Go Symbol Lookup
Loading...

Funny Business with Jane Wells

More

  Thursday, 4 Apr 2013 | 4:26 PM ET

Seaching for the Next Pocket Fisherman

Posted By:
Searching for the Next Snuggie
CNBC's Jane Wells reports what could be the next big "as seen on TV" product.

Roger Yanagita had five minutes to make a pitch that could land him millions. "I hate dust," he said before a panel of three men. "I can't stand dust."

He pointed out that feather dusters merely spread dust around, which still makes him sneeze. What to do? "May I present the first ever Duster Vac!"

With that, the Los Angeles inventor fired up a vacuum cleaner with a feather duster attached. "Dust down the hose and out your nose!"

Yanagita was making his pitch at the Response Expo in San Diego, where inventors hoping to sell the next OxyClean or Pocket Fisherman meet with the infomercial marketers who can make that happen.

»Read more
  Thursday, 28 Mar 2013 | 2:39 PM ET

Holy Cow! Bovine Sells for $170,000

Posted By:
Source: Holstein World
Karlie the cow was sold for $170,000.

Think beef is expensive now? A cow just sold for a record $170,000 at auction in Syracuse, New York.

"That's more than the median home price in Central New York last month: $112,500," wrote Marnie Eisenstadt in the Syracuse Post-Standard.

Well, you can't milk a house.

»Read more
  Thursday, 28 Mar 2013 | 1:16 PM ET

Bacon Mouthwash—For Real or Delicious Prank?

Posted By:
Source: scopemouthwash.com
Scope Bacon Mouthwash

You know I love everything bacon-y. I've had the bacon shake, the bacon sundae, and the bacon taco, aka, "The Baco."

I even own a shirt bought in Des Moines, Iowa which says, "I like pig butts, and I cannot lie."

America loves bacon. We also love a good laugh.

(Read More: West Michigan Whitecaps, Baseball and 'The Baco' Taco)

A friend alerted me to a new promotion from Proctor & Gamble's Scope touting bacon-flavored mouthwash. My first reaction—what took so long?

»Read more
  Tuesday, 26 Mar 2013 | 1:40 PM ET

What Would You Do to Avoid Paying the Bills?

Posted By:
Rubberball Productions | Agency Collection | Getty Images

It's getting close to the end of the month. Time to break out the checkbook (anyone still have one of those?) and pay the bills.

This time of year, it's not only the usual bills piling up by month's end, but there's also the check many Americans will write the IRS by April 15. In some states like California, property taxes are due.

Spring sucks.

»Read more
  Monday, 25 Mar 2013 | 8:46 AM ET

West Michigan Whitecaps, Baseball and 'The Baco' Taco

Posted By:
Baco Verdict: Awesome!
A look at the phenomenon of the Baco, a "taco" with a shell formed entirely of bacon strips. The taste is, in a word, awesome, reports CNBC's Jane Wells. (It's like a BLT without toast.) The Baco is served by the West Michigan Whitecaps, a farm team for Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers.

Food is all about fusion these days, combining fabulous tasting ingredients into a sum greater than its parts

Like bacon. And tacos. Meet "The Baco".

On April 4, opening day for the West Michigan Whitecaps baseball team, fans will be able to buy The Baco after voting for it in an online contest for new menu items. The Baco is made from bacon strips fried into the shape of a taco shell, then filled with lettuce and tomato. Think of it as a BLT without the bread. Mayo comes on the side.

»Read more
  Wednesday, 20 Mar 2013 | 1:40 PM ET

Hooters Girls Throw Spring Training a Curveball

Posted By:
Source: Youtube.com
Hooters ballgirl at a Philadelphia Phillies Spring Training game interferes with play against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Is Hooters looking for a lift? Does the restaurant need to generate more buzz?

One thing's for sure, Hooters girls drafted to man the sidelines during spring training are throwing the game a curveball.

The Hooters waitresses have been fixtures at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla., not far from where the restaurant chain started in 1983. The Philadelphia Phillies train here, and the team benefits from having the attractive, scantily clad women on the field as an added incentive to sell tickets. Hey, Mrs. Fields got her start as a ball girl.

But over the last two weeks, there have been several errors, as some Hooters girls attempted to "wing" it playing America's pastime.

(Read More: Hooters Is Chasing Women—As Customers)

»Read more
  Monday, 18 Mar 2013 | 12:58 PM ET

The Cyprus Threat? Really?

Posted By:

So Cyprus may tax its bank depositors in order to stay afloat. Who? What? Where?

Everything I know about Cyprus I learned in this hilarious parody, "Cypriot State of Mind."

»Read more
  Thursday, 14 Mar 2013 | 5:02 PM ET

Oops! When Live TV Goes Bad

Posted By:
Headhunters | Photodisc | Getty Images

Live television news can be a very funny business, but most of the laughs result from blunders. I've been at this game a long time, and a lot of things have gone wrong. If you're prepared for anything, you'll never be caught with that "deer in the headlights" look which is fatal to most careers in TV.

How one reacts to on-air flubs can make all the difference in how the audience feels. I learned a long time ago that most of the time, when you're not covering some tragedy, the best way to handle a mistake is to laugh about it.

Laughing serves two purposes for me. It disperses some of my own anxiety, and, more importantly, it puts the audience at ease. Laugh, and the audience laughs with you. Cry, and you look like an idiot.

Here is a very funny way a Los Angeles weatherman reacted after making an embarrassing flub this week. KTLA's Henry DiCarlo was reading on air some birthday wishes viewers sent in, including one for Hugh Janus.

Hugh Janus.

Say that out loud.

»Read more
  Wednesday, 13 Mar 2013 | 12:34 PM ET

Dow vs. S&P, Who's King of the Market?

Posted By:
What's the Big Deal About the Dow?
When the Dow reaches record lows or highs, investors take notice, yet it only represents 30 companies. Is the index outdated? And, is the S&P 500 a better barometer of the economy? CNBC's Jane Wells takes a look.

The Dow is the King of Indices. When it makes history, we listen. But should another wear the crown?

Most news reports about the stock market always lead with the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The NASDAQ usually follows, with the S&P 500 bringing up the rear. The S&P is like the Rodney Dangerfield of market measurements.

It's time to right this wrong.

"Most money managers benchmark themselves against the S&P," said Robert Kaplan, the former vice chairman at Goldman Sachs and currently a professor at the Harvard Business School.

»Read more
  Wednesday, 6 Mar 2013 | 2:21 PM ET

It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane … It’s the ‘Office Superhero’

Posted By:
Searching for an Office Superstar
John Moschitto, the fast-talking actor from the FedEx commercials talks to CNBC's Jane Wells about Crucial.com's search for the official office "go-to" superstar. He is starring in the contest commercials.

Faster than a 4G iPhone. Able to unfreeze computers in a single click. Leaps tall servers in, well, two bounds.

He (or she) is the Office Superhero!

»Read more

About Funny Business

If it was up to Jane Wells, she’d spend her entire day combing Mother Earth for stories and observations just for this blog. She has more fun writing Funny Business than anything else she does... professionally, that is. Funny business is whatever Jane considers hilarious, strange, fishy, or ridiculous, which pretty much covers everything on Wall Street. It is her hope this blog makes you smile, even when the news is grim. After all, it's only money.
  • Based in Los Angeles, Wells is currently a CNBC business news reporter and also writes CNBC.com's “Funny Business.”

Humor