• 13 Mar 2009 at 8:15 AM

Opening Bell: 03.13.09

Stewart, Pretty Much Wiping the Floor With Cramer, A Play In Three Acts (CC)

Discuss.
Berkshire Approached By AIG For Help Pre-Collapse (Bloomberg)
In an interview for Bloomberg Television, Buffett raps about that weekend AIG went south, explaining they had tried to call him twice for help; he had to refuse both times because of the enormity of the issue.
“It’s like taking out a girl — sometimes you know it isn’t going to happen,” Buffett said “The time pressures … the depth of the possible hole.”

Comments (44)

  1. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 8:32 AM

    Thank god…I was worried there for a second. Now we can go back to making ridiculous money again.
    http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/03/12/obama-declares-economic-crisis-bad-think/

  2. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 8:34 AM

    I am a high level GE exectutive. Who is Jim Cramer?

  3. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 8:42 AM

    Do you think Santelli will dare make an appearance now?

  4. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 8:46 AM

    Ciao, I am Barack Obama. What is GE?

  5. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 8:48 AM

    The trade deficit is significant. The comments about our debt are significant.

  6. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 8:52 AM

    wow, I would never have expected that. Stewart is usually pretty friendly to his guests. Its just not the vibe of his show to go attack dog on someone, kind of felt awkward.

  7. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 8:58 AM

    Cramer is a useless twit without a tele-prompter.

  8. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 8:59 AM

    I am Jon Stewart. What is finance?

  9. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 9:02 AM

    Better than the usual Stewart twaddle. When is JS gonna’ skewer Legolas Geithner?

  10. Posted by cy | March 13, 2009 at 9:03 AM

    Stewart made Cramer his bottom bitch.
    Unfortunately, Stewart’s thesis was that Wall Street and short term traders systematically loot the long-term “401k investors” and that there is a conspiracy between CNBC and these short-term traders. This is obviously nonsense, and it does us all a disservice by getting the we-need-to-tax-short-term-transactions camp all whipped up into a froth.
    Otherwise, props to Cramer for taking his beat down like a man, and props to Stewart for not getting chummy, but actually calling out Cramer on all his bullshit.

  11. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 9:04 AM

    “It’s like taking out a girl — sometimes you know it isn’t going to happen,” Buffett said “The time pressures, the degree of uncertainty, the depth of the possible hole, the need to get it through a regulatory body,” he said. “It wasn’t going to happen.”
    “depth of the possible hole”
    If that was meant as a double entendre, Buffett is a true genius.

  12. Posted by Anal_yst | March 13, 2009 at 9:08 AM

    Can we pretty please move on from J. Stew now and get on with our lives? By merely acknowledging his attacks on a network we already know has its (many) shortcomings, we’re giving him relevance.
    Nothing to see here, ladies, move along.

  13. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 9:14 AM

    “depth of the possible hole”….old warren is a little horndog. that’s what he is looking for in a woman…that guy is a hero.

  14. Posted by cy | March 13, 2009 at 9:19 AM

    My appologies, Anal…
    Let us now resume discussing how much of a scumbag madoff is, how retarted bank CEOs are, and whether Obama sucks or is awesome.

  15. Posted by clientnine | March 13, 2009 at 9:24 AM

    Most people reading dealbreaker.com understand that the mission of cnbc is to serve the needs of its advertisers. The mission of the cnbc hosts is to verbally fellate the guests and business executives in order to maximize the hosts’ post-cnbc careers.
    Those that are criticizing Jon Stewart should keep in mind that many Daily Show viewers only now understand the missions of cnbc and its hosts.

  16. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 9:24 AM

    Of all the places to assign the blame for this mess, CNBC seems like an unlikely target. They are a medium through which different facts and opinions are presented. Cramer is easy to pick apart, but condemning the network as a whole makes no sense. I feel about as bad for someone who lost money on a Cramer pick as I do for someone who put 100 bucks on Uconn because Tony Kornheiser said they’d win.

  17. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 9:25 AM

    Do not insult Warren based on his preference for shallow holes. He just wants to inflict maximum pain.

  18. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 9:25 AM

    Buffet is a renown potty mouth and deviant.

  19. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 9:29 AM

    Jon Stewart is Rachel Maddow’s twin lesbian sister.

  20. Posted by Anal_yst | March 13, 2009 at 9:30 AM

    @CY
    Fair enough.
    @16 FTW

  21. Posted by trojan | March 13, 2009 at 9:54 AM

    fucking ‘cuse
    at least my boys will steal the Pac-10 tonight.

  22. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 10:09 AM

    @10
    Really? Come on, the execs had motive to lie, Cramer had motive to scream buy buy buy. Both the exec and Cramer are still rich and the 401K crowd got screwed.
    I am sure they didn’t sit around a table and map out a plan, but there was motive for them to keep quiet about anything underhanded. Gaspirino was on the radio this morning defending his AIG call, “cause they said so” was his excuse too. CNBC isn’t going to piss off advertisers plain and simple. They could give a crap about their “audience” or getting it right.
    Conspirator or unwitting accomplice, doesn’t matter CNBC is a crap and should be boycotted.

  23. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 10:10 AM

    I hope a methed out tranny from the Meat Packing District stabs Stewart in his smug ugly ass face.

  24. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 10:10 AM

    I deplore jew on jew violence

  25. Posted by NotNasser | March 13, 2009 at 10:36 AM

    “You can’t ferment,” Cramer says in one of the clips Stewart played. Then he corrects himself, “you can’t foment.”
    Drinking a little of that fermented stuff before the interview, Jim?

  26. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 10:39 AM

    How come you can’t get bloomberg and Fox business in some cable mrakets?

  27. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 10:50 AM

    two low iq tv dimwits…who gives a rats ass

  28. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 10:51 AM

    I second the the motion for JS to be tranny blasted in the face.

  29. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 10:52 AM

    two low iq tv dimwits…who gives a rats ass

  30. Posted by cy | March 13, 2009 at 11:03 AM

    22-
    I’m not sure exactly what you’re getting at. Are you claiming that CNBC was fully aware that the economy was a house of cards, but just kept quiet about it? Do you really think the people that run CNBC are that smart? It’s easy to look backwards and say, “well, they should have known,” but without the benefit of hindsight that call is a lot tougher. Remember, before everything actually came apart basically EVERY public intellectual was out there telling us that things were fine: Bernanke, Greenspan, Bush, Obama, McCain, Summers, Geithner, H. Paulson, etc. etc. You should give CNBC credit for at least giving airtime to the few that did see this coming Schiff, Taleb, Roubini, Einhorn etc, even if the anchors dismissed them as quacks.
    All that said, I don’t want to come off as defending CNBC. They definately do investors a disservice with shows like Fast Money and Mad Money, which encourages people to try to actively beat the market. However, I firmly believe that the consumer is king. If viewers actually want to sit around and watch that garbage (as entertainment or to springboard a I’m-a-retail-trading-god mental masturbation fantasy), then god bless.
    Also keep in mind that CNBC had far and away its best numbers ever during the crash, so claiming that they had motive to perpetuate the bubble would run counter to how things actually played out. (I realize that CNBC probably didn’t know beforehand how good a crash would be for them ratings-wise)
    Finally, I also realize there is a fundamental conflict of interest between advertisers and the media, but this conflict is not unique to CNBC. While going soft on people that advertise through you may seem smart in the short run, in the long run, viewers are going to realize that you’re journalistically bankrupt and abandon your product. Therefore, an organization that puts its reputation first (I am in no way claiming that CNBC fits into this category) will long-run do much better than a short-sighted competitor.

  31. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 11:14 AM

    #19 – an astute observation.

  32. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 11:37 AM

    That ‘interview’ was terrible. JS came off looking like a complete jerk. CNBC has no duty to protect the little guy. They are in business to make money- just like everyone else. I expect Cramer and DR makes them tons of money. If an investor is not bright enough to get the fact that CNBC is entertainment above all else- then that’s their problem. We’ve got govt agencies and regulations that are designed to protect investors – if anyone failed, it was these guys. We certainly don’t need some comedian protecting us/them. JS’s pointing fingers at CNBC shows that he himself does not get that little fact.
    If the viewer feel that they were wronged by CNBC, then they can change the channel and by doing so CNBC will feel the pain. I bet they have more views now than ever…

  33. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 11:39 AM

    Where were the clips of Cramer from 2006 coming from? Hidden camera SEC sting? Drunken advice to his nephew?

  34. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 11:48 AM

    I hope Rachel Maddow skull fucks Stewart with her strap on tonight.

  35. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 12:20 PM

    Stewart is aliberal shitbag but Cramer and the rest of the assholes running that SHAM WOW equivilant of a business channel finnakly got what is coming to them.
    CNBC is a dangerous sttion with a private agenda.
    Now if we could only get Stewart to stop acting like a hypocritical self appointed cop and bring on Obama, Geitner, Palosi and Frank. Cramer may have ignored the situation but these assholes created it.

  36. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 12:40 PM

    John Stewart is a sophist.

  37. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 12:51 PM

    JS just completed one of his best interviews of all time. Definitely in his top 10 interviews, and he’s still got years to go. He looked like a jerk? An asshole? Carrying water for Obama? Those are just sophomoric ad hominem attacks that ignore the growing fundamental truth that Stewart is close to obtaining folk hero status right now.
    CNBC does not say it’s entertainment. It positions itself as “America’s Business Channel.” The premise to Cramer’s show is to help the little guy understand the stock market. As Cramer exclaims night after night, “I’m doing this for you. I’m already rich. I want to help you, Cramerica!” You think CNBC advertisers only care about those viewers who make $250k plus a year? Those are the viewers they are trying to entice to open $7 Scottrade accounts?
    And what’s you definition of a comedian? Someone who tells knock-knock jokes? Stewart has taken his place in a long line of comedians whose commentary are more insightful than anything you’d find in the op-ed section of any (remaining) newspaper or Ph.D. thesis.
    While you may not have the stomach for Stewart’s acerbic dressdown of CNBC, keep in mind that Stewart is, above all else, a social critic whose chosen medium is comedy. He chooses to tackle the subjects of politics, patriotism, religion, law, race, abortion, drugs and moral philosophy in general.
    Should be interesting to see what happens in the weeks ahead.

  38. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 1:10 PM

    @35, The Messiah didn’t create this situation. But so far he’s made it worse. Tiny Tim, Nancy, and Barney aren’t covering themselves in glory either. One-term presidency. Then the fascists take over again.

  39. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 2:53 PM

    Stewart did not win or lose any debate with Cramer on TDShow last night. Nor did Stewart “interview” Cramer, despite what so many people are lazily saying.
    All that happened was that Cramer listen like a total gentleman while Stewart gave several long speeches.
    Each time Stewart turned the floor over to Cramer to respond, Stewart interrupted Cramer during Cramer’s first or second sentence. This has been a career-long failing of Stewart as an interviewer — and it made the whole thing frustrating and even tedious. I wanted to hear what Cramer had to say, but we will never know.
    G

  40. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 3:10 PM

    Stripped down to its essence, Stewart blamed Cramer for Cramer’s inability to call the top of the market a couple years ago; after many years of gains for Cramer’s followers.
    Nobody can call the top of the market; and we already knew that decades before last night’s TDShow.
    If all Wall Street traders advised their client to stay out of the market until the average P/E ratio declines to near 14, there would be no Wall Street traders.
    There simply are too many 401K and other dollars chasing stock in too few companies. Inflation is not restricted to the price of groceries, it occurs in the price of stocks; even though the Fed govt does not report it as a measurement.
    G

  41. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 3:42 PM

    Stewart is a moron. Yea funny how his stupid shit-ass show didnt pick up on this shit either. “We are a nation of workers.” Horseshit– thats not what people who rode the market from the late nineties to last year thought when they got mortgages they couldn’t afford.

  42. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 8:50 PM

    Why all these bastards suddenly blame CNBC for the crisis?
    For not cornering those CEOs with questions only God knows?
    Even that douchebag named Adam (What?) and Suckffington Post are hot on Erin. Obviously ,they are using Erin Burnett for publicity.
    I don’t read 2nd rate Suckffington Post and didn’t even know who that Adam guy is but now I’m suspicious he is after Erin’s attention…that scary!

  43. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 9:07 PM

    Okay so if CNBC were to take a more active role in reporting, wouldn’t there be a conflict of interest?
    Point aside
    Stewart=BSD
    Kramer=Bitch

  44. Posted by guest | March 13, 2009 at 10:59 PM

    @37
    How was that an interview? Stewart called JC on and talked shit to him for 22 minutes.
    If scolding someone is the criteria for conducting an interview then Stewart just had the best fucking interview of ALL TIME!!!!!!!
    As someone that stopped watching TDS when Kraig Killborn left, I will tell you this, Stewart is about as funny as a nun with a dick.
    ??????????????/
    FRIDAY NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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