeld: via Fox
Bitcoin Challenges the Regulators
The folks at Bitcoin have taken a very aggressive stance with regulators, who are eyeing the digital currency with suspicion. It’s following a path blazed by another upstart industry that operated in a grey zone of regulation – online gaming. That ended in a flurry of arrests and indictments. Will Bitcoin meet the same fate? […]
“Blackout Bob” Greifeld Misfires Again
It has been quite a week for apologies. Hedge fund supremo Bill Ackman expressed regret over his money-losing bet on J.C. Penney. Dan Doctoroff, CEO of Bloomberg, released the results of an independent review of its data security and editorial practices and pledged steps to strengthen both. But when it came to the week’s biggest […]
Bloomberg Survives its Terminal-Peeping Crisis
News and data giant Bloomberg LP deserves high marks for a thorough and candid report on its data security and editorial practices – and for the way it was communicated.
Bill Ackman Says the F Word
Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman used the F word – failure – to describe his disastrous investment in retailer J.C. Penney. Mr. Ackman’s admission was honest, surprising and very shrewd. It is a risk that likely will pay off handsomely in the months ahead.
The Art of the Takedown
Readers of the Sunday New York Times found a scowling, unshaven Larry Summers on the front page, accompanying an article that questioned his fitness to lead the Fed given his close ties to Wall Street. The article was a first-rate takedown – a savaging that was thin on facts and lacking any kind of balance. […]
Is Jeff Bezos the New Steve Jobs?
The passing of Steve Jobs left a big gap. Since his death nearly two years ago there hasn’t been a CEO with Jobs’s combination of brilliance, mystery and breathtaking commercial success. But with his surprise purchase of the Washington Post, Jeff Bezos might be stepping into the role Jobs left behind.
Omnicom and Publicis to Merge (Yawn)
The market seems to like the merger of marketing giants Omnicom and Publicis. Shares of both companies are trading higher this morning. Shareholders have good reason to be pleased, but for clients and staff the deal looks less appealing.
Step Away from the Camera, Please
I’m all for improving corporate earnings announcements. But the push by Yahoo, Netflix and other companies to broadcast their earnings from a television studio, complete with a borrowed cable-tv newscaster, is a triumph of style over substance.
More Bank Advertising Nonsense
There’s a fresh example of brand advertising by a big bank that is little more than self-congratulatory nonsense. This time it’s Caixa, the top savings bank in Spain.