Archive for May, 2008
May 30, 2008 4:01PM
By Cheryl Casone
Maybe this is the solution we’ve been looking for? Take old fry grease, from Burger King, the Chinese place down the street, and clean it up, then filler up!
Seriously, we had a guest on today, a kid from San Francisco, who along with his Mom, started a company that picks up for free old fry grease, then sells it to make biodiesel fuel. You may think this sounds disgusting, but Californians come up with some good ideas that sometimes make sense!
The interesting twist in the story is that lately, he’s been dealing with thieves. As in, bandits are hitting up fast food restaurants and stealing their grease. Sometimes they break in, and armed with a hose and other tools, they suck out the old grease, then sell it. One thief in Northern California was busted with grease that had a street value of $6,000.
I’m not saying this is a good idea, but it was certainly an interesting segment, take a look below.
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May 30, 2008 3:45PM
By Cheryl Casone
It’s our second installment of Golzarama! That’s where we send producer Mike Golz out into the streets of NYC to find out what’s really going on in the business news world.
Mike has an IPod touch, which I have to say is really nice! Mike and a cameraman went to Bryant Park here in New York to see how available WiFi really is. Guess what? Not so available!
My prediction is that WiFi is going the same way as the Beta tape did when VHS became popular. WiMax is going to win, because honestly, it just covers more areas. No one wants to go to Starbucks to get a wireless connection, they want to be as mobile with their computer as they are with their cell phone or their Blackberry.
Sprint might be a good way to play this according to an expert we had on the show. Here’s the video, take a look at our superstar producer, who in a year or so will probably have my job:
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May 28, 2008 5:24PM
By Cheryl Casone
Today we had a local New York restaurant owner who is serving a burger that sells for $175. He sells a few a week, and usually it is to Wall Street types. It has white truffles, black truffles, and is made from Kobe beef.
The idea for having him on, was on the heels of high commodity prices and inflation worries. Doesn’t that mean people cut back? Why would someone offer such an expensive item during an economic downturn?
We discovered after talking to Kevin O’Connell, that there are some items that are recession proof. Not only is he selling to finance guys and maybe some gals (I say guys because that thing is 2,000 calories), but also foreign tourists that have seen overseas news coverage of the burger, and decided to stop by on their New York trip.
If you are in New York, feel free to hit up the Wall Street Burger Shoppe on Water and Broad Street. The burger is Kobe beef, foie gras, exotic mushrooms, shaved black truffles, and golden truffle mayonnaise. The burger joins the New York luxury food group that includes a $25,000 sundae and a $1,000 pizza.
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May 27, 2008 2:59PM
By Cheryl Casone
I spent the long weekend in Texas. Texans love their trucks. Big trucks, with loud engines, that blare George Jones, and have plenty of room to store equipment for hunting, fishing, and ranching.
(I also spent a big part of my childhood in Arizona, so please don’t think I am making fun of Texas, I am not.)
I was driving with my family, and started laughing at this guy’s plan to sell his truck: TRUCK FOR SALE GETS 21 MPG!! The 21 and MPG were in huge letters, as if that was the entire selling point of his truck. This is instead of saying it it has xx amount of miles, or it is from 2000 and whatever. It was the gas mileage!
When Americans start noticing how many miles per gallon their vehicle gets, we have a problem. I don’t think gasoline prices are going down. In fact, I’m on my way to Neil’s FNC show to say just that, we are not going to see lower prices now that Memorial Day has come and gone. Usually, we do, but not this year.
Why? Crude, basically, and that horse is so far out of the gate and into the pasture, you can forget oil going back to 80 bucks.
We keep seeing stories of people that are trying to combat high gas prices in different ways, by driving less, by taking their bike, and it looks like by selling their 21 mpg truck. What are you guys doing?
It looks like Americans DID slow down their travel over the holiday weekend. We won’t get official numbers until next week, but from what we’re hearing and seeing in some initial readings, we drove less, we flew less, and we basically decided Memorial Day was the time for a “staycation.”
Are our numbers right? What did you guys do? Leave your posts, and I’ll mention them on the air tomorrow.
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May 20, 2008 10:48PM
By Cheryl Casone
A new study came out today about airline satisfaction. So, basically Americans hate the airlines. Shocker! We are about as satisfied with airline service, safety, and performance as we were back in 2001, and that was a year we felt pain and sadness for the industry. They really managed to turn that goodwill into the exact opposite huh?
I’ve defended the airlines before on this blog, so I will not repeat my sentiments, except to say there are misconceptions about the business of airlines. It is not a cash cow. If you want to make money, become a heart surgeon or invent a better set top box than Apple TV, but don’t dare try to invest in, or start up an airline. You might as well attempt to break the guiness world record for stupidity.
Having said that, I love planes, I love flying, and would love to learn to pilot one at some point…..but I hate the airline too. It is no fun to travel anymore. Remember when it used to be fun and exciting to get away from home and see something or someone new? I still feel that way, but also feel maybe I can accomplish that somewhere in the greater New York area.
One caveat: I hope we don’t see the alternative to our present situation, which I believe will be 3 airlines left standing, and a 300% jump in ticket prices. I wonder what those folks that answered the airline satisfaction survey would say if I told them that because of high jet fuel prices, things will get worse AND more expensive?
Is it time for the government to step in? If they do, what would that action look like?
Until something happens, prepare to be charged for checking more than one bag when you fly.
How does that couch and flat screen television turned to the National Geographic Channel sound now?
Just asking….
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May 19, 2008 7:58PM
By Cheryl Casone
We had Jill Schlessinger on the show today. She is too funny, and smart, and well, feisty. We were talking about Yahoo and Microsoft. When will this dance end? She compared it to dating on and off. Have you ever done that? You can’t make up your mind, and you can go back and forth.
She has a good point. What these two are doing is dancing, and while I certainly respect they are both trying to protect their single life (I am single, I understand) it is the market and shareholders who have to sit and watch. Reminds me of “The Bachelor” on ABC. The guy sits there, and goes back and forth: “so many women, I just don’t know, I love them all!”
Except Microsoft doesn’t want to settle down, they NEED to settle down. Their internet strategy is shot. I almost believe they will ditch MSN and just go with the Yahoo brand. Or, maybe MSN Yahoo actually rolls off the tongue? Carl Icahn is no fool, and he usually gets his way. Steve Ballmer might at the end of the day be no match for Jerry Yang. How long do you turn the guy/girl down before you just give in? You realize they are the right one.
While I certainly respect that Jerry Yang created and built Yahoo into the brand it is, sometimes the inventor isn’t the best manager. Does that makes sense? If I owned Yahoo, and I don’t, I would honestly ask myself if I felt enough trust in Jerry Yang right now to do the best thing for my shares. Not that Microsoft is this bastion of good will and charmed enterprise, they are still fighting antitrust issues in Europe, still!
Microsoft is most likely in your portfolio in some way. But is Yahoo? Think about potentially putting your retirement money in Jerry Yang’s hands? Ready to settle down yet?
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May 16, 2008 10:04AM
By Cheryl Casone
Sometimes we have a good idea, and it ends up being great television. We had that on the show Thursday, and you have to watch the segment. It started with our afternoon meeting as we prepared for a long segment on commodity prices. Some things like soybeans are seeing slight declines on the market, and we got to talking about what could be a positive effect on restaurants. Then someone said “how do McDonald’s and Taco Bell get away with these 79 cent menu items?”
Well, then we decided to send our production assistant Michael Golz out into the streets of New York City, to check out the food deals. He went from Dunkin Donuts, to McDonald’s, and then Subway. I am curious though, did Fox Business pick up his tab? Hmmm.
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May 15, 2008 12:12PM
By Cheryl Casone
Today Phillip Martin joined us for the Noon hour of Fox Business. Guys, what do you think of the new show? Come on! You are usually very vocal about what you like and don’t like!
We had a packed show, and we didn’t get to Phillip’s REIT picks. First, a quick note from his research I found interesting:
“Commercial real estate and equity REIT fundamentals remain healthy, unlike residential real estate. We want to stress that poor equity REIT share price performance of late is due primarily to credit market dislocation and not weak commercial real estate and equity REIT fundamentals. We believe tighter credit markets and an overall cleansing process will be a positive and remove the excesses, but feel equity REIT share price declines have been overdone and do not properly reflect healthy fundamentals, such as revenue growth potential, positive supply and demand,dividend security and yield, flexible balance sheets and capital structures. We feel healthy fundamentals should allow equity REITs to successfully weather a tougher credit market and/or a slower economic environment”
Here are his REIT picks plus video of the segment:
Alexandria Real Estate Equities (ARE-$102.40)
Health Care REIT Incorporated (HCN-$47.69)
Realty Income Corporation (O-$25.53)
Kite Realty Group (KRG-$13.75)
Ramco Gershenson Properties Trust (RPT-$22.47)
May 13, 2008 8:24PM
By Cheryl Casone
You really have to adapt when it comes to investing. We’ve been covering this horrific situation in China. There you are, standing in your home, with your family about to sit down together, and in an instant it is gone. I’ve covered several natural disasters in my reporting career, and it always impresses me once I get there, how strong people are. You never know your worth until you are tested.
We’ve been tested here haven’t we? But, you go out and talk to people, or at least I do, on planes, parties, on the streets, and in the studio. And they have that common thread, and it seems to be the same thing I see when people are dealt something, a tough blow: “We’ll get by, we’ll recover.”
I am not comparing China to our markets, they are different, and I hope the UN can get better access to Burma in the next few days, but it teaches us a lesson how strong investors can take the good with the bad. We are going to have a flat trading range through the summer. The volume isn’t great, but at the same time, I keep talking to Wall Street sources and friends who tell me they plan to spend a large portion of their time in the Hamptons. What does that mean? They are okay to walk away from their desks. Last summer, it was all hands on deck, and vacations were cancelled (except for Jimmy Cayne, that maverick of bridge that he is.)
Finally, we moved time slots, from 10am Eastern to Noon. Let me know what you guys think about the new show. It is different, very different, but starting a new network is about taking chances, and I think I just jumped off a cliff!
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May 9, 2008 4:31PM
By Cheryl Casone
Two things have come out of the weak dollar. First, I am really getting to know you guys, and that is why I wanted to launch this blog in the first place. I read every post, the good and the bad, and I love it. The deals you find, the way you handle your money, and your ideas about energy. Wow, you are vocal about ANWR!
Also, I have gotten a great response both internally and externally to my “Save the Dollar” campaign. Yes, the weak dollar, which slipped yet again today, is trying to come back. Somewhere in the currency universe, my voice is being heard.
Why worry about the dollar? Well, I believe in the American economy, and I think the dollar is a great symbol of what a powerful and innovative nation we are. We’re having a tough time right now, our currency reflects that, but we, and the dollar, are resilient. We’ll be back, just like this market will be back. Patience is good, belief is better.
Also, I wanted to give you my final thoughts on my time in Paris. First, if you watched the show today, you saw the Flip Cam video I shot. The best part of Paris was spending time with my sister. Here are some personal pics I thought I would share. Elizabeth is such an amazing younger sister, she really has it together! Paris was first and foremost a “sisters” trip, but she also learned a lot about our currency. We are geeks huh?
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