Funny Business

SQUAWK BOX VIDEO

State of the States: New York & California

20 Nov 2009

Investment banking profits have not translated to new jobs on Wall Street or even Main Street in New York and the rise in unemployment in California, with CNBC's Bertha Coombs & Jane Wells.

State of the States: Employment 20 Nov 2009
CNBC's Bertha Coombs and Jane Wells look at the unemployment picture on each coast.
Harrah's Gambling Lawsuit 20 Nov 2009
A multi-millionaire from Nebraska is accusing Harrah of cheating him, with CNBC's Jane Wells.
State of the States 20 Nov 2009
A closer look at the nation's employment picture, with CNBC's Bertha Coombs, Jane Wells, Larry Kudlow & Trish Regan.
Nation's Employment Picture 20 Nov 2009
Assessing jobs data across the nation, with CNBC's Bertha Coombs, Scott Cohn & Jane Wells.
State of the States 20 Nov 2009
A look at how California, Utah and New York have endured the economic climate, with CNBC's Jane Wells, Scott Cohn & Bertha Coombs.

LATEST FROM OUR BLOGS

» More

- Don't Dwell on Investment Mistakes; Move on, Like Buffett

MORE HEADLINES

» Markets | Economy | Companies

- Smallest US Businesses Borrowing Again: PayNet

RSS FEED

» Help

Subscribe to this RSS feed
Stay up to date with Funny Business.

CNBC ON DIGG

Call Of Shame - Vote Now

Published: Friday, 10 Jul 2009 | 10:56 AM ET

Text Size

By: Jane Wells
Correspondent

Call of Shame
CNBC.com
It's been a couple weeks, but the lowlights in the world of business do not take summer vacations. Here are the nominees, followed by our choice for winner, but make you own choice in the poll at the bottom.

NOMINEE #1: A-I-GEEZ!

The insurance giant which you, the taxpayer, bailed out, reportedly wants to hand out millions more in bonuses. This the same week a jury decided AIG [AIG Loading... () ] was wrong in going after more than $4 billion in stock former chief Hank Greenberg took when he left in 2005.

NOMINEE #2: BED OF NAILS

Baseball great/entrepreneur/investor Lenny Dykstra says WaMu (now owned by JP Morgan Chase [JPM Loading... () ] duped him into a $20.5 million mortgage fraud when he bought Wayne Gretzky's house two years ago. Now he's filed Chapter 11 to avert foreclosure. Lawsuits to follow.

NOMINEE #3: OFF THE WALL

The downside of the Michael Jackson memorial: the event cost a broke Los Angeles millions, including $50,000 allegedly spent on 3,500 box lunches for police officers from a restaurant 80 miles away. They could have bought off the dollar menu at McDonald's [MCD Loading... () ] and saved $46,500. Plus, the most ridiculous exploitation of Jacko-mania? The image of Jackson's face in a piece of toast, being sold on Ebay [EBAY Loading... () ] for a little over $20.

NOMINEE #4: GAME OF CHICKEN

White meat madness. KFC [YUM Loading... () ] faces yet another lawsuit seeking class action status over the mishandling of it's free giveaway which Oprah promoted. This as China may ban U.S. chicken, especially chicken feet, which they apparently eat, in a bird-brained trade war.

NOMINEE #5: WOZ UP WITH THIS?

Apple [AAPL Loading... () ] co-founder and celebrity dancer Steve Wozniak is hawking an auto body shop in Silicon Valley. Jim Goldman found this nugget. Did I mention that THIS WAS THE GUY WHO HELPED CREATE APPLE COMPUTER?

THE WINNER: SNAKE OIL MARKETS

Pressure is growing to limit the ability for speculators to drive up oil prices and keep them out of whack with real supply and demand. The current situation, say many, is a recipe for bad gas.

Questions? Comments? Funny Stories? Email

Topics:Media | Print Media

Sectors:Media