SQUAWK BOX VIDEO

25 Nov 2009

A look at what's likely to happen at the registers once the doors open on Friday, with Richard Hastings, Global Hunters Securities; Richard Jaffe, Stifel Nicolaus & Co. and CNBC's Jane Wells.

Black Friday: Bargain or Bust?

25 Nov 2009

Whether the deals are better than what shoppers will usually see or if it is just another marketing tactic, with Hitha Prabhakar, Style File Group; Brad Wilson, BlackFriday2009.com and CNBC's Jane Wells.

Holiday Central 25 Nov 2009
A discussion of the many ways retailers are preparing for Black Friday, live from K-Mart in Burbank, CA, with CNBC's Jane Wells.
Retailers Getting Ready for Black Friday 25 Nov 2009
Retailers are getting ready for Black Friday, and CNBC's Jane Wells has the play by play. Stacy Janiak, of Deloitte, shares her insight.

Amazon vs. Wal-Mart

24 Nov 2009

What began as a price war between Wal-Mart and Amazon over a handful of books has nos spread to a wide assortment of consumer goods. Lee Eisenberg, a noted retail expert and consumer behaviorist, and CNBC's Jane Wells discuss.

Prices to Be Thankful For 24 Nov 2009
A decrease in food prices is something to be thankful for this holiday, reports CNBC's Jane Wells.

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Mar.27

10:35 AM ET

Thursday, 27 Mar 2008

WaMu's "Whoo-Hoo": Not "Woo-Hoo" As That's Homer Simpson

Posted By:Jane Wells

Topics:Television | Movies & Film Studios

Sectors:Media

Companies:Washington Mutual Inc

Washington Mutual has started a new billboard campaign (see images). "Whoo-hoo!" has folks in its hometown of Seattle asking "Whoo-what?" "Whoo-why?"

Even aside from the question of what it means ("You're upside down in your mortgage? Whoo-hoo!" "Our stock dove nearly 10 percent yesterday? Whoo-hoo!"), many bloggers have told the Seattle P.I. that it's spelled wrong. It should be "Woo-hoo!"

AP
Homer Simpson
Turns out the bank didn't want to end up with trademark issues. "Woo-hoo!" belongs to Homer Simpson. By adding an "H" (as in Homer?) WaMu [WM Loading... () ] gets around that.

"We didn't want something that somebody else is using," a bank spokeswoman told the paper. Oh. And, in fact, the P.I. says "Whoo-hoo!" has been trademarked by WaMu.

Tim Bueneman of McAdams Wright Ragen says the billboards have him scratching his head. His Seattle-based firm has no rating on the bank's stock, though its cheaper price is starting to look interesting.

But do you really want to put your money in a bank that reminds you of Homer Simpson? Doh!

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