Thursday, February 19, 2009

CNBCs Steve Liesman versus Larry Kudlow and Rick Santelli



Steve Liesman is CNBCs Senior Economics Reporter. When it comes to the economy there is no one better than Steve on television. Steve has a way of cutting through the crap and looking beyond the obvious in his reports. Most of us can look at the headline when a new government statistic is issued and conclude what we want. Steve, on the other hand, gets into the guts of new government reports and pulls out the information that is likely to effect the markets--this information is not always easy to discover and it is not always obvious. You can make a lot of dojo listening to Steve and interpreting what he is saying. Put it this way, he is worth listening to because he might keep you out of trouble.

A few minutes ago on CNBC, Steve was arguing with Larry Kudlow and Rick Santelli about the Obama Housing plan. Larry as usual has his own preconceived explanation--this is just another attempt on the part of Democrats to transfer wealth from the rich to the poor. Larry obviously slept through most of the 90s. Rick Santelli is all bent out of shape because he thinks the good people of the country are paying off the mortgages of the bad people. He does look pretty funny screaming on the floor of the exchange--well at least his face doesn't look like it is going to explode alla Howard Dean.

Steve, on the other hand, is trying to make a simple point about the housing bailout--the current state of affairs in housing is an artificial situation caused by a mortgage system gone wild and man gone amuck. As a result, the market cannot correct itself in its normal fashion. In other words, the housing market needs some help to wash out all the excess.

I am probably not doing a good job explaining Steve Liesman's point of view. So if you are out there Steve, feel free to come in and comment; or, send us something to put up on this blog for our audience of investors.

In my opinion Steve is the guy that should have his own show on cable television. The guy is outright smart and talks in a way that can be understood. I mean Suzy Orman--give me a break. How many times can you say the same thing. Suz has no problem letting you know you are a dope. Steve gives you the dope--the real skinny.

Just so you know. I am not a friend, nor do I know Steve Liesman. I worked at Bear Stears at the same time as Larry Kudlow. And, I wouldn't mind having a drink with Rick Santelli at the Banana Boat.

Subscribe to All American Investor via Email,

As CNBC’s Senior Economics Reporter, Steve Liesman reports on all aspects of the economy including the Federal Reserve Bank and major economic indicators. He appears on "Squawk Box" (M-F, 6-9 a.m. ET), as well as other CNBC programs throughout the Business Day.

Steve Liesman joined CNBC from The Wall Street Journal where he served as a senior economics reporter covering monetary policy, international economics, academic research and productivity. At the Journal, Liesman previously worked as an energy reporter and, from 1996-98, as the Journal’s Moscow bureau chief. He was a member of the reporting team recognized with a Pulitzer Prize for stories chronicling the crash of the Russian financial markets.

Prior to joining the Journal in 1994, Liesman was the business editor for The Moscow Times, where, as the founding business editor for the country’s first English language daily newspaper, he helped create the publication’s stock index, which was the country’s first. Liesman has also worked as a business reporter for both the St. Petersburg Times in St. Petersburg, Fl., and The Sarasota Herald-Tribune in Sarasota, Fl.

Liesman holds a Masters of Science from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and a B.A. in English from the State University of New York, Buffalo.


More from All American Investor
Posted by at Labels: , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)