Everyone has an idea, and everyone probably hopes that a particular passion or hobby can lead them to success. Rebecca Matchett one of the founders of Rebecca and Drew, was on the show today, and she’s a great example of how to turn an interest into a business.
She is one of the founders of Alice & Olivia, and she joined us today to talk about her new company and new line geared toward women in business. Take a look:
We had her today, on a day when traders were trying to get their heads around Merrill Lynch (and probably considering putting their hands around his neck.) She talked about everything from regulation to John Thain, and I’ve posted the interview below.
It’s in two parts, but her comments about Merrill in particular are worth your time.
CC
That was my best guess today on the show: that by the end of the year 30 year fixed rate mortgages will be at 8.5 percent on average. It sounds difficult to believe, but after pouring through more housing data, including price trends and then looking at where Fannie and Freddie are health wise, I don’t think it’s something we can avoid.
There are stories of potential buyers going to 8 banks trying to get financing to buy a home. Conforming home loans are still being issued, but it’s jumbo loans that are the problem. There are no investors left interested in backing jumbo loans, and Fannie and Freddie are not in that business.
Add to the storm the Federal Reserve who may very well have to hike interest rates later this year. The Fed governors are getting more hawkish in their language and thanks to high food and energy costs, their hands may be tied.
So, higher interest rates, a hike in Treasuries, and tightened standards from lenders who are struggling to make money (and interest is a fee really) and you can see rates head higher by two full points.
Lock in that ARM folks, lock it in now.
CC
Dr. Bruce Weinstein joined us yesterday on the 12pm ET hour of Fox Business. Tom and I took the quiz, but I promised all of you the quiz for yourselves. Here you go:
How ethically intelligent are you? Take the following quiz to find out.
1. One of the people you have just hired seems to be attracted to you, and you are attracted to this person. Both of you are single. Would you:
A) Ask the person out on a date.
B) Have only a professional relationship with the person.
C) Ask the person if your intuition is correct, and if it is, discreetly pursue a romantic relationship.
2. A co-worker in the next cubicle has a habit of spending a lot of making loud and distracting personal phone calls about things that are obviously trivial. Would you:
A) Ask the person to keep the volume at a reasonable level.
B) Focus on your own work.
C) Talk with the person about why it’s in everyone’s interest to limit personal phone calls.
You cut a deal with Carl Icahn, but this doesn’t mean Yahoo is out of the woods just yet. Your stock is down 20% since Microsoft walked away. No one that holds your shares (and honestly, folks on wall street are not interested in your stock, it’s become a running joke) or still holds them at this point is going to be patient. Your earnings are coming out after the close on Tuesday. I am looking for great things here. How are ad revenues? The search business? Are talks progressing with AOL? At this point, it makes sense for you to join forces with someone, because you are under a mountain called Google, a crushing monstrosity. So, analysts want 11 cents a share…….what say you ?
If you have been anywhere near the gang on the street lately, all anyone talks about it is shorting stocks: shorting Lehman, Wachovia, and the financials are popular moves right now, while shorting oil and commodities as well. It’s become one big gambling machine.
Of course, if you are a “trader” and not an investor than sure, this is your language. But, I worry that short term trading is becoming a long term negative for the rest of us. Did you read the Vanity Fair article about the collapse of Bear Stearns? Here’s the link:
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/08/bear_stearns200808
I won’t comment on the role the competition may or may not have played in the Bear story, but the depth of the article and the background on the collapse of the investment bank is worth the read.
You know times are tough when grocery stores start putting security tags on frozen chickens to ward off thieves. Yep! Sainsbury’s in Britain starting putting the same tags you see on expensive bags and fur coats on chickens! It seems the credit crisis has hit Britain just like it has here in the United States.
According to the Daily Mail, the store had seen a rise in shoplifting of the chickens, both the cheap birds and the expensive organic kind.
So, when a chicken thief tries to leave the store, it’s alarm time! Security alert! (Oh, and make sure you take the tag off before you microwave the bird.)
With the dollar weak against the Euro, you would assume that the credit crisis has not reached across the pond, but we are finding through reports that indeed it has. Home values are in trouble, and the banking system, particularly in England, is shaky at best.
The British don’t have extra money to spend right now, and there has also been a movement towards more expensive free range chickens by animal rights groups.
What’s next? Cereal? Milk? Laugh now, but at the rate we’re going with commodity prices….
CC
That was a direct quote from Jamie Dimon today, chief at JPMorgan Chase, the bank that everyone is scratching their heads over. Why? Because the smartest person knows to ask other smart people what is going on, and Dimon looks like he could be the smartest guy right now behind Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs.
He said if we were going into a recession (and Fed President Lacker said the data isn’t there yet, but whatever) that he wanted to be “OK.” Not beating the markets, not buying things on the cheap, but he just wanted to be ok.
Maybe that’s all any of us can do right now? Strive to be prepared, wait and see if there will be a crisis, which you can of course try to predict, but won’t know for sure until said crisis in your lap.
There was a book I read when I was a kid, and I know most girls read it from my generation. It was called “Hi God, It’s Me Margaret” by Judy Bloom. She needed advice and guidance on growing up.
The shareholders at Yahoo need advice and guidance from Jerry Yang. Where is he? Sometimes you can be a great entrepreneur, the “go to” guy or gal who always has the next big idea. But is Jerry Yang necessary? The stock is jumping on words from his main nemesis Carl Icahn that if Jerry Yang goes, Microsoft and Steve Ballmer would come back into the picture.
