Is financial media just entertainment? Or does it help you make good decisions?

“Put Wells Fargo in charge.”

Interesting Bill Gross interview on CNBC today, following the release of his September investment outlook. In full video below he admits he was wrong on Treasury demand waning, and his long-term-slow-growth theme is best captured in this excerpt: Free market capitalism depends on a balanced market between labor and capital. And clearly we’re reaching a [...]

Twenty-two year veteran CNBC anchor Mark Haines died unexpectedly Tuesday night at age 65. He will be truly missed. Haines was a legend in broadcasting for his no-BS reporting and interviewing, and a seminal figure in making financial news palatable for the masses. My favorite Haines legacy is the Briefcase Indicator, a segment he’d do [...]

Last Thursday, while on a tour of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, my son and I met and chatted with CNBC futures reporter Rick Santelli. I told him that I was there to speak at a Fannie Mae regional meeting, he launched into a dissertation about how better off the mortgage industry would be if the [...]

When I was writing my 2011 rate outlook last month, I asked some former colleagues—CFA types much smarter than me—for their views on what a possible municipal bond implosion might mean for mortgage backed securities (MBS). I asked because consumer mortgage rates are tied to MBS, and I was testing a theory on whether MBS [...]

Today and every Thursday, Freddie Mac releases results of a survey showing what rates are on single family home loans up to $417,000. And the overwhelming majority of mainstream media reports on the topic today talk about how rates have risen along with Treasuries. WRONG. Mortgage rates referenced in the Freddie Mac survey aren’t tied [...]

A new year. Typically the time for a media technique as old as media: recapping last year or predicting this year. But instead of doing that today, below I’m re-posting The Day Journalism Died, a piece I wrote in 2006. It’s not about financial media, but it reminded me what consumer financial media is and [...]

Three months ago, I wrote an Open Letter to Dylan Ratigan with my case as to why he should stick with financial media after his departure from CNBC. At the time I laid out two options that seemed most probable for him: So as you evaluate new options, I am sure there are many but [...]