Guest Post: Media Legend Larry Kramer Says Media Business is in a Gutenberg Moment

A lot of people theorize or blog about the future of media. However, a handful of people actually walk the walk. One such person is Larry Kramer.

Larry spent 20 years as a reporter and editor at the San Francisco Examiner, the Washington Post, and the Times of Trenton. However, during the tech boom in the 90s, Larry seized the opportunity to become a successful media entrepreneur when he founded MarketWatch and managed the company as Chairman and CEO.

Jim Cramer's TheStreet Is Being Investigated By The SEC

Seek and ye shall find. Never has this been more true than combing through theStreet's (much delayed if at all available) financials. As investors may have been digging through the company's SEC reports to find out just what the financial website's unadjusted EBITDA is (hint: much, much less than its "adjusted" cousin), one stumbles upon this gem just filed in today's Form 12B-25:

As a result of the need for the Company and its independent registered public accounting firm to focus attention on matters related to the Company's previously-announced review of the accounting in its former Promotions.com subsidiary, which subsidiary the Company sold in December 2009 -- including matters related to the preparation and filing by the Company in February 2010 of a Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2008, a Form 10-Q/A for the quarter ended March 31, 2009 and Forms 10-Q for the quarters ended June 30, 2009 and September 30, 2009, respectively, and matters related to an investigation commenced by Securities and Exchange Commission in March 2010 -- the Company requires additional time  to prepare its financial statements, assess its internal controls and file its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 ("2009 Form 10-K"). 

Oops. We can't wait to see how Mr. Cramer will explain to the Mad Money faithful this particular twist on the hangover of the show's five year birthday bash. Also, we wonder if CNBC will finally cancel the ludicrous Jim "truth" Cramer campaign once this news breaks. We doubt it- in the quest for evaporating eyeballs, all is fair.

Observations On The Road To Serfdom And An Open Thread

Due to some upcoming travel, posting over the next few days will be somewhat sporadic. We will attempt to provide recap thoughts on any major developments, although we have a sense the task will be pretty much comparable to the job of a weatherman in San Diego: "The market was... up. Back to you." Please use this post as an open thread for items of relevance. We leave you with this video in which Bruce Caldwell, a Professor of Economics and the Director of the Center for the History of Political Economy at Duke University and expert "Austrian," discusses a very relevant topic for our day and age: Friedrich Hayek's observations on the Road to Serfdom.

Morning Musings From Art Cashin - St. Patrick's Day Edition

Market pundits scrambled to fill up air time by attributing the market movement to this data or that comment. The market rally catalyst was quite singular however. As rumors spread of a firmed up Greek rescue package, and the S&P suggested it was shifting Greece out of ICU, the Euro soared. It spiked 0.7% which is a significant move in the currency arena. The result was immediately evident and dramatic. Gold spiked $20 and oil shot up over $2. Those moves came long before the FOMC statement. Those moves were not influenced by some piece of economic data. Those moves were not the result of some shift on the outlook for the President’s health plan. Those moves were the direct result of the jump in the Euro and the correspondent weakening of the dollar. We believe that the Euro/Dollar move was also the primary catalyst in the stock market. Given the action in gold and oil, the stock market’s reaction was rather mute. With such a strong tailwind, you might have expected something like a 100/150 point move in the Dow. The real question on stocks was what was holding stocks back given the currency boost.

Daily Highlights: 3.17.10

• Asian stocks, commodity prices rise on Fed rate pledge, BOJ lending expansion.
• Bank of Japan doubles credit program to $222B, holds interest rate.
• BoJ loosens monetary policy, increasing low-interest loans available to the money market.
• India may create sovereign wealth fund to help state entities to acquire overseas energy assets.
• OPEC Ministers poised to keep output steady with Oil over $80/bbl.
• World Bank raised its forecast for China's growth this year to 9.5%.

Fox Business Interviews Tim Geithner, Amusing Freudian Slips Ensue

Earlier today Tim Geithner was interviewed by Fox Business' Peter Barnes. The interview itself was not notable, with Timmy "Repo 105s are perfectly legal: I signed off on them myself" Geithner toeing the party line on issues such as a the Renminbi (It is a very important issue. It’s an important issue for China. I think China will decide it’s in their interest to move." - uh, right, just as soon as the US decides it is in its interest to tighten a couple of trillion in extra liquidity), trade wars (“No I’m not concerned about that.”) and other Houdini issues that just distract from the center piece of America's middle-to-klepto class wealth transfer.No, what was hilarious was Peter Barnes Freudian slip not once, but on two occasions: "Isn't the New York Fed Wall Street's representative?"... and even after an immediate and adamant refutation by tax challenged one, Barnes asks once again: "But [the Chairman of the FRBNY ] does represent Wall Street and its views." Leading to a response of "No....No...."

Hillarious Freudian slip or the absolute and unmitigated truth - you decide.