Closing Bell

Soros Calls for Government Control of Markets, Even If It Means ‘Wiping Out the Shareholders’
By Nathan Burchfiel | January 23, 2008 | 5:11 PM EST

Billionaire investor George Soros called for more government monitoring and involvement in markets in an interview on CNBC January 23.

"Now we really have to reconsider the whole policy, which has been in my opinion misplaced, of relying on the markets to police themselves," Soros told Maria Bartiromo in Davos, Switzerland, "to recognize the risks. And there are risks which it is the job of the authorities to control, and the authorities have abdicated their responsibilities. So did the rating agencies."

Soros slammed the government for "not taking the right steps in dealing with" what he called upset financial markets. "[T]he authorities ought to move into the market makers, look at the books and make sure that the bad risks are recognized and reassure the markets that the main actors, the banks that are too big to fail, will not fail, that they will in fact be bailed out the same way as Northern Rock was bailed out even if that means wiping out the shareholders or greatly reducing their benefits."

CNBC Expert Warns of $150-200 Barrel Oil
By Jeff Poor | November 20, 2007 | 5:32 PM EST

Imagine seeing this prediction on your television screen: "Oil will hit $150 or $200 during this commodity bull market."

Makes you want to stockpile oil while it is priced at $98 a barrel, but such was the case on CNBC today.

Credit Billionaire Jim Rogers, described as a commodities guru and a founding partner with the infamous George Soros of the Quantum Fund in 1970. He told Maria Bartiromo on the November 20 "Closing Bell" on CNBC he see's no slowdown in the rising price of oil, regardless of what OPEC does.

"OPEC had a big meeting this week," Rogers said. "If they had a lot more oil to produce, they would be producing it. They don't have it."

CNN Business Reporter: Feelings Trump Economic Reality
By Jeff Poor | October 18, 2007 | 7:10 PM EDT

Even though we’re not in a recession, people “feel” like we’re in a recession and that’s what counts. Sounds like liberal hogwash, doesn’t it? Well, that’s how CNN Senior Business Correspondent Ali Velshi reacted to a CNN-Opinion Research poll. “Get this: 46 percent of Americans think the economy is in a recession – 46 percent.

ABC, CBS Abandon Hillary’s Talking Points on Social Security
By Jeff Poor | October 16, 2007 | 5:18 PM EDT

The lefties won’t be pleased. The October 15 CBS “Evening News” and ABC “World News Tonight with Charles Gibson” had a different take on Social Security contrary to liberal Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton’s position. On October 11, Clinton told CNBC’s John Harwood she wasn’t going to jump the gun and scare people by addressing their Social Security concerns.

Matthews Ignores CNBC Promise of ‘Economic Debate’
By Jeff Poor | October 9, 2007 | 8:17 PM EDT

It was supposed to be about business and economic issues – at least that’s the way CNBC billed it. “[W]ell, we’re coming to you from the Ford Performing Arts Center,” co-moderator Maria Bartiromo said during the October 9 CNBC “Closing Bell.” “And there’s a lot of buzz and excitement around. We're just about an hour away from the debate and of course, this is the first national presidential debate focused only on economic issues.