Talking Squawk: Blogging tidbits, insights, and some sarcasm on the WEEK THAT WAS and the WEEK TO COME from the notepad of the senior executive producer of "Squawk Box."
Michelle Caruso-Cabrera | CNBC
Cypriots line up at the ATM to withdraw their savings in the midst of the banking crisis in Nicosia, Cyprus.
The financial news this week was dominated by the financial health of Cyprus, a tiny island in the Mediterranean Sea of mostly Greek descendants with a GDP of $22.4 billion. For anybody who's counting, that's less than the $26 billion GDP of Wichita, the largest city in Kansas. Of course, that GDP number from Wichita may be dated after Thursday's win by the Wichita State Shockers over Pittsburgh. If the Shockers shock No. 1 seed Gonzaga on Saturday, there's no saying what impact it might have on that local economy.
@matthew_quayle: I wonder how Cyprus GDP stacks up to GDP of Wichita, Kansas or @kansasband record sales? Drummer/manager Phil Ehart was recently a guest
But whether manufactured or not, sounds like it's close enough to a "crisis" in Cyprus for me, or any other business TV news producer. Time to fire up the graphics department! Joe Kernen was simply disappointed when he found out we were not talking about Cypress Point Golf Club in Monterey, Calif.
Guest Moments Worth Another Look
Michael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair, wants to take out the bathrooms in the backs of planes to add six more seats and create a "standing room only" section on shorter flights.
Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor-in-chief of HuffPost, explains that the answer to the troubled economy, and maybe the answer to life in general, lies in … meditation!
CNBC's Eunice Yoon explains to Joe that the last names of the two main assistants on U.S. Treasury SecretaryJack Lew's trip to China are "Dollar and Yuan."
Source: Joe Kernen
Joe Kernen has a skiing Epiphany in Beaver Creek
'Squawk Photo-Shop'
Joe Kernen has a skiing epiphany in Beaver Creek Resort in Colorado.
Tweet's of Note
Spring was in the air, but not according to CNBC's Seema Mody. @SeemaCNBC First day of #Spring? That's funny, I'm still sporting my winter marshmallow jacket. #NYC.
Ski Area @BoltonValley: Ah, the first day of spring...daffodils, birds chirping, rainbows... and a MASSIVE SNOWSTORM. 14-15 inches of snow in the last 48 hours.
And something all parents can relate to from Fast Money (and former Squawk) Producer @BeckSteck: Kids 1 Mommy 0 #morningchaos
Mark Your Calendar (or Set Your DVR)
Wednesday, March 27 on "Squawk"
Guest Host: Doug Parker US Airways CEO 7-8 a.m. ET
Guest Host: Robert Benmosche AIG CEO 8-9 a.m. ET
'Squawkward Moments'
Andrew Ross Sorkin: "OK, let's talk gourmet food and cook wear. In our house we are studying a new 'wok' right off the top!"
Data Check
Becky Quick kicked off our "Squawk Box Money Madness" stock tournament. Winners in round one include Apple, BlackBerry, Facebook, Bank of America. Vote on our Facebook page (and "Like" us) for Friday's match-up: GE vs. Wells Fargo. Grab our bracket and play along.
Data Preview
Tuesday March 26 (8:30 a.m. ET) Durable Goods (Feb.)
Thursday March 28 (Q4 GDP) 3rd Estimate
Friday March 29 Personal Income & Spending (Feb.)
'Squawk Face-Time'
Just for fun, in the control room from time to time, guests we REALLY LIKE are "replaced" with new faces during the commercials. Of course, we never air the results to protect the innocent, oops! (It's all in good fun.)
See Andrew and Joe sporting new hair dos!
Cramer Clip
Check out @jimcramer on Squawk with his reason he paid $16 for a container of mustard at Williams-Sonoma (ticker) and how he found Cyprus on a map!
Regrets
Not paying any attention to Greek mythology in school? Aphrodite! Arianna Huffington gave us an R-rated lesson in this exchange about 1:15 into the interview.
Last Line
Which word will be used more on CNBC next week: Apple or Cyprus?
Looking Forward to the Weekend
In TVNewser's 2013 March Madness Bracket Challenge, I'm 12 and 4 after Thursday's games. I'll probably be out by Saturday morning. Joe's the big winner on our show at 14 and 2. Becky went 10 and 6.
How about one last ski day-trip with the kids before we wrap-up this winter? Oh wait, another snowstorm is on the way next week (check the forecast on weather.com)!
Joe jokingly blames "global warming" — white Easter anyone?!
—By CNBC's Matthew Quayle. Follow him on Twitter @matthew_quayle
